Author Archives: FWA News Editor

St George’s Day Delivery for Vauxhall from Stuart Pearce

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Stuart Pearce made a special delivery to a Vauxhall Retailer on St George’s Day to launch England’s new training kit for the European Championship.

Pearce, who was appointed the Interim England Manager in February, hand delivered the new Umbro England training kit to Vauxhall Retailer Pentagon in Burton in a Luton-built Vivaro van.

Vauxhall, the England Team Sponsor, has an agreement to promote merchandise and sell the new St George Flag inspired England collection from St George’s Day until the general release on the 4th of May.

With St George’s Park tailored by Umbro, the new National Football centre, due to open in Burton in August Pentagon was regarded as the ideal location to launch the merchandise agreement.

The Interim England Manager said; “I am delighted to hand over the new Umbro England training kit to Vauxhall.

“Burton will play a pivotal role in the future of English football with the opening of St George’s Park later this summer and what better place to launch this initiative on St George’s Day.”

Duncan Aldred, Chairman and Managing Director of Vauxhall, added; “I’d like to thank Stuart for taking time out of his busy schedule to hand deliver the England training kit.

“Football and cars remain two of the country’s biggest passions and we are all looking forward to an exciting summer of football in Poland and the Ukraine.”

Nick Locker, General Manager at Pentagon Burton, said; “It is a huge honour for us to welcome Stuart Pearce to Burton and we are very excited about the merchandise opportunity with the new England collection.

“Stuart is an iconic figure in the Midlands and we have a number of excited Nottingham Forest fans who have been looking forward to meeting him today and we wish him and the England team every success for the future.”

Vauxhall was announced as the England Team Sponsor in January 2010 in a sponsorship deal that runs until the end of the World Cup in Brazil in 2014.

There is a wide selection of England football merchandise available at www.vauxhallmerchandise.co.uk

For more information on Vauxhall sponsorship of England and the other Home Nations go to www.vauxhallfootball.co.uk

My Week: Sam Wallace

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Sam Wallace, football correspondent of the Independent, on a banned electronic cigarette…punny man Shaun Custis…and writing a column sitting on the floor of a crowded train…

MONDAY 16 APRIL
The week really began yesterday, at Wembley for the Chelsea v Tottenham FA Cup semi-final. Sunday is always a big day for live action. On Monday, I talk to my sports editor Matt Gatward about the week ahead and Saturday’s paper, which is important. We talk a lot over the course of any normal day, which I am sure is the best thing about the job for Matt.
Matt and his deputy Marc Padgett run the department with considerable grace under pressure. The sports desk staff produces the Independent and the i newspaper sports pages, every day. Occasionally they are permitted a day off.

That evening is Wigan against Arsenal at the Emirates. Eight minutes in, Arsenal are two goals down and this has become a big story. I mention on Twitter that Arsenal have confirmed Wigan’s away support is the smallest-ever at the Emirates. Usually, making a comment perceived as criticising a club’s support would be to invite torrents of abuse. There is barely a reaction. I mention this to my press box counterparts. “It’s a victimless crime,” observes The Times’ Rory Smith.

Arsenal lose. Arsene Wenger announces that Jack Wilshere is out of Euro 2012. It is a busy night.

TUESDAY 17 APRIL
Under Roberto Di Matteo, Chelsea’s Champions League pre-match press conferences have been moved back to 6.45pm. Given that our newspaper’s first edition deadline is 7.30pm at the absolute latest, this presents problems. It gives me little time for the 1,000-word inside piece and the 800-back page lead. But getting it done in time is all part of the fun.

Matt Lawton of the Daily Mail asks Pep Guardiola the big question about whether he could see himself managing Chelsea one day. Unfortunately it’s a bit of an anti-climax because Guardiola misunderstands the question, which is a surprise because Lawton’s Catalan is excellent.

The format for official Uefa press conferences is terrible. You have to wait for a microphone to ask a question, then there is a translation and then the answer and then more translation and then a Uefa official grabs the microphone off you. It’s like trying to have a conversation with someone on a time-lapse telephone line.
Both pieces have to be tinkered with for the second edition. As I leave Stamford Bridge I walk past the old wooden matchday sign on the Fulham Broadway. It announces “Next opponents: Barcelona”. It really is a privilege to cover these games.

WEDNESDAY 18 APRIL
There should be some respite during the day because the paper will ultimately be full of the live action from the night’s game. My last option for a Saturday interview falls through. My colleague Ian Herbert comes to the rescue. He is going to see Shaun Derry, which works out to be an excellent piece.

The Stamford Bridge press room is packed. Roy Keane, an ITV pundit, is eating a slice of pizza with the same intense expression he once confronted opponents. Michael Regan, the award-winning (so he tells me) Getty photographer, mentions that some of his fellow snappers began queuing for their pitchside places at 2pm.

My colleague James Lawton is told by a Chelsea steward that smoking is prohibited in the stadium. Jim points out that after years of loyalty to Marlboro he is actually smoking an electronic cigarette. The steward is still insistent. It has to go. Jim shakes his head in disbelief. When he started covering football, the players smoked more than the reporters.
The game that night lives up to all expectations. I think Chelsea are excellent. It is an engrossing match.

As the final whistle goes I can hear Shaun Custis of the Sun shouting at me from across the press box. I don’t need to look up from my laptop to know what he’s on about. He’s telling me he’s going to write another match report intro punning on Didier Drogba’s name. Shaun has written more Drogba puns than any person in the English-speaking world. I just hope he doesn’t make a Drog’s dinner of this one.

THURSDAY 19 APRIL
The big games these days get three days of coverage in the newspaper. There is more to follow-up from the game. Drogba’s contract, for instance. He is a free agent at the end of the season.

That evening, I notice a tweet from the BBC reporter Rob Bonnet including quotes from Phil Gartside, the Bolton Wanderers chairman and Football Association board member, who has been interviewed for the following day’s Today programme. Gartside has endorsed Harry Redknapp as England manager. He is the first FA board member to do so. We manage to get a story into our final edition that goes at about 12.30am.

