Author Archives: FWA News Editor

FWA Q&A DAVE ARMITAGE

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DAVE ARMITAGE of the Daily Star on a Swedish dog’s dinner…probably the worst headline ever…and [ahem] Maria Sharapova

Have you ever worked in a profession other than football?
I was briefly employed as a ‘giant’ – The Journal Giant to be precise, when I was a cub reporter on the Telford Journal. The job description seemed to be being pelted with kola cubes and sherbert lemons by hyped up kids at the local cinema. It was a new club the paper was promoting and me being 6ft 5in tall, I fitted the bill perfectly.

Most memorable match?
St Mirren v Hammerby of Sweden. St Mirren had drawn 3-3 in Stockholm, so away-goals wasn’t a problem and they were leading 1-0 with a Frank McGarvey goal in the first-half. With two minutes left, nothing could go wrong. Wrong. The Swedes equalised, but away goals was still enough to see St Mirren through. Then Hammerby scored again in stoppage time – but it was disallowed. Phew . . . then they scored again with last kick of the game to put St Mirren out. Needless to say the first edition looked like a dog’s dinner

The one moment in football you would put on a DVD?
Probably the above to remind me that things can always take a dramatic turn.

Best stadium?
Maracana – just loved seeing Christ the Redeemer lit up through the roof of the stadium.

…and the worst?
Personally I hate Goodison Park, but only because the Press Box is so cramped I can’t get my long legs in. Nightmare.

Your personal new-tech disaster?
Once spilled coffee over my tape recorder.

Biggest mistake?
Once, as a young sub, I inadvertently put a headline on a story which caused a storm. It was a small filler about legendary Hollywood director Steven Spielberg marrying his long-term lover. Not having seen the film in question I put the headline ‘Schindler’s Wedding List’ on the story and the editor was bombarded with complaints for days.
Have you ever been mistaken for anyone else?
Not as such, but I was in Istanbul with Stoke and, because I’m very tall (and English, obviously), taxi drivers and market traders seemed to find it amusing shouting out ‘Peeee. . .ter Crouch.’

 Most media friendly manager?
Probably Steve Bruce.

Best ever player?
George Best.

Best ever teams (club and international)?
Brazil 70. Recent Barcelona side.

Best pre-match grub?
Arsenal.

Best meal had on your travels?
Fantastic Tempura prawns in a harbourside restaurant in Barcelona with Henry Winter.

…and the worst?
Some sheepy, cheesy kind of mush in Oman. Never actually eaten Foie Gras – I personally think anyone who eats it or even contemplates eating it should have their toe nails pulled out with a rusty pair of pliers.

Best hotel stayed in?
Palace Hotel, St Moritz.

…and the worst?
A hotel in an industrial town in Bulgaria on an Aston Villa trip. Bare electrical wires hanging from wall and a man at breakfast who put a lock on the fridge containing bottles of water.

Do you have a hobby?
Writing 70s-based nostalgia novels.

Favourite football writer?
The late, great Ian Wooldridge.

Favourite radio/TV commentator?
Martin Tyler.

If you could introduce one change to improve PR between football clubs and football writers what would it be?
Napalm.

One sporting event outside football you would love to experience?
Maria Sharapova.

Favourite non-football sportsman/sports woman?
Muhammad Ali.

Last book read?
John Steinbeck ‘Of Mice and Men.’

Favourite current TV programme?
Scott and Bailey.

TV show you always switch off?
Embarrassing Bodies and any of those ‘I’ve got 22-stone testicles’ type programmes.

If you could bring one TV series back which would it be?
Columbo.

Favourite comedian?
Early Billy Connolly

What really, really annoys you?
Anyone who says ‘I hear what you’re saying’ and a particularly girly scarf last seen around Antony Kastrinakis’ neck.

Your most prized football memorabilia?
I’m hoping to get Kastro’s scarf.

Advice to anyone coming into the football media world?
Definitely learn another language.

LUIS SUAREZ WILL BE HIGHLY MOTIVATED COMING BACK INTO A WINNING LIVERPOOL TEAM

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Luis Suarez is set to make his return after suspension against Manchester United in the Capital One Cup next Wednesday. At the fourth FWA Live sponsored by Barclays in Liverpool the panel – Michael Owen (former Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle United, Manchester United, Stoke City and England striker, now a BT Sport pundit), Alan Stubbs (Everton’s Under-21 coach), Andy Dunn (FWA chairman), Chris Bascombe (Daily Telegraph), Paul Joyce (Daily Express) and Jonathan Northcroft (Sunday Times) spoke about the Uruguay striker and much more. FWA executive secretary Paul McCarthy was the MC.

MO: I watched a lot of Liverpool in pre-season and they looked good, very efficient, Lucas was sat in front of the back-four, they looked solid with so much interchange in forward positions. Daniel Sturridge is scoring goals and while we don’t want to get too carried away, I said in the BT Sport predictions Liverpool would finish fourth and got a lot of stick. I stand by that, I like what I’m seeing and I think they’ll have a good season.

CB: The Champions League is so huge these days, it’s a monster and there’s almost an open-top bus tour for finishing fourth. But Liverpool are still far away from winning the title. Rather than measure Liverpool by position I’d do it by points. If they get 70 this season they’ll have done well and it may be enough to finish fourth.

AD: The advantage Liverpool have is they face only 30-odd more games that really matter in the Barclays Premier League. With no Europe that’s all they need to concentrate on and with Suarez to come back there is no reason why they can’t aim higher than fourth.

PJ: Inevitably when the January window comes round there will be some interest [in Suarez]. He’ll give his all when he comes back, but I can see this situation playing up again. It’ll be interesting to see whether his contract is renegotiated.

PM: It was renegotiated last summer, should it be renegotiated again?

PJ: No, I don’t think it should, but talk against power agents and all that…

AS: We had Liverpool’s most charismatic player [Steven Gerrard] saying how important Suarez is to the team for them to achieve something. That says it all.

JN: Fans are caught in two minds over Suarez. They are tired of the sagas he’s put them through, but on the pitch he has never been anything other than a brilliant 100 per cent player. If he performs as he did before people will forgive him. The great thing for Liverpool is that Suarez is coming back into a winning team, not as a saviour. He’ll have to fight for a place, maybe even playing wide to fit more into the team pattern. Perhaps unexpectedly Liverpool are in a much stronger position than you would have thought throughout the summer.

