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FWA National Golf Day, Sept 29

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This year’s FWA National Golf Day, again generously sponsored by Vauxhall, returns to the beautiful Stoke Park in Buckinghamshire on Monday September 29.

Reception and bacon butties from 9.30am, tee off times will be from around 11am, with late afternoon prize giving buffet meal.

The format will follow previous years with teams of four, stableford format with best two scores on each hole counting to the team prize. There is also an individual competition for FWA members.

Numbers are limited to 18 teams, so if you are interested in playing as an individual, bringing a guest or entering a team please contact Ralph Ellis using the FWA Contact Form

“Can you do 30 seconds, Mike?”

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Henry Winter, Football Correspondent of the Daily Telegraph, looks back on the career of BBC chief football correspondent Mike Ingham, who retired after the World Cup.

Football hurtles back with indecent haste, but a friendly face – and familiar voice – will be absent from the Press room for the first time in 30 years.

Mike Ingham, the revered BBC chief football correspondent, has retired and his professionalism, perspective and journalistic principles will be missed by reporters, commentators, managers and players alike.

“I never intended to be a commentator,” recalled Ingham, who moved from Radio Derby in 1979 to BBC Sport on Two which evolved into Radio Five Live. “I wanted to present Sport on Two and then maybe Grandstand. For the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984 they told me there wasn’t a role for the presenter on Sport on Two. People like Terry Wogan presented it. I was devastated. Mike Lewis, the head of radio sport, rang me just before he got on a plane for LA and said: ‘Mike, next season, we’d like you to go out on the road to be a football commentator.

“So I took a tape recorder to a few non-League games and sat at the back of the stand, practising. The first game I did that season was Ron Atkinson’s Manchester United against Watford with Graham Taylor, who became a great friend. The end of that season ended with me going to Heysel with Peter Jones and Emlyn Hughes for the European Cup final between Liverpool and Juventus. Heysel was horrific, a very numbing experience.

“My sister married an Italian. When I got married, half of the people there were Italians and I felt very close at that particular time to the Italians. That made it doubly hard for me to cope with. Peter was anchoring the whole thing. I had to keep going downstairs. This is a horrible thing to say, but I was counting the bodies, and had to keep coming back and say this is the latest figure.

“I saw blankets being pulled over people’s faces. A lot of the people I saw were built like weightlifters, huge stocky men, but they had still had the life crushed out of them. I don’t think the game should have been played. I was expecting the game to be called off but apparently they (Uefa) were worried about security.

“Peter grabbed my arm and said: ‘This is still a European Cup final.’ We did it. I don’t remember anything about the game. It was my worst moment in football without question. I wasn’t at Hillsborough. I was at Villa Park in 89, covering the Norwich-Everton semi. I remember interviewing Pat Nevin, who scored the only goal. Neither of us could really focus on doing the interview. We’ve often talked about it since.”

They worked together in Brazil where Ingham bowed out from the BBC after the final, drawing on all the expertise acquired during an ‘apprenticeship’ learning under masters like Jones and Bryon Butler. “Peter always said to me: ‘Light and shade’ and ‘don’t try to mention every player’s name, just an overview’. Bryon said: ‘Gears, gears, gears; just use the gearbox to build up (a move)’. Alan Parry was always fantastic on the radio doing the guttural. He said: ‘I always take a deep breath if I think something (like a goal) is on. Then I have the lung-power.’ Cliff Morgan always used to go on about ‘breathing, son, breathing, like the great opera singers’. He used to punch me in the stomach and say’ that’s where it comes from’.”

Ingham noticed a particular broadcast technique in Brazil. “One of the reasons why some of the commentators go “gooooooooaaal’ is so they can work out who scored. It gives them thinking time. My worst mistake was the last Euro final (2012) when I gave one of the Spain goals to Cesc Fabregas and not Jordi Alba over on the far side. I called it too soon.”

A rare mistake. Ingham has played eloquent witness to so many historic footballing events. “My best moment? Probably Liverpool in the (2005) European Cup final in Istanbul. They were out of it. We even said (Hernan) ‘Crespo wins the European Cup for AC Milan’. We had John Toshack in the commentary team and at half-time John said: ‘This is what he (Rafa Benitez) has got to do now tactically’.”
Toshack suggested Benitez should bring Didi Hamann on and push Steven Gerrard on. “He did,” continued Ingham.

