WORLD CUP CHAT

Photo: Joe Dent Peterborough United.

Two Peterborough broadcasters will be covering this year’s World Cup, but while they’re both united in their dedication to their home team Posh, do they agree on who’ll be bringing home the trophy this summer?

Former Deacons school boy and Hereward Radio reporter Adrian Durham has built up an amazing award-winning broadcasting career and is a familiar voice to many on talkSPORT. He’ll be commentating on all the matches for the radio station with his signature firm opinions and enthusiasm for the sport that’s been a lifetime passion.

Rising young star Ellen Ellard is emerging as a young broadcast talent in the UK and will be working on the World Cup. This 26 year-old from Orton Wistow went to Kings School, started out on PCRFM and Radio Cambridgeshire and is forging quite the career in sports broadcasting.

Photo: Joe Dent Peterborough United

The ESP World Cup Q&A

Which games do you think are the ones that will potentially cause the most drama?

Adrian: “First game against Croatia, Texas, June 17th, sets the tone. England struggle to play with any kind of tempo, but then the heat this summer might mean no team can play with tempo. That first game will tell us what we could be in for from England at the World Cup.”

Ellen: England start with the toughest test of the group in Croatia. A real tone setter for the Three Lions. The 2018 runners up and 3rd place finishers in 2022 qualified unbeaten and this will be the first real test for Thomas Tuchel in a competitive setting.

Who is the player who’ll bring the biggest threat?

Adrian: “England’s most threatening player is Harry Kane. Without him we have no chance. He is achieving Messi and Ronaldo levels of goal scoring now he’s at a top club, absolute world superstar.

“The most threatening opponent is Spain’s teenage sensation Lamine Yamal. The Barcelona winger is frighteningly good.”

Ellen: “England Captain Harry Kane has an outrageous tally in the Bundesliga this season, at the time of writing he has 33 goals in the German top flight, the most by a player in Europe's top 5 leagues this season.

“If he can translate that form to tournament football, he’s a frightening prospect.”

Will you get as emotional as you do when you’re watching Posh play?

Adrian: “I will be following England in a professional capacity, I will be out there in the stadiums presenting all the England games on talkSPORT this summer so I have to keep a professional head on. However I was meant to stay professional last summer at the Women’s Euros but completely lost it when the Lionesses won the final! I’m an emotional guy, so when I go to Posh as a fan I let the love flow. Unless they’re terrible, in which case it’s major stress levels.”

Ellen: “Peterborough United was my first love. It always feel special to cover an England game but I’m used to having to keep a cool head when it comes to the national team for work.” 

Thomas Tuchel vs Gareth Southgate – who’s the best man for the job in your opinion?

Adrian: “Sir Gareth transformed a national team that was unloved, going nowhere and had no connection with the fans into something we treasured for a few years. We also went consistently deeper in tournaments than ever before under him. So I have many fond memories of his time in charge. Tuchel has been appointed specifically to win then World Cup, and if he does that nobody will complain!”

Ellen: “2018 World Cup run was stay with me forever, it was the summer I left secondary school and went all in on chasing a career in sports broadcasting. Two Euros finals and a World Cup quarter final later, there is no question about the legacy Southgate left behind after 8 years in charge.

“Is Thomas Tuchel the man who will help England take the final step after the recent near misses? In that regard, only time will tell.

“The 11 major trophies in his cabinet speaks for themselves, of course, national team coaching and particularly England is a different beast but he brings a fresh pair of eyes and a obsessive attention to detail that the FA believe will push England over the line.

“Gareth Southgate has set the standard. The bar and expectations are exceptionally high.”

What do you think it takes to bring a match to life for fans when you’re broadcasting?

Adrian: “Before becoming the England anchor at tournaments I was a regular as a fan at Wembley and travelled away with England as a fan. So I try to bring that experience – reflecting the highs and lows that fans feel at games, asking questions that fans might be asking after victory or defeat. More than anything understanding and conveying the emotion of the occasion through the pictures you paint with words is absolutely the skill required. I’m getting there hopefully!”

Ellen: “It’s all about bringing the fans into the stadium with you. Particularly during a big tournament the key thing is to convey the atmosphere and sometimes as a commentator it’s about saying less and letting the atmosphere and audio do the talking. Less can sometimes be more. Other times, it’s about highlighting what the fans can’t see or feel, the fans in the big cities, journeys to the stadium, temperature and anything that excites the senses.”

What’s been your favourite World Cup moment in the past?

Adrian: “I think the World Cup final 2022 for talkSPORT was the most incredible moment. A dramatic final, featuring some world class players, and Messi – the greatest player the world has ever seen – finally wins the big one. Sitting there in Lusail Stadium soaking it up after we’d finished our broadcast was an unforgettable moment.”

Ellen: “That I’ve experienced in the flesh? The Lionesses walking out against Spain in the World Cup final in 2023.

“But the first I remember was 2010. Shakira being played every time you turned on the radio. My first Panini sticker book. Collecting the England team in Gogos Crazy Bones. I remember our primary school hall filling when they showed one of the games on the big screen. It was all so exciting. Obviously, I learnt about the heart break of being an England supporter relatively quickly that tournament. Thankfully, there’s been a lot more to celebrate since then.”

Career highlight so far?

Adrian: “I think interviewing Thomas Tuchel for nearly an hour live on talkSPORT last summer, with Stuart Pearce, an England legend, alongside me playing a huge part in the interview, was something very special. In the interview Tuchel suddenly declared that his own mother thinks some of the things Jude Bellingham (England star) does are – and this is the word he used – “repulsive.” It was dynamite from a journalism point of view – and it made global news, that story was EVERYWHERE.

“Very close behind that was anchoring the live commentary of Peterborough United winning the play off final in 2011 against Huddersfield. That was a total joy.”

Ellen: “It’s a really tough one, living in the Lionesses Camp and covering the Women’s World Cup final in 2023 or the Olympic Games in 2024.

“Both were real ‘pinch me’ moments in my career and I’ll hold those memories and experiences close to my heart forever.”

If you weren’t working where would you be watching and who with?

Adrian: “Definitely with my wife Amanda and my son James. Both enjoy football, and I love it when we get to watch games together.”

Ellen: “If I wasn’t working, it would be with my friends in the pub or a beer garden.”

How do you celebrate an England win?

Adrian: “I’m only going to celebrate if England win a tournament. So I celebrated til the early hours when England’s women won their first European Championships, and pulled all sorts of crazy gurny faces when they won their second Euros last summer. Sadly those faces were captured on film.

“If England’s men win the World Cup this summer, I think I’ll celebrate but it will happen in a more calm, reflective way.”

Ellen: “A hearty rendition of Vindaloo.”

Football… is it coming home??

Adrian: “I’m concerned that some of our most talented players have not shown consistent good form this season. Spain, France and Argentina all look better. It’ll be a spectacular achievement if England win this World Cup.”

Ellen: “Why not?!”