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FWA Q&A: Oliver Kay

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Oliver Kay of the Times on a garlic bread factory, a nightmare in Naples and a load of rubbish in Braga…

Your first ever newspaper?
The first to employ me full-time was the Nottingham Evening Post, which I joined as a trainee sports reporter, but I’d done a lot of work experience before that, starting on the Crewe/Nantwich Chronicle and then spending several months on the Evening Sentinel in Stoke. I learned a lot at the Sentinel, including that one of the few ways to stop the press – literally – is to put a foil-wrapped pasty in a microwave so that it catches fire, setting off the alarms and automatically bringing the fire engines round. “Who is responsible for this?” “The work experience kid on sport.”

Have you ever worked in a profession other than journalism?
I worked in a pub while trying to break into journalism, but my best answer to this has to be working in a garlic bread factory one summer. Twelve-hour shifts in a garlic bread factory. I was absolutely useless. I would slow the whole conveyor belt down. I was to Primebake what Dimitar Berbatov is to Manchester United – but without the good bits. I didn’t last long.

What was your finest achievement playing football?
My playing career peaked when I scored a hat-trick aged in my one of my first matches for primary school, aged eight. I was or am genuinely two-footed and can hit a decent pass, but essentially I’m lazy, slow and my mind wanders, so there was no danger of becoming a footballer. I’m so out of practice now that, on the rare occasions my back will withstand a kickaround, I’m an embarrassment.

Most memorable match covered?
A few stand out for different reasons. For unpredictability combined with high quality Manchester United v Real Madrid in 2003. For best performance by one team then possibly Argentina v Serbia & Montenegro in the 2006 World Cup and the Cambiasso goal. For atmosphere, Liverpool v Chelsea Champions League semi-final second leg in 2005. I don’t think my ears have been the same since.

Best stadium?
You can’t beat a ground with atmosphere and soul. The ones that come to mind are Villa Park, Anfield, Goodison, Old Trafford, Celtic Park, Ibrox, all of which are fantastic when — and I must stress this — they’re at their best. Of the great European grounds, Camp Nou and the Bernabeu are great, but the atmosphere often feels a little sedate. I love San Siro. At least when it’s full, there’s a fervour there that you don’t get in Spain. Shame about the wifi.

…and the worst?
When I went to Braga in Euro 2004, I looked around the ground, which is built into a rockface, and I thought “Wow.” Before too long I’d changed my mind to “Actually, this is just rubbish.”

Your best ever scoop?
I’ll follow what Neil Ashton said. My best scoop is my next one (although you’ll probably have longer to wait for mine than Ash’s.)

Your personal new-tech disaster?
Napoli v Manchester City a few months ago was one of the worst. My laptop failed all night. I couldn’t get on the internet through the wifi or my dongle. I’m always happy to do it the old-fashioned way, talking to a copytaker, but I couldn’t get a phone line out either. It was a stressful night, which might be why, having got to Naples airport afterwards, I left my phone on the bus. Nice work.

Biggest mistake?
Trusting the word of people when instinct tells you they’re chancers and liars. You learn from things like that.

Have you ever been mistaken for anyone else?
I used to look a lot like Muzzy Izzet when he was at Leicester and I was slimmer. But in terms of actually being mistaken, a lot of people on Twitter mistake me for Ollie Holt — mostly when they’re angry. There was another occasion when I was driving to a match when I heard on the radio “We’re joined now by Oliver Kay from The Times.” Ever professional, Ollie somehow continued without putting right that slur on his character.

Most media friendly manager?
There are the obvious ones like Harry Redknapp, Neil Warnock and Sam Allardyce who are always available and always willing. It does surprise me slightly that there is such a public backlash against those who are willing to communicate rather than those who don’t. The majority are accommodating both publicly and privately. One I really like is Roberto Martinez.

Best ever player?
The best of my lifetime are Maradona and Messi. I loved Maradona even when we were all supposed to hate him in 1986. I never had chance to watch Maradona play live, but watching Messi is a huge privilege. He’s a genius.

Best ever teams (club and international)?
This Barcelona team are the best club side I’ve witnessed. To dominate Europe in the Champions League era is incredible, never mind to do so in the style they have. Some of their antics can be off-putting, but they only seem to resort that in matches against Real Madrid. International? As well as Spain, I’ve had soft spots for France of 1984, Holland of 1988, West Germany of 1990 and France of 2000, but the Brazil team of 1982 – Zico, Socrates, Junior, Eder, Falcao – was the one that opened my eyes to the world beyond my League Ladders.

Best pre-match grub?
Arsenal and Chelsea are good – Chelsea let themselves down with plastic plates and cutlery – but the carvery at Manchester City is the best. It’s best not to eat for a couple of days beforehand if going to City.

Best meal had on your travels?
Why have we moved on to food? The best meal on a work trip was probably at the River Café in Brooklyn. Fantastic food, but probably above all because I’d flown my wife out to join me in New York at the end of a pre-season trip. If I’d gone there with a group of journalists, we would only have ended up talking shop.

…and the worst?
I’ll try anything that’s different – from bear sausages in Warsaw to whale steaks in Oslo. One thing I’ll never try again is the range of delicacies I sampled from a street hawker in Beijing on a pre-season tour: a few beetles, a scorpion and a silkworm. The beetles and the scorpion were tolerable, but the silkworm was stomach-churning. I paid for it for about a week afterwards … .

Best hotel stayed in?
I’m less fussed about home comforts than about location. Put me in a hotel near Las Ramblas or Broadway or Ipanema and I’ll be happy as long as the bed is comfortable.

…and the worst?
Is there a bad hotel in Monaco? Yes. And our travel company managed to find it. I’m not one to complain about this kind of thing, but it’s tough being on a business trip in a hotel room that doesn’t have a plug socket. I also spent a fortnight of the 2006 World Cup in a grim place on an industrial park in Dortmund, where the seat of the desk chair as high as the desk. Again, not great working conditions.

Favourite football writer?
There are some brilliant ones in this country. I would happily reel off dozens who I admire. If pushed for one, I’d say my ex-colleague Martin Samuel. Sometimes I disagree violently with his columns – a few times recently, in fact – but I always enjoy them. For a columnist to entertain, provoke AND inform takes some doing and in my opinion Martin is the best at it.

Favourite radio/TV commentator?
I always liked Barry Davies, even if there was always the suspicion that he’d rather be commentating on the pommel horse, Wimbledon or the Trooping of the Colour. TV-wise these days, I’d say Martin Tyler or Clive Tyldesley – Tyler’s reaction to Sunderland’s stoppage-time winner the other week really caught the moment – but I always enjoy radio commentaries more. If you listen to a match on 5 Live, you know you’re going to get a really good commentary. (Or at least you’re more likely to take their word for it … .)

If you could introduce one change to improve PR between football clubs and football writers what would it be?
Just one? It’s a poor state of affairs that we don’t have post-match and even pre-match mixed zones, where reporters have the opportunity to speak to players as they pass. But we’re a million miles from that when Manchester United don’t even hold a post-match press conference. That is a ridiculous situation, which neither the Premier League nor we as a football-writing community should have allowed to take hold. And do print that.

One sporting event outside football you would love to experience?
Outside football? Pah. I would have loved to be at the Rugby World Cup final in 2003 or to have been ringside at one of the all-time great fights, but I’ve always been about football. What am I looking forward to most at the Olympics? The football.

