Match of the Day host Kelly Cates: Insiders reveal all about Gary Lineker's replacement - Graeme Souness as a baby-sitter, a footballing education from Liverpool legends and why she doesn't use her famous father's name
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Warmth: the word keeps arising during conversations about Kelly Cates and is used as a barometer of her ability to convey the importance of a situation. It tends to centre around one specific incident, too. It involves Liverpool – some will immediately assume it couldn’t involve anyone else, given who her father is – but illustrates why she is one of the leading sports broadcasters in the business, one with impeccable judgment.
![[Cates will split presenting duties for the flagship show with Gabby Logan and Mark Chapman]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/17/00/93214671-14199023-image-a-29_1734393929336.jpg)
On the night of July 22, 2020, Liverpool were to be crowned Premier League champions. The raging Covid pandemic meant Anfield was practically empty but after Chelsea had been beaten 5-3, Jurgen Klopp’s squad were intent on celebrating this long-overdue success.
![[The trio will try to fill the void of Gary Lineker on a show that is effectively national property]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/17/00/93214703-14199023-image-a-30_1734393967640.jpg)
There was tickertape and fireworks but Klopp had media obligations to fulfil and was placed in front of Cates as a rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone started. Time is precious in these high-pressured situations, every word and second counts, but the lady with the microphone saw the bigger picture.
![[Cates (right) has been praised for her 'warmth' and 'football knowledge' as a presenter]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/17/00/93215689-14199023-image-a-46_1734395803849.jpg)
‘Jurgen,’ she said, as Klopp looked to find some words of his own. ‘Come back to us when you are ready. Go and enjoy the moment with your squad.’. It takes nerve and courage to break away from the running order of a live production but Cates possesses those qualities – and many more – in abundance. It’s why she has climbed to the top of her profession. And it is why she will soon be a regular on our screens through Match of the Day.
![[Cates is the daughter of Sir Kenny Dalglish but she has forged her career in her own right]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/17/00/93215075-14199023-image-m-35_1734394260833.jpg)
