SCIENTISTS think it's all over - it is now. They have worked out that John Motson has the perfect voice for sports commentary.

Researchers found the former BBC television and now Radio 5 commentator, known for his trademark sheepskin coat, has twice the voice range of an average person, speaks at double the speed and can be both twice as loud or as soft as is usual.

Speech experts analysed the vocal patterns of eight of the nation's favourite television and radio commentators to come up with the first ever voice blueprint for perfect commentary.

They studied the voice patterns of Motson, Barry Davies, Martin Tyler, Jon Champion, Alan Parry, Clive Tyldesley, Alan Green, and Jonathan Pearce.

They found that Motson, who, before leaving for Radio 5 was the BBC's commentator on Match of the Day and regularly covered the FA cup final for the station, topped the commentators' league with a pitch of six; overall loudness of two; loudness variability of six; rhythm of six, tone of four and constriction of two. This gave Motson, known as the ''voice of football'', a total vocal profile score of 30, which is 11 points above the score of a person with a normal speaking voice.

Other commentators had vocal profiles of between 12 and 22, leaving Motson the clear winner.

Jane Comins, a speech therapist at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in London, said: ''Close analysis of the commentators' voices showed many similarities in their capacity to inspire enthusiasm, trust and excitement.

''But John Motson has the biggest impact on fans, simply due to the use of his voice.''

The research into the speech patterns of football commentators was commissioned by Barclaycard, sponsors of the FA Premier League.

It found that Alan Green, of BBC Radio 5, is the romeo of the commentary world, with an intimate quality to his voice tone that oozes sex appeal.

Clive Tyldesley, ITV's top commentator after the late Brian Moore hung up his microphone at the end of the 1998 World Cup, expertly squeezes and constricts his voice to convey emotions.

Both Tyldesley and Barry Davies, of the BBC, may have come under fire from Scottish fans for their perceived pro-English bias, but they both use their expertise in the use of their voice to enhance their commentary, according to the research.

Davies, now in his sixties, is one of television's most experienced commentators and uses rhythm and tone to project excitement.

Jonathan Pearce, of Capital Radio and Channel 5, combines loudness with rate and creates a harsh sound by tightening his larynx, sounding like a passionate fan in contrast to Jon Champion, of the ITV, who uses rhythmic patterns instead of rising volume to build drama.

Martin Tyler and Alan Parry, Sky's main football commentators, adopt completely different techniques to report on games.

While Tyler relaxes his larynx, making him sound calm and confident, Parry maintains a strong speed and rhythm and would also make a top racing commentator.

To back their theory, researchers asked 1000 football supporters to name their favourite commentator.

The fans' view supported the experts' analysis with 32% choosing Motson as their favourite man on the microphone, with people singling out his enthusiasm, knowledge and honesty.

The commendation came in the week that he celebrates 30 years behind the microphone.

Nic Gault, sponsorship director for Barclaycard, said: ''It's official - John Motson is scientifically proven to be the king of commentators.

''We are now in discussions with John to undertake an analysis of his sheepskin coat.''