Author Archives: FWA News Editor

The FWA Gala Tribute Evening to Gary Neville and Paul Scholes

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THE ULTIMATE ONE CLUB PROFESSIONALS

By SIR BOBBY CHARLTON

MAGICAL. It’s the word Sir Bobby Charlton repeatedly uses as he remembers the days when Paul Scholes and Gary Neville first emerged into a spotlight that was to be trained on them for almost two decades.

Legends don’t come any bigger at Manchester United than Sir Bobby and his praise is a gift that isn’t given easily. Having been a Busby Babe, Charlton has always taken a forensic interest in the young talent being developed at Old Trafford.

But even he wasn’t prepared for Sir Alex Ferguson’s famous Class of 92 that proved to be the foundation for an era of success that’s unlikely to be surpassed.

“At a club like Manchester United you often think ‘I wonder what’s in the future?’ We might be playing okay today but what about the longer term?” says Sir Bobby. “The odd young player used to come through and I was always interested to see what they were like.

“Alex would invite me to see the youngsters train and I would always ask the coaches what our chances were in the FA Youth Cup.

“One day they said ‘we have six certainties to be great figures in the game.’ What they were telling me was serious stuff but initially, I admit, I thought they were getting a bit carried away.

“So I went to the first match they played in the FA Youth Cup against Sunderland at Roker Park . I drove up to watch them and after 20 minutes we were 4-0 up.

“Nicky Butt was rampaging through midfield, David Beckham was passing the ball like he does, Paul Scholes had control of everything and Gary seemed to be the leader at full back- it was just magical to watch.

“I thought to myself ‘It’s right what they were telling me – they weren’t kidding’. I was genuinely excited and you could see then these lads were going to be special.

“Maybe a year passed and we played at Port Vale in the League Cup. Alex hadn’t really been noted for concentrating on young players at that stage, but he decided to play the young lads.
“The papers were saying he’d gone too far- but Scholes was superb, we won 3-1 and some of those lads were only 17.

“From then on, I watched every game they played because it was such a fantastic moment for the club. It was a purple patch, something magical was unfolding.”

Even Sir Bobby couldn’t have imagined the level of success Scholes and Neville helped generate. But when it happened it was no surprise.

“I never doubted for a moment that those two lads would achieve what they have done” he says. “They were winners, they loved winning as a team and they loved what they had to contribute individually too.

“Crucially as well, they never gave Alex or the club a moments trouble. They were the ultimate one club professionals. Gary is forging a career for Sky now and he’s very good too. And Paul returning as a player after retiring is just an incredible story.

“You shouldn’t have favourites I suppose but Paul was special. He had a natural ability that was breathtaking to see in a young boy and his peripheral vision was amazing.

“He would play 30 or 40 yard passes without even looking up and players didn’t have to break stride to collect the ball.

“My special Scholes moment was his goal at Bradford. He volleyed in a corner from the edge of the box. It was all planned and I can still hear the Bradford directors gasping as it flew in. He was magic.

“Gary was a bit different. Even at a young age he was inspirational. He was the captain, a leader, a talisman and you classed them both at the time as being as good as each other.

“Gary has been a real bonus for United because of his depth of feeling for the shirt but I am proud of all of them.

“Paul and Gary are irreplaceable and the highest compliment I can pay them is that their legacy is as good as any who have played for this club.”

SIR BOBBY CHARLTON WAS TALKING TO STEVE BATES

Vauxhall launch Home Nations football photography competition

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VAUXHALL today launched their inaugural Home Nations Football Photography competition.

The major new photographic initiative is designed to stimulate interest and support among all photographers covering international football with any of the Home Nations.

There will be individual national competitions for England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales photographers.

There will be two principal categories – Best Photographer and Best Individual Photo. As well as four national winners, there will be an overall Home Nations champion photographer.

All photographers – newspaper, agency and freelance – are welcome to enter.

The overall winner will receive the use of a Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer, SRI Ecoflex, 1.7 CDTI (125ps) car for one year. Each individual national winner will receive a first prize of £500.

The competition covers all relevant international fixtures, international training sessions and international press conferences in 2011.

Vauxhall Head of Sponsorship, Chris Hornbuckle said: “We are very appreciative of the support and the excellent work which is undertaken by photographers.

“This competition is Vauxhall’s way of saying thank you. We have enjoyed an excellent first year of our Home Nations sponsorship programme and we are keen to promote an evocative and high-quality portfolio of images which capture the essence of international competition and patriotism.

“We hope and believe that the title will be very much sought after by all photographers who cover Home Nations football.”

The competition will be co-ordinated by Macesport who handle a dedicated football media relations centre for Vauxhall.

Entry forms are now available from Aimee Preston at Macesport aimee.preston@macesport.co.uk

Closing date for entries is Friday February 17th 2012.

Gala Tribute Evening to Gary Neville and Paul Scholes

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PAUL HETHERINGTON on a night – and knife – to remember, the missing brochures and Bryan Robson’s motorway dash

By CHRISTOPHER DAVIES

THE FOOTBALL WRITERS’ ASSOCIATION breaks with tradition on Sunday when Gary Neville and Paul Scholes will be honoured at the Gala Tribute evening at the Savoy.

Since the first event in 1983 when the late Ron Greenwood was the recipient one person has been chosen each year by the FWA to recognise his services to English football.

This is the second Savoy dinner Paul Hetherington, executive secretary of the FWA, has organised following the death of the long-serving Ken Montgomery. He was also FWA chairman for three Gala Tribute evenings when Bryan Robson, Ryan Giggs and David Beckham were the recipients, the latter honoured at the Lancaster London.

Hetherington, the Daily Star on Sunday football editor, said: “The FWA chairman traditionally has the choice of who will be honoured but as a courtesy it is discussed at the monthly national committee meeting. I can’t remember too many dissenting voices for the chairman’s choice.”

Or in this year’s case, the double choice by Steve Bates, the current chairman and chief football writer for the People.

Hetherington said: “Steve thought it was appropriate to honour Gary and Paul because they both retired at Manchester United last season. Well, so we thought. Now, of course, we have the situation where Paul is no longer retired, not that a player has to have quit to be recognised.”

AROUND 360 members and guests will be present at the Savoy for the FWA’s first-ever double tribute. For Paul Hetherington the biggest problem is turning people away because the event has become a victim of its own success.

“The biggest headache I have is not being able to accommodate everyone. The dinner was a sell-out in 12 hours,” said Hetherington. “Within a day I was looking at a waiting list situation. The demand for the function is huge.

“With the Footballer of the Year dinner at the Lancaster London we have more scope. The room there could, at a squeeze, accommodate 1,000 people though we normally have between 750 and 800 guests.

“We are restricted at the Savoy because of the size of the function room so we can only have around half the number of the May dinner, so sadly we have to disappoint some people for the Gala Tribute evening.”

The Lancaster London has always laid on an excellent Footballer of the Year dinner plus the years it staged the January function while the Savoy was being refurbished until its re-opening in 2011. But for a black tie event with members’ partners present the Savoy has a special magic that gives the Gala Tribute evening a unique atmosphere.

