Geoffrey Twentyman (born 10 March 1959) is an English former professional footballer, who later became the main sports presenter for BBC Radio Bristol and

BBC Radio Somerset BBC Radio Somerset is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Somerset. It broadcasts on FM, AM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios in the Blackbrook area of Taunton. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly au ...

. The son of former Liverpool player Geoff Twentyman, Geoff Jr. began his career as a trainee at his father's club, but after failing to make the grade there he played for Formby before being sold on to

Chorley Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth came pr ...

for around £1,000 and from there to

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

. After making 98 league appearances for Preston, scoring four goals, he was released by the Lancashire club, and was signed by Bristol Rovers. He was taken to Rovers by Bobby Gould, and was later managed by

Gerry Francis Gerald Charles James Francis (born 6 December 1951) is an English former footballer and manager. Playing career Francis made his first team debut for Queens Park Rangers against Liverpool in March 1969. He was captain and central midfield play ...

, playing a total of 252 league games, scoring six goals, and made a Wembley appearance in the final of the

Associate Members' Cup The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Le ...

in 1990. Twentyman began coaching youth football with Brimsham Green F.C. in Yate shortly after moving to Bristol, and is now the club's honorary president. When Francis left Rovers in 1991, Twentyman applied for the vacant manager's job, but was not appointed. After the end of his playing career he studied at

Bristol Polytechnic The University of the West of England (also known as UWE Bristol) is a public research university, located in and around Bristol, England. The institution was know as the Bristol Polytechnic in 1970; it received university status in 1992 and ...

and then joined Radio Bristol as a sports journalist. In 1993, he became the sports editor of Radio Bristol. When Ian Holloway became the manager of Bristol Rovers in 1996, Twentyman joined him as assistant manager. The job was not to his liking and he returned to his previous job in 1997. On 22 June 2008, he played for Bristol Rovers in the inaugural Western Masters, where the team finished third of the four teams competing. In late 2015, it was announced that Twentyman would leave the Drivetime show he had been presenting on Radio Bristol and instead present a nightly sports show every weekday between 6-7pm, in addition to his presenting duties on Saturday Sport. On 11 April 2023, it was announced that Twentyman would be leaving the BBC after three decades. His last programme was aired on 22 May 2023.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Twentyman, Geoff 1959 births Living people English men's footballers Men's association football defenders English Football League players Formby F.C. players Chorley F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Yate Town F.C. players Linfield F.C. players NIFL Premiership players British sports broadcasters BBC people Alumni of the University of the West of England, Bristol Footballers from Liverpool Radio presenters from Liverpool