Last book read?
Currently reading “Freedom” by Jonathan Franzen. The last sport book I read was Ronny Reng’s “A Life Too Short”, about Robert Enke, which is a stunning, brilliantly researched and extremely important work. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Favourite current TV programme?
Not sure you’d class either as current, but I’ve just been catching up with the latest series of Curb Your Enthusiasm and The Thick Of It, both of which are brilliant.

Your most prized football memorabilia?
I’ve got programmes and ticket stubs going back way before I was born, but I’ve not really gone out of my way to get things signed. There are plenty of things I treasure – programmes, shirts, old photos – but no particular stand-out item.

FOOTBALL WRITERS PREPARE TO HONOUR NIALL QUINN

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LOCAL RIVALRIES will be put to one side as the region’s football community comes together to celebrate the very best of the 2010/2011 football season on Sunday night.

Sponsored by Barclays, the 2011 North East Football Writers’ Association awards dinner at Ramside Hall Hotel in Durham is a regular highlight in the region’s football calendar. It will be attended by a star-studded guest list, which includes players, managers, directors and officials from of all the north east football clubs.

The event was originally due to be held on November 27 but was postponed following the tragic death of former Newcastle United and Wales footballer Gary Speed.

Tributes will be paid to Gary during the evening and the event will raise money for the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation, which is a charity he strongly supported.

“Everyone was devastated by the news about Gary. There was simply no way we could go ahead with the event in November.” said Colin Young, representing the North East Football Writers’ Association.

“He was someone my colleagues and I had a great deal of respect for because of the way he conducted himself on and off the field.

“Many of the guests and journalists at the awards knew Gary personally and this is an ideal occasion to pay tribute to a real football man who is greatly missed.”

This is the third year the North East Football Writers’ Association has supported the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation and this year, for the first time, the Association and the charity will be jointly making an award to honour one of the region’s most respected football professionals.

The inaugural North East Football Writers’ Association’s Personality of the Year, in association with the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation, will be presented to Sunderland AFC’s Niall Quinn in recognition of his five years as the club’s chairman and his wider contribution to the local community.

Lady Elsie Robson was particularly pleased to agree the nomination given Niall’s role as a Patron of the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation and his close links with her husband.

Commenting on Niall receiving the new award, Lady Elsie said: “My family and I are very proud that the inaugural Personality of the Year is not only going to a great football man, but also to a man who represents our charity so magnificently.

“He truly does maintain the same kind of football and community ethos as my husband.

“After we lost my husband, my family and I realised we needed support from Patrons who could help us continue the important work of the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation. Niall was one of the very first people I thought to ask for help.

“I know Bob would have approved whole-heartedly of Niall’s involvement with the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation and we’re very grateful for his ongoing support.

“As everyone knows, my husband was a Newcastle United fan but he loved to visit the Stadium of Light. He was always very well looked after by Niall and they had a wonderful relationship based on mutual respect.

“Niall has represented Sunderland AFC as chairman with great dignity. His positive influence has extended far into the community and we wish him very well in his new role with the club.”

Newcastle United and England legend Alan Shearer, also a Patron of the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation, will be supporting the awards evening, when Newcastle’s Fabricio Coloccini will be crowned Player of the Year. There are also awards for, Middlesbrough’s Joe Bennett, who is Young Player of the Year, Hartlepool United’s Ritchie Humphreys, Carlisle United, Darlington and Whitley Bay FC.

Young added: “We’re really proud of our links to the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation and we’re thrilled that Lady Elsie and the charity have given their blessing to our new Personality of the Year award in Sir Bobby’s memory.”

“Our annual dinner is about the region’s football clubs and their supporters joining together in harmony and friendship to celebrate the best of each other. There’s no better symbol for that than Sir Bobby, who was universally respected, nor his Foundation, which benefits people right across the region. We think Niall is an appropriate and deserving winner.”

Since Sir Bobby and Lady Elsie launched the charity in 2008, the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation has raised over £3.9 million to help find more effective treatments for cancer.

It funds projects within the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which directly benefit cancer patients from across the north east and Cumbria, including the clinical trials of drugs at the Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Trials Research Centre.

To make a donation, view messages of support, or for more information please visit www.sirbobbyrobsonfoundation.org.uk or donate by sending a cheque to Sir Bobby Robson Foundation, Room 203, Cheviot Court, Freeman Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne NE7 7DN.

John Moynihan Funeral Service

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Gerry Cox on the Match of the Day farewell to a football writer and friend.

THE CREAM of British sportswriting talent turned out in numbers to honour John Moynihan at the football writer’s funeral service on Tuesday January 30.

Hugh McIlvanney, Brian Glanville, Pat Collins and Henry Winter were among the many at Mortlake Crematorium for the service, where John’s former Sunday Telegraph colleague Colin Malam did a reading and evoked fond memories of John, who was 79 when he passed away two weeks ago.

John’s son Leo, himself a fine football writer and an FWA member, paid tribute to his loving father in a moving eulogy, which recalled his colourful life. John grew up in bohemian circles, with his artist father Rodrigo commissioned to paint a portrait at the family home of the young Princess Elizabeth, now our Queen. John’s frustration at being unable to enter the room where the Princess sat was understandable.

The stories were many and surprising. Few of us who knew John realised that he’d briefly been a music writer, but realised it was not for him after suggesting to the Beatles that their bubble had burst when ‘She Loves You” was knocked off the top of the pops in 1962.

It was in the 1960s that he got the chance to write about his first love, football, and more specifically Chelsea, the club he followed and adored.

Leo recalled how, as a young boy, he would get postcards from tournaments in exotic places, and even the odd crackly long-distance phone call, enabling him to go to school the next day, bursting with pride that his father was covering the World Cup. Perhaps we take for granted now the fact that our friends and families still marvel at the wonderful opportunities this career affords us.

Leo explained that on the day John was fatally injured by a car, the two of them had lunch while discussing how John would celebrate his 80th birthday this summer. As a fixture at Chelsea Arts Club, he would have one party with his ‘arty’ friends, while another for his colleagues from many years covering football. Another party would accommodate those he played and partied with at Chelsea Casuals and then Battersea Park FC, and then finally a family celebration.

Sadly it was not to be, but the celebration of John’s life was concluded in upbeat spirit as the Match of the Day theme tune played us out of the service, and the stories and memories were exchanged long into the evening at the Chelsea Arts Club.

It was a fitting tribute to a fine football writer and friend.

The FWA was represented by former chairmen, Alex Montgomery, Brian Scovell and Gerry Cox, and many other members.

FWA Q&A: Neil Ashton

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The Daily Mail’s Neil Ashton on clapping Palace fans, Iniesta’s goal and a whopper in Buenos Aires…

Have you ever worked in a profession other than journalism?
Yes, I worked in my mother’s restaurant when I was about 16/17. I loved it, particularly as I set out in each shift to earn more in tips than I did in salary (which wasn’t difficult on my mother’s rates). I also worked for a corporate events company in golf, which allowed me to travel around the world and in return I rarely got paid. It didn’t last long, much as I enjoyed it.