AD: The reception Suarez and Wayne Rooney have been getting is amazing. Here we have two players at two clubs…institutions…and both Suarez and Rooney said they didn’t want to be there. Rooney’s said it twice over the past two years. Fans have changed. I can remember the times when they would have been run out of town. The players should be grateful because they have been given a lot of indulgences by the fans.

PM: Would you bring him back against Manchester United in the Capital One Cup?

The panel agreed they would…

JN: Yes. He’ll be motivated by playing for a winning team. He’s a natural competitor.  I interviewed him last season [the interview was published on the day of the Ivanovic biting incident] and asked him what his favourite part was. He said the start because he was playing two games a week. It gave an insight into his mentality.

The panel moved on to Suarez’s summer transfer to Arsenal that fell through.

MO: I think Arsenal are lacking everywhere. Defensively they have a good record, but they don’t convince. If they get to the latter stages of the Champions League I wouldn’t be too sure about their defence. Midfield looks OK, not the strikers…over the years they’ve had Ian Wright, Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Robin van Persie, some of the best in the world. Giroud is scoring a few goals, but it was significant they tried to buy Suarez. They’re off it, for me, by a good few players.

PJ: In the corporate world, if you are given a budget and a target to achieve by the end of your financial year and you don’t achieve it because you decided not to spend that budget then you have failed. Wenger is not the finance director, he’s the football manager and why he tries to protect their finances I don’t understand. If your objective has been to make the top four every year while repaying for the stadium then he’s achieved it.

CB: Wenger’s an idealist, but I can’t think of anyone other than Wenger who has changed the identity of football…

PM: …Chelsea under Jose Mourinho?

CB: They played a very effective kind of counter-attacking football. Wenger completely changed so much in our game and everyone tried to follow. We’ll look back at Wenger and think he was a visionary, but at the moment he is struggling with the modern dynamics of the game.

AD: The Suarez bid was so out of character. Someone had obviously told him if you bid £40 million and one pound then you can have him…you’ll get him. It’s unusual that he would just take someone’s word for it and it struck me he took his eye off the ball. If the agent tells you you can have him for that amount you’d want to double-check. You’d want to see the actual clause for starters. It wasn’t a Wenger-type thing to do given all the preparation that goes into his bids. It made me wonder if he was thinking it is his last season. He’s made a bid here on the strength of someone having a word in his shell-like.

A guest made the point that players are reluctant to make a transfer request “because they are not willing to give up their fee apart from Fellaini.”

AS: My understanding was he [Fellani] took a cut on some of his wages he was due from Manchester United to make sure the deal went through. So putting a transfer request in saved them a little bit of money. The way the transfer deadline goes…everyone looks at it…it got to a stage where we knew the Bale thing was going to happen…that was the big one…underlying from that there wasn’t really an awful lot going on…probably come seven o’clock in the night at Everton the word from the training ground was that no one was going to go…Fellaini was staying …Bainesey was never really an option…the club had dug its heels in …Bainesey had obviously said he’d like to go…and then come nine o’clock suddenly we started to get linked with Lukaku and then the Fellaini thing was starting with negotiations with United…by the time it [the transfer window] had finished we’d bought three in [Gareth Barry, Romelu Lukaku and James McCarthy] and they are great additions to the squad.

AD: With Wayne Rooney, even if he had put a transfer request in United would just turn round and say: “no.” If Rooney had put in a transfer request and United had said no, he would have looked even worse. You can write a transfer request in blood, but you still don’t have to leave. He had a decision to make: if he does put a request in and it is then refused, it would be the end with the fans. The fans then know…if they hadn’t heard from Rooney they can think maybe he doesn’t want to go. We all knew he wanted to go.

PJ: He had a similar situation when United said “oh, you’re a star…here’s X-amount more” and he got himself a new contract. Was there an element of that again?

AD: I don’t think that was the case this time.

JN: Two years ago he did get a new deal out of it. What’s different this time is that he was told right from the start the club didn’t even want to negotiate a new contract. The message was for him to get his head down and prove himself again. It put him in a strange position – he did want to leave, but two things changed the way he felt. He was worried what Ferguson said would turn the fans against him, but it’s obvious they still support him. He also worried whether Ferguson still being there…would he still be interfering? When Mourinho came said “put a transfer request in” that was just Mourinho being naughty.

PM: Do we admire the stance of Manchester United and Liverpool because in the past the trend was, generally, players got the moves they wanted. Big clubs now are taking a stance against big players.

MO: The first time he [Rooney] wanted to go he won the battle, basically, and got an extra zero [on his contract]. This time it’s been different. He wants to play all the time, Robin van Persie came in and stole his thunder…he’s not the first name on the team-sheet and more…Ferguson left him out of the Real Madrid game…a new manager came in and made noises that van Persie was his number one. All of a sudden he’s thinking “I don’t want to be second fiddle. I need to be playing.” He wants to be loved and play all the time. The Suarez situation was a better example of of a club saying “no, you are not going anywhere.” You have to bear in mind their backgrounds, who they are and where they are from. Liverpool fans love Suarez and yes, he’ll appreciate the affection, but he doesn’t have the sort of bond with them like a Steven Gerrard or a Jamie Carragher. Suarez is from South America, he’s played in Holland and whoever had paid the fee to Ajax he’d have gone. He didn’t come to Liverpool because he adored the club. When people say they showed him loyalty so just show it back…bear in mind he wanted to reach the top of his career. I understand where he’s coming from.

AD: In any other walk of life if you had the chance to make a step up in your career [as Leighton Baines could have done], and with respect it is a step up [to join United] you’d be able to make it. He was denied that chance and it is where the transfer market is unique. You are saying to a 29-year-old who may have only five years left of his career [at the top level] that he cannot go and play in the Champions League in front of 70,000 people. However, he’s with a great club and is hugely appreciated by a great set of supporters…

MO: Players always get the raw end of the deal. Fans support [their club] through thick and thin…if I wasn’t a footballer I’d have been supporting Everton…if anyone did anything to harm my club and wanted to leave I’d say “no way.” If you work for a company and a rival offers you more money, to have better career prospects, no one would bat an eyelid if you moved. Most people have done this. Why is it wrong for a footballer? Because football fans expect everyone else to feel the same way [about their club]. Most footballers just want to reach the top of their profession like anyone else. Fans can’t understand that because they are so indebted to the badge on the shirt. This is unfair in many ways.

