The FA Cup match between Arsenal and Aston Villa featured the unbelievable collapse of Villa and the unintelligible rambling of announcer Martin Tyler.

I offer the following transcript of some of Martin Tyler’s first half play-by-play with words that were understood and portions that were indecipherable (noted as ???)

Uh pessed into service.
. . . in the end (???)
(???) Arsenal making sure . . .
(???) past few days.
(???) against Arsenal.
(???) at the near post.
. . . have been (???) the domestic cup.
(???) from right back.
Walcott is in (???).
(???) Mertesacker.
Van Persie been (???) the corner.
A big (???) by the Villa . . .
American (???).
(???) play (???) Walcott.
(???) because after the game . . .
(???) sitting and watching.
(???) the Ramsey’s and the . . .
(???) always the . . .
. . . footwork (???) the goal keeper.
(???) the Bent.
(???) by Van Persie.
. . . taking on the two (???) of them
(???) shift on the basis of (???) on the team.
(???) do get it right.
(???) to that. Premier League regulations.
In the Cup (???).
(???) just checking back.
(???) in the first half
. . . in the (???) of Shay Given.

The examples above were just from the first half, a time when Tyler talked about a legendary broadcaster who set fire to his suit and said the other person might have tried to stop a career before it started.

In past blog comments, many disagree with my opinion of Tyler. They say Tyler is venerated as one of England’s premier announcers. That is as difficult to understand as Tyler himself. This American loves the work of nearly all of England’s football announcers, including Ian Darke, Jon Champion, Steve Banyard, Jon Champion, Peter Drury, Gary Lineker, Guy Mowbray, and Gary Taphouse.

Martin Tyler may be a wonderful gentlemen who once was at the top of the broadcasting world. But now, many sentences begin with mumbled words while other sentences either have indecipherable words or trail off with no clue of what was said. He seems to be a man who has lost what made him good.