By Mark Heath and Dave GooderhamLEGENDARY football commentator John Motson has revealed he is to buy shares in Ipswich Town.The Match of the Day veteran, affectionately known as “Motty” to millions of football fans, said the gesture had been sparked by his long association with the area.

By Mark Heath and Dave Gooderham

LEGENDARY football commentator John Motson has revealed he is to buy shares in Ipswich Town.

The Match of the Day veteran, affectionately known as “Motty” to millions of football fans, said the gesture had been sparked by his long association with the area.

He was educated at Culford School, near Bury St Edmunds, and owns a holiday home in the county.

“I have agreed to buy a small number of shares. I was sorry to hear that Ipswich had gone through a bad patch and when I heard there was an opportunity to make an investment, I went for it,” said Mr Motson.

“I won't say how much I have spent, but it's not that much - I just wanted to make a small gesture and help out when the club is in a time of need.”

He added: “It basically came about through my long association and affection for the club, going back to my school days.

“I used to go and watch Ipswich play back in the 50s and 60s and I have retained quite a few friends there over the years.”

Ipswich Town spokesman, Terry Baxter, said they would not comment on any individual investment, but added: “We are particularly pleased to hear from anybody who feels able to support the club share issue.”

Meanwhile, the entrepreneur behind an ambitious plan to pump millions of pounds into Ipswich Town has revealed he will be waiting to see how the club's share issue unravels before deciding on his next step.

Self-made millionaire Colin Davey has met with Blues chairman, David Sheepshanks, and chief executive, Derek Bowden, to discuss potential sponsorship, joint ventures and investment.

Mr Davey, 38, from Bury St Edmunds, said: “The meeting went really well and I was really impressed with both Mr Sheepshanks and Mr Bowden.

“I was very impressed with the set-up and everyone at Ipswich seems to be working for the club and have the club at heart.”

Mr Davey, who made his money from a betting tips premium rate phone line, is planning to sell his companies, valued at £100million, in February and hopes the cash could pave the way to fulfilling his boyhood dream of owning a professional club.

Having initially wanted a place on the board, Mr Davey said he now hoped one of the Town directors will step down, although he admitted he would bide his time.

“I now need to think of a way I can help myself and Ipswich Town. Whether that is a place on the board or just putting some money in, I feel we can come up with something that will be very interesting,” he added.

“I will now be looking at the situation with my lawyers and my advisers, but the first thing I thought when I left the meeting was that I want to own this football club.”

Mr Davey continued: “I will wait and see how the share issue goes as I don't want to detrimentally affect the share issue.

“I don't want people thinking it is not worth investing in the club because they see me talking about investing big figures.

“I also want to see how Ipswich do this season. I genuinely want them to go up, but if they don't get promoted, I feel I could be an asset to the club.”

Mr Sheepshanks said the meeting with Mr Davey had been “constructive”.