A SPECIAL HONOUR FOR JOSÉ MOURINHO

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The Football Writers’ Association are pleased to confirm José Mourinho will be honoured at the annual Gala Tribute Evening at the Savoy, London, on January 19, 2014.

The Chelsea manager said: “I am delighted that the FWA have chosen me. When I see who the association have honoured over the years I realise how much it means to be alongside so many of the greats of English football.”

It promises to be a special night and Andy Dunn, the FWA chairman, said: “It’s great to have José back in our game and we are thrilled to be honouring him.”

During his first spell with Chelsea, Mourinho led the club to two Barclays Premier League titles, one FA Cup, two League Cups and the Community Shield. It was the most successful spell in the club’s history.

In 10 seasons of club management with FC Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid, Mourinho won the domestic league seven times, the Champions League twice and the UEFA Cup once. Between 2003 and 2012, Mourinho did not go a single calendar year without winning at least one trophy.

The Guinness Book Of World Records recognised Mourinho for his unbeaten home league record spanning eight years and 362 days at four different clubs. The record began after nine-man FC Porto’s 3-2 defeat by Beira-Mar on February 23, 2002. Mourinho did not lose for the remainder of his time with the Portuguese club, nor with Chelsea and Inter Milan, until the record run ended almost nine years later at Real Madrid with a 1-0 loss to Sporting Gijón on April 2, 2011 – their first win at the Bernabéu in 16 years.

Through his 150-match home record against 107 different coaches, Mourinho amassed 125 wins and 25 draws, 342 goals scored, 87 conceded.

MEDIA ‘BLACKOUT’ AT FOREST

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DANIEL TAYLOR, chief football writer for the Guardian and Observer, on Nottingham Forest’s attitude towards football writers

AN UNUSUAL development reminds me of Brian Clough’s occasionally fractious relationship with the newspaper industry, and one story in particular, about the time the Daily Mirror sent a photographer to Quarndon to take a picture of his house.

Clough was so incensed he ordered the Nottingham Forest club photographer to drive to Derby, where the reporter lived, and bring him back a picture. “I wonder how he and his family will feel when I put a copy in the local post-office window,” he wrote in his next programme notes. “They’ll soon find out.” Clough being Clough, kept his promise.

The story comes to mind because strange news reaches us at the Observer that we have somehow got on the wrong side of Cloughie’s old club. Indeed, an email arrived a few days ago stating that we, and the Guardian, are now banned from the City Ground press box, with no possibility of getting back in soon.

We are not alone either. A freelance reporter, with 40 years of covering the club, has been banned after asking the manager, Billy Davies, on the final day of last season, why he was holding the post-match press conference before kick-off. The local BBC radio station is out of favour (though still allowed in). The Nottingham Evening Post has been ostracised. A media blackout is effectively in place and it is odd, to say the least, that the club do not want good publicity when they have started the season so well. As PR goes, it all feels a bit petty and ridiculous.

The issue with this newspaper is best described as bizarre. In March I requested a press-box ticket for their home match against Wolverhampton Wanderers. It is what a football correspondent does: watch games, meet people, see the managers, get information. Last weekend, I was at Stockport. On Saturday it was Old Trafford. Next weekend, the Manchester derby on Sunday and, all being well, a free Saturday to go to a Championship match, off duty.

Forest say it broke their rules to sit in the press box and not write a match report. They won’t explain why it has never been a problem before. Or why, seeing as it is common practice, we are not banned from 30 or 40 other clubs. The Guardian‘s sports editor sums it up. “In 18 years of working in sports journalism, I’ve never come across a case of a writer being banned for going to a game.” That was an email to Ben White, the club’s media manager.

So what’s going on? That’s a difficult one to answer. But there’s no point pretending it doesn’t grate a little. The suspicion among the Midlands press corps is that Jim Price, who is effectively Forest’s chief executive, is picking off the journalists he suspects of having ties with the previous regime, which sacked Davies and which he openly dislikes.

Price, a Glaswegian in his mid-50s, joined the club in February, when Davies was appointed. Intriguingly, he and Davies are cousins. He also doubles up as the manager’s agent-cum-adviser. Yet Price’s background is not in sport. He was previously a partner in Glasgow law firm Ross Harper, only for his licence to be suspended when the company shut down 16 months ago, owing £2.6m to clients. The Law Society of Scotland is investigating possible financial irregularities and Football League rules stipulate Price would not pass their owners and directors’ test while he is suspended. As it is, the league can do nothing because Price is not a director.

On Twitter, he complains that Forest should get more media coverage and referred to one female fan as “babe”. It’s not easy knowing what to make of it all. But I think we all know what Clough would have thought of him.

THIS ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED IN THE OBSERVER ON SEPTEMBER 15.

FWA Live: Liverpool

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Another lively FWA Live with some hard-hitting views from the panel at the Museum of Liverpool

MICHAEL OWEN: England don’t have the young players coming through which is worrying

ALAN STUBBS: Stuart Pearce told me two players preferred to go on holiday rather than play in the European Under-21 Championship

ANDY DUNN: The FA want to manage expectations – “we’re not going to win and you must get used to it”

CHRIS BASCOMBE: No one should be surprised by the standard of football we’re getting with Hodgson

PAUL JOYCE: To expect England to beat Montenegro and Poland is a big ask

JONATHAN NORTHCROFT: People are fed up with performances like the one in Ukraine

THE fourth FWA Live, sponsored by Barclays, at the Museum of Liverpool on Albert Dock, was another resounding success.

Paul McCarthy, the executive secretary of the Football Writers’ Association, was the “manager” of a star-studded team that included Michael Owen (former Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle United, Manchester United, Stoke City and England striker, now a BT Sport pundit), Alan Stubbs (Everton’s Under-21 coach), Andy Dunn (FWA chairman), Chris Bascombe (Daily Telegraph), Paul Joyce (Daily Express) and Jonathan Northcroft (Sunday Times).

The panel started by discussing England’s 0-0 draw in Ukraine.

PM: Had you been playing, Michael, you’d have been pretty pleased with the result, wouldn’t you?