“Alan (Green) and I took turns (22-and-a-half minutes each per half). I started the second half with it 3-0 to Milan and in my period of commentary, I got the three Liverpool goals. It was quite staggering. After the first goal, I said something like ‘Gerrard has given Liverpool a lifeline, something to believe in’. I remember the scenes afterwards. Although I’m not a Liverpool fan, there was an old tear in the eye that night.

“We then flew straight to America for England’s tour. We were in Chicago when Kieran Richardson scored (twice against the US). It was the only time when I finished commentating the first half and started the second half because I was so jet-lagged. I thought unless I get my bit out of the way I’m going to fall asleep!”

As well as chronicling historic times, Ingham also elicited the opinions of the history-makers. “I did the last radio interview with George Best. I went down to Champneys to see him. We’d always got on well. George was great mates with Denis Law and he knew I knew Denis. One day, I was covering the Scotland-West Germany game in Mexico (86) with Denis and we were walking up the stairs in the ground. There was this big kerfuffle on the stairs behind me, and I turned round and there was this guy giving Denis a big bear-hug. We walked on. I said: ‘Who was that?’ ‘Alfredo Di Stefano,’ said Denis. One of the great kicks for me was to sit next to people I grew up admiring.

“Which manager have I enjoyed interviewing most? Probably Cloughie simply because you had to wait about seven hours for the interview. If you had an appointment with Mr Clough at 11am at the City Ground you took that with a pinch of salt. He’d finally appear at 6pm with a squash racket under his arm and say: ‘Are we working?’ That was always his first line: ‘Are we working?’ With virtually any other manager you’d have given up but you knew it would be worth your while. Cloughie was always going to give you gold-dust.

“Cloughie’s probably the only manager – I guess also Fergie to an extent – where you had to think through every word of your question. You had to be so aware. If you said to him: ‘Brian, people will say…’ He’d say: ‘What people?’ Cloughie didn’t have any journalistic background like Graham Taylor (whose father wrote for the ‘Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph’), but part of him thought: ‘I could do your job, I’d be brilliant at doing what you do.’

“I always remember when he was doing a column in Derby and a local journalist, Mike Carey, was sent to ghost-write the piece for him. Cloughie was always thinking of what he was going to say. At the end of the second or third week, Carey walked in on the Thursday for the Friday edition and Brian looked up and said: ‘Michael, I’ve got your intro for you this week. Have you got your pen? I want to you to say for the first line: ‘What a week it’s been for saying ‘Bugger me’.”

“The managers I loved were the ones like Jim Smith at Portsmouth and Billy Bremner at Leeds who would sit and talk to you for an hour after the interview. And not just talk at you either but have a proper conversation. Graham Taylor was like that.

“Who was the most awkward manager to interview? That’s a difficult question.” Kenny Dalglish? “The thing about Kenny is I love him to bits. I’m a huge fan of Kenny and I know he listens to the radio as well! He was a challenge.” So was another Liverpool manager. “Joe Fagan was a lovely bloke, but was not going to get involved in any hyperbole. I remember interviewing him after they beat Panathinaikos to get to the (1985) European Cup final, saying: ‘What a moment for the club, Joe, and what a moment for you.’ He said to me: ‘Well, we’ve got to beat Ipswich on Saturday first’. That was hopeless for the morning interviews!”

Players? “I’ve enjoyed being host broadcaster at the World Cup and being able to meet the England players in a very intimate environment (around the hotel) and being able to scratch the surface with them. David Beckham always used to light up the room when he came in. Stevie G really, really grew into it. He has that charisma to him.

“One of the most interesting characters to interview, who opened up more when you got away from football, was Ashley Cole. We’d talk about music. Yet Ashley was always reluctant to do the interview.”
He wasn’t the only one. “Charlotte (Nicol, BBC producer) was always trying to get Scholesy to do interviews. It was like pulling teeth. She once said to Scholesy: ‘Would you rather have a tooth out or do a radio interview?’ ‘I’d rather have a tooth out,’ Scholesy said.'”

Wayne Rooney was always more forthcoming. “I remember interviewing Rooney for the first time at the Lowry in Manchester before Euro 2004. He was being almost minded (by five PR people). I’ve said to him since about the strides he’s made and the way we’ve seen him change each tournament. He’s a future England captain. He’s matured. He’s never, ever shirked his media responsibilities, certainly not with us.”