No decent reporter would ever rely on Twitter wholesale, but it can be an excellent way of monitoring what the opposition are up to.

FRIDAY 20 APRIL
Off to Arsenal’s training ground for Arsene Wenger’s weekly press conference. It is also the time of the week when I start to think about my Monday column which has to be written at some point over the weekend, but before the game I am covering on the Sunday.

A decent column has to have a coherent argument. Failing that, an incoherent argument. But it has to say something. Some weeks it is obvious what the column should be, others less so. It occurs to me that I have more ideas for the ‘My Week’ feature requested of me by Chris Davies at the FWA than I have for my column. This is a worry.

Wenger speaks to television and radio reporters first and then separately to the newspaper reporters. He is the kind of man who is always supposed to be in a rush but who answers questions as if he could talk all day. My bet is that he relishes the fierce intellectual jousts he has with us. Or perhaps we just amuse him.

My deadly rival John Cross, from the Daily Mirror, asks Wenger who he is going to vote for in the French presidential elections. I make a mental note that Crossy is probably working on a major, in-depth piece on French politics – in all likelihood, for the New Yorker magazine or something similar.

SATURDAY 21 APRIL
It surprises people when I tell them that Saturday is my day off. As a general rule, I do not work for the Independent on Sunday so this is my one free day. I unwind by drawing the blinds and working my way through a stack of DVDs of games from Germany’s lower leagues that I borrowed from Wenger. That is untrue. I spend the day with my family.

SUNDAY 22 APRIL
I get the 8.20am Virgin train from Euston to Manchester for United’s home game with Everton. I would much rather drive but I have yet to write my Monday column. The train is packed. Like many other passengers, I spend the journey sat on the floor. All of us agree this is outrageous. The ticket inspector arrives. No-one makes a complaint.

The game is another low-key affair: a 4-4 draw with two late goals for Everton that re-ignite the title race. On the return trip I decide to explore the generosity of the Independent expenses department by getting a £15 first class upgrade.

The first-class carriage is full of people who have been on corporate junkets at Old Trafford. One of them, an American, complains that half-time was not long enough for him to get a beer. Why is it not half an hour, he asks?

It should be said that the vast majority of football fans who email me or get in touch on Twitter are so knowledgeable about the game that they pick me up on the smallest mistake, and occasionally in a good-natured fashion.

The following day involves an early flight to Barcelona for the return leg. I never lose sight of how fortunate I am to attend these games. But, as with all my fellow reporters, it is all about the quality of the work produced. Most of all, I want to do a good job.

Liberty Stadium facilities report

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Brian Scovell reports on our Facilities Committee visit to Swansea City FC on April 17, 2012…

Tony Hudd and I visited the highly impressive Liberty Stadium on a very windy day and we concluded that many of the Barclays Premier League clubs have yet to match its standards. For example, the two press boxes are on the half-way line – the 52-seater higher up and the other one, which has more than 40 working stations along a wide corridor, on a lower level – whereas more clubs are now placing their corporate boxes on the halfway line.

Jonathan Wilsher, the chief press officer, told us a separate entrance, near the VIP entrance, is to built for the media for next season 12 metres from the press room which is perfectly adequate. However, the press room which includes the interview section, is be extended by six metres at the opposite end to accommodate more working spaces. The club are upgrading the standard of the hot meals and refreshments. And the room will be decorated with pictures, memorabilia etc.

A wall or fence, will be installed behind the 40+ working stations to prevent spectators leaning over to read the writers’ copy and engaging in conversation. This area is on the first floor – a top class viewing spot – and no spectators can obstruct the view. There are separate mixed zones with the away team leaving from a different part of the stand.

Extra parking spaces are planned but there is a park and ride from a bigger car park five minutes’ walk away. We learned that the players have been training on astroturf in recent months which might explain why their passing is so Barcelona style! A new grass surface is being used for next season. Ospreys Rugby Club share the stadium and there was no damage to the playing pitch, a tribute to the ground staff.

We have congratulated Reading for their sensational final surge to regain their place in the Barclays Premier League and they are inviting us to come along with our suggestions. The overflow is currently near a corner flag and that subject will be first on the agenda.

Norwich report that they have no plans to improve their facilities at the Carrow Road for next season. West Ham say the same thing. Southampton tell us they will revert back to the original facilities at St. Mary’s Stadium.

FWA Live: Football Writers’ Association unveils Euro 2012 preview event

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The Football Writers’ Association has today launched the first ‘FWA Live’ event – a preview evening featuring a selection of the most respected football writers in the country who will look ahead to this summer’s European Championships in Poland and Ukraine.

FWA Live, in partnership with the National Literacy Association, will take place at the Imagination Gallery in central London on Wednesday, May 16th 2012 from 6:30pm.

Brian Woolnough (Daily Star) will act as the evening’s host and will be joined by a high-class panel comprising of Henry Winter (Daily Telegraph), Shaun Custis (The Sun), Matt Lawton (Daily Mail) and Andy Dunn (Sunday Mirror).

England football legend and BBC broadcaster

Gary Lineker will also be present to add his thoughts to the discussion with Sky Sports News presenter Charlotte Jackson on hand to take questions from the audience.

The debate will range from the panel’s views on England’s chances of success, to selecting their England starting XIs and overall predictions for who will win the competition. The writers will also reflect back on their experiences at previous European Championships and provide ‘behind the scenes’ insights into how teams prepare themselves for one of the biggest stages in European football.

FWA Chairman Steve Bates said: “We are delighted to able to launch our first FWA Live event with such an illustrious line-up of footballing experts. Bringing together the combined experiences and knowledge of these individuals under one roof will provide a thoughtful and entertaining preview of what is set to be a very exciting Euro 2012 competition.”

The event is being staged to raise awareness of the National Literary Association, a partner of the FWA. The National Literacy Association works in partnership with a range of organisations to promote awareness of and support children’s literacy needs. Tickets for the event went on sale today priced at £40, including food and refreshment.

