Simon Thomas started his television career at Blue Peter and is now one of the leading presenters at Sky Sports currently presenting the Football League coverage. Not only that but Simon is an avid Norwich supporter. Jack Reeve caught up with Simon to talk about working in sports broadcasting and what lies ahead for Norwich City.
Jack: Hi Simon, thanks for giving up your time today to talk to me.
Simon: It’s not a problem Jack.
J: When you first started in the world of television did you ever expect to come this far?
S: If I’m being absolutely honest, no. I dreamt about it and I aimed for it but as everybody knows who goes into this business it’s immensely competitive. At that stage there was very few ways to get yourself noticed, there are far more avenues now to get noticed than there was back then. It was really tough when I first came out of university, I can remember writing two hundred letters to companies trying to get a job as a runner and making endless show reel tapes. From university it took four years to get to Blue Peter and I feel you can only chase a dream for so long, but through hard work and dedication I finally got there.
J: What would you say is the best way to approaching well respected people in the business when asking for help?
S: It depends on what you want to do but I would always recommend building a portfolio and getting as much work done as you possibly can, that way when you get a job interview you will have reams of work you can show the employer. If you want to be a sports reporter then maybe just write a report on the game and put in online, you might not get many views at all but over time it shows you have a long sustained interest and you haven’t just woken up and thought I want to be a sports reporter. When the opportunity does come, and they don’t come very often, you know you can grab it with both hands and have the experience and the body of work to be confident.
J: Who have been the best people to work with whilst at Sky Sports?
S: I loved working with Georgie Thompson, she was very good fun. When you are working as a pair it’s very important that you get on and also understand where each other is coming from. A lot of people think Sky Sports News is just sitting and reading auto-cue all day but if a news story breaks there is no auto cue for that and you have to be able to cope and react quickly. Working with her we both knew each other’s strengths and there was no ego between the two of us either.
J: What are the best tips you would give to a young person looking peruse a successful career in sports broadcasting?
S: You’re going to need lots of perseverance to get there as you will more than likely suffer a lot of knockbacks; it’s all about how you come back from them. Enthusiasm is a huge asset to have as well; you really have to love what you do. Sport for some people is their life; you have to have that enthusiasm to be able to show you love your job.
J: On to a Norwich front now, you obviously have a lot of knowledge in the championship so what are the key things we need to do to bounce straight back up?
S: The big thing will be that we don’t have relegation hangover, there have been some teams that have come down recently such as Blackburn and Bolton and it’s taken them some time to build some momentum to try and bounce back up. A lot of teams who come down really struggle to get back up at the first time of asking, it’s very tough to get used to the Championship, it’s 46 games and extremely relentless. Not many people expect us to get four, five wins under our belt at the start but what you don’t want to do is have a really poor start. The scar of relegation can have a big impact on a team but you can’t let that effect you as you can lose ground very quickly in the Championship.
J: You’ve seen a lot of Lewis Grabban, does he look like a player who can do well at Norwich?
S: Definitely, twenty-six goals last season speaks for itself. He is twenty-six years old so we are getting him at the prime of his career. The Championship is a physical and relentless league and you need someone who has had recent experience of the league, Lewis ticks all the boxes and should be a great player for Norwich.
J: We’ve had a quiet transfer window so far, do you think we need to strengthen to get promoted next season?
S: I would like to see a central defender come into the club. I think we have the squad to really challenge next season though. You look at our team at the moment and think it’s a very strong squad, but it’s all about who we can keep. We’re more than likely going to have a few players leave and then you are suddenly left with a decent Championship squad but nothing outstanding. On paper, we have the strike force but I’m just wondering if after last season’s poor show and just 17 goals at home that may have an impact.
J: Where do you think Norwich will be in five years’ time?
S: I have to be honest I think we will be in the Championship for a few seasons, in five years though I can see us being in the premier league in a stronger position than we were last time we were there. The club is in a secure financial position now; we just have to get it right on the field.