Ingham was present at England’s Baden Baden hotel before the 2006 World Cup when Rooney returned from a scan to declare himself fit for action. “I was slightly compromised. I was in a privileged position. We are in the England hotel. Are we supposed to be reporting on things we see? But it was such an instinctive thing. We were aware he was coming back. Sven (-Goran Eriksson) had said to Charlotte: ‘I think we’re going to have some good news.’ We knew Rooney was on his way.

“When he walked in, the kit-man was waiting for him. I was there, in reception. No one else was there. The kit-man put his arms round Rooney and said: ‘The Big Man is back.’ And then Rooney said: ‘The Big Man is back in town.’ He added that line. We had our little studio around the corner, we were live, and I went on and gave that quote. I know Rooney is slightly embarrassed about that quote. He’s possibly even tried to deny it but it was there.”

Ingham sighed when reflecting on England. “My first tournament with them was 1990 and they’ve gone backwards each tournament. I’m not sure how they’re going to turn it around. There’s a Catch 22. Every time there’s an under-achievement it makes it worse next time round. They’re not used to succeeding like the Germans. The problem in Brazil was that we went to Portugal and Miami with everything geared to the first game. It was such a kick in the stomach when they didn’t get anything against Italy. When I looked at them close up in the tunnel against Uruguay before the second game, I didn’t fancy them.

“England teams of the past had substantial characters like ‘Butch’ (Terry Butcher), Peter Shilton and Bryan Robson and you could never have accused their England teams of a mental fragility. There are few characters there now and we expect it to get worse with Gerrard and – we expect – Frank Lampard calling it a day.

“The hope coming to Brazil was that the younger guys would not be carrying that baggage from previous tournaments. I fear now that having been scarred by this tournament whether they can get it out of their system.” They need to become fearless. “Look at the way Costa Rica stepped up to take the penalties in the first shoot-out against Greece: bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.

“Look at the way Italy recovered from losing a semi-final and a final on penalties (90 and 94): they then won a World Cup final against France (in 2006). If they can do that, why can’t we? I always remember Terry Venables saying to me when he was managing in Spain that ‘the difference between Spain and England is that England have this mental strength, Spain sometimes don’t’. It’s a complete role reversal.”

As he starts his retirement in the West Country, Ingham admits to certain concerns about the profession he graced for so long, such as the occasional haste and excitability of some behind the microphone. “With commentary now, there’s a tendency sometimes to treat every game like the World Cup final. If you do that, there’s a credibility factor because when you get to the World Cup final where do you go?”

As for the BBC, Ingham mentioned: “I mourn the passing of the correspondent editorial at the end of Sports Report. It was two minutes on an important issue. Like Paul Hayward with a column, I’d go away and write and it was the final word. Everything now is 30 seconds. It doesn’t matter what the story is. It can be ‘Alex Ferguson has left Manchester United, can you do 30 seconds, Mike?’ Or ‘the Grimsby manager has resigned, can you do 30 seconds, Mike?’ This mythical 30 seconds. There’s never been more air-time now to talk about sport and yet I never hear that considered voice piece.

“I will also miss the camaraderie with the Press. To an extent we were competitors with the Press but right from the start, from the days of Jeff Powell and Steve Curry, I was embraced. I’ve always been grateful for that.”

Just as the Press has always been grateful for Mike’s wisdom and company.

Suarez Humbled by FWA Accolade

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Pictures: Action Images

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Barclays PR Shoot 15/05/2014

Luis Suarez came full circle when he was voted the Footballer of the Year for 2014 by the Football Writers’ Association, who recognised the rehabilitation and dedication of the Liverpool forward.

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers collected the prestigious accolade, which has been running since 1948, on behalf of the Uruguay forward, away on holiday ahead of the World Cup, at a gala dinner at the London Lancaster Hotel on May 15.

Barclays PR Shoot 15/05/2014The 27-year-old topped the poll of 300-plus journalists ahead of team-mate Steven Gerrard, with Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure third.

Suarez netted 31 goals in a remarkable campaign which not only drove Liverpool close to a first league title in 24 years, but also saw the forward put negative headlines of the past firmly behind him.

