{"id":256505,"date":"2025-11-11T09:02:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T09:02:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/256505\/"},"modified":"2025-11-11T09:02:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T09:02:08","slug":"chris-lumsdon-on-his-exit-from-bbc-radio-cumbria-carlisle-united-role","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/256505\/","title":{"rendered":"Chris Lumsdon on his exit from BBC Radio Cumbria Carlisle United role"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n The former Blues midfielder recently confirmed<\/a> that his 13-year spell as the station\u2019s main United co-commentator had come to an end.\n<\/p>\n

\n Speaking about the move for the first time, Lumsdon told the News & Star that a \u201cpolitical\u201d social media post had brought things to a head, with the 45-year-old saying he was told by the BBC that it was inappropriate to have shared the post by another Instagram account. It is understood to have referred to the recent killing of a man in London.\n<\/p>\n

\n Yet the ex-United favourite says he was planning to step down soon anyway, respects the corporation\u2019s decision \u2013 and wants to put on record his appreciation for all his time working with Radio Cumbria.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cThere are no hard feelings at all,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI\u2019ve always been freelance, I\u2019ve never had a contract with the BBC and I\u2019ve always been on the front foot with my views, whether that be football, politics or whatever.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cEveryone\u2019s different and everyone\u2019s affected differently by things going on in the world. If I feel I want to post something, or share something that I agree with, I\u2019m going to do it.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI respect the BBC\u2019s stance, and I get their point of view. It hasn\u2019t aligned with their policies, and that\u2019s fair enough. When they came to me with it, my view was that I back myself and I\u2019m going to stand by my morals seven days a week \u2013 and I\u2019d do the same thing tomorrow.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n Lumsdon has been the station\u2019s summariser at United games alongside commentator James Phillips, and has also regularly contributed in other ways, such as on the popular ‘Carlisle Social’ podcast hosted by Paul Newton.\n<\/p>\n

\n Yet the former player, who was part of two promotion-winning teams during his spell with the club between 2004 and 2009, said he was finding the commitments of the co-commentary job an increasing challenge.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cBefore all this, I was starting to think a certain way,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI\u2019ve got a six-year-old daughter and people sometimes don\u2019t understand with the job that you\u2019re away on Friday at 4.30pm and not back in the house until 1.30am on Sunday.\n<\/p>\n

\n The former Blues midfielder had spent 13 years as Radio Cumbria’s co-commentator on United games (Image: Barbara Abbott)\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cIt might be different if it\u2019s your main job but for me it\u2019s basically been a hobby. To dedicate yourself for like 13 years to that means I\u2019ve missed a lot of family stuff, and I\u2019ve always dug deep because you’re always thinking the next season is going to be the good one.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cAs much as it’s been great to be part of it, and being able to go to different grounds and feel the adrenaline of the game, it\u2019s that period after the game when people have turned their radio off and you\u2019re still there, and you\u2019ve got the journey home to face, the adrenaline’s running out of you\u00a0and before you know it it’s another weekend gone where\u00a0you’ve not really lived.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cAs much as I\u2019ve loved it, I just want a break from it now.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n Lumsdon says he has a great appreciation for his time working with the BBC and the opportunity they gave him after he retired as a player.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI might not have realised it at the time, but I needed it,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cComing out of football and then jumping straight back into it on the radio was important for me.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cIf it hadn\u2019t come about, I might not be living in Carlisle now, bringing up my daughter here, having a business in the area and working for a successful business too.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI\u2019ve got a lot to thank it for \u2013 and I want to thank Paul and James. I\u2019ll never have a fall-out with them. We\u2019ve been through a hell of a lot in 13 years. You can probably write a book about the away trips, the journeys we\u2019ve had, the meals we\u2019ve had \u2013 you could write the opposite to a Michelin Guide about what we\u2019ve eaten\u2026\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cPaul stuck with me when I was horrendous at the start \u2013 and with James, we\u2019ve had 13 years of driving together, tantrums and tears.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cReally, in the beginning before we had families, we were 30-odd-year-old kids, going around the country, commentating on football without a care in the world.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cBut you have to have a care in the world now. The world is changing in many ways \u2013 how you describe a player, how you describe people, even their attributes.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cThere were times I\u2019d feel after a game that if I played safe, I\u2019d get home and there wouldn\u2019t be any pull-ups. But that\u2019s not how I want to do commentary. I don\u2019t want to be looking over my shoulder, waking up to an email.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI want to do it off the cuff and say it how I say it. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve really fallen out with a player over those 13 years. They\u2019ve always said, \u2018You\u2019re honest\u2019.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cAs a pundit I\u2019ve tried to go at it and go to town as much as I could. I know what Carlisle United can be like when it\u2019s rocking and when it\u2019s run in the best way, and when that hasn\u2019t been happening in the 13 years, or the players haven\u2019t been putting in the effort, I\u2019m going to say it.\n<\/p>\n

