Martin Tyler has delivered some home truths regarding his exit from Sky Sports.
Tyler, 80, still works for various other broadcasters in the sports media world and has done so as a commentator and a pundit since the mid-1970s.
But after leaving Sky back in 2023, one of the most recognisable voices in football has insisted there was no bad blood between himself, Gary Neville or Jamie Carragher.
Martin Tyler: 'Sky Sports had no right to keep me!'
“My contract at Sky ran out, and they chose not to renew it – that’s entirely their right," said Tyler, when speaking via the In The Mixer podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet. "I had over 30 wonderful years there, and I wouldn’t say a bad word about them. There was a suggestion that I was retiring which is not true at all.
"I’m still loving doing commentary and if I can continue to impart my love for the game through commentary, then I’ll do it until I fall off the gantry.
“Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher’s love of the game is the most important thing and their passion. The viewers expect that when their teams are playing, they are going to get a different slant on it. If their teams don’t play well in those games, then that comes though as well!
"You can easily say we should get someone who is more neutral, but Manchester United vs Liverpool is one of the great days for those in broadcasting. You just don’t know where they [Gary or Jamie] are half the time – jumping up and down in the gantry! With Gary and Jamie, I feel almost paternal toward them.”
Neville and Carragher have helped shape Sky Sports' modern-day football coverage, with the pair seen on our screens almost every weekend.
Tyler was quickly replaced by Peter Drury, who has assumed the role as Sky's go-to football commentator for Premier League football over the last two years.
Just who comes next remains to be seen, but Drury has often yielded plenty of criticism for his ever-lasting superlatives when describing Premier League events.
In FourFourTwo's view, Championship expert Gary Weaver deserves a fair crack at the whip, having expertly covered England's second tier and all the drama that comes with it over the last few years.