MO:  There were two questions. One is the result, which is all-important for the team and what they are doing, and then there is the general state of English football which we always dissect after games. Certainly from a player’s point of view, you’re coming off the pitch, shaking hands and saying “that’s a great result…we’re top of the group…we have two home games left against teams below us which we should, in theory, be winning.” It would have been a happy camp. The performance is another matter. It was OK. We’ve been saying the same things over the past few years in many ways. We’re not Spain, we’re not Brazil or any of the great nations. If we went to the World Cup tomorrow we’d be relying on Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney and players like that. We don’t have the youngsters coming through who we’d hope would take the nation forward in years to come. From that point of view it’s slightly worrying.

PM: Jonathan, you were in Kiev…?

JN: Yes and it was a long way to go for such a bad game.  As a Scot, during my lifetime I’ve seen the national team go down and down. The same may be happening to England at the moment. As Michael said, the players coming through just aren’t quite good enough at the moment. Roy Hodgson was shocked at the negative reaction but speaking to fans, what he can’t get is that people are fed up with turning on the TV to watch performances like that. It might be harsh but I think the Barclays Premier League is so good and vibrant while England are suffering by comparison. In the old days getting to the World Cup might have been enough but people are looking for a bit more than that now. I don’t think the players coming through can provide a different England.

PJ: Travelling back from Kiev with fans…they were saying it wasn’t just this game, it was Poland, it was Montenegro and there is a trend developing where England haven’t played well. It’s win-draw, win-draw. We’ve only beaten San Marino and Moldova so to expect to win back-to-back games against Montenegro and Poland is a big ask from what we’ve seen so far. We’ve not seen any evidence in the group so far that we’re going to go out and play open attacking football.

PM: Do you sense there is more realism in the media about England, Andy, with less hype and hysteria?

AD: It was a deliberate Football Association policy, no doubt about it. They want to manage expectations – that is, we’re not going to win and you must get used to it. Why did they appoint Roy Hodgson over Harry Redknapp? Without a doubt it was to get a coach in who we won’t expect too much from, to the extent the new FA chairman [Greg Dyke] doesn’t expect England to win the World Cup in 2014. I disagree with Jonathan about our expectations and what we should be thinking. We are what we’ve been for the last 25 or 30 years. We generally qualify for major tournaments, we generally get out of the qualifying group and then we lose, often unluckily, in the quarters or semis. We don’t generally get hammered at major finals. The problem we have is the player group we’re choosing from is diminishing rapidly.

CB: There was a golden generation, you can’t doubt that. Michael was part of it, he won the European Footballer of the Year award. That’s why everyone is so disillusioned. An opportunity was missed. Those players at their peak, with the right manager…no one should be surprised by the standard of football we’re getting with Hodgson. [Sven-Goran] Eriksson and [Fabio] Capello were the same, they just had better players. It was two banks of four and counter-attacking football. If England played like a club side which would it be? Would it be Ferguson’s United? Wingers, a dynamic midfield, a goalscoring number 10…is that the archetypal English way? Or is it Stoke?

MO (smiling): There’s nothing wrong with Stoke…

JN: Jack Wilshere was hyped as one of the next generation…he played the number 10 role for England [in Ukraine] and made 16 passes in the entire game. That’s a position where the Brazilians and the Spanish have world-class players.

PM: In Greg Dyke’s  state of the nation speech the accusation was  that Premier League clubs are almost stunting the growth of young English players into the first-team.  You work with players of that age, Alan, how difficult is it now for English players to break through?

AS: I think it depends on which clubs you are coming from. At Everton, if they are good enough there is a pathway through to the first-team. I don’t know whether that’s the same at your Chelseas or Arsenals. Is there the same pathway there? Tottenham went out and spent £110 million on six or seven players so youngsters like Tom Carroll who were on the fringe of the first-team are probably wondering what chance they have. I think Spurs sent seven players on loan and that’s the way we’re going to have to go. Top clubs will send young players out to get experience of competitive football.

MO: When I was coming through the reserves were that…Owen, Carragher, [David] Thompson, Gerrard, Ruddock…you’d have five or six first-team players with five or six youngsters. That was a stepping-stone and the transition to the first-team wasn’t so big. These days, reserve matches are basically youth team games. It’s farcical. You progress through the academy, you get to 18 and the youth team – and then what? You’re never going to get from the youth team to Manchester City’s first team, never in a million years. Or United. Or Liverpool. Even at Everton you’d need to be sensational…

PM: …like a Ross Barkley…

MO: …even he’s been on loan [to Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds United]. Eighteen year olds are doing the same thing they were three years ago, which is going stale because there is no stepping-stone.

AD: Chelsea invested millions in their academy and you think of some of their players who came through. Michael Mancienne [after five years of loan spells at QPR and Wolves he joined Hamburger SV in 2011) and Josh McEachran [on loan to Swansea last year, now on loan at Middlesbrough]. When players go back after a loan they become disillusioned.

PM: Is there almost a satisfaction of reaching a certain level with English players?

JN: Josh [who is 20] is a good example. He has a celebrity girlfriend [Brooke Vincent who plays Sophie Webster in Coronation Street] and has been earning £20,000 a week for the last three years . There is no real incentive because in his mind he’s made it already. He seems symptomatic of that made-it-before-you-have-proved-it syndrome.

AS: We give young lads who have done nothing far too much money. We are now talking about players on £10,000 a week before they have played their first game because of hype. Unfortunately agents now say if the kid doesn’t get that they’ll take them somewhere else. It’s a vicious circle, but there has to be a ceiling somewhere along the line where young lads only get so much money with the rest incentive-based. The trouble is, it is so difficult with agents.

The discussion turned to players who are eligible for the Under-21’s being promoted to the senior squad and then dropping back to the Under-21’s.

AS: It’s great for Ross Barkley that he was away training with England [against Moldova and Ukraine] but will he see going back to the Under-21’s as demotion? No, Ross won’t have a problem with this, he’s a wonderful kid and a lad who loves football. The last player we had at Everton who loved football [like that] was Wayne Rooney. Ross plays football because he loves the game. He doesn’t do it for money. I spoke to Stuart Pearce [former Under-21 manager] and he said his problem was two players preferred to go on holiday rather than play in the European Championship [this summer]. What chance do you have when young players prefer to go on holiday rather than help their country to win a European competition?