“It is amazing for me and the club as well,” Suarez said in a pre-recorded interview broadcast on the evening.

“For many years, there have been a lot of big players who have won this prize.

“Thank you so much to all the Football Writers who voted for me because they recognised my work on the pitch, and they know that I try my best to help Liverpool.

“I know that it was a difficult time for me one or two years ago, but I accept that criticism, but then if you concentrate and focus to help the team, everything can be perfect.

“I am an easy guy outside the pitch, and on the pitch I know I changed, but because I love the football, I have fought so hard to stay at this level.”

Barclays PR Shoot 15/05/2014

FWA chairman Andy Dunn, of the Sunday Mirror, felt Suarez’s dedication to his profession was why he proved himself a worthy receipt.

“There are some members who remind quite frequently that in the citation for this award it mentions he is the Footballer of the Year by ‘precept and by example’,” Dunn said.

“Now that part of the citation is important, but I do think what better example is there of someone who maybe realised that they did have issues to address on the field of play and has addressed those issues?

“I think Luis Suarez has done that and I think that is why he fulfills that criteria.

“And, of course, there is that bit that says ‘the Footballer of the Year’ and what a footballer he is, what a footballer we’ve had the privilege to watch, particularly this season.”

Rodgers thanked Suarez – who was also named who was also named the Professional Footballers’ Association Player of the Year for 2013/2014 – for making him a better manager.Barclays PR Shoot 15/05/2014

“On behalf of Luis and all of Liverpool Football Club’s staff, we want to say a big thank you to the Football Writers’ Association,” he said.

“I think everybody knows the struggles he had in the last year. It has been incredibly difficult for him.

“But rehabilitation is always respected in the country – people who want to change for the better and he is certainly someone that was at a real low point at the end of the last season.

“I know that better than anyone. It was a real, real difficult period for him but he went away and, after a difficult summer, the power of Liverpool and the club that it is convinced him to stay.

“Once we got the season under way, he concentrated on his football and we have had a number of outstanding players this season but Luis Suarez has been incredible.”

Rodgers used the speech to thank former manager Kenny Dalglish for signing Suarez, Liverpool’s communication team and managing director Ian Ayre.

First and foremost in the Reds boss’ praise, though, was Suarez, whose performances this season saw them come so close to the title.Barclays PR Shoot 15/05/2014

“When I came into Liverpool as manager, Jamie Carragher and Steven Gerrard said to me this was the best player that they had played with,” Rodgers added.

“I thought about those two and all the great players they have played with in their career, so I was really interested to see what his play was like close up.

“For me, he has challenged me every day of my life, he’s done everything that you would need to do at the top level of the game as a player.

“Luis Suarez is a winner, his determination is unique, he is absolutely relentless. He is someone that trains every single day of his life – he doesn’t look for an excuse.

“And what people don’t see is that he is a very intelligent man. He is a winner when he crosses the line, but with great intelligence.

“For a young manager like myself coming into a club like Liverpool, I understand the pressures of the club and those pressures include everything that involves managing top players.

“I know for however long I am at Liverpool, whenever I leave I will have become a better manager and a better person because of Luis Suarez and for that I thank him so mBarclays PR Shoot 15/05/2014uch.”

 

Liverpool and England captain Gerrard, who was also away on a pre-World Cup break, is in no doubt where Suarez stands among his peers.

 

 

Writing a personal tribute for the FWA programme, he said: “I have been privileged to play alongside some great players during my years at Liverpool, but nobody comes close to Luis. He is not only the best, he’s the best by some distance.

“We have all seen what he’s done this season with his goals and his all-round brilliance and I think it has taken Luis on to a different level.Barclays PR Shoot 15/05/2014

“Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are the two best players in the world and have been for the last four or five years, but Luis is tucked right in there behind them now.”

Suarez was also praised on stage by Football Association chairman Greg Dyke, who proposed the toast to the FWA.

Earlier in the evening, which was attended by a number of former winners as well as current players and managers within the game, Jeff Powell, of the Daily Mail, had recalled his memories of the late Sir Tom Finney, who was voted the Footballer of the Year twice, in 1954 and 1957.Barclays PR Shoot 15/05/2014

There were also FWA Lifetime Membership presentations to Tony Stenson, of the Daily Star Sunday, and renowned Sunday Times columnist Hugh McIlvanney.

