Gerald Sinstadt

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gerald Sinstadt (born 13 February 1930) is a British commentator and broadcaster, usually focusing on football matches. He began his career on BBC Radio in the 1950s and 1960s, before moving to Anglia Television. From 1969 to 1981 he was the main football commentator/presenter for Granada Television in North West England, where he commentated on many matches involving the region's biggest clubs, Liverpool, Manchester United, Everton and Manchester City, as well as smaller clubs such as Preston North End, Burnley and Blackpool. He often commentated on nationally networked broadcasts of European matches played in the North West, giving memorable commentaries on Manchester United's victory over Ajax Amsterdam in the 1976-77 UEFA Cup, Liverpool's dramatic defeat of Saint Etienne in the 1976-1977 European Cup, and their exit from the same competition to Nottingham Forest in 1978-79, when Forest, leading Liverpool 2-0 from the first leg at the City Ground, frustrated them to a 0-0 draw at Anfield.

Sinstadt left Granada after the 1980-81 season, his place being taken by Martin Tyler. From the beginning of 1982 until the end of ITV regional coverage (for a while) at the end of the 1982-83 season, Sinstadt commentated for TVS, whose region at the time had two First Division clubs, Southampton and Brighton and Hove Albion. Subsequently, he commentated on golf for Channel 4. He then rejoined the BBC from the mid-1980s, working as a reporter and commentator for Football Focus and Match of the Day (usually covering the "third" match in the programme, with shorter highlights) and covering other sports, such as rowing (where he commentated on some of the Steve Redgrave / Matthew Pinsent Olympic successes), and on at least one occasion commentating on the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race when its regular commentator, Barry Davies, was covering an FA Cup semi-final. From the 1960s to the 1980s, Sinstadt was also a sportswriter - writing mainly about football, but also covering golf on occasions - for The Times.

Sinstadt still reports from football grounds for BBC Sport's Score programme, broadcast on Saturday afternoons on BBC One and the BBC's interactive digital service.

He appeared in a film about the Hillsborough disaster, directed by Charles McDougall.