Finest achievement playing football?
When Steve Coppell turned to me and said: “You’re on” in Geoff Thomas’s benefit game at the Colosseum between Palace and Manchester United in 2006. To play in the same team as my boyhood heroes – Geoff, Mark Bright, Ian Wright and Andy Gray and to play centre-half against Mark Hughes – was something I didn’t imagine could ever happen. Shaun Custis from the Sun was on the phone the next day and he said: “Right, you’ve got two minutes to tell me everything and then I never want to hear another word about it again.” Somehow I forgot to tell him I had clapped the Palace supporters in the Holmesdale Road when I walked off the pitch – unfortunately for me it has now become part of Matt Lawton’s entertaining dinner party stories.

Most memorable match covered?
On the rare occasion when I need to remind myself of the reasons why I love the game, I think of the unique roar that went up from a corner of Barcelona fans when Andres Iniesta scored that remarkable stoppage time equaliser at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League semi-final second leg in 2009. I’ve never heard a sound like it and I was transfixed by the celebrations that
followed by the corner flag.

The one moment in football you would put on a DVD?
Professionally it has to be Iniesta’s goal against Chelsea – the moment it left his boot, it was destined to beat Petr Cech. Personally it’s John Motson’s commentary of Mark Bright’s hooked, left foot equaliser against Liverpool in the 1990 FA Cup semi-final at Villa Park. On the Holte End we momentarily stood in shock each time Palace scored and it was only a second or so later when we realised the linesman’s flag hadn’t gone up, it was bedlam.

Best stadium?
The Millennium Stadium in Cardiff is magnificent. For historical significance, then it’s tough to beat Camp Nou or the Bernabeu.

…and the worst?
None. I still get a knot in my stomach on matchday, a real sense of anticipation and it doesn’t matter which game I’m going to. I got the same feeling in the days when I covered Crewe v Port Vale as I do for the Champions League final – to the supporters it means just as much.

Your best ever scoop?
I’m not one for patting myself on the back. I prefer to look ahead and would like to think that my best stories are still ahead of me.

Biggest mistake?
This question brings me out in a cold sweat. I once got an introduction to a property developer who wanted to buy Elland Road at the height of their financial troubles. The developer wanted to pull down the stadium – Billy Bremner statue and all – and suggested that the mighty Leeds went to groundshare with Barnsley while they redeveloped the site for a supermarket. It didn’t go down well with Leeds fans.

Have you ever been mistaken for anyone else?
No, although I’ve been told AVB looks like me.

Favourite football writer?
I would love to be able to write with the touch or poise of Hayward, but it’s never going to happen. In terms of emerging talent, Sami Mokbel at the Daily Mail has the fearless qualities that are required of news reporters. Good on him.

Favourite TV commentator?
Has to be Bryon Butler, painting a picture and mesmerising the radio audience with that incredible change of pace. His description of Maradona’s second goal at the 1986 World Cup – Maradona, turns like a little eel, he comes away from trouble, little squab man, comes inside Butcher and leaves him for dead, outside Fenwick and leaves him for dead, and puts the ball away…and that is why
Maradona is the greatest player in the world…’ is broadcasting at the highest level.

Most media friendly manager?
Harry. Doesn’t everyone say this?

Best ever player?
Zizou. I still marvel at his ability, La Roulette trick that took two or three players out of the game in one spin of those magical boots. The guy was something else.

Best ever teams (club and international)
CLUB: Current Barcelona team, although Ajax’s 1995 Champions League winning team would give them a game. INTERNATIONAL: Spain in 2008 and 2010. The football’s breathtaking at times.

Best pre-match grub?
Wembley, provided it’s an FA event. They really know how to look after the media.

Best meal had on your travels?
Carlos Tevez’s two best friends in Argentina took me into Fuerte Apache and in return I told them to book the best restaurant in Buenos Aires – they got the driver to take us Burger King and they dined out with whoppers, fries and genetically-modified Sprites. Respect

…and the worst?
Any time I have to eat food on the run or from an airport.

Best hotel stayed in?
The Faena in Buenos Aires. England’s general manager Franco Baldini could have a nice sideline business in hotel recommendations around the world.

…and the worst?
When I put my bags down in my room at the Cabanas in Sun City for the World Cup in South Africa, I wondered how I would ever get through the next 42 days and nights. The only thing that spared me was the company of the Independent’s Sam Wallace and the Sunday Telegraph’s “foot corr” as he calls himself, Duncan White.

If you could introduce one change to improve PR between football clubs and football writers what would it be?
I wouldn’t really, they do a solid job in tough circumstances. Perhaps I’d probably remind them that they are employees of the club and are not part of the management or squad. I’ve seen press officers walk on to the pitch to high five players and pat them on the bum at the end of a game and I’ve seen players kissed on both cheeks by female press officers when they come out of the dressing rooms. It’s unnecessary, but can understand why it happens when people are caught up in the moment.

One sporting event outside football you would love to experience?
Has to be the US Open at Flushing Meadows.

Favourite current TV programme?
What is this, Shoot! magazine? I flick through the channels and find some football. If there’s nothing live, then it’s Football Greatest Managers on Sky, or FA Cup Legends on ESPN.

Last book read?
I’ve been reading A Life Too Short, the tragic story of the German goalkeeper Robert Enke, since the start of November, but the poor guy had so many demons I can only read it in short passages.

Your most prized football memorabilia?
I paid an absolute fortune for Crystal Palace’s famous adidas sash kit from the 1980/81 season worn by the No7 at the time David Giles – it’s an absolute beaut and I wouldn’t sell it for a million pounds. Mark Bright’s No9 shirt from the 0-9 defeat at Anfield in September 1989 and Ian Wright’s No10 shirt from 1987/88 are also up there. I collect match-worn Crystal Palace shirts and have told the chairman Steve Parish he can put the entire collection on display in the grand entrance hall to their new stadium when they finally move there.
ENDS

A super job for American Football writer

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Nothing left to chance

Footballers must speak to the media

Living in the spotlight

By CHRISTOPHER DAVIES

IMAGINE the scene: Manchester United and Manchester City players are handed booklets containing the names, photographs and details of the football writers covering the clubs. Ditto every club in the Barclays Premier League.

Yet at the start of each season the players and coaches of all 32 teams in the National Football League are told who the beat reporters following them throughout the coming season will be. Names, photos and some background.

Covering English football is a wonderful job, a paid hobby in many ways but far from easy compared with our Stateside colleagues. For players and the English press it is too often them-and-us with access to players and managers limited, at times almost censored.

Reporters who follow the NFL shake their heads in disbelief when they hear of our working conditions, not least because each day after practice they enjoy 45 minutes for media access. It is not so much a different world but a dream world for FWA members whose only chance to speak to the manager and maybe one player is usually the day before a match.

On Sunday February 5 the New England Patriots play the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI in the Lucas Oil stadium, Indianapolis. Around 5,000 reporters from 25 different countries will be in Indiana and as always, the Super Bowl media operation will be professional, slick and as error-free as possible.

David Tossell, director of public affairs (Europe) for NFL International, will be working at his 17th Super Bowl. A former Slough Observer sports editor and executive sports editor of Today before switching codes, Tossell knows the problems football reporters face here and how the NFL usually succeed in making the Super Bowl a moan-free media event.

He said: “There are two areas where the NFL are particularly good. One is if something isn’t working they will try to refine it and secondly, once they find a system works they stick to it. Outside of the advance of new technology many procedures are the same as when I joined the NFL.

“All 32 teams send their PR directors and staff to work at the Super Bowl media centre undertaking various roles. There are always more than enough people to work with the media. They would rather have someone sitting there for a while not doing anything ready to help a reporter than a press representative not being to find anybody available.”