To purchase tickets click here.

FWA Q&A: Neil Moxley

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NEIL MOXLEY of the Daily Mail on failing to tell Karren Brady where to go…a punch-up over Norah Jones…and champagne with Peter Reid

Your first ever newspaper?
Solihull Times. I had match reports printed before then. I still have the clipping from the Daily Star report, Birmingham City 2 Hartlepool 1 from c. 1990 written under the watchful eye of John Curtis, from the Press Association, bless him. John is now 55 years old and dyes his hair. I hope I get that far.

Have you ever worked in a profession other than journalism?
Through college, I did loads of jobs, mainly involving bar-work. I was a sleeping partner in a printing firm. The recession has done for that, though.

What was your finest achievement playing football?
Playing alongside Coventry City’s Steve Sedgley for Birmingham County’s Under-18s side. I wasn’t bad, I could run all day. (Twenty-five years ago)

Most memorable match covered?
Despite my Midlands’ experience, probably the Sunderland v Charlton play-off final in 1998. It had everything.

The one moment in football you would put on a DVD?
Me, horribly hungover, wearing an Aston Villa strip, standing in a field in the middle of Sweden, c. 1996. A press game in which I was anchoring (!) a midfield which boasted Trevor Brooking, (ex-England, brilliant) Nigel Kennedy, (internationally-acclaimed violinist, utterly useless) and a Villa fan called Trevor. (decent, man-mountain) myself and the Birmingham Mail’s Birmingham City correspondent Colin Tattum had stupidly been involved in a mass brawl during a Sunday League match with Trevor’s team four days previously. Unknown to me, he’s a Villa fan. Then he turns up in a dressing-room in Helsingborg. Honestly, he was a huge bloke. I saw him and thought: “Here we go….” Only in football…

Best stadium?
Alliance Arena just pips the Emirates – because you can park there.

…and the worst?
Springfield Park, Wigan. Flea-pit. I fell over on the grass bank in the away end once. Not happy. It was a match in December. I went home covered in mud.

Your best-ever scoop.
Not for me to say, but….I liked the one about Derby’s players being asked to give evidence about George Burley’s drinking habits as the power-brokers attempted to lever him out of Pride Park. I know it was a good one as Neil Custis from the Sun still congratulates me on it.

Your personal new-tech disaster?
Not filing first time at the Aston Villa v Birmingham City derby match in March 2003 because I couldn’t get a line. The office took wire copy. Never mind, there was only a head-butt, two sending-offs, a career-threatening injury and all hell breaking loose at Villa Park.

Biggest mistake?
Not telling Karren Brady just where to go on the numerous occasions she phoned me to tell me how much money she was going to take off me for a variety of stories she didn’t like. She never did.

Have you ever been mistaken for anyone else?
Mr Tumble, Justin Fletcher off CBeebies. My brother thinks that’s hilarious.

Most media friendly manager?
Steve Bruce was always helpful, although very capable of dishing out the odd tongue-lashing. But Peter Reid remains brilliant. He spotted me and a group of pals in the Tall Trees in Yarm once and sent over two bottles of bubbly. That went down well. Then he spotted me in Yarm 85 with my girlfriend at the time, and sent over a bottle of wine. Then….well, you get the picture. Honestly, I spent two wonderful seasons watching Sunderland half-cut. As did Reidy, to be fair….

Best-ever player?
Trevor Francis. Gary Rowett, then of Leicester, stopped for a chat at Belvoir Drive one day. He sent his regards to TF who was managing Birmingham at the time with the words: ‘Tell him he’s still the best finisher at the club.” Francis was about 50 years old at the time. Apart from that, Christophe Dugarry. His performance in a game against Southampton in 2003 still sends shivers down the spine. As Gordon Strachan pointed out afterwards, he operated on another planet to anyone else that day.

Best ever teams (club and international)?
I really liked Manchester United’s double-winning team of 1994. It had a wonderful balance. And AC Milan’s vintage of the same year would have given Barcelona of today a decent game.

Best pre-match grub?
If I wasn’t driving home, Manchester City. I’ll say Chelsea for the food. Outstanding. Arsenal again beaten into third with Villa a close fourth.

Best meal had on your travels?
One overlooking Lake Zurich with Janine Self, (then of the Sun) David Moore, (Mirror) and John Wragg. (Express) I have no idea of the name of the restaurant.

…and the worst?
A delightful meal in Brittany with Villa which was ruined by two unnamed journalists almost coming to blows over the relative merits of Norah Jones. I kid ye not.

Best hotel stayed in?
I think it was the Palace of the Golden Horses in Kuala Lumpar, Malaysia. It was helped by the fact that Chelsea, Newcastle and Birmingham all stayed there for the Asia Cup.

…and the worst?
Hotel number two in Lovech, Bulgaria. Villa commandeered hotel number one. Richard Gibson, from the Press Association, almost got himself beaten up for attempting to drink a bottle of water the hotel staff said he couldn’t have.

Favourite football writer?
I’ll leave the Sunday Supplement crew alone. The ones I like, I’ve told to their faces. I’ve more time for the scufflers who provide the pontificators with their platforms. But then, I would say that, wouldn’t I?

Favourite radio/TV commentator?
Martin Tyler. Consistently strikes the right tone. Sorry, I don’t like live football on radio. I appreciate the benefit of immediacy, but I still think the game is essentially a visual spectacle.

If you could introduce one change to improve PR between football clubs and football writers what would it be?
You are media managers. We will write about your club, like it or not. Why not shape the news how you want it, instead of keeping us at arms’ length? It’s madness.

One sporting event outside football you would love to experience?
Australia v England, SCG, Boxing Day. Done Rangers v Celtic thanks to Alex McLeish and former Rangers’ chief executive Martin Bain.

Last book read?
‘Up Pohnpei’ by Paul Watson. An attempt by to find the real soul of football. Genuine idea, neatly written. Enjoyable.

Favourite current TV programme?
I’ve got a bizarre fascination with ‘Wheeler Dealers’ at the moment. Other than that, ‘Homeland’ by a country mile.