Hetherington said: “The Savoy is a magnet, people want to go there and say they’ve been there. It’s an iconic hotel and I am sure one of the factors in the demand is the venue. Ladies, particularly, enjoy going to the Savoy, not least because it’s a dinner-dance event. It is far from being a so-called boring football evening packed with football speeches.”

WHEN IT comes to the fine turning of the Gala Tribute evening the Football Writers’ Association is at the mercy of the fixture list. The bonus this year is that Manchester United are in London on Sunday to play Arsenal at the Emirates in a Barclays Premier League game – “though if the score is Arsenal 4, United 0 we may think otherwise,” added Hetherington with a smile.

“At least we know where Gary, Paul and all the United party will be that day.”

Hetherington also knew where Bryan Robson was going to be when the then West Bromwich Albion manager was honoured in 2006. Unfortunately from a logistical viewpoint Albion were playing at Wigan that day.

“When I looked at the fixtures and saw Wigan v West Bromwich I thought, without being disrespectful to those clubs, there’s no way that will be a televised game. I assumed the match would go ahead on the Saturday.”

Wrong.

“Luckily it was a lunch time kick-off rather than the later game which would have given us big problems. We had a driver waiting outside the stadium and 10 minutes after the match had ended Bryan was in the car ready to come down to London. He left the press conference to his assistant, Nigel Pearson and Bryan arrived at the hotel pretty well on time.”

What did not arrive on time – or even arrive – were the brochures for the David Beckham Gala Tribute evening four years ago.

Hetherington said: “The delivery company’s driver, for some reason, decided to try to gain access to the Lancaster by a rear entrance which was locked. When he couldn’t get in he simply drove off with all the programmes in the back. All he had to do was to walk round the front of the hotel and he would have found numerous members of staff present. That didn’t occur to him, though.”

IN A quarter of a century of service to the FWA, Paul Hetherington has also been involved with numerous regional functions in his native north-east and the north-west. One in 1995, the FWA’s Northern Managers’ Awards Dinner at The Portland Hotel in Manchester, stands out.

He said: “I was sitting there during the dinner when someone tapped me on my shoulder. Behind me was Mick Buxton who had not long been sacked as Sunderland manager. He had a knife in his hand. ‘Paul,’ he said. ‘Just take this and stick it in my back.’

“The background to that was that when Sunderland decided to replace Mick, I was involved it setting up the appointment of his replacement, Peter Reid. Word had reached Mick that I was the man behind Reidy getting what was his job. When I initially saw Mick and what he was holding I thought he clearly did not appreciate my role in what had happened.

“He then broke into a smile and a laugh saying: “Don’t worry Paul…you’re all right. I’m only joking.”

Hetherington said: “He knew that if I hadn’t been involved then somebody else would. He knew he wasn’t going to keep his job and accepted that.”

SIR ALEX FERGUSON has kept his job at Manchester United for 25 years with, he said, at least three more to come. Ferguson will be present on Sunday to speak about Gary Neville and Paul Scholes, two of United’s finest products and loyal servants.

Depending on which game he is covering Paul Hetherington will travel to London either on the day of the dinner or on the Saturday. He said: “If I come down on Sunday I’d aim to be at the Savoy early afternoon. Between two and three I’ll have a meeting with Steve Bates and the key hotel personnel involved in the function to run through everything.”

The evening will be enjoyed by FWA members and guests but for Bates and Hetherington relaxation is on hold until the presentations have been made.

“It is easier to let your guard down and have a few drinks when you are not on the top table,” said Hetherington. “If you aren’t involved in the organisation and speeches there are no worries. I’ll make the most of it once the dinner is completed, hopefully successfully.”

Another change is that on Sunday the Gala Tribute evening will follow the lead of the Footballer of the Year dinner over the past two years with a question and answer session rather than Neville and Scholes each making a speech. Sky Sports’ Ben Shephard will be in charge of proceedings.

Hetherington said: “This has worked well at the Lancaster and the Q and A format also provides good copy for FWA members. The recent recipients have preferred this to having to make a speech though I have to say the standard of speeches we have had is excellent.

“David Beckham spoke for around 40 minutes and had obviously put a lot of thought into what he was going to say. He made the point that he’d had a few ups and downs with the media over the years but underlined that he could not really complain because the majority of publicity he’d received during his career was a lot more positive that negative.”

The only part of Sunday’s event which Hetherington was reluctant to talk about was the table gift for the ladies.

He said: “Let’s just say the national committee are very happy with the ladies’ gift. I’m sure they will appreciate it.”

John Moynihan 1932-2012

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Long-standing Football Writers’ Association member John Moynihan died last Saturday after an accident near his home.

Journalism can be a cut-throat business but Moynihan not only survived and thrived, the warmth of his personality ensured he will be remembered with huge fondness by anyone who knew him.

The smile rarely left his face and while Moynihan’s Soccer Syndrome remains one of the finest football books ever written his interests were wide and varied.

Those who knew Moynihan from the Sunday Telegraph, where he was initially deputy literary editor before establishing himself as a respected football writer, may be surprised to learn that he cut his journalistic teeth on the Evening Standard but not the sports desk.

His son Leo, a freelance and an FWA member who has followed in his father’s footsteps, said: “He edited a column called In London Last Night. It was the equivalent of today’s 3am Girls.

“Dad used to go to parties, film premieres and buzz around Soho looking for gossip.”

While in some ways that was the ideal job for the most sociable of people, his deep love of football was guaranteed to see him leave his mark on the beautiful game.

Leo said: “I went over to his flat on Monday and was looking through his shelves and I thought to myself ‘he so loved football.’ He also loved literature and he had a book by F. Scott Fitzgerald between Colin Malam’s book on Gary Lineker and Tommy Lawton’s autobiography. Amazing.”

Soccer Syndrome, published in 1965, was a personal view of post-War football, not just the players but the characters who followed the game. The Independent’s Jim Lawton described it as “one of the best books ever written about football and the emotion it generates.”

In a column Lawton wrote: “It seemed to me that Moynihan most perfectly captured the feelings of the pure football lover. In one passage he wrote heart-rendingly of the end of an affair, in Paris, which was redeemed only by the fact that the woman he loved, who was telling him that she had found a new interest, had her back to a café television set which was providing him with a grainy but utterly unequivocal picture of the unfolding genius of the teenaged Pele.”

Moynihan’s s 1993 book Kevin Keegan: Black And White did not go down too well with its subject which is usually seen as a resounding endorsement. Leo said: “Dad had to write it in a couple of months. I was at university and helped him. Keegan went on local radio and said: ‘Burn the book’ which dad found amusing.”

There were other books including Park Football, Soccer Focus, The Chelsea Story and Not All A Ball in which Moynihan wrote about his childhood. His last book was Restless Lives, the story of his parents who were both artists.

His love for Chelsea and an indication of the sport’s changing times is underlined by a Footballer of the Year dinner Moynihan attended during the Seventies. In those days the dinner at the Cafe Royal was on the day before the FA Cup final.

“Dad took Charlie Cooke as his guest,” said Leo. “Chelsea were playing the next day.”