 

 

 

 

Luis Suarez, the Footballer of the Year for 2014

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FWA Tribute to Sir Tom Finney

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Photography: Action Images

Finney1HDSir Tom Finney will always have a special place in the history of the Football Writers’ Association.

He became the seventh player to be voted the Footballer of the Year – in 1954 – and when he topped the poll again three years later, he was the first to win the award twice.

But Sir Tom will not just be remembered by football writers for those two honours – he will be remembered for ALWAYS treating our profession with the utmost respect and civility. For a while, he was even one of us.

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Sir Tom developed friendships with many writers of his era and encouraged the younger journalists making their way.

He was forever polite, accessible and wonderful, humble company.

His civic funeral takes place on Thursday, February 27, at Preston Minster – and the world of football will stop to pay its respects to one of the greats.

Represented by chairman Andy Dunn, the Football Writers’ Association is honoured to be able to pay its own respects to a man who epitomises everything we value in a footballer.

Honour, skill, humility, brilliance.

RIP Sir Tom Finney.

Football pays its respects to Sir Tom Finney

Sir Tom Finney FuneralA portrait of former Preston and England soccer player Finney is displayed in a church ahead of his funeral at Preston MinsterSir Tom Finney FuneralSir Tom Finney FuneralSir Tom Finney FuneralSir Tom Finney Funeral

RIP Sir Tom Finney

Remembering Steve Thomson

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Steve Thomson, a sports journalist for more than 35 years, has died, aged 61.

The Sports Journalist Association tribute

Thomson, most recently a production journalist at the Daily Telegraph, shared an interest in all sports.

Born in Manchester, he gained a BA in English with American literature at the University of East Anglia in Norwich.

Thomson worked for a local paper in Eccles and covered Swinton rugby league club, before joining the sports desk at the Oxford Mail in the early 1980s before leaving for the Reading Evening Post, where he covered Reading FC.

Later, he joined the Press Association before returning to Reading, then embarking on a career which included a long spell with the Daily and Sunday Telegraph, for whom he covered games all over the country.

His love for sport was matched by his love for the animal world and Steve also wrote features on the birdlife of the Scottish Highlands, Andalucia, Trinidad and Tobago and Israel.

He was also a member of Wokingham RSPB Group, helping to edit their newsletter and organise all their indoor speakers, as well as editing the newsletter of Reading Ramblers’ Club.

Steve Latter, Head of Telegraph Production (Sport), said: “Steve was a highly valued member of the team at Telegraph Sport, where he worked for more than 20 years. He was a hard-working, talented and meticulous journalist with an encyclopedic knowledge of football in particular. He was very much a team player, particularly when it came to turning out for the Telegraph football side in various ‘friendlies’.

“He was a humble person, somewhat shy, but with strong opinions and passions. And he was always great company when we could find our way to the pub for a break. He was always a pleasure to work with and will be sorely missed by all the team.”

Adam Sills, the Acting Head of Sport at the Telegraph, added: “Steve was a respected and valued member of our team for many years and will be missed by everybody who worked with him.

“His dedication to his job could not be faulted while he was a popular character with all his colleagues.”

 

MOURINHO HONOURED ON SPECIAL NIGHT AT SAVOY

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Photography: Action Images

The Special One became The Perfect One as Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was honoured at a star-studded Football Writers’ Association gala tribute evening at the Savoy in London.

Mourinho, who has won a string of domestic and European trophies with FC Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid, had just led the Blues to a 3-1 victory over Manchester United to keep them two points behind Barclays Premier League leaders Arsenal.

Frank Lampard paid a personal tribute to Mourinho, with England manager Roy Hodgson among the many guests from the football world present at the annual FWA event.

The Chelsea midfielder said: “There has never been any special over-confidence or arrogance from him. He made us all feel like we could be champions. For me, the main thing about the manager is on the pitch and also the mental stuff around that. He found the perfect way to deal with every individual in his squad, and still does today.

“The individual relationships he builds is something special. He is the one who has all the pluses, I cannot find a fault. He drags every individual up a level, anything that is needed he is the one that takes that one and that is why he one of the most special managers around.”