Your most prized football memorabilia?
Everton legend Dixie Dean’s autograph. He signed a Football Writers’ menu for my father in 1976. It’s framed on my wall. A collector said it was the only one he’d ever seen and offered me £750. Assuming I don’t fall on hard times and I need the cash, I’d like to leave it to the club if it’s the only one about. Failing that, I also have a programme from one of Randolph Turpin’s last fights on home soil before he fought Sugar Ray Robinson. The Leamington Spa boy up against Jan de Bruin at the Coventry Butts Arena in 1951 two months before he won the world title against Robinson in London. Really pleased to have that in my possession. Turpin’s is a great – but very sad – story.

Advice to any would-be football writer?
I read Rob Shepherd’s advice [which was ‘go into television’] and he’s beaten me to the punchline. Otherwise contacts, contacts, contacts. Finding people to talk honestly about what’s really going on behind-the-scenes is worth its’ weight in gold.

I would have loved to referee El Clásico – Graham Poll

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By CHRISTOPHER DAVIES

Nothing, we are told, can ever be guaranteed in football but it can be said with absolute confidence that the next el clásico matchup of Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona and Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid on Saturday will see the good, the bad and the ugly of what Pele called the beautiful game. Boring it will not be. Maybe, just maybe it will be 0-0 but football writers covering the game will not be struggling to fill their allocated wordage or searching for an angle, not with a game involving most of the 10 best players in the world and the two most high profile coaches are involved.

There have been many great rivalries in football over the years but surely nothing beats the current series between Barca and Real. For excitement, drama, theatre, the quality of the football and the inevitable raw edge that goes with Mourinho v Guardiola, these games are unmissable for any football lover.

Saturday’s el clásico has not so much been pencilled in Graham Poll’s television calendar – “it’s been inked in,” said the former FIFA referee who, like a worldwide TV audience, is counting the days to Saturday’s 11th instalment of the Special One against the Cultured One.

During his two seasons in charge of Real, Mourinho has faced Guardiola’s Barcelona 10 times. Mourinho has won only one clásico – last season’s Copa del Rey final. In the 10 matches so far Barca have scored 21 goals to Real’s 11. Real lead 7-2 on red cards and 47-29 on cautions. Perhaps surprisingly Pepe, who many see as the snarling face of Mourinho’s Madrid, has been sent-off only once, collecting six yellow cards.

Alberto Undiano Mallenco, 39, a part-time sociologist, will referee his sixth clásico in the Nou Camp but this time there will be no pre-match pressure on the official from Mourinho who has decided to hold no more press conferences this season apart from Champions League ties where UEFA regulations stipulate a coach’s appearance.

Poll admitted he would have loved to have taken charge of el clásico even though the referee is on a hiding to nothing. He believes Undiano Mallenco must ignore the hype and the likelihood of being blamed by the losing side for their defeat as he prepares for what is arguably the biggest domestic game in world football.

“You cannot think that way,” said Poll who writes regularly on refereeing in the Daily Mail. “You cannot enter a cauldron like the Nou Camp thinking ‘I know I’ll upset someone.’ As the referee, what you know is that you will make a mistake. You hope it is not pivotal with people arguing the game went that way because of the referee.”

Controversy goes hand-in-hand with el clásico, more so since Mourinho – Why Always Mou? – became involved.

“You go out to do your best, to be as fair as you can be and perhaps most important of all remain calm, not becoming drawn into the el clásico atmosphere. In all probability something will happen, a big decision will have to be made and you have to ensure you are calm and dignified. If you are and anything becomes controversial then it will because of Mourinho’s or Guardiola’s actions, not yours.”

Poll refereed his first game at the Nou Camp in 2003, a Champions League quarter-final second leg between Barca and Juventus which the Italian club won after extra-time. It also proved to be his last game in the Catalan capital though reasons for this are never given.

He said: “I used to referee between eight and 10 Champions League games a season, mainly in Spain, Italy and Germany. To only go to one of the major teams once is very unusual.”

Like just about every referee, Poll had his run-ins with Mourinho who recently hinted at a conspiracy theory that means Real Madrid and Chelsea will not reach the Champions League final. The Portuguese said: “I don’t think it will be Real v Chelsea. It could be Bayern or Barcelona, I just don’t think it will be Real Madrid v Chelsea and you know why.”

Poll said: “I don’t think he really believes that. It’s what he puts across as part of his mind games. This way he thinks people will want to be seen not to be getting at him and might favour him. It’s all about reverse psychology.

“When he was new on the scene maybe this sort of thing had an effect. Mourinho was looked upon as a high profile media figure who was very influential but because of all the shenanigans that have surrounded him he is no longer seen in the same way. For someone who has been so successful, winning trophies in Portugal, England, Italy and Spain the level of dislike and distrust of the man is incredible.

“People may not always like the way Sir Alex Ferguson does certain things but there is always a respect for his record and rightly so because it’s fantastic. Mourinho’s won titles and Champions Leagues across four countries, his record is phenomenal but he does not command the respect that should go with such achievements.”

Undiano Mallenco will lead out the teams in the Nou Camp and Poll calls his appointment “a massive honour.” He said: “I refereed a lot of big games but if I were still active I’d love the challenge of el clásico. People might say ‘you must be mad, why would you put yourself through that?’ It’s because this is the biggest of games. You know there will be incidents and controversy but you have to be confident, maybe arrogant enough to believe people won’t be talking about you at the end of the match unless they say ‘he handled it well.’”

While criticised for not punishing Wayne Rooney for using abusive language – looking back Poll accepts he should have done more than just warn the England international – the Tring official won praise for the way he handled the potentially explosive Barclays Premier League game between Arsenal and Manchester United in February 2005. Poll awarded numerous free-kicks in the opening 10 minutes to ensure tackles did not start flying in. Though Mikael Silvestre was sent-off for butting Freddie Ljungberg in the 69th minute and six players were cautioned, the game passed off without serious incident or controversy as United won 4-2.