CHRISTOPHER DAVIES

My Week: Andrew Warshaw

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ANDREW WARSHAW on Arsenal playing second fiddle to University Challenge, a frozen shoulder and Guys and Dolls

SUNDAY JANUARY 8
You know Christmas is well and truly over when the decorations are taken down but at least there is a new dog-training class for our lovable mutt Maisie who, for once, does not disgrace herself. First task of the day is buying the Mail on Sunday to check whether my Arsenal preview has got in. It has, always a warm feeling for a freelancer. Intend spending most of today resting up after driving to Norwich and back 24 hours ago having been sent to interview the parents of Oldham’s on-loan defender Tom Adeyemi following the infamous verbal abuse case at Anfield. Well, interview in theory. Unfortunately there was no-one at the inn but a peep over the fence revealed a makeshift goal and half a dozen balls. The right house then. Three hours’ doorstepping failed to result in anyone returning home so it was time for a spot of lateral thinking. Ended up writing a colour piece after a friendly neighbour painted a warm-hearted picture of the Adeyemi family – and invited me in out of the cold for several cups of coffee! This particular Sunday afternoon means only one thing for this particular FA Cup-worshipping, Spurs-supporting traditionalist: the Fourth Round draw. My stomach churns as the balls are plucked out. Phew, Watford away. Let’s not get carried away but an obviously winnable tie. Before that, watch Man City so nearly snatch a dramatic draw with 10 men against Man Utd thanks to an inspired piece of tactical nous from Mancini. Tonight I’m going to the Old Bull for my music website nlbeat.com (couldn’t resist a plug), only just set up and sadly not revenue-earning but a fun hobby. The pub, which has been turned into a veritable galaxy of memorabilia, has vinyl LPs and singles attached to every wall and concert ticket stubs, featuring all the great acts and donated by music fans, covering every inch of every bar table stretching back to the early 1960s.

MONDAY JANUARY 9
The editor of FC Business, one of my magazine clients, informs me that my piece on Portsmouth’s financial mismanagement has ruffled more than a few feathers. Well let’s face it, I am still a small creditor waiting to be paid. Most of today is taken up working on stories for Insideworldfootball.biz for which I have the grand title of Chief Football Reporter. The editor of FC Business is still speaking to me by the afternoon, thank goodness, and commissions a piece on goal-line technology, with the big decision due to made at the beginning of March. Tried my hardest to avoid Arsenal-Leeds on the box but even I have to marvel at Thierry Henry’s match winner. Only after watching University Challenge and Above Suspicion, however.

TUESDAY JANUARY 10
My role at Insideworldfootball.biz also means doubling up at times for our main site Insidethegames.biz so it’s off to Wembley to cover a press conference about the Olympic torch. While there manage to get two exclusives for the site with BOA chairman Colin Moynihan. This evening I’m joining my son at Underhill to support our second team, Barnet, in the Johnstone’s Paint trophy southern section semi-final first leg. Paolo di Canio’s Swindon are massive favourites after their exploits against Wigan but Barnet score a second-half equaliser to at least keep the tie alive with Wembley the prize. Well worth the 10 quid entrance fee.

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 11
Ring a few clients touting for business and check with the editor of Fifa Magazine to see when my piece on Qatar will be published. Told by the Mail on Sunday that I’ll be second man at Spurs versus Wolves on Saturday alongside Patrick Collins. Always a privilege. Couldn’t ask for a better game to report on. Speaking of Spurs, here it comes, our game in hand. It’s off to White Hart Lane, again with my son, to roar on the boys. It’s only four overground stops but the recorded information on the train hasn’t been amended and wrongly informs us we are going in the other direction and heading back the way we came. Everyone breaks into laughter. Good old Network Rail. After meeting friends for a hasty kebab a 20-minute walk from the ground, I pick up the tickets with moments to spare. Everton are typically disciplined and organised – I have enormous respect for David Moyes given the resources at his disposal – but as so often they lack penetration. The score remains at 1-0 until Benny’s thunderbolt makes sure of the points. What a night.

THURSDAY JANUARY 12
Slept appallingly maybe because of all the excitement at Spurs or maybe because my frozen shoulder starts playing up again. It’s becoming a right pain, literally and metaphorically. No golf for the past two months. Time to start forward-planning for the Euro 2012 finals in Poland and Ukraine but will I go? Haven’t missed a major finals since the early 1980s but this could be the first. The Olympics will be 24/7 and I’m not getting any younger. Nothing for talkSPORT this week. Normally I’m on at least once as their football politics man but no calls so far. Still, today’s highlight is meeting Jordan’s Prince Ali bin Al Hussein, the newest kid on the block among the Fifa hierarchy who has invited me for a one-on-one during a private trip to London. He gives me a couple of decent lines for Insideworldfootball and another which I’m asked not to use for a few weeks. Being a theatre buff, tonight I’m off to see Guys and Dolls at the Gatehouse in Highgate, north London. It’s probably the best production I’ve ever seen of one of THE great musicals. If only I had been discovered during my long amateur dramatics career.

FRIDAY JANUARY 13
What scary moments will Friday 13th throw up? Luckily none to speak though my weekly column for my newspaper client in Doha is 24 hours late so I’d better get a move on. Just manage to get it written after walking Maisie before it’s off to Arsenal for Arsene Wenger’s lunch time press conference ahead of the game against Swansea. I’m there for the Sundays and first hear Wenger tell the dailies he is fed up always being asked about Spurs. I have to bite my lip. Finish the day quite late before I realise another week has flown past without having worked on my book. Next week it HAS to take priority.

SATURDAY JANUARY 14
Spend much of the morning preparing for Spurs-Wolves. Always try to take as much written research as I can to games. You never know. Make sure the dongle is working just in case the internet doesn’t. Given a car park pas by my neighbour who is a season ticket holder. Train is more comfortable and slightly quicker but I take advantage of the offer since by the time I need to leave there are only two trains an hour to get home. Another end to a varied week. How much have I earned? Can’t think about that yet…there’s Match of the Day to watch.

FWA Q&A: Sam Pilger

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SAM PILGER on scoring at Old Trafford, being mistaken for Ryan Giggs and causing Sir Alex Ferguson to give Roy Keane the hair-dryer treatment…

Your first ever newspaper?
Not a newspaper, but the Manchester United magazine, which, when I joined in 1996, was the country’s biggest selling sports magazine. This was a time before Sky Sports News, MUTV or even the club having a proper website, so it was the main source of news. It was a great grounding to regularly interview Sir Alex Ferguson, David Beckham and Roy Keane in a time when there wasn’t any interference from agents or press officers.

Have you ever worked in a profession other than journalism?
Not really, other than a couple of summers spent hiding in the warehouse at Marks and Spencer. Both my parents were Fleet Street journalists, so it’s in the blood.

What was your finest achievement playing football?
Scoring at Old Trafford at the Stretford End in a journalists game. I almost cried. And winning the South London 7-a-side League title in 1996 and 2003.

Most memorable match covered?
I can’t imagine anything will ever surpass the 1999 FA Cup semi-final replay. The match had been dramatic enough with David Beckham’s brilliant goal, Dennis Bergkamp’s equaliser, Roy Keane’s sending-off and Peter Schmeichel’s last minute penalty save before Ryan Giggs beat the whole Arsenal defence to win the match. An incredible night.