The Super Bowl hosts are chosen three or four years in advance, after Indianapolis it is New Orleans and then New York for the first time. The bidding process is like the Olympics, the city puts together a presentation and the NFL owners make the decision.

The media operation moved into overdrive the week before the Conference Championship games played a fortnight before the Super Bowl.

Tossell said: “The guys who head up the NFL PR operation in New York met with representatives of the four remaining teams in Indianapolis to run through media requirements for the Super Bowl. Nothing is left to chance.”

Super Bowl media week begins on the Monday when the teams arrive in Indianapolis. Tossell said: “Both head coaches and four or five players must be available soon after they arrive at their hotels for a 30-minute session.”

Must be available?

“Yes,” said Tossell. “Media obligations are in their contracts.”

And if they don’t?

“They are fined. Marv Levy, head coach of the Buffalo Bills, was so busy going through game film once he forgot about a press conference. I think he was fined $50,000.”

Tuesday is media day, organised chaos with every player available for an hour in the stadium. “It’s an opportunity for everyone to speak to everyone. Over the years the media day has become an event in its own right.”

But occasionally the lunatics take over the media asylum.

“You might get a reporter dressed as a bride asking a quarterback to marry her. Each year someone from a Mexican TV station conducts his interviews through a glove puppet.”

The head coaches and selected players have to do further one-hour press conferences on subsequent days which inevitably has led to some memorable questions from reporters bereft of ideas later in the week.

When Doug Williams of the Washington Redskins became the first black quarterback to play in the Super Bowl he was asked: “Doug, how long have you been a black quarterback?”

He replied: “I’ve been black all my life and a quarterback about 20 years.”

However, John Elway of the Denver Broncos was stumped, excuse the pun, when he was asked: “If you were a tree, which tree would you be?”

The inevitable comparison with the Super Bowl is the FA Cup final but the competitiveness between English national newspapers and their desire (or demand) to have material not available to agencies makes an open house policy difficult.

Apart from USA Today there are no national newspapers in the States, most cities having just one or two papers and no fierce rivalry like the tabloids, particularly, are involved in.

Tossell said: “The first commitment the NFL requires is for teams to be in town on the Monday. I’m not sure how Sir Alex Ferguson would react if the Football Association told him United must be in London five days before the final.”

Players in the English leagues do not have the media experience and therefore not the necessary communication skills of those in the NFL, clubs preferring to keep the press at arm’s length (a long arm, too). Those who play in the NFL have a slow but effective learning curve starting at high school.

Tossell said: “A 16-year-old playing soccer in England would be virtually unknown. High school football in the States is hugely popular and the kids are media stars from the age of 16 so they grow up speaking to the press.

“At college level coverage is more intense and if they reach NFL level players are given specialised media training.

“The system in England has gone so far down a certain path I’m not sure if, realistically, it could be changed. The players wouldn’t necessarily be equipped to deal with it plus there is the competitiveness between national papers. Would they want a situation where everybody gets everything? I’m not sure.”

If the NFL remains the barometer for media access, referees would also welcome English football following the lead of grid-iron where head coaches are discouraged, if not actively banned, from speaking about match officials.

“By and large everyone sticks to it,” said Tossell. “A coach might say they were unlucky with a call but you won’t find a personal attack against an official because they know what happens to any official who makes a mistake.

“On Monday morning in the NFL TV studio every play of every game is reviewed and scrutinised. Every official’s calls will be checked and they are marked. If someone makes a couple of bad calls the league will contact him and help him eradicate any errors. The seven officials with the highest marks take charge of the Super Bowl.”

One aspect of the National Football League many would like to see introduced into English football is replaying controversial incidents. Broadly speaking, in the NFL each coach has two challenges per half. If the challenge is not upheld they are penalised with a time-out which is a significant loss. One of the coach’s assistants monitoring the game on TV in a booth will see the replay and advise the coach accordingly.

However, subjective decisions, such as a holding call or illegal blocking, cannot be challenged, only issues of fact.

Tossell said: “It’s only whether the call is wrong or not, such as a player being out of bounds, that can be challenged. There has to be incontrovertible proof the call was wrong otherwise they stay with the original decision.

“I think goal-line technology would help football because whether all of the ball has gone over all of the line is a fact. But I can see problems in stopping a game for other decisions.”

At a time when managers and players are too often in the news for the wrong reasons, the tolerance level of the NFL and the FA could hardly be more marked.

Tossell said: “The NFL is massively protective of its image and anything that could damage that is punished. Coaches bad-mouthing officials and players misbehaving on the field won’t be tolerated and are dealt with quickly. If a player is deemed guilty of an illegal hit he receives a letter the next day from the Commissioner’s office telling him he’s been fined $35,000 or whatever. There are few appeals.”

David Tossell’s latest book, about the life of Derek Dougan, will be published later this year.

Farewell to a Friend

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Ian Laws was the sort of guy who gave reporters a good name.

SUNDERLAND Echo journalist Ian Laws died on January 26 of a suspected heart attack at the tragically young age of 41. Friend and colleague Graeme Anderson recalls the man known to one and all as Lawsy.

IT’S still impossible to take in the fact that Ian Laws has gone, but the truth is we might have lost him in the spring of ’99 when, by his own account, an elephant almost sat on him.

Lawsy had gone over to Denmark on something of a scoop. We’d just broken the story that Carsten Fredgaard was to become Sunderland’s expensive close-season signing, and our man had flown over to watch him in action for Lyngby ahead of his move.

Afterwards, Fredgaard happily consented to an interview and photographs, (if only the midfielder had been as good a footballer as he was affable a man!), and Lawsy had suggested the local zoo as one of the locations to get a sense of place for his pictures.

So engrossed was Lawsy in getting his photograph – and those who knew him could vouch for how absorbed in a task he could get – that he failed to notice the grey bulk of the giant herbivore ambling backwards towards him.

Only the strangled cry of the increasingly concerned Dane alerted the focused photographer, and a startled Lawsy jumped out of the way just as Dumbo swished past him.

Lawsy couldn’t help but laugh on his return home, wondering how the Echo would have tactfully reported his demise.

It’s a good story and I hope you like it. I’ve got loads of them.

But then everyone who came into contact with Ian tended to have a humorous tale to tell.

It’s remarkable to think how many times a mention of his name in company would bring a smile to the faces of those present, for he had a rare ability to get on with pretty much anyone.

He was a character, but not in a loud, brash way.

He was bloke-ish, loved the banter and crack of his mates or any fans he got into conversation with, but always listened twice as much as he spoke.

And when he did speak, it was invariably worth listening to. When I think of him, it’s always with him with a smile or a big grin on his face and he loved to laugh.

He had the driest sense of humour, I think, of anyone I’ve ever met and it came to him instinctively.

Last year, giving him a lift into town from the Echo, for example, we pulled on to Chester Road at the Hastings Hill roundabout and looked over to the fields of grass left after the recent clearances of Pennywell’s council estates.

“Eee, I remember this when it was all houses, you know,” he said absent-mindedly.

Lawsy came out with stuff like that all the time. He was modest and self-effacing, but he was as sharp as a tack.

As a journalist, he was the sort of guy who gives reporters a good name.

I got to know him well, over the course of a decade spent living in each other’s pockets, and I enjoyed his company enormously.