Poll said: “The reason I closed the Arsenal/United game down early on was because it came in the wake of the Pizzagate game at Old Trafford, there was clearly a hangover from that because of the way Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira behaved in the tunnel at Highbury. Therefore the game needed tight management.

“If I were in charge at the Nou Camp that would be my game plan to start with but having said that you must be prepared to change this. For instance, if Barcelona have possession for the first two or three minutes and stroke the ball around as they can then there would be nothing to close down.”

There is every chance of that being the case because in the Guardiola v Mourinho clásicos Barca have enjoyed an average of 65 per cent possession.

Real go into Saturday’s game with a four point lead over Barcelona, both clubs having won on Saturday night. After the match at the Nou Camp there will be four more Primera Liga games remaining so if Barca are to have any hope of retaining their Spanish title they must beat Real. For personal bragging rights Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are neck-and-neck for the coveted pichichi trophy awarded to the league’s top goalscorer – both have 41 goals so far.

The stakes are always high when Spain’s heavyweights clash but this is not so much a clásico but a superclásico.

My Week: Nick Szczepanik

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NICK SZCZEPANIK on playing with Pele…fish on the field…and trying to be banned by a club (and failing)

Monday April 2
The Guardian asked me for a 700-word obituary of Giorgio Chinaglia, the former Lazio and New York Cosmos goalscorer, for their website. Before long, I was asking if I could go up to 1,000 words – with reasonable optimism as, let’s face it, you’re in trouble if a website tells you they’re short of space – after delving into Chinaglia’s fascinating character and career. He went from Tuscany to the USA via Swansea and Lazio, and ended up playing with Pele. Or, as he put it with characteristic modesty, Pele played with him.

He was arguably the first European star to move to the US at the height of his powers rather than when past his best, and he had the arrogance and self-belief to succeed anywhere. I remembered that I’d once seen him play and, being a sad statto who never throws anything away, even managed to dig out the programme: California Surf v New York Cosmos at the Anaheim Stadium, May 1980. The Cosmos won 4-1 without breaking sweat, if I remember correctly, and the teamsheet makes it clear why – alongside Chinaglia in their team were Franz Beckenbauer and Johan Neeskens, while the Surf were a collection of former Crystal Palace and Charlton reserves.

Needless to say, the Chinaglia piece had to be turned round quickly, but I’m also usually working at a more leisurely pace on some obits in advance so that they’re ready to go when the subject sees the grim reaper holding up his number on the touchline. In football terms, that means older or retired managers and ex-players. I read an uncredited obituary of Sir Bobby Robson that seemed familiar and eventually realised that it was because I’d written most of it, back in the 1990s.

What makes the process easier and more interesting these days is the availability of video of a subject on YouTube, either in action or being interviewed. Somewhere out there in cyberspace I found a clip of Bert Williams MBE, the former Wolverhampton Wanderers and England goalkeeper, delivering an anecdote about a man and his son approaching him in the street a few years ago, when he was well into his 70s. The man said: “Look son, it’s Bert Williams, goalie for the Wolves.” The son looked him up and down and replied: “No wonder they’re bottom of the league.”

The daughter of a distinguished former manager is the friend of a friend, and I needed some information about her dad for a stock obit, so I called her up. I thought I was being very subtle, explaining that I was doing ‘a profile’ of him, but she caught on immediately. “An obituary, is it?” she said. She was fine about it. As she said at the time, it’s better to get it right while a relative is still alive and kicking than open the paper after their death and find that an obituary contains factual errors.

Being young and fit doesn’t make you invulnerable, of course, as the cases of Fabrice Muamba and, tragically, Gary Speed, have shown. Nobody saw Speed’s death coming, but obituaries are sometimes prepared of current athletes when they experience health scares. The majority of them will probably recover fully and outlive me by many years, but although I won’t get to see the obit in print, at least the money is paid up front. I began working on one of those last week – the story of a 31-year-old international with a major foreign club who is in hospital for the second time in a year.

Tuesday April 3
Man cannot live by football alone, especially if he’s freelance. As some people know, I’m a fan of some American sports, and the baseball season got under way in earnest on Wednesday when my team, the Miami Marlins, hosted the World Series champion St Louis Cardinals in the first regular season game in their new ballpark (UK English in future – Ed).

A paper was interested in the story, but the angle they liked was not the team’s name change (from Florida to Miami), their new uniforms (no longer an elegant teal, silver and black but a hideous blend of orange, lemon and blue) or their acquisitions of shortstop Jose Reyes, pitchers Mark Buehrle and Heath Bell and colourful manager Ozzie Guillen. No, it was the two 20-foot-long fish tanks behind home plate in the new $515m stadium. Animal rights protesters are worried that the hundred or so tropical fish will be disturbed by vibrations from a cheering capacity crowd (not previously much of a danger at Marlins home games) reacting to the team hitting a home run (ditto).

A 97mph fastball is no problem, according to the manufacturers, who have tested the tanks to destruction, but that didn’t stop a player revealing that the pros’ concern, as ever, is more with optimum field conditions than animal welfare After a pre-season friendly, Nick Swisher of the visiting New York Yankees said: “If those things broke, it would be the worst thing ever. Can you imagine all those fish on the field?”

Wed Apr 4
A friend from Spain, a blogger and broadcaster, was in town for a few days’ holiday so I took him along to Gus Poyet’s press conference ahead of Brighton’s Good Friday trip to Burnley. He’s also been a good source of knowledge of football in Madrid as well as a help if I need some translation from Marca or ABC that’s more accurate than my somewhat basic Spanish. He wanted a few words about Vicente, Brighton’s ex-Valencia playmaker, for a radio piece, and I was sure it would be okay.

Gus and Paul Camillin, the press officer, were as helpful as always and the tea and bacon rolls were as welcome as ever first thing in the morning. Brighton have followed the trend of early-morning press calls set originally, I think, by Iain Dowie at Crystal Palace, although few clubs have gone to his extreme of beginning at 8am. These are fine for local journos, but can be inconvenient for those coming from farther afield.