The one moment in football you would put on a DVD?
That Giggs winner at Villa Park.

Best stadium?
The Maracana even though it had clearly seen better days.

…and the worst?
The sterile Stade Louis II in Monaco.

Your best ever scoop?
My interview with Roy Keane for FourFourTwo in 2001 when he revealed his frustrations with United. The Daily Mirror lifted it and splashed it across their back page as ‘The Most Explosive Interview of the Year.’ I was told Ferguson hauled him in to his office on the back of it.

Your personal new-tech disaster?
More old-tech really, as that damn ‘Voice Activated’ button on the Dictaphone has butchered interviews with Teddy Sheringham and Bryan Robson.

Have you ever been mistaken for anyone else?
As ridiculous as it sounds, I took part in a penalty shoot-out challenge against Peter Shilton on Hackney Marshes several years ago, and I overheard someone say, ‘Is that Ryan Giggs?’ As I said, ridiculous. More realistically, someone once asked if I was the former Leicester and Spurs American goalkeeper Kasey Keller.

Most media friendly manager?
Steve Bruce

Best ever player?
Zinedine Zidane

Best ever teams (club and international)?
The current Barcelona side and the France side of 2000.

Best pre-match grub?
During their spell in the Premier League Ipswich Town did a memorable spread at Portman Road.

Best meal had on your travels?
A fish restaurant just outside Jerez in southern Spain while covering the 2000 Blind World Cup. (Brazil won, England went out in the quarter-finals.)

…and the worst?
A lard-smothered bap outside Hillsborough.

Best hotel stayed in?
The Rio Othon Palace in Rio de Janiero where the roof-top pool gave sweeping views of Copacabana Beach and Sugar Loaf Mountain as I watched Romario doing his laps.

…and the worst?
The Dolby in Salford. It had a security fence around it.

Favourite football writer?
It is difficult to separate Paul Hayward, Oliver Holt and Patrick Collins.

Favourite radio/TV commentator?
I still get goose bumps when I hear Peter Jones, he had such a wonderfully evocative voice. Keeping it old school for TV as well, I would say Barry Davies and Brian Moore.

If you could introduce one change to improve PR between football clubs and football writers what would it be?
Throw open the dressing rooms after matches. It would require an enormous and unprecedented culture change, but if the NFL and NBA can do it why can’t the Premier League? I won’t be holding my breath.

One sporting event outside football you would love to experience?
I have been lucky enough to go to a Super Bowl, Wimbledon men’s final, a 100m Olympic final, and most Ashes series, so I would go for a deciding Game 7 in the NBA finals.

Last book read?
The End of the Party by Andrew Rawnsley

Favourite current TV programme?
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

Your most prized football memorabilia?
A number 10 Argentina shirt signed by Diego Maradona to my son Louis. He’d better appreciate it when he’s older.

Manchester United’s Best XI by Sam Pilger is available now on the Amazon Kindle store.

Calvin changes family as he transfers to Millwall

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A jumbo hot-dog between Robbo’s eyes…Morison apologising to a defender…and a tweet that brought a tear to his eye

By CHRISTOPHER DAVIES

IT IS a widely held belief that you can change most things in your life but not the club you support. You can change your name, house, job, wife/husband, religion and nationality but your club is sacrosanct..it is forever.

Michael Calvin, a Watford fan since childhood, crossed the ultimate divide when he was writing Family – Life, Death and Football, his new book. He spent a year on the frontline with Millwall and achieved the dream of football writers and supporters by going into the heart of a club. He was at training, in the dressing room, at board meetings – in fact anywhere and everywhere.

Millwall, a club with a stigma brought about from incidents in the past, won Calvin over. He admits he lost his professional detachment during a game at Colchester. He calls it “a real us against them day”. The home club had done as much as they could to make conditions for the visitors – let’s say challenging.

Calvin said: “In was in the Aidy Boothroyd days, on Easter Monday. The dressing-room had been cut in half, the walls had been painted black and all electrical sockets had been removed.”

It takes more than that to intimidate Millwall. Calvin said: “The players pooled their batteries, put them into an iPOD charger and Dizzee Rascal was soon blaring out.

“Millwall took the lead and Colchester made it 1-1 after a goalkeeping mistake. The momentum of Paul Robinson took him into the back of the net as he tried to stop the ball going in.

“Paul found himself facing the away end and a Millwall fan behind the goal had a jumbo hot dog, about 12 inches long. He threw it like a javelin in disgust and it went through the net, hitting Paul right between the eyes, with onions and tomato ketchup and God knows what else all over his face.”

It’s funny but it isn’t.

“With 10 minutes to go Millwall scored what proved to be the winner. I was sitting next to Gary Alexander, a sub, on the bench and with a striker’s instinct he shouted ‘it’s in’ a second before the ball crossed the line. We both jumped up, and made eye contact. We knew what we were about to do was wrong, but we started hugging each other and jumping up and down like little kids.

“That was the moment Millwall got me.”

TO UNDERSTAND Millwall Football Club you first have to understand the area of south-east London where most of their fans live and where I grew up. Driving through Lewisham, Deptford or New Cross, down the Old Kent Road or Walworth Road you can find yourself stuck in a tenement time-warp, the surrounding boroughs sadly neglected in comparison to others where modernisation is concerned. Near the Den there are arches where, if you threw a couple of street urchins down, you could turn your clock back 150 years.

It was a learning curve for Calvin who said: “The club are in an area where there is a crossover between refurbished flats and deprivation.

“Millwall are an old fashioned football club with a real emotional intensity between the fans and the club. A couple of generations ago, if there was a death in the family the natural outlet for grief was the parish priest or vicar. For Millwall supporters the club has a more central part in their lives. “

A hardened journalist who has worked in more than 80 countries covering every major sporting event, Calvin is not embarrassed to admit a message from a Millwall fan brought a tear to his eye last week.

Returning on the team coach from Bristol City where Millwall had played well only to lose to a stoppage time goal, defender Alan Dunne was reading through his tweets. There was a message from a fan called Tim Dill which said: “Dunney, my dad died on New Year’s Day. Millwall all his life. I reckon he’d get a kick from an RT. ‘Safe trip, Red’ Thanks.” Of course, Dunne duly obliged.

While Calvin believes Millwall are “burdened by their outdated image” it is something the club have to live with. The book is excellent and the fly-on-the-wall insider accounts will appeal to fans of all clubs. It will, Calvin hopes, change the way outsiders look at Millwall. “If you have preconceptions about Millwall, read the book and come back to me,” he said. “It is a proper football club with the right values. Sadly people are judged by a small minority.”

Millwall’s reputation travelled ahead of them when they played West Ham United in the Carling Cup in August 2009. The policing of the game left much to be desired as did the home club’s overall control. Calvin witnessed first-hand the commotion outside Upton Park before retreating to the safety of the press box.

He said: “I sat behind a reporter who was under pressure from his news desk who had been watching some trouble on Sky News. He had to produce a piece and simply typed the words ‘Millwall’ ‘West Ham’ and ‘trouble’ into Google. The old stories came out from Cyberspace and formed the basis for his report about what was going on around him.”

