An appreciation of Ray Hudson: The mental commentator that Lionel Messi’s magic deserves

Have you ever heard of Ray Hudson?

If you've ever tuned into beIN Sports you may have heard a hollering Englishman accompany an American commentator as they call, more often than not, Barcelona games. Hudson is quite well known in the footballing world, with nearly 85,000 followers on Twitter and it is not hard to see why. Have a listen to how the former Newcastle United and Fort Lauderdale Strikers players describes Lionel Messi’s last-minute goal from last night below. https://twitter.com/ffsStudge/status/856253727757488128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.breakingnews.ie%2Fsport%2Fheres-the-bizarre-american-tv-commentary-for-messis-clasico-winner-786891.html “Again, the medicine man arrives and sinks his flaming spear into the hearts of Real Madrid.” -  Eh, what? “Messi, you could drop a tarantula into his shorts and he’ll still be cool.” Ray loves Messi, he really does. Here are just a couple of gems that he has come out with in his day. https://twitter.com/DarraghCulhane/status/856472279986950144 "Whenever you need a fireman, Messi is the man to call", he'll probably stick to the football Ray but who knows? Retirement is looming after all. https://twitter.com/DarraghCulhane/status/856473416098082816 "He gets his angles better than isosceles again." "Better balanced than a big Greek belly dancer." "They convene on him like cheetahs on a gazelle." Leaving Cert poetry would struggle to have metaphors as good as these. https://twitter.com/DarraghCulhane/status/856474196775489536 "He uses the upright as his reference point like Minnesota Fats on a pool table" If you didn't know, Minnesota Fats was a legendary pool hustler. And now for a personal favourite. https://twitter.com/DarraghCulhane/status/856475472498130945 "Defenders try to follow him on Facebook and he comes out on Twitter, that's how evasive he is." Never ever change Ray, never change.