Interview: John Motson

He said: "It wasn't convincing as he didn't play his strongest team. You'd bring Terry in place of King, Ashley Cole in place of Baines, Frank Lampard in place of Carrick, so there were quite a few regulars missing.

"I imagine the team will be along the lines of Rob Green in goal, Glen Johnson, Terry, Rio Ferdinand and Ashley Cole. Lennon or Wright-Phillips, Lampard, Barry or Milner, and Gerrard in midfield.

"And it looks as if Peter Crouch has staked a claim to play up front with Rooney. But we shall know more when they play their final warm-up game on Sunday against Japan."

Motson, 64, was in Canary Wharf on Tuesday signing copies of his autobiography. He believes Chelsea's Joe Cole will go, but fears West Ham's Scott Parker will miss out.

He said: "Joe gives you something different. He was our best player in the last World Cup, so he'll be in the 23, but whether he'll be in the starting line-up is another matter. I like Scott Parker. If anybody kept West Ham up last season it was him. It would be great if he could get in."

He singled out Argentina as likely winners of this year's tournament, but tips England to at least make the semi-finals.

He said: "Argentina are a fancy of mine. I've spoken to Ossie Ardiles and he thinks they have their best team for many years. If the players can manage the manager, Maradona, who's a bit of a crazy man, Argentina have a very good chance.

"Brazil and Spain are the two obvious joint favourites, but fingers crossed for England. An England v Argentina final would be pretty tasty."

Motson has commentated on six of the last seven finals, but has handed the microphone to the next generation. He will still be in South Africa as part of the BBC team.

He said: "I'll be doing the website, some comment pieces on camera, and history putting the World Cup in perspective. In my old commentary job I was tearing around from one place to another all the time. I won't miss that. I'll be pleased to be in one place."

Motson, who has commentated on over 200 England matches, is not disappointed to miss one last chance to emulate Kenneth Wolstenholme's 'they think it's all over' line from 1966.

He said: "I'd probably be in the studio talking about it, so that doesn't bother me at all. Everyone has their time. I don't think I'd be capable of producing another Kenneth Wolstenholme moment."

Although he has been commentating on some of the biggest games around the world for 40 years Motson's football education began close to Canary Wharf, as he recounts in his informative book.

His father, a Methodist minister, was given a mission in south east London in the late 1940s, and the family moved to Greenwich.

Motson's first football match was Charlton v Chelsea in April 1952, and he became a regular visitor to The Valley. He was saddened by the decline at the club, which saw them slip from the Premier League to League One in just three years. Motson blames it on poor management.

He said: "They were 7th in the Premier League five years ago and now can't get out of League One. It's a real lesson.

"Charlton were always a very well managed club, seen as a template by many other clubs. But one or two bad managerial decisions and that's where you can finish up.

"The way out is to regroup and try and do what Norwich did and get back as quickly as possible. I don't necessarily think Charlton can look at top six or seven in the Premier League for a few years, but they can gradually build.

"A lot of clubs have suffered that way, like Leeds and Nottingham Forest, so it's a question of getting back."

With almost 2,000 commentaries under his belt Motson is well placed to have strong views on the state of the game, and there's one thing that really annoys him - money.

He said: "I feel the distribution of wealth is terribly geared towards the top clubs, which is not to say they've managed it particularly well, as in the case of Portsmouth.

"I do feel sorry for the teams lower down, clubs like Barnet, who I support. There's a big gap.

"Our lower division clubs are struggling and it seems to me all the money that's come into the game from television has gone straight into the pockets of the players and their agents, and it hasn't been very fairly distributed.

"It's a pity. A lot more could have been put the way of youth academies, which is getting better now, but somehow or other all the money has gone to the top.

"That's my great feeling about it, because when I'm not commentating I go to watch Football League matches and games in the Conference and I feel those people deserve more of the spoils really."

Motty, by John Motson is published by Virgin Books, priced £7.99.