Each club faced charges of failure to ensure their supporters refrained from violent, threatening, obscene and provocative behaviour; failure to ensure their supporters refrained from racist behaviour and failure to ensure their supporters did not throw missiles, harmful or dangerous objects onto the pitch. While West Ham were found guilty, Millwall, who were not involved in any of the security talks, were cleared by the Football Association of any wrongdoing. It cost Millwall £100,000 to defend the charges.

IT TOOK Millwall manager Kenny Jackett “about 10 seconds” to agree to the book, granting Calvin an access all areas pass to the club.

He said: When I turned up on the first day Kenny told the players what was happening. Neil Harris, who was the spiritual leader of the group, came over for a chat. I felt very privileged but most of all accepted. The chairman [John Berylson] and the manager had said it was OK so the players were fine.”

Calvin became what he calls a chameleon in the dressing room, staying in the background but taking notes in a small pad. The club had no editorial control over what was written but Calvin gave the manuscript to Jackett and the players out of courtesy. Jackett’s mother told him off because he had sworn so much.

“The dialogue had to be real, it had to be honest,” said Calvin who saw the good, bad and ugly that go with the roller-coaster of emotions experienced by a football club.

He said: “You see the rage where players are at each other’s throats. You see the frustrations, the fear, the insecurity and even the awe after a really good performance.

“You also see real tenderness. I shall never forget the touching moment involving Danny Senda after he tore an Achilles tendon. He was laying face down on the physio table, the players gathered around him and Harris kissed him gently on the back of the head. It was saying ‘we’re all with you.’”

It is obvious in the book that Harris, the club’s all-time record goalscorer and a true Millwall legend, was the player who made the biggest impression on Calvin. Harris, now with Southend, was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2001 and Calvin confirmed: “Yes, by a distance. He is one of the best human beings I’ve ever met. He’s street-wise, a brilliant politician in a football sense and there is a humility in the guy that goes back to coming into the pro game so late.

“What I found hugely impressive was the way he used his cancer as a source of mental strength which he shared with others, especially by undertaking counselling work with other sufferers. Vince Lombardi, the famous Green Bay Packers coach, said that the strength of a group is in its leaders. Harris comes into that category.”

Then there is Steve Morison who joined Millwall from Stevenage Borough in 2009. “At 16 he was one of a group of players told by Tottenham they did not think he would made the grade, nothing personal, sorry, don’t come back. He played for Northampton, Bishop’s Stortford and then Stevenage. Kenny signed him, for £130,000. It wasn’t an instant success story.

“I remember speaking to him after his first game at Southampton. He said ‘wow, everything happens so fast, I almost couldn’t catch my breath. I was thinking so fast I thought my head was going to explode.’

“Gradually he became more accustomed to the pace but he went through the fires of hell. He missed a goal in an FA Cup tie at Staines which beggared belief.

“On the Monday morning I was in Kenny’s office. He went through the miss on the DVD and said ‘I’ve seen some things in my time but how did that happen?’

“Kenny told Steve he was built like a brick you-know-what…he was a Millwall-type player but he wasn’t acting like one. He actually said ‘sorry’ to a defender he’d accidentally bumped into. Kenny went mad. You don’t apologise to defenders, he told Steve. You have to put yourself about not say sorry.

“Once, Steve was substituted at half-time. It was all going on around him in the dressing-room, he got undressed slowly and as the other players were going out for the second-half he just stood there in a world of his own, obviously wondering if he was good enough.

“Fair play to the guy. He came through, scored a lot of goals for Millwall who sold him for £2.8 million to Norwich where he’s been a revelation, also making his mark for Wales. He proves there is talent in the lower leagues. Kenny worked really hard with Steve on the training pitch and it paid dividends.”

HAS THE experience of living the dream made Calvin a better journalist?

“That is for others to judge. It has given me an insight that I never had into the realities of a game that we tend to judge on superficialities. I have also noticed a respect that is routinely denied to football writers these days from managers and players who have read the book.

“At the 1982 World Cup I remember travelling from the airport in the England team bus and chatting to Ray Wilkins. I was the youngest member of the Press corps and he was one of the youngest players in the squad. We spoke about our respective positions. That sort of intimacy of contact has gone now, it’s too much us versus them now.”

There can be no follow-up to Family but Calvin is writing a prequel, interviewing the 30 most popular Millwall legends including, of course, Harris plus among others Terry Hurlock, Tim Cahill, Barry Kitchener and Keith Stevens.

Watch Michael Calvin talk about Family – Life, Death and Football here…

FWA Q&A: Laura Williamson

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Laura Williamson on travelling with Hawk-Eye…dismal haircuts…Jennifer Aniston…and super Grimsby

Your first ever newspaper?
The Hull Daily Mail, as part of the Daily Mail’s graduate reporter programme. I worked in news: the court reporting I enjoyed, the council meetings less so. And as for the dreaded ‘door knocks’ – the memories still bring a shudder.

Have you ever worked in a profession other than journalism?
I used to work for Hawk-Eye, the company responsible for the ball-tracking technology used in cricket and tennis. I travelled around the world setting up and running the equipment for use in live television broadcasts or official reviews. India was the most taxing place to work, the Cricket World Cup in the West Indies was the highlight and the Australian Open tennis was just exhausting. And Sir Ian Botham’s colour blindness is a slight problem when you’re trying to get him to talk about red, blue, yellow and white balls on a pitch map.

What was your finest achievement playing football?
As my Dad always says, I am a bit of a ‘headless chicken’ when it comes to playing football. Plenty of enthusiasm, pretty quick and reasonably fit, but no discipline, technical ability or finesse whatsoever. Filling in for my sister’s team (she played to county standard) was about the limit of my achievements as a footballer.

Most memorable match covered?
Fulham 4 Juventus 1.

The one moment in football you would put on a DVD?
Kevin Donovan’s goal for Grimsby Town against Northampton Town at Wembley in 1998, which took the Mariners back up to the old Division One. I had a dismal haircut and my face painted in black and white stripes, but they were certainly good times.

Best stadium?
The Bernabeu.

…and the worst?
The San Siro if you’ve got to file anything.

Your best ever scoop?
It’s not really a scoop, but breaking the awful news about Jack Collison’s dad losing his life in a motorbike accident on the way to a West Ham game was my first exclusive when I joined the Mail, so it’s one I remember.

Your personal new-tech disaster?
*Touch wood* I’ve been OK so far. There were some pretty hairy moments at Hawk-Eye, though.

Biggest mistake?
Turning someone over when it wasn’t worth it. It’s a difficult judgement to make sometimes, but I got it wrong.

Have you ever been mistaken for anyone else?
A drunk (and obviously visually impaired) Cheltenham fan said I looked like Jennifer Aniston at the weekend (although why she would be waiting for a bus outside White Hart Lane I don’t know). But it’s usually anyone with a gap in their teeth.

Most media friendly manager?
Harry Redknapp.

Best ever player?
Steven Gerrard.

Best ever teams (club and international)?
Grimsby Town 1997-98. Spain at the moment take some beating.