As Gareth Bale prepares to start his career with Real Madrid, Michael Owen gave his verdict on the former Spurs midfielder.

MO: He’s a top player and there will be expectations, but it can’t be too difficult when you have team-mates like Cristiano Ronaldo. He’s the top dog, one of the best two if not the best player in the world. Bale won’t take all the limelight away from him, but I’ve no doubts Gareth will do well. People can make a big thing about pressure, but if you are a top player you lap it up. When I was in the prime of my career I used to love going out and thinking “this team is relying on me to score a goal.” I thrived on thinking I was important. I don’t think Bale would fail because there’s too much pressure on him. I bet he can’t wait to get going and lap it up.

MORE FROM FWA Live next week when the panel give their verdict on Luis Suarez…and reveal the manager who has changed English football more than any other.

 

FWA Q&A – Hector Nunns

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HECTOR NUNNS on a gun at Loftus Road…losing his bottle at Reading…and the House of a Hundred Beers.

Have you ever worked in a profession other than football?
Yes. Started life as a trainee bean-counter in the City, but hated it, and then worked in hospitality, most enjoyably based at Sandown Park racecourse selling the boxes for the Esher track, Epsom Downs and Kempton Park. Survived having to work on Whitbread Gold Cup day and missing the last ever game at the Goldstone Ground. Just. Had an epiphany over breakfast one day (dodgy Shreddies), pitched and got a football column from the sports editor at the West Sussex County Times, and went to do a journalism course.

Most memorable match?
Professionally, it has to be the QPR v Sheffield United match in 2005, when it emerged that the police had arrested several men for allegedly holding a gun to the head of Rangers’ director Gianni Paladini during the match. A subsequent Crown Court case saw all those charged found not guilty on various counts, but the day and experience was a stark reminder to take nothing for granted as you head for the ground. As a fan, two. The Hereford v Brighton draw at Edgar Street that saw Steve Gritt’s side stay out of the Conference only on goals scored. Having just lost their ground, I am sure Brighton would have gone out of business had they lost. And the five-penalty farrago at Crystal Palace in 1989 (although their four, of which they missed three, were all nailed-on penalties while the Brighton one probably wasn’t). Good old Kelvin Morton.

The one moment in football you would put on a DVD?
I’m a sucker for World Cups, love everything about them even if England aren’t involved. The 1982 version had already seen the classic Italy 3-2 win over Brazil and the West Germany 3-3 semi-final penalties win over France, before a superb final, with Marco Tardelli’s frenzied and passionate goal celebration the defining moment.

Best stadium?
St Etienne’s Stade Geoffroy-Guichard  is what a football stadium should be like. Four good stands, close to the pitch, cracking atmosphere when packed, and infused with a proud history. In England, Villa Park feels like the closest equivalent.

And the worst?
The kid in me still loves going to football and knows this job is a privilege, and I can find something good and hidden charm in every ground. Even Selhurst Park, though I’m hearing a facelift is well under way.

Biggest mistakes?
Not going into sports journalism straight after university. And attempting a quick single playing cricket this summer (ruptured Achilles). People of a certain age and build should deal in boundaries only. And opening a fridge door at the Madejski this season, resulting in a bottle-smashing incident that almost wiped out Joe Lovejoy.

Have you ever been mistaken for anyone else?
When Chris Evans was doing his TFI Friday show there was a slot about people who looked like fat version of someone famous. Pals at the time reckoned I could pass for a ‘Fat Alan Shearer’, and that was years ago. He wasn’t great at interviews either.

Your personal ‘tech’ disaster?
The worst one wasn’t even new-tech, and there have been plenty of those (the word ‘dongle’ means different things to different people, but for me it was a small white thing that didn’t work at The Valley on deadline). My first ever match report for the WSCT, on which in my eyes a whole future new career rested, I took one pen and it ran out after 10 minutes. Spent the next 80 pressing hard into a pad and then for two hours painfully re-traced the imprints in the pub afterwards. An early and salutary lesson.

Most media friendly manager
Hard to think of a more courteous current manager than Gianfranco Zola at Watford.

Best ever player?
Paul Gascoigne in his pomp at Spurs is the best English player I have seen playing live. That should be how he is remembered, sadly it may not be. Also loved watching Eric Cantona, Zola and Dennis Bergkamp play in their time here.

Best ever teams (club and international)?
Barcelona team of recent years but also loved the Manchester United class of ’94: Schmeichel, Parker, Bruce, Pallister, Irwin, Kanchelskis, Ince, Keane, Giggs, Cantona, Hughes. More a devastating 4-2-4 than 4-4-2. Internationally, the swaggering Brazil of the early 1980s, the words ‘technical ability’ just don’t do it justice.

Best pre-match grub?
Usual beat is the Championship in the south-east, so the Amex is pretty good. The day Waitrose stop doing the food at Reading will also be a sad one.

Best meal had on your travels?
A proper Eisbein in the superbly named ‘House of a Hundred Beers’ just off Potsdamerplatz in Berlin.

And the worst?
Some dodgy herring in Copenhagen.

Best hotel stayed in?
As a cost-conscious freelance I have a Travelodge season ticket. But best hotel stayed in by a mile (for a travel piece) was Vila Bled on Lake Bled in Slovenia, a former residence of Tito. Beautiful.

And the worst?
Pub in Sheffield. Lock-in karaoke until 4am. Right beneath my room. It’s what Fenerbahce fans might do to a foreign team visiting Istanbul.

Favourite football writers?
James Lawton and Martin Samuel.

Favourite radio/TV commentator?
On radio it was Peter Jones, so many Saturday afternoons and midweek evenings spent listening to his reassuring tones. On TV, Brian Moore. Outside football, Sid Waddell – a genius who hated blandness, and made knowledge and learning cool.

If you could introduce one change to improve PR between football clubs and football writers what would it be?
Most press officers are helpful, and it is probably better in the Championship. Would like to see a few handlers spend a week with a minority sport, where it is a fight to get it in the papers, to better appreciate their position. Failing that, an outward-bound style bonding day building rope bridges. One (overseas) press officer this season even instructed me what comparisons I could and couldn’t make on a proposed piece. That cramping of the imagination didn’t go down well.

One sporting event outside football you would love to experience?
An England cricket tour of the West Indies.

