Peter Drury has paid tribute to Martin Tyler ahead of the new Premier League season and told fans what to expect from the gantry.
Drury has joined Sky Sports ahead of the new Premier League season, replacing the departing Tyler. He will work alongside existing commentators Rob Hawthorne, Bill Leslie, Seb Hutchinson, Dan Mann, Gary Weaver and Ian Crocker.
Stepping into Tyler's shoes is a big challenge, with many regarding him as 'The Voice of the Premier League'. Tyler was part of Sky Sports' commentary team when the Premier League launched in 1992 and has covered some of the division's biggest moments, such as Sergio Aguero;s last-minute winner to hand Manchester City the title in May 2012.
Although Drury knows the pressure is on, he’s looking forward to the challenge of joining Sky Sports. "I’m very excited," Drury tells Mirror Football. "This is the place, in my view. Sky, since the Premier League began, has been the place.
"I’m excited and to some extent a little trepidatious to be following in some very illustrious footsteps. I’m aware of that, and I’m respectful of that. I hope I’m humble about that, but at the same time I hope I’m allowed to be excited about it too because that’s the point, isn’t it?"
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Drury is one of the most experienced commentators in football after working for the BBC, ITV, BT Sport, NBC and other broadcasters. Yet succeeding Tyler at Sky is his biggest role to date. Drury was happy to pay tribute to his predecessor, who hasn’t retired from commentary and is expected to continue working for rival broadcasters.
"He has been the sound of 4pm, 4:30pm on a Sunday afternoon forever, really... I don’t even want to consider myself to be, in any sense, a replacement for Martin because I can’t be him. I’m just another person starting all over again if you like, but that is the way the world goes round.
"I’ve listened to Martin all those years. Martin is a personal friend of mine; I’ve been on gantries with him for the last - not all of those 30 years - but for many of them, working for others. Strangely enough, one of the odd things is going to be (the fact) he won’t always be there. In that sense, I think a lot of us will miss him.
Peter Drury has joined Sky Sports for the 2023/24 Premier League season (Sky Sports)Are you excited to hear Peter Drury on Sky Sports? Let us know in the comments below!
"But I also know the football-watching public will miss him, which is entirely understandable. All I can do is try to be myself and hope that people will be prepared to welcome me as they became used to welcoming him."
Much is expected of Drury at Sky because of his popularity, particularly among younger fans on social media. Much to their delight, the British broadcaster has promised to stay true to himself. "I’m doing the same job; I’m just doing it for the market leader in the UK.
"That’s what I’ve never done before. I hope and believe that Sky have employed me because they, broadly speaking, like the sound of how I go about it. I would be foolish to try and move too far away from that or to alter it in any way.
"I’m me, for better or worse. Take me or leave me! Throw bricks at the screen if you have to. But I’m immensely proud that the market leader - the premium purveyor of Premier League football in this country - has asked me to come and work for it. My aim is to try and not let them down."
Watch 128 exclusively live games on Sky Sports & NOW this season. Sky Sports will continue to be the home of the Premier League - bringing fans the best in class when it comes to analysis, presenters, and production.
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