Best pre-match grub?
Arsenal’s always good, but the fry ups at Spurs before early kick-offs do the trick.

Best meal had on your travels?
One in Beverly Hills recently when I went for the MLS Cup final. Amazing food, although I was probably too busy looking at everyone else to fully enjoy it.

…and the worst?
Probably one of the disgusting, dry, mayonnaise-filled, overpriced club sandwiches you’re forced to eat when you get back to a hotel room after a game and you’re starving.

Best hotel stayed in?
Cinnamon Grand, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

…and the worst?
The cell-like room I ended up with in Odense, Denmark – after going on the man from the Sun’s recommendation! Fatal.

Favourite football writer?
Oliver Holt.

Favourite radio/TV commentator?
John Murray on BBC Radio 5Live. Martin Tyler on Sky Sports.

If you could introduce one change to improve PR between football clubs and football writers what would it be?
Re-introduce proper mixed zones. The way you request a number of players and then end up with the third choice goalkeeper, if anyone at all, just breeds mistrust and frustration.

One sporting event outside football you would love to experience?
A big track final at the Olympics. I can’t wait!

Last book read?
Ian Hawkey – Feet of the Chameleon.

Favourite current TV programme?
Can I have Downton Abbey as it’s only just finished?

Your most prized football memorabilia?
It all goes in my Dad’s collection, but I’ve got a signed Maradona picture on the wall at home – just to wind my boyfriend up.

My Week: Richard Tanner

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ANOTHER QUIET WEEK IN MANCHESTER

Rooney rumours…breaking embargos…and why Roscoe wants to get out more but can’t

Sunday January 1st
The week actually starts on Sunday morning as all daily sports journalists know too only well. Pick up the papers with some hesitation and Nick Harris’ excellent exclusive in the Mail on Sunday about Wayne Rooney being disciplined by Sir Alex Ferguson for his Boxing Day ‘night out’ confirms my worst fears.

Just glad I had gone easy on the booze the night before. I had an uneasy feeling it was going to be a busy day. Having covered United for 12 years, you get an instinct when something’s not right.

Ferguson’s explanation of Rooney’s absence from the squad to face Blackburn the previous day had left all of us in the Old Trafford press room unconvinced, raising more questions than answers: “Missed some training sessions, few knocks and strains, should be all right for Newcastle on Wednesday.”

At least, it wasn’t the usual “he’s got a virus.” Of course, no chance of questioning Fergie on it any further because he doesn’t do post-game pressers.

Call Ian Monk, Rooney’s press agent, but apart from confirming Rooney had been out on Boxing Day night, and insisting there is no damage to the relationship between player and manager, he says all other information must come from United. Great!

Luckily, other sources are more helpful and confirm that Rooney, Jonnny Evans and Darron Gibson were not fined for breaking any Christmas curfew but for “below-par” performances in training the following day. Thought to myself: good job us reporters don’t get punished for a hangover. Some would be penniless.

By the time I’ve written a Fergie-Rooney inside piece, a back pager, plus a match report on why Fergie must drop De Gea and play Lindegaard, the daylight has gone and I’ve even missed most of Sunderland’s surprise win over City on TV. How lucky are United? The result cancels out their shock loss to Rovers. Go out for a run (ok, a slow jog) to clear my head rather than maintaining any New Year resolution to get fit.

Monday January 2
It’s a preview day – City are playing Liverpool on Tuesday. Drive the 45 minutes to City’s training ground at Carrington on the outskirts of Manchester, it literally backs onto United’s which is very handy because both Fergie and Bobby Manc, as City fans call City’s manager, hold pressers within half an hour of each other on Fridays.

Mancini has calmed down after ripping into his players for their setback at the Stadium of Light. Says he will rotate his squad and make five or six changes, bringing back the big guns, Aguero, Silva, Clichy and Richards as he looks for a positive response. He doesn’t make great audio for TV and radio but that’s their problem. We can always make some sense of it in print.

United preview for their game at Newcastle but no press conference because Fergie doesn’t hold them in midweek unless it’s a Champions League game when he is under orders from UEFA. No chance then to push him on Rooney – but the word is he will be back.

Decide to check out his claim in Saturday’s programme that he couldn’t remember a better first half to a League season in his 25 years as United manager. Spend a couple of hours trawling through the Premier League’s website looking at the half-way tables. And Fergie is actually spot on. Well, he would have been had they beaten Blackburn. A win would have given them 48 points after 19 games. Still, 45 points isn’t shabby – they’ve only bettered it three times in 19 years.

Set off for City v Liverpool, picking up a journalist friend on the way. But the journey to the Etihad Stadium takes two hours rather than the usual one because of traffic chaos caused by
the high winds. A lorry has been blown over on the Thelwall Viaduct, M6 north has been closed and all surrounding roads clogged up with traffic.

Ever the professional, I’m more worried about missing the delicious carvery served in the City press room than the game itself. Has to be the best food in Premier League, by the way. As it turns out, arrive in plenty of time for both.

Thank God my Merseyside colleague Paul Joyce is with me for the game because Liverpool have just announced they will not appeal the Suarez ban but have had a right pop at the FA. He is handling the story, leaving me to do the game which City win relatively comfortably thanks after being given a flying start thanks to Pepe Reina’s blunder.

Not often that Craig Bellamy gets cheered by opposition fans. But City followers remember his sterling efforts during Mark Hughes’ reign and give him a good reception when he comes on, although Steve Gerrard is roundly booed.

Kenny Dalglish merits a few boos in the press conference as he try to defends Liverpool’s handling of the Suarez affair. Leave Joycey to handle Kenny while I nip into a side room where City have given us James Milner for a follow-up.

Wednesday January 4
Write the Milner piece, throwing it ahead to Sunday’s FA Cup derby battle. Decent, sensible quotes from a decent, sensible pro. Nice line that United’s pain after the 6-1 humiliation would be three times City’s pleasure.

Had to laugh when Robinho warns rebel Tevez in the Corrieire Della Sport “you can’t muck around” if you join AC Milan. Pot, kettle and black come to mind. Watch Newcastle thump United on Sky in the evening. De Gea dropped, Rooney back but to no avail. Send a stream of texts to my north east colleague Niall Hickman, who is covering the game, mentioning stats he probably didn’t want or need – first time Untied haven’t scored this season, first defeat to the Toon since September 2001, last time they lost two on the bounce etc.

Niall sends his thanks but must think I need to get out more.

Thursday January 5
No chance of getting out more because Manchester football reporting is unrelenting at the moment. Mancini has brought his press conference forward 24 hours. So down to Carrington again for 10am. At our behest, press officer Simon Heggie has to remind assorted TV, radio, agency and internet people that the dailies part of the press conference is embargoed until midnight on Friday.

Time and again this season, at both United and City, someone has broken the embargo and tweeted or leaked our stuff. Hard enough to get anything fresh as it is, without that happening.

After spending around £200m in his two years in charge, Mancini wants to spend again in January. He points to the loss of the Toure brothers to the African Cup of Nations, Gareth Barry’s suspension for the United game and several injuries. Hard not to laugh when he claims he might only be able to name 17 players for Sunday’s game. Poor lamb.