The Echo’s budget does not stretch to separate rooms for its reporters during coverage of away games, so he was my room-mate and we became known as “Eric and Ernie”, with wind-up colleagues occasionally enquiring which one of us had the glasses and pipe and which the slippers and toupee.

We never really thought of it as odd, but that’s journalism for you and long before his encounter with the elephant, he’d got used to the bizarreness which sometimes comes with the job.

As a news reporter, he’d already sung karaoke on live morning television; dressed up as Long John Silver for a carnival float, and cycled from the Board Inn to Fawcett Street in competition with a bus and car to see which was the fastest way into town after the new bus “super-route” had been introduced on Durham Road.

For the record, he and his bike won.

It was sport, though – football especially and Sunderland Football Club in particular – that was his passion, and he relished his decade on the Echo sports desk from 1999-2010.

It wasn’t always easy for him.

There’s a vast difference between being a supporter of Sunderland Football Club and a reporter on Sunderland Football Club – even if the hearts are in the same place.

Any view you espouse will automatically alienate someone, even if the majority might agree with you.

Every time you reveal a fact or a story, there’s a danger you’ll upset someone who’d rather it had stayed secret. And even the most harmless disclosures of information can sometimes cause offence in the super-sensitive world of football.

At such times of conflict and misery, you’d occasionally hear Lawsy quietly repeating to himself, reminding himself: “It is my job, not my life. It is my job, not my life. It is my job, not my life.”

Despite the words themselves, I always took it is an indication of how deeply he cared and how sensitive he remained, despite years in the hard-knock world of his chosen career.

Not that such unhappy times happened very often.

Lawsy was very good at his job – boxing promoter Frank Maloney once famously refused to start a press conference because Ian was running late, telling the disbelieving press corps: “We’ll wait a few minutes until Lawsy gets here.”

Ian’s last interview was carried out this week, when he talked to Julio Arca ahead of tomorrow’s Sunderland-Middlesbrough game – a piece which will appear in the club’s matchday programme.

Programme editor Rob Mason said: “Ian apologised if the piece was longer than expected but said he was enjoying himself so much cracking on to Julio again, that it over-ran.”

Julio told the Echo: “I cannot believe Ian is dead.

“It was good speaking to him just a few days ago and I was expecting to see him and his son, James, at the match on Sunday. I enjoyed the interview and I remember during my time at Sunderland that the players liked and respected him.”

Tributes like that have flowed into the Echo since his death.

Mick McCarthy rang up the club to ask for his condolences to be passed on to the family. Boxer Tony Jeffries’ dad, Phil, said: “Our family are utterly devastated by the news. We’ve spoken to Frank Maloney who is in New York and he’s shell-shocked but wants to try to make it back for the funeral.”

Chairman Niall Quinn expressed his condolences. Gary Bennett rang up in disbelief. David Craig called to offer the thoughts of all at Sky Sports to his family and friends. Journalists from across the sports industry have been in touch and continue to call offering their support.

Former manager Peter Reid said: “I’ve always thought that when you’re a manager, you need a good relationship with your local man. You need to be able to trust them, confide in them at times even, so that they’re in the picture and report accurately.

“Lawsy was just a young lad when he started covering the club, but he picked things up quickly and you could have a laugh with him, too. It’s terrible news and my heart goes out to his family and his kids.”

The Sunderland Echo was a very sombre place to be when we heard the news. It felt like a death in the family, which in a way, it was. He was well-liked throughout the company.

Everyone who came into contact with Lawsy soon felt as though they knew him. He was open and giving and easy to get on with. But, in truth, he was a very private person and kept his private life largely to himself.

Several of his close friends in journalism still have the text he sent to his mates
out of the blue which simply said: “Got married today.”

On an away trip on the south coast after a game against Portsmouth, we were giving him stick in a late-night pub for the fact his phone was constantly ringing. “Well,” he admitted, finally getting sick of the mickey-taking: “It IS my birthday.”

If the wedding had to go uncelebrated, at least the birthday didn’t, and I still remember the goldfish bowl size cocktail the pressmen chipped in to buy him – a wary Lawsy observing: “So that’s what absinthe looks like.”

Throughout his life, his deep love for Sunderland Football Club, shone through.

So there was a strange appropriateness to the fact that when he died on Thursday night, he was wearing a Sunderland shirt.

His love for the club, however – great though it was – was nothing compared to his love for his family and in particular his children – Lauren, James and Millie.

Private person though he was, everyone who knew Lawsy understood how much he adored his kids.

He was utterly devoted to them.

And while our loss is massive, theirs is incalculable.

A little more than a year ago, Lawsy left the sports desk and moved into the expanding internet side of the newspaper business.

He had grown a little disillusioned with the way football was going, disappointed that the personal relationships he had struck up with players like Julio were now things of the past as access to players became more and more restricted with each passing season.

But the driving force behind his decision to leave sport was that he could spend more weekends, more time generally, with his children.

I’m glad that he got to spend more time with them in those last 15 months.

Though it will be no consolation to them right now, I hope they take some comfort eventually from the knowledge that he leaves them with a host of golden memories and the fact they could not have had a better dad.

For my part, I will miss the kindness and warmth of my friend and his good counsel down the years.

Rest in peace, Lawsy. Rest in peace, Ian.

This article first appeared in the Sunderland Echo

My Week: Alan McKinlay

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Mirror assistant sports editor Alan McKinlay on ingrowing toenails, players tweeting during games and the most miserable man on earth…

SUNDAY JANUARY 22
Been looking forward to this day for ages, which kicks off with what, for once, really is a Super Sunday double bill. In fact it is so Super that it is no longer a big enough description. Today is Showdown Sunday, no less. No worries about what we will lead on the back with tomorrow morning. And thanks to Balotelli once again, we have a great story to go with with two classic matches. Off to the Savoy for the Football Writers’ Association Tribute to Gary Neville and Paul Scholes in the evening. This is the event where partners are allowed to come along, so tonight, rather than be on the Mirror table, I am going as the arm candy of my wife Julie, who works on the back bench of the People Sports Desk. Great event, and the Savoy staff are plentiful and hard-working. Haven’t seen that level of uniformed efficiency since Kim Jong-Il’s funeral.

The interview with tonight’s guests of honour a little long I thought, but that could just be because I couldn’t wait to get home to watch my beloved San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship game. I did, though, enjoy Gary Neville’s response to Ben Shepherd’s suggestion that he may have followed Paul Scholes’ lead and thought about a comeback, or at least that he had perhaps retired too early. Neville said definetly not and added: “Did you see my last two games?”

MONDAY JANUARY 23
The wee small hours of Monday proved entertaining (last week’s 49ers victory over the New Orleans Saints was the beast NFL game I have seen in 30 years of watching) but ultimately disappointing as the New York Giants beat the Niners thanks to a couple of spectacularly bad plays by the reserve kick returner. I took it badly, but not as badly as my 24-year-old son, who is still in mourning a week later. At least it provided a good topic to write about later in the week, especially as the “guilty man”, Kyle Williams, became the latest sports figure to receive death threats from so-called fans. Today was due to be my gym induction, but that laughable notion was made even more so by my suddenly painful ingrown toenail rendering the putting-on of my dust-laden trainers impossible. The upside? A few more days of not having to go to the gym. The office loved it. My supportive Mirror colleagues are still laughing. Instead of starting a new fitness regime, I attend to failing parts of my body with a visit to the dentist and the chiropodist. Did you know they don’t use anaesthetic when they treat an ingrown toenail?

