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Revista de la Liga with Graham Hunter

Classic Big Interview: David Provan Part One

Revista de la Liga with Graham Hunter

Graham Hunter

Sports, Soccer, Football

4.5863 Ratings

🗓️ 12 December 2023

⏱️ 37 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Here’s another chance to hear my interview with David Provan from season one.

Such is David’s insightfulness that he carved out a brilliant television co-commentating career despite never having played in England. In part one, we hear about surviving a crazy Celtic trip to Batumi in Georgia, and how Old Firm managers Walter Smith and Tommy Burns BOTH trusted him to keep their derby team-sheets secret.

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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit revistadelaliga.substack.com

Transcript

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0:00.0

Hello, this is Graham. Welcome to a classic big interview. Today, join me. We're going back to season 2015, 2016. This is what I had to say about it back then.

0:27.0

We start with the smell of aviation fuel in the morning, goats on every veranda, vodka, hijacking, gun play. Then finding

0:41.1

out who's playing and calling the run of play. This guest is David Provin,

0:46.1

born and brought up in a very ranger supporting household, tapped up by the Celtic assistant

0:52.4

manager pretending to be a journalist asking him

0:54.4

whether he would because of his background be willing to do it properly for Celtic

0:58.8

every week. Scotland Player, when Aberdeen were dominant in Scotland as I was growing up

1:04.4

there were very few players from the old firm that I looked at covetously and

1:08.8

David Provene definitely was one, Davy, Bobby Russell, Mccoist, but for sure,

1:16.2

David Provin, an extremely gifted and hard-working

1:20.6

winger who was very evidently a brilliant crosser of the ball and really intelligent on the football pitch.

1:27.0

Like him now, you'll know him as Sky's just about Principal Co-commentator certainly in my view the best most

1:36.5

acerbic clever with his words co-commentator in British televised football at the moment.

1:44.0

I think it's really remarkable and a testimony to his ability and his quality

1:48.0

that a man who never played for a big English club has been gradually promoted through the ranks at Sky and is now doing

1:55.5

the very biggest games in what is a multi-billion pound industry.

2:00.1

Kudos to David.

2:02.1

I hope you enjoy our chat. I certainly like listening to him. I find him a very forthright, bright, likable man.

2:09.3

A man who I've seen handling himself pretty well in a Barcelona karaoke bar. Again,

2:14.9

kudos to David for that one.

2:16.8

Throughout their anecdotes about Walter Smith, Tommy Burns, Big Sam,

2:22.1

ladies and gentlemen, recorded in the Hotel Duvan in Glasgow's Leafy West End, lovely, elegant

...

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