Friday January 6
Fergie, in my view anyway, is unusually low-key in his 9.30am press conference. Won’t talk about Rooney, but can’t resist a pop at Liverpool over Suarez, and in true panto season fashion warns City “we’re right behind you.”

Insists reports linking him with Frank Lampard have “no foundation” but doesn’t actually deny that United have made an enquiry.

The embargoed part of the conference for the dailies is getting shorter by the week. Broadcast and agencies are getting 10 minutes, we’re getting about three or four minutes. Collectively, we vow to tackle United on the issue.

Move round the corner to City’s training ground where nice guy Joleon Lescott is put up for the dailies to interview. Reckons Fergie’s regretting calling City the noisy neighbours and that City have now taken over from Liverpool as their biggest rivals.

That will do nicely, Joleon. Spend rest of the day tapping away.

Still playing seven-a-side football on a Friday evening – but, at 55, I’m not the oldest. My old mate John Richardson (Ricco to everyone who knows him) is still puffing away at 58. Inevitably I am known as Roscoe after the tennis player.

On way into Chester for post-match drinks when called by office about Indy front page on Rooney. Quick call to United and Ian Monk result in a statement dismissing the story, so evening not totally ruined.

Saturday January 7
Bliss, a day off. Go for a long bike ride around the Wirral peninsula to get Manchester football out of the system. Still listen to 5Live commentaries later in the day while washing the car.

Sunday January 8
Get to City to be greeted by the news that the rumours were true – Paul Scholes is coming out of retirement and is on the bench. But the week ends the way it started with Rooney scoring twice in United’s 3-2 win, re-affirming his commitment to the club and upsetting Mancini for influencing Chris Foy to send off Vincent Kompany.

If all that wasn’t enough, United are drawn away to Liverpool in the fourth round.

And the winners are?

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Who will win the major honours in 2012? Footballwriters.co.uk asked those in the know.

IAN ABRAHAMS (aka The Moose, talkSPORT)
Who will win the Barclays Premier League?
Man Utd

Who will be relegated?
Blackburn, Wigan and Swansea

Who will win the Champions League?
Real Madrid

Who will win Euro 2012?
Germany

If you had the choice who would succeed Fabio Capello?
Harry Redknapp

Young player to watch out for?
Nathan Redmond (Birmingham City)

Young manager to make an impact?
Young? Impact? Chris Powell

Your early favourite for the Footballer of the Year?
Demba Ba

Will Team GB win an Olympic Gold?
No

What is your New Year’s Resolution?
Not to upset Chris Davies every time he comes to talkSPORT Towers – maybe just every other.

DAN BLAZER (studying journalism at Anglia Ruskin University)
Who will win the Barclays Premier League?
I honestly thought this season would be too early for City but every week they prove me wrong and look more and more like title contenders. The Barclays Premier League trophy will definitely be in Manchester come May, but it will have to be a braver man than me to say whether it will be at Old Trafford or the Etihad.

Who will be relegated?
I hope QPR go down (Neil Warnock must have gone to the same PR school as Harry Redknapp, those two just love having an opinion…on everything) and I reckon Wigan and Bolton will be joining them

Who will win the Champions League?
Real Madrid. Mourinho knows how to beat Barcelona and I just hope for the sake of football that the Catalan giants don’t dominate again.

Who will win Euro 2012?
My betting slip is telling me Italy at 14/1.

If you had the choice who would succeed Fabio Capello?
Arsene Wenger. The Frenchman is suited to international football and he would definitely help bring through our youth like the Spanish and Germans have.

Young player to watch out for?
Francis Coquelin – I’ve been impressed by the young Gunner, passionate, strong and does the simple stuff well. Hope he gets his chance at the Emirates or maybe a loan move in January will benefit him.

Young manager to make an impact?
AVB – Give the guy time, he knows what he is doing. If Chelsea play their cards right they could have a manager who outstays Fergie.

Your early favourite for the Footballer of the Year?
Gareth Bale, I feel that the Spurs man is showing the form that he should have been showing last season when he received ample amounts of undeserved praise. Funny thing is, I know he won’t even be considered this year, strange game football.

Will Team GB win an Olympic Gold?
Yes definitely, I mean we’ve got to be good at one sport, surely…

What is your New Year’s Resolution?
To prove that AVB and Juan Mata are the same person (has no one else noticed the similarities?)

DANNY FULLBROOK (Daily Star)
Who will win the Barclays Premier League?
I think it will be Manchester City who will walk off with the title. By the end of the season the quality that they have in their front six will be enough to do the job. They need to show bottle now to bounce back from their recent slip-ups. Manchester United’s form will dip soon.

Who will be relegated?
Two of the relegated teams are straight forward. I see Bolton and Blackburn definitely going down especially if both teams hold on to their managers. After that it will be a lot tighter but I think Wigan will get out of it while Swansea’s away form could make them pay the ultimate price and relegation though they came good at Villa Park.

Who will win the Champions League?
For me it has always been Real Madrid. There was only so long that Jose Mourinho was going to fail at Madrid, but not any longer. Bayern Munich and Barcelona will be a real challenge and Arsenal and Chelsea will have to up their game, but Madrid are the winners

Who will win Euro 2012?
Germany have to be a great bet for Euro 2012 if you believe that Spain have seen out their cycle. That is the tough call. With the further development of young players Germany will be a lot of peoples’ favourites for the final and to win

If you had the choice who would succeed Fabio Capello?
It has to be Harry Redknapp because he has all the credentials to manage the national team. He has the experience, tactical acumen but most important at this level the man management skills to succeed which I think are vital to the job.

Young player to watch out for?
Kerim Frei at Fulham. He is an 18-year-old Switzerland international and a nippy winger. Frank Lampard said he was impressed with him when they played in the Carling Cup against each other

Your early favourite for the Footballer of the Year?
Robin Van Persie. His goalscoring exploits have been second to none but it all depends if he keeps going along the same route

Will Team GB win an Olympic Gold?
No, it will all end in a mess with Stuart Pearce in charge

What is your New Year’s Resolution?
To be fit and healthy for Euro 2012

DEAN JONES (The People)
Who will win the Barclays Premier League?
I backed Manchester United in our pre-season predictions and I’m sticking by them. Even though they’ve had a horrible spell of injuries and lost 3-2 to Blackburn, I think they have the bottle to top their neighbours and prove splashing money doesn’t guarantee titles. It’s exciting to see the blue half of Manchester put up a challenge but I expect them to hit a blip in the second half of the season and United will kick on from February to clinch the title with a few games to spare.

Who will be relegated?
Bolton and Blackburn were both promoted in 2001 and have enjoyed a great stay, but I think their time is up. They lack depth and defensively both are going to continue to leak too many goals at home. The other side I fear for is Wolves. Goals are not easy to come by and the crowd are obviously a bit edgy, which can impact heavily on players when the pressure is on. I think they’ll finish below Wigan which has to be a worry.

Who will win the Champions League?
I wanted to believe Real Madrid could realistically challenge Barcelona this season for the trophy but it’s hard to see that happening. Cesc Fabregas must be loving life since he moved back home and he’ll be happier than ever when he has his hands on Europe’s top trophy in May. His dream will be achieved in his first season.