TUESDAY JANUARY 24
IT’S rare for a story to be greeted in the same way by the warring tribes of football followers, but our back page story “City Fine Tev £9.3m” would surely have provoked the same reaction among all our readers, namely: “Good. I hope it hurts”. Tevez’s list of excuses for his behaviour has changed more often than Manchester United’s 3rd kit. It’s gratifying to know he is not getting away with it.

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 25
Craig Bellamy scores the decisive goal as Liverpool complete a remarkable turnaround from the weekend capitulation against Bolton to a vibrant victory over Manchester City. Kenny Dalglish is extraordinary. He has perfected the look of the most miserable man on earth during interviews and after defeats, and yet he looks the happiest man on earth when his team scores or wins. Final Bell is our headline as Bellamy books a Wembley showdown against his hometown team. A post-midnight on-air chat with the talkSPORT Sports Bar team of Andy Goldstein and Ray Parlour provides an enjoyable end to a busy day.

THURSDAY JANUARY 26
The Mirror is about to launch a re-design of its website, which will include a column on American sport. I should probably call it a blog as its online. Today is the deadline for the first one, before we go “live” next week. Even though I’ve always been a production journalist at the Mirror, and football is the greatest sport of all, my addiction to American sport means I’ve been lucky enough to cover 14 Super Bowls as well as a number of other US sports and interviewing the likes of Michael Jordan, Joe Montana, Shaquille O’Neal and Reggie Jackson. One element of the, er, blog, will be a little section entitled Only In America, which hopefully will feature some of the whackier elements of sport across the pond. I like the first one. It was announced that during the Pro Bowl (the NFL’s All Star game in Hawaii played the week before the Super Bowl) the players will be allowed to Tweet DURING the game. Each team will have a designated tweet zone on the sidelines. Could this ever happen in the Barclays Premier League? You can certainly imagine Joey Barton being sent-off and tweeting his disapproval as he disappears up the tunnel.

FRIDAY JANUARY 27
It’s a toss-up between Mario Balotelli’s agent Mino Raiola and Carlos Tevez’s representative Kia Joorabchian as to which one has produced the most ridiculous defence of their client. But this week on Sky Sports News, Raiola out-nonsensed himself to earn him top billing on the Sport On TV column, which I enjoy doing as it offers a chance to do a bit of writing, even if it is only “ a dozen crispies” as our old sports news editor used to say.

I’m often responsible for our Mirror Football eight-page pull-out on Saturday morning, but as tonight’s live games (Watford v Spurs and Everton v Fulham) will take up pages 1, 2 and 3, the opportunity to try to come up with our customarily off-beat cover is denied me. It’ll be back next week though. My last job of the working week is a quick interview with Radio Five’s Doton Adebayo for the Up All Night programme, which is basically a run-through of what we have in the paper the following morning. Apart from the previews of the two “grudge” games (Liverpool-United and QPR-Chelsea) which all the papers lead with on the back, I particularly like the story that Newcastle boss Alan Pardew is taking the Cup so seriously this year that he is even talking about fielding a stronger team in the Cup than in the league to give his team their best chance of winning a trophy.

Maybe Danny Blanchflower’s statement that the game is really all about glory could still be true. Maybe, I start thinking, the Cup really could be on the way back.

SATURDAY JANUARY 28
The busiest day of the week for most FWA members is always a day off for me. As I can’t get a ticket to see my team QPR (offically the worst Cup team in Britain over the last 12 years) inevitably lose to Chelsea, it’s feet up in front of the TV. I am of the generation that grew up believing that the greatest thing you could ever achieve in life was scoring the winner in and FA Cup final. Not World Cup, not European Cup, the FA Cup – and I still love the competition. First QPR go out and then Newcastle, who had immediately become my “second team” in the Cup because of their self-confessed dedication to it, crash out at Brighton. So much for honesty. I discover, when my wife gets home and delivers the early edition of the People, that most of the Newcastle team, plus the manager, were on the lash in the Canaries as part of their build-up to the game. Turns out Alan Pardew is not quite as big a fan of the FA Cup as I had hoped. And they say journalists are the cynical ones.

My Week: Jim van Wijk

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Jim van Wijk on a gay Dutchman, a bad back and how a PA reporter’s work never seems to stop

MONDAY JANUARY 16
Day off, which I guess is as good a way to start the week as any. However, with a young family, you are never really, off are you? Today is Daddy Day Care, so help with the school run and then at home with my 3-year-old son, who would, you suspect, rather be at his pre-school than stuck at home – still, Bob The Builder to the rescue. Few errands, including the little man’s first haircut, a snip at £11, which at least keep me away from the latest chapter of Arsenal’s meltdown after their 3-2 defeat at Swansea. Heard George Graham on talkSPORT saying the Gooners needed Chris Samba after his transfer request at Blackburn, while Chelsea sign Gary Cahill for around just what Arsenal could have got him for in the last window. Caught some of the Wigan v Manchester City game on the radio in between Brownies drop-off and pick-up. Win when you are not playing well is the sign of champions.

TUESDAY JANUARY 17
Was back at the Docs this morning, more tests following on from a Lumber Puncture in October. Can’t say I can recommend having fluid drained from your spine. Apparently I am an enigma. Sounds painful. Still, sleep or no sleep, it’s off into Press Association HQ in Victoria for a legal refresher along with my London reporter colleagues. Not often we are all seen in the same place at once, well, maybe apart from the manager’s post-match press conference AND down the mixed zone, but that is a special art. All interesting stuff from PA’s long-serving legal eagle Mike Dodd. Qualified privilege from a press conference is indeed a wonderful thing, although don’t get me started on the minefield which is Twitter. Once managed to defame myself with an infamous “Norwich sign big-Gay Dutchman” intro, but we don’t talk about that any more. Cahill does his first interview with Chelsea TV. “It was never about the money”. It never is son, it never is.

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 18
Duty reporter from home today, covering all of the London clubs, oh and the eastern most outpost in the top flight, which is where the first news breaks with confirmation from Leeds that Norwich are in for captain Jonny Howson. Fee “understood” to be around £2million. Next up, hold the back page as Fulham sign 17-year-old midfielder Jack Grimmer from Aberdeen, as well as “highly rated” Danish Under-17 international Lasse Vigen Christensen from FC Midtjylland. Not content with that, there is also a new contract for evergreen Mark Schwarzer, who targets 2014 World Cup with the Socceroos. Hoover up a bit of Spurs as captain Ledley King tells talkSPORT no-one is talking up a title tilt at White Hart Lane after the euphoria of that battling draw with Wolves. Had hoped our intrepid reporter Simon Peach would pull something out of the bag from what had looked a decent job with Scott Parker at a football centre launch. Would have been nice if he could have actually spoken to the serving FWA Footballer of the Year, rather than watch from afar – along with a couple of national newspaper men and even Sky. PR and disaster spring to mind. Not finished there, though, as some JT doing the rounds, with the Chelsea skipper happy to see desire of unhappy players at warming the bench. Such is the talk of champions, right? FA Cup replays in the evening kind of pass me by, as does El Clasico. Guess there is only so much football one man can take. Watch DVD of Norwich’s UEFA Cup run. Hopefully sweet dreams.