\n Lumsdon played for United from 2004 to 2009, and was a key part of the 2004\/05 and 2005\/06 promotion-winning teams (Image: LOUISE PORTER)\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cThere have been many times when I\u2019ve been called in by the club and had tickings off, and times when I\u2019ve stood my ground against board members who have felt I\u2019ve been out of order.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cBut life\u2019s short \u2013 you shake hands, I\u2019ve spoken to those board members since and we\u2019ve always been honest. I think pundits who are honest, whether or not it\u2019s going to cause them any grief, are the best ones.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n The BBC have made no public comment on Lumsdon\u2019s departure despite being approached by the News & Star. But his own announcement has, he says, brought a huge amount of messages.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cThey\u2019ve been overwhelming messages,\u201d he adds. \u201cNot just people saying they\u2019ll miss me on the radio, but you don’t actually realise what you’re doing on a Saturday.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI\u2019m getting messages from people saying I was their comfort, that I got them to sleep \u2013 I don\u2019t know whether that was a good thing \u2013 and people have said they\u2019ve grown up with me, that they were kids themselves when I started on the radio, and they have kids of their own now.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI\u2019ve always said I\u2019ve made so many friends along the way, but someone said, \u2018You\u2019ve made so many friends you\u2019ve never even met\u2019.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cThere have been times when a listener has said their son or daughter is in hospital, and I\u2019ve popped in, and they\u2019ve looked at me like I\u2019ve made their day. But they made my day. Things like that made the travelling, the getting home at 1am, all of it, worthwhile.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n Asked if he will miss the radio experience, Lumsdon says: \u201cI\u2019ve been racking my brain about that, but I don’t know.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cThe only thing I missed about playing was the adrenaline in the tunnel.\u00a0When I’m at the match, I get the adrenaline in certain games.\u00a0But that\u2019s not necessarily about the radio.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cIf I’m\u00a0honest, during a few management eras and in a certain regime and a certain director of football, etc, I don’t understand how I stuck it out.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI\u2019ve done my stint, and I’d like to think that, judging by the messages, even if people\u00a0didn’t agree with me they respected me and I respected them.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cMy family who\u2019ve listened over the last 13 years are probably due a break. They\u2019re going to see me a bit more which is a nightmare for them. But honestly speaking, I\u2019ve got a great life \u2013 a great partner, a lovely daughter, supportive parents and, hand on heart, I\u2019m just ready.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n BBC Radio Cumbria last night announced that former Carlisle captain Paul Huntington is joining their team as a new United summariser. Speaking before that announcement, Lumsdon said: \u201cWhoever comes on next, give them a bit of time, because I was terrible at the start.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cAfter 13 years, people probably knew what I was going to say and it\u2019s probably time for a fresh voice.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI can go to the games now and sit with people. That Forest Green game, the reunion [with 2004-06 team-mates] underlined that I want to sit in the stands with my mates now.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cIt might have come six months earlier than I\u2019d planned but I\u2019m comfortable with it. I\u2019m sure the coverage will go from strength to strength and I\u2019m sure the podcast will be fine as well.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cIt\u2019s been an honour. Before the messages and the cuddles I\u2019ve had in the last week or so, you don\u2019t realise how many people you\u2019re talking to. I knew I had a connection with supporters but didn\u2019t realise how deep that was. It was amazing to feel.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The former Blues midfielder recently confirmed that his 13-year spell as the station\u2019s main United co-commentator had come…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":256506,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[218,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-256505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-football","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=256505"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256505\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/256506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=256505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=256505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=256505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}