The Fiver | It appears the envelope is not all that Bobby Bulloch has been pushing

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The role of the co-commentator has evolved significantly over the years. Listen back to very old FA Cup finals on the BBC, and you’ll hear Kenneth Wolstenholme turning to former Arsenal full-back Walley Barnes maybe a couple of times per half for some gentle observations delivered with avuncular pipe-sucking, rocking-chair warmth. Later on, Jimmy Hill would develop a more opinionated style, which usually involved moaning about roughhouse Argentinian tactics at World Cups (‘66 and ‘86) while conveniently ignoring the fact that England were doing most of the fouling, hoofing, shoving and elbowing, displays of blind patriotism so staunch they register 11 on The Fiver’s box-fresh patented Starmerometer™.

Related: The Joy of Six: great moments in football commentary

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