THURSDAY JANUARY 19
Sadly the thoughts of Jeremy Goss and company did not do the job as I endure another near sleepless night. Still, maybe the boys down at LOCOG’s anti-doping lab in Harlow can come up with a concoction to help. Olympics closing fast, which means more interest for all things London 2012. Will be covering the judo and Taekwondo in the summer (used to be a bit handy myself at the old Ashi-Guruma back in the day), but weigh in with anything around the edges which may come up – and nice to cover a ‘local’ job for a change. Quick dart down the M11 and make it through the heightened security at the GlaxoSmithKline base for a briefing with Sports Minister Hugh Robertson and Professor David Cowan, or “London 2012 anti-doping chief” as he would become in my nightlead. Quick story filed off the press release, “no place to hide for drug cheats” warns Robertson – writes itself really, and then it is off with the video camera (yes, that’s right, now we are multi-tasking, white balance, focus and the lot) through into the lab. All interesting stuff, if you are into that kind of thing. BBC sports editor David Bond is certainly in his element, white lab coat and safety glasses to boot. Story gets decent coverage on national and regional news in the evening. Let’s hope the only positive to come out of the lab in Games times is 6,000 negative tests as they work around the clock to stay ahead of the those who would cheat the very foundations of the Olympic ideal.

FRIDAY JANUARY 20
Off to London Colney for Arsenal press conference with Arsene Wenger ahead of Manchester United game on the Sunday. Arrive around an hour ahead of kick-off as usual, which is later than my video colleague who rolled up at half eight after being told it was a 0930 start by the office. Plenty on the agenda as always. Wenger questioned about gap on the top four, flat bats usual transfer enquiries, some interesting views on feeder clubs, which he feels would go against the ethos of the English game. Inclined to agree with him. Oh, and of course the regular inquiry from Japanese journalists over Ryo Miyaichi. When we break off for the embargoed newspaper briefing, Wenger goes on the offensive over perceived injustices. Some guy in Sweden has done a study which showed if all decisions were correct Arsenal would have been second last season. Erm, okay….. Key question comes from Daily Star’s David Woods, following up from his excellent interview with chairman Peter Hill-Wood. “Would it be a disaster if Arsenal don’t finish in the top four, Arsene?” .. “For me, it would be, yes.” Thank you very much. It’s not over there, though, as on to the “Sundays” section, which again must be held back until agreed slot, which this time is late on Saturday night. Wojciech Szczesny is on the agenda, how was the confident young Pole after shipping eight against United at Old Trafford in August, and a bit about Theo, who had a “bit of a dip over Christmas”. Still worth a new 80K a week deal, though, heh? Bash out Wenger rally cry and bit on feeder leagues, not forgetting team news, then it is back around the M25 just ahead of the Friday afternoon rush. Mrs vW is having a well deserved night off, out at bingo, never know, she might get lucky, so juggle kids and dinner (not literally) before the laptop comes out again to finish off embargoed copy and dig around for some additional material for “early” Saturday slot to run before main piece on Szczesny. Found some Robin van Persie tucked away on website, which will do just nicely, or so I thought…

SATURDAY JANUARY 21
Awake from yet another night of broken sleep – was never this bad when Logan was still feeding – and it is an early start to my home town for the small matter of Norwich v Chelsea. E-mail from the desk alert me to RvP interview in The Sun, which kind of scuppers my plans as covering much of the same ground. Thankfully Arsenal Player save the day again with some Szczesny on Wojciech, which can be padded out with the manager defending his (non)transfer policy which did not get much airtime with everything else from yesterday’s briefing. Listen in while munching a steak & kidney pie in Carrow Road press room (not quite Delia Smith, but tasty nevertheless), and then also bash out the embargoed piece before kick off, as well as page one of five in running copy. “Chelsea striker Fernando Torres was handed another chance to break his goal drought with a start against Norwich at Carrow Road.” 90 minutes later, it was always going to be “Fernando Torres fired another blank as battling Norwich held Chelsea to a goalless draw at Carrow Road.” Even through yellow-tinted glasses, this has been some season by Paul Lambert’s squad. Another solid display, okay against an out-of-sorts Chelsea, but nevertheless things look on course for survival. Hope that’s not the kiss of death. Post-match is usual scramble for manager and follow-up quotes. The old second tape recorder comes into it’s own, as I “pick up” Lambert’s Sundays briefing, while making sure am there when AVB speaks to the Monday papers. Copy again strictly embargoed until Sunday night. But by now, it is all part of the game. No Chelsea players were made available ahead of their sunshine break in Spain, so grab a few words with Norwich defender Zak Whitbread. 6ft 3ins Texan born – and raised in Liverpool. Says it all really. Then it is on with the “live” quotes, as AVB rues over what could well be a costly missed opportunity, or indeed a good point depending on what happens on Super Sunday. Back up the A140 and, for a change, I am home in time for tea with the family, and a rare bit of Saturday night tele before the old girl is fired up again and it’s on with the “follow-ups”… no fewer than two for each club, one with resourceful “leftovers” to make sure PA customers have something ahead of the embargoed copy, which will run later on Sunday evening. Lambert hailing how far Canaries have climbed since he took over at bottom of League One, and AVB on efficiency deficiencies will keep things ticking over nicely, before Norwich keeper John Ruddy gives his take on a wonder save and possibly changing his wedding plans if he does get an England call-up this summer and some strong words from AVB about how fans should lay off Anton Ferdinand in next weekend’s FA Cup tie with QPR. More on that sure to come you feel. All done just in time for MOTD, if I can stay awake.

SUNDAY JANUARY 22
FWA Gala Tribute Evening to honour Gary Neville and Paul Scholes is upon us again. Lots to organise at home ahead of departure with wife for our annual night away, so once rabbit is cleaned out, laundry done, cupboards stocked up & everything sorted for kids usual hectic Monday morning, we set off for what turns out to be a relaxed slow drive into central London. Arrive in time to catch some of Arsenal v Man Utd with none other than esteemed FWA colleague Chris Davies in hotel bar, which goes kind of how I expected – apart from RvP missing a sitter. At least the final result meant our guests of honour who arrive in a decent mood, if a little late. Help out pre-dinner at Savoy, making sure our video man is in place, who provides footage for the association’s new-look website & also gets some copy out on the PA wires (been there, done that!) Finally get a chance to relax, catching up on much-needed quality time with the wife & some old friends – one of whom had just flew back from China, with no dinner suit & had to ‘borrow’ my shoes, which were a size too small. (he is a Norwich fan, so guess understandable). Food was excellent as usual (wonder if the crab was shipped in from Cromer – and if not, why not?) From an organisational point of view evening goes well, with touching tribute from Sir Alex Ferguson & Ben Shepherd hosting Q&A, which the missus said ‘dragged on a bit with all that talking about football’, but guess you can’t have everything – especially at £13 for a vodka & coke. Cheers.

FWA Q&A: Alex Montgomery

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ALEX MONTGOMERY on ladies panties, what really makes an exclusive, dark days in the Sun and a snake in South Korea

Your first ever newspaper?
The Sunday Post. My work was split between the Post and Weekly News. It was a great training ground made greater by one exceptional journalist, John Dron, then sports editor of the Post. Any career I have had would not have seen the light of day without his mentoring. John died recently and my regret is not being able to attend his funeral.