A few years ago Gordon Strachan held a Southampton pre-FA Cup semi-final presser at 9am at their training ground on the edge of the New Forest. That was bad enough for me, meaning as it did a 6am start so that I could negotiate the 20-plus roundabouts along the A27, one of the worst roads in England, but even worse for colleagues who lived north of London. And if anyone wonders why Norwich stories in the dailies are few and far between, their 9am sessions at the far end of the A11 could be something to do with it.

Thursday Apr 5
I’ll be spending part of this year’s close season guest-editing a free magazine called Sussex Sport while regular editor Mike Donovan finishes off a couple of books. On Thursday we had a meeting at the design studio where everything is put together, discussing feature ideas for the pre-Olympics edition and the August issue.

At this level, editing seems to involve writing a lot of stuff yourself rather than commissioning copy from various minions, and before long I seemed to have agreed to interview Hastings-born Gareth Barry ahead of the European Championship, Brighton fan Norman [Fatboy Slim] Cook in advance of his summer gigs at the club’s Amex Stadium, and one of the Olympic torch carriers who will be pounding the streets of Worthing carrying a burning metal brassiere. Sorry, brazier.

After that the ideas took on an Alan Partridgesque air. Not exactly monkey tennis, but I may have suggested interviewing a statue of Steve Ovett in case we couldn’t get the man himself. Ovett statue “no comment” on Seb Coe’s handling of the Olympics – Sussex Sport exclusive!

The August issue might be more problematical. Golf course reviews are a regular feature of the magazine, but I confess to having little interest in an activity that requires the wearing of alarmingly-patterned trousers. I tentatively offered the Brighton seafront Crazy Golf, or Roedean pitch and putt – chiefly for its 19th hole, the Roedean cafe, which does a very fine toms on toast, with clifftop views of the English Channel thrown in for nothing.

Friday Apr 6
Reading v Leeds – with refreshments in the Madejski Stadium press room supplied by Waitrose, the club’s shirt sponsor. I wonder if they do requests? There are quite few of their products I’d quite like to try without paying some of the highest prices on the high street, so maybe if I phone ahead next time I’m working there, the club can arrange to have some tortigli with spicy pork ragu waiting alongside the pasties. That said, the goat’s cheese and roasted tomato pasta salad on Friday went down a treat.

Reading had to work hard to win despite the fact that Leeds played all but 13 minutes of the game with ten men – and it could have been nine, with Danny Pugh lucky to stay on after two extremely robust challenges. Afterwards Neil Warnock came in and made the extraordinary suggestion that Leeds would have to make Elland Road as intimidating as the MadStad. Well, of course: supporters, players and officials visiting Reading tremble at the very thought of that bearpit by the M4, going in terror of rampaging Royals fans baying for blood. I thought about requesting an escort of security guards to get me back safely to my car, which I fully expected to find a burnt-out shell up on piles of bricks. I think the point he was trying to make was that Reading players put pressure on referees, which, coming from a Leeds manager, will cause older readers of this site to ponder a redefinition of the concept of irony.

Colin, as he’s known, may not be the most popular manager with all of his his peers, but most of us like him because his press conferences are usually better than the matches. However, I had an uncomfortable moment with him at the Indy sports desk Christmas lunch in 2010, when we were on the same quiz team. “Competitive” doesn’t really do him justice, and although we won, I got a question wrong that put our victory in the balance. The look he gave me suggested that I’d come pretty close to doing laps of the QPR training ground the next morning.

Saturday April 7
It felt weird not to be at a game on a Saturday, but the movement of fixtures to other days left only two games in the Barclays Premier League and Championship in the south. It was actually quite a pleasant change to miss a Southampton v Portsmouth game. I must have seen every battle between the Scummers and Skates since Portsmouth reached the Barclays Premier League in 2003, and I’ve already made my feelings about the A27 abundantly clear.

Even from a distance of 64 miles – I know exactly how far it is because I’ve written it on so many expenses forms – I learned that Southampton had refused a press pass request from Neil Allen, the chief football writer of The News in Portsmouth, although his colleagues Jordan Cross and Steve Wilson were allowed in. I heard that the reason given was that the press box was full – something I don’t think I’ve ever seen at St Mary’s.

Neil tweeted about it, and was met with a storm of abuse from Saints fans, which was uncalled-for. Like any good football writer on a local paper, Neil has a close working relationship with the club he covers, but he’s not a Portsmouth fan, and has been banned by the club on more than one occasion. As he tweeted, it’s the first time he’s been banned by an away club. But since the Daily Echo, the Southampton local paper, has been banned from St Mary’s and the Saints’ training ground for many months, perhaps he shouldn’t have been surprised.

Confession time: I once tried to get banned by a club that I felt I’d covered more than enough, and began a match report with an intro that was honest and accurate but which I was sure would get up the nose of its famously touchy chairman. I opened the paper the next day to find that, to my horror, the intro had been re-written. Apparently the sub-editor had thought he was doing me a favour and keeping me out of trouble. Thanks for nothing …

Sport’s approach to press relations in the UK can be a strange one. I told some American friends about the arcane dispute that led writers from national papers to be refused press facilities at grounds in the first week of this season and they were incredulous. Apart from the rights and wrongs of any situation, why, they wondered, would any business turn away all that free publicity?

Sunday April 8
An unusually relaxing start to a Sunday with no Monday report to write. Brighton v Reading on Tuesday is my next assignment. Two different papers asked me to cover it. First come, first served and I’m working for the Independent. I’m selfishly hoping that one, if not both, of these teams are promoted to increase the quota of southern clubs in the Barclays Premier League, and that QPR can somehow cling onto their status – although decisions such as the penalty and red card in their defeat by Manchester United won’t help.

Whatever Fergie says, that was an Old Trafford decision, but even on lesser stages than the Library of Dreams, it’s true that, as the pundits say, all the breaks go against you when you’re struggling. That was brought home to me on Sunday morning during my weekly attempt to play the beautiful game rather than write about it. Despite my team’s scintillating performance, we lost to a cruel deflection and a bad decision. And a defensive lapse. And another cruel deflection. And then some poor marking. But generally we were robbed.

