Praise or Grumble: Football's longest-running phone-in turns 40

For many football fans, tuning into a radio phone-in after full-time - whether it's win, lose or draw - is part of their matchday ritual.

As the longest-running football phone-in, BBC Radio Sheffield's Praise or Grumble has heard more opinions than most.

Inspiration for the format hit on a sun lounger in Cyprus 40 years ago, with the phone-in becoming a staple of football fandom, with dedicated programmes on stations up and down the country attracting listeners in their thousands.

From the heavyweights of talkSPORT and BBC Radio 5 Live's 606 to fan podcasts, supporters phoning in to have their say on the match is now part of our football culture.

As a new season dawns and phone lines are readied to ring off the hook from 17:00, those central to the show over the last four decades look back on its long history.

It was the start of the 1986/87 season - the year Everton became champions of England for the second time in three years and Manchester City and Aston Villa were relegated to the second tier.

Radio Sheffield presenter Robert Jackson was scratching his head thinking of ways to retain listeners after 17:00 on a Saturday.

"I think most sports programmes agree once people know the score of their favourite team or the results had gone they would hit the control and probably put the TV on," the late Jackson recalled in 2016.

Much to the frustration of his wife Mary, Jackson was unable to stop thinking about work during their two-week holiday abroad in 1986.

Despite her less-than-enthusiastic response to his lightbulb moment, the idea for the show in its original form - grumbles only - progressed to the airwaves the following month.

"We are a nation of grumblers," said Jackson. "Most of us grumble far more than we praise.

"If something is very good, we don't say much. But if something goes wrong, we are on it like a tonne of bricks."

The format took off "straight away", according to Jackson.

His producer was tasked with putting through 35 calls in a 30-minute show, meaning callers only had 40 seconds to make their point or risk being cut off.

About six weeks in, a fan rang up intent on speaking positively about their afternoon.

Jackson reluctantly gave him the air time, with the call inspiring a tactical tweak to the show's format.

"Out of his call, we became Praise and Grumble," said Jackson.

Radio Sheffield's patch has no shortage of professional clubs, with Barnsley, Chesterfield, Doncaster, Rotherham, Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday for local fans to choose from.

With the phone lines ringing off the hook as a result, callers later became restricted to one praise or grumble each.

The same format exists today, albeit with more time for people to make their point.

"Ninety percent of calls, without a doubt, probably still are grumble," Jackson said on the show's 30th anniversary in 2016.

"I'd say it's more balanced now," says Rob Staton, who is part of the current Praise or Grumble presenting line-up along with Andy Giddings and Adam Oxley.

Staton considers the show to be as much of a Sheffield institution as steel, the Meadowhall shopping centre, rock band Arctic Monkeys and Henderson's Relish - know to locals simply as Hendo's.

To illustrate this point, a 2008 exhibition by renowned local artist Pete McKee featured a painting titled Praise or Grumble.

The image depicts a man sat at his kitchen table peeling potatoes, with his wife cleaning the dishes. Next to him sits a wireless radio.

A description on McKee's website reads: "Praise or Grumble was the first ever football phone-in: a Sheffield institution that is still going strong today.

"One Saturday a bloke phoned in and praised a joint of meat that he had eaten the previous Sunday – rightly so."

As well as fans, managers have also been known to tune in.

Luke Wileman, who was part of the radio team during the 2000s, recalls then Sheffield United boss Neil Warnock having words with him over what he had heard on the airwaves.

"On a Monday morning I would go to the training ground ahead of a Tuesday game and Warnock would come for me and say he had recorded Praise or Grumble on his cassette player and was listening to it during Sunday lunch," he remembers.

Wileman, now working as a sports presenter in Canada, remembers Warnock's clear instructions: "Don't you dare make me choke on my sprouts again."

In his seven-and-a-half years in charge of the Blades, Warnock had enough ups and downs to dominate more than his fair share of Praise or Grumble shows.

He recalls: "I was driving home and a guy rings up and says: 'Warnock doesn't know what he's doing, tactics are rubbish, he's got to go.'

"They are talking to him and they say: 'You went down to the game today?'

"He says: 'No, I listened to it on the radio.'

"I'm thinking, blinking heck, have we got to put up with that as managers, people who haven't been to the games saying you don't know what you are doing?"

Sheffield-born Warnock, who guided the club back to the Premier League in 2006 after a 12-year absence, added: "I rang up a few times just to say they don't know what they are talking about!"

Still a regular listener from North America, Wileman adds: "There was an interview last year when Chris Wilder came on and said: 'It's a praise, Rob.'

"Paul Sturrock was another one. He used to listen all the time, he loved it. These managers were also listeners and fans."

Praise or Grumble remains one of the most popular shows on Radio Sheffield, with thousands of listeners tuning in after full-time on a Saturday afternoon.

Staton recalls being "really emotional" with pride when he hosted his first show in 2010, due to its impact on football history in the region.

"If you speak to anyone in South Yorkshire or North Derbyshire and say 'Praise or Grumble' they will know what it is," he says.

"You don't have many shows on local radio that have that kind of impact."

Football rivalries aside, the show has been able to build a community of loyal listeners regardless of their allegiances.

"It's a very unique show," Staton says.

"You never quite know who's going to react to what they may have seen.

"I feel like we have a responsibility to try and keep it going, keep it relevant."

Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North