Football reached for the Sky and 1,000 games on is still on a massive high

Richard Keys, Andy Gray and the rest of the Sky team celebrate their 1,000th live top-flight game on Thursday night as Tottenham face Blackburn.

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They have been there every step of the way since the network stole the rights from ITV for £304m in May 1992 and transformed viewing habits by showing 60 live games a season (instead of ITV's 18) and adding a two-hour studio build-up and complementary programming such as "The Boot Room".

"We were desperate to make it work, as so many people thought it wouldn't," said Keys. "I even remember Sir Alex Ferguson saying he had his doubts.

"It's funny looking back but in no way was our future cut and dried. There was a clause in the deal which said that if we didn't offer a quality production we could lose the rights. It added to our determination to be great."

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Alongside Keys, then better known for his days on the TV-am sofa than his previous life as a sports journalist, Sky needed a football face and outspoken former Scotland striker Gray fitted the bill.

"Andy would say he was suspicious of me at the start, as he only knew me from TV-am talking about women's problems — not exactly his area of expertise!," said Keys.

"But he's grown into a really good buddy and he's rewritten the book in terms of studio analysis."

Will Keys, 50, be around to present the 2,000th Premier League game, possibly sometime around 2020?

"We'll see," he said. "What I'd like is for us all to stay together for many years to come and leave records for broadcasts which can't be broken."

1. Liverpool 4 Newcastle 3 (3.4.96)

Simply the best live Premier League match we've ever shown. Afterwards Andy said: "I have just watched the match of the decade." He was right — and some.

Both teams were challenging for the title and there was a goal in the first minute and also the last minute. After Stan Collymore had the final say, our match director Tony Mills cut to that famous shot of Kevin Keegan slumped on the match hoarding. We knew that night they had gone.

2. Leeds 0 Newcastle 1 (29.4.96)

The night Keegan lost it. It was getting tense between him and Alex Ferguson, who had wound him up.

As Kevin started talking after the match, I sensed something was going to come out. "I'll tell you honestly, I'd love it if we beat them, love it!" he said. That reignited the race.

3. Final day of the season (14.5.95)

People still talk to me about this afternoon — D-Day between Blackburn and Manchester United, who had been battling away for weeks. We wanted to show the whole drama. But how to do it?

It was before the red button, so, for the first time, we offered "picture in picture" so the viewers could see both matches at once.

Andy Cole should have had a hat-trick for United but had a nightmare. Jamie Redknapp then bent in a free-kick to give Liverpool a 2-1 win over Blackburn, while United drew 1-1 at West Ham.

Blackburn fans in the crowd thought they'd lost it, then started celebrating their first Premier League title.

4. Nottingham Forest 1 Liverpool 0 (16.8.92)

Our first live Premier League match. It was a really hot day. "Never mind son," I said to Andy. "Give it three months and we'll be freezing!"

We still say that every season. We didn't have that many rights in those days, so we made the most of what we had — hence the two-hour build-up. We needed a goal and Teddy Sheringham obliged.

5. Newcastle 0 Manchester United 1 (4.3.96)

Newcastle were fantastic, we called them "the entertainers". Having been 12 points clear, this changed everything for them. They were amazing but Peter Schmeichel stopped whatever they threw at him.

The stakes were huge — a Newcastle win would surely mean the title. But United had big-game players and, in Eric Cantona, a match winner.

6. Southampton 2 Newcastle 1 (24.10.93)

It includes my all-time favourite goal from our live games, scored by Matt Le Tissier. So much happened in such a small passage of time.

He flicked the ball up with his heel, chipped it round one defender, then over another before sidefooting it into the corner. A magical goal from a magical player.

7. Newcastle 5 Manchester United 0 (20.10.96)

A total demolition, capped by a sublime chip from Phillipe Albert over Peter Schmeichel.

But the thing I remember the most was Sir John Hall coming on after the game and telling the millions watching that they had just been watching the champions. He was right, of course, but it was the wrong United.

8. Leeds 4 Liverpool 3 (4.11.00)

A heavyweight tussle which turned into a cracker. Mark Viduka hit four goals to turn the game on its head as Leeds came back from going 2-0 down in 18 minutes.

No one gave a quarter and all seven goals were good in a clash between clubs with little affection for each other. Liverpool deserve to have gone closer to the Premiership over the years, it still feels surprising they've never won it.

9. Bolton 0 Chelsea 2 (30.4.05)

How can I ignore Chelsea? Jose Mourinho has been like a breath of fresh air, we definitely need characters like him.

The Reebok was jumping that day and two goals from Frank Lampard sealed it. To see Chelsea win the title was refreshing, a new name on the trophy was a positive thing for the Premier League.

10. Coventry 2 Aston Villa 1 (22.11.99)

People won't care about this game, or even remember it. But for Coventry fans like me it was special, especially coming against Andy's old team.

Robbie Keane was outstanding for us — he got the winner — and it was just lovely to beat them. Villa irritated Andy that day and I left the ground smiling.