Nick Szczepanik

Follow me on Twitter @NickSzczepanik

Club Ban Paper…So Paper Ban Club

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The unusual story of how AFC Bournemouth banned the Bournemouth Echo who responded tit-for-tat

By CHRISTOPHER DAVIES

Cherries: Bradbury labels players ‘immature’ – Bournemouth Echo, March 12

The Bournemouth Echo is surely the only newspaper to be banned by a club for accurately reporting what the manager said.

It is a very English habit for football writers and media organisations to be given the red card for writing something critical, clubs not believing newspapers should be impartial but should in fact be cheerleaders. Incredibly, clubs frequently ban papers for printing the truth which is exactly what the Echo did, reporting a quote from Lee Bradbury, the AFC Bournemouth manager.

The Cherries’ response? To tell the Echo: you’re banned. The Echo’s response? No, YOU’RE banned.

Supporters often ask journalists to explain how you can be banned for writing what a club official has said but we cannot. It is, sadly, the way some clubs think they should behave.

Local papers have a more sensitive line to tread than the nationals but their coverage tends to reflect what supporters are saying and after a string of defeats it is difficult to report that everything is fine and the team have no problems.

After AFC Bournemouth’s 3-0 defeat by Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough, Bradbury was unhappy with the side’s performance and called the team “immature.” Not unsurprisingly the quote was used in the intro of Ian Wadley’s match report on March 12.

After a sixth defeat in eight games, Bradbury was sacked on March 25. But five days previously the Echo, already not permitted to attend Bradbury’s press conferences, were banned by the club who were told just four hours before the kick-off against Brentford that the paper’s reporters and photographers were no longer welcome at Seward Stadium.

Echo sports editor Neil Meldrum told footballwriters.co.uk: “The headline was probably the straw that broke the camel’s back. We can be quite opinionated in some of the things we do. That was probably the main reason why they fell out with us. They perceived a lot of our coverage as negative but after five or six straight defeats, especially when the club spent £1.5 million on new players in January, it’s hard to pull many positives out of that. If you do that and expect zero criticism you are on another planet.

“If the fans were happy-go-lucky after such a run of results we may have taken a similar line but the supporters were up in arms about the defeats after the money that had been spent. “

The Echo’s response to the ban was to ban Bournemouth from the paper. Since March 20 there has not be a single mention of the Cherries in the Echo – not even their results. In effect AFC Bournemouth do not exist in the Bournemouth Echo.

The paper’s relationship with Bradbury had become strained. According to the Echo he had “taken it upon himself to make life increasingly difficult for our reporters.” Bradbury even phoned a reporter to complain about the “immature” headline even though he used the word in a press conference.

Meldrum suspects a combination of Bradbury and a club executive and not Eddie Mitchell who, since becoming chairman in 2009, had had a few runs-ins with the paper, is behind the ban.

The Echo called Mitchell “a man who approaches his own customers aggressively on the pitch, interferes in the home dressing room and swears on national radio…he felt our coverage of his much-publicised misdemeanours had been unfair and negative”. Mitchell has, the Echo said, tried to tell them which headlines to write and which stories to cover. However, he was told “in no uncertain terms” that he did not edit the newspaper and no chairman of any football club has the right to dictate to a newspaper.

AFC Bournemouth have been the subject of more than 700 back page lead stories in the Echo since Mitchell took over, the equivalent of £840,000 in the paper’s advertising rates.

The decision of editor Toby Granville to fight a ban with a ban has been welcomed by members of the FWA who have made their backing known on Twitter. While supporters rightly do not care if reporters have to occasionally put up with poor press facilities and become experts on what it is like to stand in a car park in the pouring rain waiting for a player to hopefully speak, it is a huge decision for a local paper to pull the plug on their club. Some might argue there is a duty to report the club even if press facilities are withdrawn.

Of the role reversal Meldrum said: “There is now zero coverage of Bournemouth in the paper. We realise to some extent we are letting readers down but I am sure they would rather us be an independent voice than some kind of PR vehicle for the club. Initially a few held us to account but generally supporters have said they believe the club made the wrong decision.”

Meldrum now has to plan his sports pages without coverage of the Cherries but it is not as difficult as may first appear. He said: “Obviously AFC Bournemouth not being in the paper is a big hole to fill. They were our bread and butter. But we have the biggest speedway club in the country who attract crowds not dissimilar to Bournemouth. We have a lot of local people involved in the Olympics, we have a vibrant non-league scene plus cricket so there’s lots going on.”

The hope is that there is an outbreak of common sense but that must come from the football club.

Meldrum said: “The club have said they are keen to find a resolution but we haven’t heard from them. The last time we heard from them was when we were banned.” The Echo will not contact the club – “they banned us so if they want to lift it we would welcome that but it’s up to them. If someone has issued you with a ban you consider unreasonable it’s not up to us to go crawling to them, begging to get back in. If they want to open talks we’d be delighted.”

FWA Q&A: Mark Ogden

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The Daily Telegraph’s MARK OGDEN on broken flower pots…being a Happy Monday…and spending £300 on average wine…

Your first ever newspaper?
I did a week of work experience at the Rochdale Observer, writing about broken flower pots and a few rioting Wrexham fans, then started off at the Weekly News and Sunday Post.

Have you ever worked in a profession other than journalism?
I did try to re-launch my failed football career with a few games for Rochdale reserves, but they only paid £5 travelling expenses, so it wasn’t really worth it. The one thing it made me realise, though, was how hard footballers train and how there is pretty much zero enjoyment in the sport as a profession. You are flogged every morning for two hours on the training ground and then some halfwit manager rants and raves about the odd stray pass. The next time a player walks past in the mixed zone, just think about the bollocking he might just have had in front of his team-mates for
something or nothing.

What was your finest achievement playing football?
Playing with, and against, Paul Scholes as a kid was about as good as it got. I’m sure his memories of me finishing off his passes still out-rank all he has ever achieved at Manchester United….

