The classified results still gave fans joy – even if we all knew the scores

It doesn’t take much for a media storm to brew. Take something traditional, ditch it without giving any notice and stand back to assess the damage. Removing the classified football results from the BBC Sports Report programme at 5pm on a Saturday was always going to set teeth gnashing up and down the country.

I know I’m possibly a dinosaur who should let go of things like this, but I’m still trying to get over the loss of Teletext, so cut me some slack. Yes, we all have access to football results at our fingertips now. Personally I love the fact that checking the latest scores when out and about has progressed since the 1980s. But there is surely still a space for something as cherished as the classified football results.

People may argue that hardly anyone listens to the results on Sports Report anymore, and that everyone knows the scores when they return to their various modes of transport after a match. If everyone who has been complaining about the culling of this service actually listened at 5pm on a Saturday, it would be the most popular radio slot since we all used to listen to the Top 40 countdown in the 1980s.

But the response speaks volumes about the decision. For some of us, listening to the football results is part of the Saturday football experience. My son, mum and I have season tickets at Boreham Wood. We often return to the car at 5pm, listen to that famous Sports Report theme and begin the journey home listening to the classified results.

Apparently there is not enough time to read the scores between 5pm and the 5.30pm kick-offs that the BBC have acquired rights for on a Saturday. Really? It takes about five minutes to get through the list of matches. You don’t need to worry about giving out the score