Other sports covered
Snooker has ended up being a big work area ever since 11 years ago being thrown the Crucible accreditation form by departing colleague John ‘Tex’ Hennessey at the Daily Express with the words ‘Here you go, you might be needing that’. Has got me to all the great world cities: Beijing, Berlin and Sheffield.

Last book read?
Dipping into the Times History of the World at the moment. Should be up to the 14th Century any day now.

Favourite current TV programme?
My daughters love Masterchef in all forms for some reason, so that, The Newsroom, and Sunday Supplement.

Advice to anyone coming into the football media world?
Think it through from every angle about how you can be most useful to the people who pay you. And then work ceaselessly going and doing it.

Hector Nunns is a regular on the Championship beat for Sunday Express, Daily Mirror and Daily Star Sunday.

SHARING A ROOM WITH TERRIBLE TONY – ‘A COMPLETE NUTTER WHOSE IDEAL NIGHT OUT INCLUDED 17 PINTS OF STRONG LAGER’

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BY JOHN ANDERSON

COVER football and see the world at someone else’s expense. It sure beats working for a living. You visit new places and meet new people, yet sometimes things aren’t quite as the brochure indicated…well, initially at least.

John Anderson covers England for talkSPORT and in the updated version of A Great Face For Radio he recalls his horror at having to share a room with Terrible Tony at the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.

“AS I WAS the only representative from talkSPORT who was based with England, I had no obvious partner to share a room with at the media accommodation. By a process of elimination I was paired with another solo traveller, I learnt that he was a Eurosport website reporter I had never met called Tony Mabert who wasn’t due to join the party until a week after we arrived.

I shared a taxi to Heathrow with the Daily Mirror’s John Cross who lives close to me in north London and who had been a good mate on numerous football and athletics trips going back 10 years. During the journey he looked up from his texting and asked me who I was sharing with.

“Some bloke from Eurosport called Tony Mabert,” I replied.

Crossy let out an astonished shriek and turned towards me, his face contorted in horror.

“Oh my God,” he spluttered. “Not terrible Tony.”

After which he broke out into a cackle of fiendish laughter. “Bloody hell Ando, he’s an absolute maniac.”

He explained he’s come across Tony during Euro 2008 and regaled me with lurid tales of how his unpredictable behaviour, violent mood swings and drunken antics had shocked even the most seasoned campaigners within the England press corps. As I listened I grew increasingly alarmed at the prospect of sharing an apartment with a man who appeared to possess all the social niceties of a 1970’s Oliver Reed crossed with Jack Nicholson in The Shining.

Crossy continued tapping away on his Blackberry throughout the conversation and within minutes, I received a text from 5Live senior football reporter Ian Dennis.

“I hear you’re sharing with TT, good luck.”

As word got around I was accosted at the check-in by other travelling companions who were keen to inform me of the impending oblivion into which I would shortly be enveloped. Even the Independent On Sunday’s Steve Tongue, a former colleague at IRN and one of the gentlest souls on the trip, sidled up to offer his condolences.

“Surely this bloke can’t be that bad?” I kept insisting.

“Honestly mate, he’s a complete nutter,” came the unanimous response.

I digested the news on a slightly nervous journey to Johannesburg as I pondered what on earth I was in for during the following weeks. It appeared that Tony’s idea of a good night out consisted of necking 17 pints of strong lager, having a fight with a nightclub bouncer, ripping the door off his hotel room and dancing insanely to techno music until dawn.

Given my own past history I’m certainly not one to suffer bouts of righteous indignation when it comes to other people’s social habits, but the idea of having to wake up at seven to do a live chat with the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast to a back-drop of bacchanalian mayhem was a little disconcerting. Having said that, Alan himself would no doubt have heartily approved. At least I had a week to prepare myself.

My early starts meant this was one of the driest trips I had ever done as there was just about time to nip down to the nearby 4th Street Cafe after the last report of the day and sink a quick pint or two before collapsing into bed ahead of the next one. It was all a far cry from the heady days of the early 1990’s when any amount of sleep that could be stolen between nightclub closing and the press conference starting was considered a bonus.

The legendary Tony Lockwood once decided it was time to grab a quick kip after a big night out in Rotterdam and marched up to the hotel receptionist. “Hello, I’m Mr Lockwood, room 154. Could I have an alarm call for 7.15am please?”

“It’s 7.30 now sir.”

FROM TIME to time people would mischievously ask if Terrible Tony had arrived. Rob Beasley, my old mate from the Signal Radio days, and his room-mate Sun photographer Dickie Pelham put up an incredible display of horrified indignation during one coach journey to training.

“The problem is,” Rob explained. “He’s so unpredictable, especially when he’s had a drink. On the face of it he’s quite a nice guy, but he just has this knack of winding people up. I’ve nearly hit him a couple of times.”

I was so concerned that I approached BAC Sport’s Brian Scott [who was in charge of media travel] to voice my concerns. He explained that there was little that could be done unless an actual incident took place.

As you have probably guessed, I had been totally taken in and Tony Mabert turned out to be a hugely likeable fellow in his late 20’s who was on his first major trip with England. We got on like a house on fire from the word go and he found the whole Terrible Tony thing hilarious. The name stuck and he gained instant credibility among our companions in the village.

I had to make my hat off to Crossy who admitted he thought the whole thing up on the spur the moment during the taxi ride; it had been a brilliantly executed set-up and I actually felt privileged to have been the hapless victim.”

From: A Great Face For Radio – the adventures of a sports commentator by John Anderson (Paperback: Pitch Publishing £9.99) plus Kindle and iTunes.

EMMET MALONE – so popular in Cyprus they are naming a pub after him and he’ll have his own banner at APOEL (but his name is mud in Turkey)

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By CHRISTOPHER DAVIES

EMMET MALONE is the most popular Irishman in Nicosia. The football correspondent of The Irish Times will never have to buy another drink in the Cypriot capital. There could even be a pub named after him – the ultimate honour for a football writer, many would feel.

All because Malone was the person responsible for reinstating APOEL FC to the Europa League at the expense of Fenerbahce, the least politically correct choice he could have made.

Malone has been to the island to cover games against the Republic of Ireland and enjoyed the warmth of the locals. When he returns to Cyprus he will receive a welcome usually reserved for local heroes. On the other hand, his name is mud in Turkey.