Most memorable match covered?
For drama, controversy and the rare sense of actually feeling as though you had just witnessed a deception that would rumble on for days and weeks, I’d go for the World Cup play-off between France and the Republic of Ireland in Paris in Nov 2009, when Thierry Henry’s handball ended Irish hopes of a place in South Africa. Henry’s carefully-manufactured good guy image went out of the window that night, but the reaction of France coach Raymond Domenech and his massively smug press officer after the game almost caused a riot among the Irish journalists. There were 20,000 Irish fans in Paris that night, but there wasn’t a hint of trouble, despite the way their team had lost, which is probably the only reason we were able to flag down a taxi at 2am outside the stadium. The trains, obviously, had stopped running before the end of extra-time.

The one moment in football you would put on a DVD?
The guy who nicked my laptop bag — laptop still in it — outside a bar in Cape Town during the World Cup. Strictly speaking, not football, but he left me without a laptop for the World Cup quarter-final between Germany and Argentina, so thanks for that.

Best stadium?
I love the Allianz Arena, even though the wifi doesn’t work in the press box and the last two visits have ended with Carlos Tevez refusing to warm-up for Man City and Wayne Rooney’s suffering the ankle injury that pretty much ruined his World Cup. Old Trafford and Anfield on big European nights take some beating too.

…and the worst?
The Lokomotivi Stadium in Tbilisi takes some beating, especially in March when it is absolutely freezing. Went there with Republic of Ireland in 2003 and we arrived to see an old guy with broken glasses and a soldering iron, attempting to connect the phone lines. They obviously didn’t work. Kevin Kilbane was hit by a knife thrown from the crowd that day, so it wasn’t exactly uneventful.

Your best ever scoop?
Not really one for me to answer, but I still get people coming up to me about the tale of two scarf-wearing cockerels being arrested and placed in the cells at Ewood Park last season. It was a protest against Venky’s. Not sure if the birds lived to see another day…

Your personal new-tech disaster?
Endured an absolute nightmare at Ibrox when Rangers played United in last season’s Champions League group stage. Wifi didn’t work and 3G was also useless. It was as though some kind of blocking signal had been imposed on the surrounding area because it affected everybody. Had to use copy that night, which never happens. Thankfully, it doesn’t appear as though I’ll be needing to go to Ibrox again in the near future…

Biggest mistake?
Thinking that Twitter was a worthwhile exercise.

Have you ever been mistaken for anyone else?
Usually Bez from the Happy Mondays, even when I am not carrying my maracas.

Most media friendly manager?
Roberto Martinez at Wigan is a good guy with a sound grasp of media requirements and demands. Lower down the leagues, it is easy to nominate the likes of Brian Horton, Gary Megson or Phil Brown, but the Barclays Premier League is a different environment altogether and Martinez handles it really well.

Best ever player?
Diego Maradona, but I retain a soft spot for Marco van Basten.

Best ever teams (club and international)?
I’m not going to nominate teams I never saw, such as Brazil 1970 for obvious reasons, so I’ll go for the current Spain team. Club wise, I still think the AC Milan team of Gullit, Van Basten and
Rijkaard would have given Barcelona a run for their money, so I’ll go for them.

Best pre-match grub?
Bayern Munich

Best meal had on your travels?
Shared a great meal of ribs and steak with Neil Custis, Chris Wheeler and Jeremy Cross at Ditka’s in Chicago last summer. Had some great meals in South Africa, but this one was just shaded it.

…and the worst?
We were recommended ‘the best Chinese restaurant’ in Macau during the 2007 Man Utd tour of Asia, so went along expecting exactly that. If you like your chicken full of bones and gristle, then this was the place. Also, did an average bottle of wine which one person (no names) ordered three times. Before realising it was a £100 a bottle…

Best hotel stayed in?
Probably the Radisson in Philadelphia. Great location, great bar, great city. The Marriott in Bucharest was surprisingly good

…and the worst?
Although The Maxwell in Seattle had no bar, restaurant or food (try putting up with that for seven nights..) it would be harsh to rank it below those that I have stayed at in Tirana and Bydgoszcz. But just for sheer dreariness, the hotel (forgotten the name) we used in Aalborg on a Champions League trip wins every time.

Favourite football writer?
Don’t really have a favourite, and I’m not going down the road of bigging up everybody at the Telegraph, but if the likes of Paul Joyce, Neil Moxley or Simon Mullock write something, then I don’t need to be told that it will be right.

Favourite radio/TV commentator?
I still think Clive Tyldesley gets it right more often than most on the big occasions, while John Murray and Ian Dennis are the best on Five Live, even if they don’t shout about it.

If you could introduce one change to improve PR between football clubs
and football writers what would it be? Just feed us properly and we will love you for evermore.

One sporting event outside football you would love to experience?
Floyd Mayweather versus Manny Pacquaio, somewhere in Las Vegas.

Last book read?
Apart from reading The Gruffalo every night for the last two years, I’ve been trying to finish off Barry McGuigan’s autobiography. The last book I finished was Nothing to Envy, by Barbara Demick, about North Korea. I have something of an OCD interest in North Korea after a trip to the de-militarized zone in 2009. Also read This is Paradise by Hyok Kang (which Rory Smith still hasn‘t given back to me). I really need to get out more.

Favourite current TV programme?
Been having withdrawal symptoms since Boardwalk Empire finished, so it’s mainly boxed sets — The West Wing usually.

Your most prized football memorabilia?
Don’t really keep stuff. I tend to give programmes to my boy’s school or dump them in the recycling bin.

Advice to any would-be football writer?
Don’t enter the profession with ideas about writing lovely pieces about football without working at it first. And don’t buy into the snobbery about tabloids not being good enough for you. After almost ten years freelancing, you learn that the guys on desks like the Sun are ultra-sharp and professional and anything but flyer-merchants. It would be good for all aspiring football journalists to work for a tabloid for at least six months in order to realise what the job is really about.