Who will win Euro 2012?
Germany. This side have everything and are even better than they were in the World Cup two years ago – when they battered our clueless England. In qualifying the Germans showed an attacking brand of football that few nations are going to match. They are probably the only side heading to the Championship not afraid of Spain.

If you had the choice who would succeed Fabio Capello?
Roy Hodgson. I’ve had a lot of stick for this opinion but I have said it for the past two years and I’m not budging. Forget the Liverpool debacle which was unfair because King Kenny was breathing down his neck. Roy would know each of England’s opponents inside out and would find a way of beating them. I don’t think the football would be particularly attractive but at least we might challenge for a trophy. My only concern is how he would handle the Press attention.

Young player to watch out for?
Kerim Frei at Fulham. He is a prospect the club have been excited to unleash on the top-flight and has already shown he can skin world class full-backs. He will get plenty more games in the coming year as the long-term successor to Damien Duff and Simon Davies on Fulham’s flanks. It won’t be too long before the sharks are circling Craven Cottage to snap up another young star.

Young manager to make an impact?
The turnaround at Crystal Palace has been incredible over the past year and Dougie Freedman could really make a name for himself as a manager in 2012. He has the chance to make it to the Carling Cup final, and is also looking good to lead the Eagles to the play-offs. Palace are playing great football and if they can make two Wembley appearances this season their manager will quickly become one of the most highly regarded young bosses in the game.

Your early favourite for the Footballer of the Year?
It would have to be Robin van Persie at this stage. He seems to have left his injury problems in the past and Arsenal’s GPS system has helped him control when he should and should not be playing. As a result we are seeing him at his best every time he steps foot on the pitch. He’s been superb and without him Arsenal’s season would already be over.

Will Team GB win an Olympic Gold?
Is this a joke question? Of course we won’t. I would like to see plenty of Championship players included in the squad because they will have more motivation to do well. If GB is made up of a few names who failed to make England’s squad to Euro 2012, along with some of Stuart Pearce’s Under-21s and a couple of players from the other countries, we’ll bomb.

What is your New Year’s Resolution?
To watch more football from outside the Barclays Premier League. It’s difficult for me to report on stories or games from outside the top-flight too often because there is so much demand for the most high profile sides, but I’ve been to a couple of lower league and non-league matches recently and had forgotten how much more enjoyable it is to see lads playing with pure passion.

MATT LAWTON (Daily Mail)
Who will win the Barclays Premier League?
Manchester City, simply because they have a squad significantly stronger than Manchester United’s and, indeed, anyone else in the Barclays Premier League. United have some key weaknesses in certain areas and it will prove their undoing until Sir Alex Ferguson can recruit new players.

Who will be relegated?
Wigan, Blackburn and Bolton. They are in the bottom three for a reason and I don’t see any of them climbing clear when QPR will certainly be able to spend in this transfer window.

Who will win the Champions League?
Real Madrid. It seems ridiculous to bet against Barcelona but they can’t win everything every year. At least I don’t think so anyway. Between Mourinho and Ronaldo, Madrid might just have enough this season.

Who will win Euro 2012?
Germany. Much like the previous question, it seems crazy to bet against Spain. But I just have a feeling an exciting German side that impressed at the last World Cup will come good this summer, two years later.

If you had the choice who would succeed Fabio Capello?
Harry Redknapp. I’d certainly like to see an English manager succeed Capello, and right now Harry is the outstanding candidate. I think the players would respond to him and it would be exciting to go to the next World Cup in Brazil with him in charge.

Young player to watch out for?
It doesn’t sound terribly imaginative but I’m excited by the prospect of seeing Jack Wilshere at Euro 2012. With him in the same midfield as Steven Gerrard and Scott Parker I can see a genuinely decent England side emerging.

Young manager to make an impact?
Paul Lambert seems to be fast proving himself at the highest level and I suspect it won’t be long before other clubs are trying to entice him away from Norwich.

Early favourite for the Footballer of the Year?
Right now it has to be Robin Van Persie. He’s having a marvellous season and I just hope he stays clear of injury. He’s had enough bad luck already.

Will Team GB win an Olympic gold?
I doubt it and I really don’t care. I love the Olympics and I can’t wait to cover it this summer, but football, like tennis and golf, has no place at the Olympics. The Olympics should represent the pinnacle for the athletes involved. This will be an Under-23 tournament involving none of those, in GB’s case, at Euro 2012.
Nonsense.

What is your New Year’s Resolution?
To become an expert in swimming. That, after all, is what I’ll be covering at the Olympics and I’m seriously excited. It’s going to be a great year of sport.

ALISTAIR LOWER (Charlton Athletic fan, aged 11)
Who will win the Barclays Premier League?
Man City

Who will be relegated?
Blackburn, Wigan, Bolton

Who will win the Champions League?
Barcelona

Who will win Euro 2012?
Spain

If you had the choice who would succeed Fabio Capello?
Harry Redknapp, Spurs

Young player to watch out for?
Tom Cleverly, Man Utd

Young manager to make an impact in 2012?
Chris Powell, Charlton

Your early favourite for the Footballer of the Year?
Vincent Kompany, Man City

Will Team GB win an Olympic Gold?
No

What is your New Year’s Resolution?
To hope Charlton get promoted and support them in Championship

SAM WALLACE (Independent)
Who will win the Barclays Premier League?
Manchester United

Who will be relegated?
Blackburn, Wigan, Bolton

Who will win the Champions League?
Real Madrid

Who will win Euro 2012?
Germany

If you had the choice who would succeed Fabio Capello?
Harry Redknapp

Young player to watch out for?
Luke Shaw (Southampton)

Young manager to make an impact?
Michael Appleton (Portsmouth)

Your early favourite for the Footballer of the Year?
Robin Van Persie

Will Team GB win an Olympic Gold?
No

What is your New Year’s Resolution?
To listen to the safety briefing before taking any domestic flights in Ukraine.

JIM WHITE (Daily Telegraph)
Who will win the Barclays Premier League?
Manchester United. In the end, experience counts. And City have not yet had a crisis. But they will.

Who will be relegated?
A Lancashire meltdown: Wigan, Blackburn, Bolton

Who will win the Champions League?
Real Madrid. Mourinho will finally get his revenge on Barcelona in an el clasico final.

Who will win Euro 2012?
Germany. A clutch of excellent young players combined with tournament winning experience. Plus Spanish players will all be exhausted from all that diving in the Champions League final.

If you had the choice who would succeed Fabio Capello?
Tax issues not withstanding, Harry Redknapp. If HMRC intervene then Roy Hodgson.

Young player to watch out for?
Paul Pogba. One thing United need is a central midfielder. Pogba could be the answer, given a run.

Young manager to make an impact?
Marcus Law, manager of Tamworth. He’s 36 and going places. Has already accomplished a run of 67 games unbeaten in non-league football.

Early favourite for Footballer of the Year?
David Silva.

Will Team GB win an Olympic gold?
No.

Your New Year’s resolution?
Try to write a decent match report.