“The pub idea was nice, but the one I really liked was the football banner,” said Malone. “A banner – that’s respect in football.” He was told on Monday morning an APOEL supporter had even named his son after him.

Malone was in Monaco last week for the European draws. “Fenerbahce had lost their appeal against expulsion from the Europa League for match fixing,” said Malone. “A replacement was to be drawn from the sides that lost in the final round of qualifying for the group stages on Thursday evening.”

UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino explained that European football’s ruling body wanted a journalist to make the draw. Mehmet Demircan, the editor of Turkish sports magazine Fanatik, volunteered, but UEFA explained a representative from a neutral country without a club in the draw, therefore unaffected by the controversy, was needed.

David Farrelly, UEFA’s head of communications, asked fellow Irishman Malone if he would make the draw. “I thought he was joking,” said Malone.

He wasn’t. UEFA laid on transport to the Méridien Beach Plaza hotel where Malone stepped on to the podium and put a hand in a bowl full of identical containers. After the obligatory shuffling of the balls Malone picked one out.

“It didn’t really matter to me who replaced Fenerbahce,” said Malone. “I wasn’t overly concerned. It was an interesting experience, deciding which way to spin the balls…just doing something we’d all seen so many times. The implications for the club involved didn’t occur to me.”

They soon did. Malone opened the container, unfolded the piece of paper and read out the name of the lucky club: APOEL FC. Malone had chosen a team based in Nicosia to replace a Turkish club. Nice one, Emmett.

Malone had no idea what was to come once Planet Twitter reacted to the news. One of the first tweets was from APOEL’s Irish striker Cillian Sheridan: “S**t way to qualify but don’t care.” APOEL had lost their two-leg tie 3-2 to Zulte Waregem; thanks to Malone they were given a lifeline.

Another early tweet warned: “@emmetmalone expect a tweet deluge. Your twitter account was in the main news of Cyprus brocasting [sic] today.”

It wasn’t so much a deluge as a twitter typhoon. Malone’s 15 minutes of fame were up and running as APOEL fans showed their gratitude.

*Sir you have no idea how many would like to shake your hand, buy you a beer or if you like send you home made halloumi cheese.

*If you are the guy who drew #Apoel out in draw to replace Fenerbace [sic], you are now a bona fide hero in #cyprus.

*Today I’m opening an Irish Pub called “Malone’s”, to honour the great @emmetmalone. #apoel.

*Mr @emmetmalone, I LOVE YOU!!! God bless YOU and everyone you love.

* Thank you @emmetmalone! When are you coming to Cyprus? We’d love to take you out! 🙂 #APOEL @apoelfcofficial.

*Dear Emmet [sic] Malone! I don’t know you but I would like to thank you! You made more than 20.000 people today happy! Only APOEL!

Malone had no time to think of the financial benefits to whoever was drawn. The qualification to the group stage will be worth around £3 million from UEFA, TV rights, the marketing pool and ticket sales. On top of that, a win earns £165,000 and a draw £83,000.

No wonder a grateful APOEL president offered Malone and his wife a complimentary trip to one of the group ties.

Demircan, meanwhile, wished Malone all the best with his new-found popularity in Cyprus, cautioned him against holidaying anytime soon in Turkey. “There, he told me, my name is mud,” said Malone. He was joking – Mehmet and Emmet laughed about the irony – but some Besiktas fans, delighted with the dark humour of Malone’s draw, also offered him a holiday.

Malone will consider all offers when the dust settles. More immediately, Ireland versus Sweden on Friday is top of his agenda.

FWA Q&A: David Miller

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DAVID MILLER on stepping back in time in Albania…a two and a half hour meal with Alf Ramsey…and staying in a war-time barracks in Wolverhampton

Have you ever worked in a profession other than football?
A sports PR consultant 1990-2013. Also written 12 books on the Olympic Games.

Most memorable match?
The 1966 World Cup final which I reported for the Sunday Telegraph. England had long been perceived as the fathers of the game, but in the World Cup our record was poor. The press at the time were generally against Alf Ramsey and the way England played, the criticism was severe. A few of us, including Brian James, Clive Toye and myself who had covered England regularly, believed, like Alf, that England could win. The best team entertainment-wise in 66 were probably Hungary, but they didn’t have a top-class goalkeeper. England were efficient, made few mistakes and for us to win was historic.

The one moment in football you would put on a DVD?
Pele’s first goal in the 1958 World Cup final, Brazil 5 Sweden 2. He chested the ball down, flicked it over Sweden defender Gustavsson with his thigh and volleyed the dropping ball home.

Best stadium?
The Santiago Bernabeu. There is no stadium that is as theatrical. The Nou Camp is special, but it’s more of a bowl. The Bernabeu is an opera house, it rises straight up, tier after tier and everyone is relatively near to the field.

…and the worst?
Tirana, 1976. I was there for a World Cup qualifier between Albania and Northern Ireland. The facilities, the phones…it was like going back decades. Albania at that time was under the dictatorship of Enver Hoxha and was hardly into the 20th century.

Your personal new-tech disaster?
Almost daily.

Biggest mistake?
Believing newspaper proprietors.

Have you ever been mistaken for anyone else?
The pub bore (often).

Most media friendly manager?
Malcolm Allison.

Best ever player?
Alfredo di Stefano.

Best ever teams (club and international)?
Spurs 1961/62; Hungary 1952-1954.

Best pre-match grub?
Arsenal (today).

Best meal had on your travels?
Sabatini in Rome where I have been many times.

…and the worst?
In Kiev, when it was still part of the old Soviet Union, for an Under-23 match. It was two and a half hours before Alf Ramsey and I completed dinner. Most of the dishes on the menu were off – there was a six-page menu, but only three items were available.

Best hotel stayed in?
The Oriental in Bangkok. I was fortunate to be there for a couple of nights in transit on my way to China. It’s incredibly special.

…and the worst?
The Victoria in Wolverhampton, 1960. It was like a war-time barracks.

Do you have a hobby?
Off-shore sailing.

Favourite football writer?
Arthur Hopcraft.

Favourite radio/TV commentator?
Geoffrey Green/Alan Hansen (pundit). Geoffrey was the football correspondent of The Times, he appeared on Sports Report regularly and covered early European ties. Geoffrey had such perspective.

If you could introduce one change to improve PR between football clubs and football writers what would it be?
Apology for invented quotes.