Have you ever worked in a profession other than journalism?
My schooling was a disaster which ended with me being shown the door as a 15-year-old. I have more in common with Kelvin MacKenzie than he would suspect; the count is one O-level apiece. My first job was in a Glasgow shipping office. From there I moved to a clothing manufacturer in the east end of Glasgow. The speciality was producing ladies panties so I became a panty makers assistant on £5 a week. I had to stand on a platform doing nothing more technical than cutting material in front of a group of local ladies on sewing machines. I lasted six weeks but still carry the scars. From there I made up for lost learning time, then into journalism.

What was your finest achievement playing football?
There was no fine achievement. I was next to useless. My centre of gravity, my backside, was too far from the ground. That’s my excuse.

Most memorable match covered?
It was series of matches involving Brazil, Argentina and Italy in Barcelona during the World Cup Finals of 1982. Other matches which live long in the memory: England’s European Championship 4-1 victory in Belgrade against Yugoslavia (Nov 1987). It was special because it was so comprehensive when we had gathered to record the end of Bobby Robson as national manager; England’s brilliant performance in beating Holland 4-1 at Wembley in the 1996 European Championship, another uplifting result. I have never been able to understand why it was dismissed by many of my colleagues as a victory gifted to Terry Venables’s England simply because the Dutch were rowing amongst themselves. Aren’t they always?

The one moment in football you would put on a DVD?
Marco van Basten’s truly amazing volleyed strike from what looked an impossible angle in Holland’s European Championship Final win against the USSR in Munich 1988.

Best stadium?
For me it was Ibrox in the Fifties and Sixties when they packed them in and the atmosphere for big European nights was breathtaking.

…and the worst?
The one where you never have a phone line that works. Benfica’s Estadio da Luz in the old days before mobile phones and dongles was hit and miss for calls. You would pick up a phone, hear nothing, dial your London number, hear nothing, wait, ask for copy, hear nothing, wait, read or ad lib your match report, slowly, finish, say goodbye and hope someone was on the other end. There were occasions when it worked, miraculously.

Your best ever scoop?
So-called exclusive stories are satisfying. Specialist writer/reporters are expected to produce them but if you come up with three in a year it will be three more than most. And even when you find one it is not unknown for desks to hide them, presumably because they do not believe the info. One such was my Gazza for Lazio tip off. The Sun sports desk managed to turn that into Gazza turning down an offer to play for another Serie A club. I then wrote that Gazza’s people had a meeting at Heathrow with Lazio’s representatives. That was thrown away inside. The story was eventually confirmed officially – after Gazza’s then agents had lawyers write to my desk claiming it was untrue — and it was only then the desk asked me to write it as a back page lead. Exclusives drop out of the sky from time to time so you just enjoy them when your hard work makes you lucky.

Your personal new-tech disaster?
I was sent to the Mexico World Cup finals in 1986 with one of Fleet Street’s first Tandy copy-sending machines. I wasn’t taught how to work it and it came without instructions. I first used it as a word processor for a 60 paragraph pre-World Cup piece from Colorado Springs where Bobby Robson had set up England’s pre-WC camp. I was about to file by the usual method of reading it over to a copy taker in London when the American AT and T operator who was dealing with my call heard me mention the name Tandy. When I informed her that I could not work the machine she suggested I asked their specialist Tandy operator for help. The process of transmitting through muffs attached to the phone piece was explained to me. Lesson over, she was going to contact London and get back with a direct line. I was to be ready. Simple. The call came through, I did what I was told, my screen went blank and the copy was lost for ever. It was a great loss only to me. I had to write it again. A nightmare.

Biggest mistake?
We all make them but I cannot think of one that changed my life. I worked with a couple of nasty individuals near the end of my days on the Sun and I should have dealt with them better than I did. I gave them far too much respect. I should have met up with them in a place without recording devices and CCTV cameras, and convinced them of the consequences should they continue with their negative approach. Something along these lines.

Have you ever been mistaken for anyone else?
No.

Most media friendly manager?
The ones who talk to you. There are lots of good ones out there so it is a question of getting to know them. You have your favourites who can be reached at any time. They become friends, perhaps great friends. There are others you can nod to and who’ll nod back. And a few, the untrustworthy ones, who will say I am the one not to be trusted.

Best ever player?
Alfredo di Stefano. He mesmerised me with his elegance for Real Madrid in the 1960 European Cup Final against Eintracht Frankfurt. I stood with my dad on the huge Hampden terraces and like so many that memorable night I believed we had come to support the Germans who had destroyed Rangers in the semi-final. By the end we stood applauding Real. I am not sure the best-ever tag applies even to Alfredo. One of the best for sure but I have been so fortunate to have watched the greats on their good and bad days: Pele, Maradona, Garrincha, Best, Greaves, Law, Baxter, Henderson, Johnstone, Moore, Charlton, Beckenbauer, Platini. Zidane, Cruyff plus Messi and Ronaldo of the current era. All on their day unbeatable.

Best ever teams (club and international)
Real Madrid 1960. If only it was possible see them face Guardiola’s Barcelona team. My money would be on Real. International: Brazil of 1970.

Best pre-match grub?
Arsenal are highly rated by my colleagues.

Best meal had on your travels?
It was a one off when Ipswich met Saint-Etienne in what was the Uefa Cup in 1981. The press plus Ipswich directors and officials were invited to pre-match lunch at the stadium. This was a tradition of the French club. The menu had six courses produced by a chef from each of six regions. The Ipswich chairman John Cobbold was so impressed he decided something would be done for the return. The hospitality at Portman Road was magnificent even by Cobbold’s extravagant standards. Ipswich won the quarter final with a 7-2 aggregate against the soon to be crowned French champions led by Michel Platini

…and the worst?
A meal in Beijing where no-one in the restaurant spoke English and we did not have a word of Mandarin. We ordered what we thought was a selection of dishes which included a hand motion to represent fish but turned out to be misunderstood as snake.

Best hotel stayed in?
Goodwood Park Hotel, Singapore. Five star plus and where the coffee costs more than the brandy.

…and the worst?
A scary hotel somewhere in South Korea. There was a steel door opening in one of the walls in my room which was padlocked. I imagined it as a fridge in the morgue where they store the bodies.

Favourite football writer?
In my Glasgow youth Malcolm Munro made his copy so interesting. I never worked with him but it was a privilege to be on the same tours laterally as Taylor, Sanderson, Rodger, Herron and others who knew the job inside out. The men still working can look out for themselves.

Favourite radio/TV commentator?
Kenneth Wolstenholme.

If you could introduce one change to improve PR between football clubs and football writers what would it be?
Reduce the money Sky TV pays out to the game. It would mean less money for the players which hopefully would bring their excesses under some control, make them more pleasant to deal with.

One sporting event outside football you would love to experience?
It would be a dream to watch live three Olympic finals – the 800 metres, 1500 metres and 5000 metres. Any of the track finals would do but these three would be my preferred events.

Last book read?
Freddy Mercury by Lesley-Ann Jones; Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood and Andre Agassi’s autobiography.

Favourite current TV programme?
Anything on any sport.

Your most prized football memorabilia?
I have two unused tickets for the last FA Cup Final at the old Wembley and two unused tickets for England’s last international at the old Wembley.

Alex Montgomery has been a member of the FWA for 42 years. He has covered finals of 10 World Cups. Has worked for Hayters Sports Agency, the Daily Mail, the Sun, Today, the News of the World and the Mail on Sunday (freelance).