He sliced the ball when he had it on a plate.

Another famous line regularly heard during Ron's 1990s ITV football pundit work was exclaiming in disbelief at a miss stating "you would have put your mortgage on him (the player) scoring there". He also managed to upset many Forest fans following an 8–1 defeat at home to Manchester United when he stated in an interview after the game that his team had given the fans a "nine-goal thriller". This however has not diminiRon Atkinsond the condemnation he has received from anti-racist groups and the public at large who question whether Atkinson would have resigned had the comment not been accidentally broadcast and note that it was not the first time he had used racist language.

He is perhaps most famous for his idiosyncratic turn of phrase: his utterances have become known as "Big-Ronisms" or "Ronglish". In recent years he has become one of Britain's best-known football pundits.