One sporting event outside football you would love to experience?
The Cresta Run.

Favourite non-football sportsman/sports woman?
Barry John/Maria Bueno.

Last book read?
Iron Curtain: The Crushing Of Eastern Europe 1944-1953 by Anne Applebaum.

Favourite current TV programme?
University Challenge.

TV show you always switch off?
Kirsty Wark/Russell Brand.

If you could bring one TV series back which would it be?
Fawlty Towers.

Favourite comedian?
Woody Allen/Victoria Wood.

What really, really annoys you?
Almost all politicians.

Your most prized football memorabilia?
Correspondence with Stan Matthews.

Advice to anyone coming into the football media world?
Talk to, or listen to rational former players/managers such as George Cohen, Terry Venables, Gareth Southgate and Craig Brown.

A life member of the Football Writers’ Association, David Miller has been a journalist since leaving Cambridge University in 1956. The former chief sports correspondent of The Times, Miller has covered 14 World Cup finals. He is the author of biographies of Matt Busby, Stanley Matthews and Sebastian Coe and wrote the official history of the IOC.

SPURS WILL STRUGGLE TO REPLACE BALE’S GOALS AGAINST INJURY-HIT ARSENAL

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By CHRISTOPHER DAVIES

The first Barclays Premier League blockbuster of the season turned out to be the dampest of damp squibs as Manchester United and Chelsea played out a soul-less, goal-less and virtually entertainment-free stalemate at Old Trafford. A tactical masterclass it may have been, but there was little to raise the pulse. A misplaced pen has often been a talking point in big matches, on this occasion it was Jose Mourinho’s lost pen that provided some welcome light relief.

On Sunday, Arsenal meet Tottenham and the previous seven league games between the North London rivals have produced 34 goals, the last two at the Emirates ending 5-2 to the home team. “And Spurs went ahead in both of those games,” said self-confessed Arsenal supporter Matt Scott who covered his share of derbies for the Guardian.

The closure of the transfer window the following day will inevitably dominate much of the build-up to the game, with the Gareth Bale saga finally coming to a cliffhanger conclusion (a Spanish newspaper this week claimed the Balegate had been rumbling on for 87 days – and rising) while Gooners are hoping for a happier ending than in 2011 when, with the clock ticking, Arsenal signed Park Chu-Young and Andre Santos along with Per Mertesacker and Mikel Arteta.

Meetings between the clubs hardly need any extra spice, but the temperature was raised – and some – for the first derby of 2001/02 after Arsenal had signed Spurs captain Sol Campbell on a free transfer. “There has been an added edge to all the matches since then,” said Scott who writes a regular column for Inside World Football (www.insideworldfootball.com). “The first meeting post-Campbell [at White Hart Lane] had a Welcome To Hell Galatasaray-style atmosphere.

“This time I expect some Arsenal fans will wind up Spurs supporters about how Arsenal are likely to be the ones to fund the Bale transfer if players such as Mesut Ozil, Angel di Maria or even Karim Benzema move [from Real Madrid] to the Emirates. Who would have paid the £80 million then?”

Tongue out of cheek, Scott believes Spurs will find it difficult going on impossible to replace “their superstar, iconic, talismanic flyer who was pretty well at the heart of everything they did last season.”

Spurs have certainly been more prolific than Arsenal in the summer – like just about every club – with Paulinho (Corinthians £17m), Nacer Chadli (FC Twente £7m), Roberto Soldado (Valencia £26m), Etienne Capoue (Toulouse £9m) and Erik Lamela (Roma £25m) arriving at White Hart Lane. Ajax playmaker Christian Eriksen and Steaua Bucharest defender Vlad Chiriches are on the verge of making it what Spurs hope will be a magnificent seven to join the club this summer.

“Whether Spurs will be prolific in front of goal, I doubt,” said Scott, though Lamela, who scored 15 goals in 33 Serie A games last season, comes with a promising cv. “There is a real challenge for clubs that lose players like Bale who are capable of producing something out of nothing.  Arsenal have lived through this. When they lost Thierry Henry [to Barcelona in 2007] they turned to Emmanuel Adebayor [who scored 30 goals in 2007/08 and 16 the following season]. He had played with Henry and Arsene Wenger had someone capable of taking over that mantle, so they were able to absorb the loss of Henry from within.

“When Adebayor left for Manchester City, starting the exodus of Arsenal players to the north-west,  Robin van Persie stepped up [with 69 goals between 2009 and 2012]. I think it’s difficult for any team like Spurs, who have struggled with strikers for the past two seasons. You aren’t going to get 30 goals out of Jermain Defoe whose chance-conversion ratio is poor. Adebeyor has been off the boil in English football since he left Arsenal and with the possible exception of Lamela who has yet to prove himself in English football, and Soldado, Spurs don’t have it within their squad to replace Bale’s goals.

“It doesn’t surprise me that they have not scored from open play in the Barclays Premier League yet, winning both games 1-0 with Soldado penalties. They have had problems scoring, which they never did with Bale because they knew he would create a goal in every other game, at least, from nothing.

“I’d be very surprised if there were seven or even five goals in Sunday’s match. I think it will be a cagey game, mainly because Arsenal are lacking so many players through injury and have offloaded Marouane Chamakh, Gervinho and Andrei Arshavin.  Aaron Ramsey and Lukas Podolski  won’t play, there’s a doubt about Jack Wilshere. Arteta and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are out for a while. In defence Thomas Vermaelen is injured and Laurent Koscielny is suspended. They will have a patched up team and if the squad wasn’t thin already, it certainly is now.

“Arsenal’s best form of defence has been attack and I suspect they will hold the ball, playing possession football,  happy to pass it around 20 yards from goal and will only really push on when they see a clear opportunity, which won’t happen very often.

“They have exposed themselves too much by over-committing and even with Gordon Banks in goal plus Franz Beckenbauer and Bobby Moore as central defenders, if you don’t get players back you’ll concede goals. Santi Cazorla, Theo Walcott, Olivier Giroud and whoever else is around them will pass the ball across the field all day long with no true penetration.

“In the same way that United and Chelsea were happy to play the game out as they did, I can see this being low scoring, too. If Spurs score early it would take the shackles off Arsenal, but if the score is 0-0 at half-time it will probably stay that way.”