Mourinho was presented with his award by FWA chairman Andy Dunn, columnist for the Sunday Mirror. Louis van Gaal, the former Barcelona coach now in charge of Holland, also paid tribute to the Portuguese who was clearly humbled to be chosen as the latest recipient for the annual dinner.

Mourinho spoke about his relationship with the press. He said: “It makes me ask again the Football Writers’ Association if I deserve it. I have had some achievements in the English game, but others have, too. I have a good relation with the media and gave them some good headlines in the time we have been together, but I don’t know if I did enough to deserve this award.”

He then paid an emotional tribute to those who have helped him reach the pinnacle of the game. The 50-year-old, who was accompanied by his wife and children – son Jose a promising goalkeeper – said: “Without love and happiness, I could not do my job. My assistant [coaches] are like my brothers, Frank [Lampard] represents my players, without whom I have no career, and Mr [Louis] van Gaal, Mr [Bobby] Robson, my bosses.”

Mourinho believes a settled family life in England has helped him refocus for the challenges ahead. He continued: “The best thing football gave me was to make a decision about my future. Some managers go where they have to go, where the club comes, and sometimes it is not the best move, not what they want to do, but they go.

“I sat down with my wife and family, and said ‘where is the best place for us? Where can we be happier as a family? To be happy as a manager and enjoy more the family and life socially?’ We decided England, after that, for the situation to be perfect it would be Chelsea and I was lucky because the door was open for me.”

Mourinho hopes to continue his career at Chelsea for “many, many” years, but indicated he had no intentions of ever leaving the Premier League. He added: “The principles you have in relation to football and life are absolutely amazing. I love this Chelsea Football Club, which has been the only club to have ever sacked me, we as a family belong to you [in] England. I belong to Chelsea, Chelsea belongs to me, and hopefully we will stay for many, many years.”

He joked: “It is not a threat, but if you sack me, I will stay in England and go to another club, a possible rival.”

FWA chairman Andy Dunn hailed Mourinho’s “remarkable” managerial record.

“There will be some more honours to add because success has followed Jose on every step of his managerial career,” he said.

“That journey has brought him back to the Barclays Premier League and his return has made the competition fiercer, the debates livelier and the press conferences sparkier.

“No-one can deny Jose adds another layer of interest to the world’s most-watched domestic league.

“So thanks to Jose Mourinho, not just for accepting this honour from the FWA, but for continuing to foster a relationship with our members that we believe – whether we are praising or taking you to task – is special.”

Sir Alex Ferguson took the time to write a personal tribute to his old sparing partner for the FWA programme.

“My admiration for him is principally born our of respect for what he has achieved and the manner in which he has achieved it, and I know the regard for each other is mutual,” Ferguson said.

“When Chelsea won the title for the first time in 50 years in his first season, myself and the Manchester United players were proud to form a guard of honour for his team when they came to Old Trafford as champions, and it was nice when he did the same for my United side when we went to Stamford Bridge after finishing on top in 2007.

“But aside from his phenomenal success in leading teams to championship honours in Portugal, England, Italy and Spain, and winning the Champions League with two clubs, he is also magnificent company… witty, amusing, thoughtful, extremely knowledgeable and a wonderful conversationalist. What’s more like myself he appreciates a glass of decent red!

“Unfortunately I will miss sharing the celebration. I will also miss competing against him and trying to outwit him.
“That is now the formidable challenge others will have to face.”

 

 

 

Louis van Gaal worked with Mourinho at Barcelona alongside Sir Bobby Robson.

 

 

 

 

The Savoy prepares to welcome the guest of honour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jose Mourinho receives the 2014 FWA Tribute Award.

 

FWA Q&A: MARTIN LIPTON

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Have you ever worked in a profession other than football?
Not since graduating from University. But before that, bar-work, market stalls, and far more knowledge of PVCu windows in hard-wood sub-frames than any normal human being should understand.

Most memorable match?
Plenty of them. England v Argentina in St Etienne, Liverpool v AC Milan in Istanbul, Chelsea v Bayern Munich in 2012. Great, great games.

The one moment in football you would put on a DVD?
Michael Owen’s goal in St Etienne. Nobody really saw it coming.

Best stadium?
The Westfalenstadion (officially Signal Iduna Park) in Dortmund. Never seen a bad game there.

…and the worst?
A few contenders. Think the bottle full of urine in the press box just hands it to Qemal Stafa Stadium, Tirana.

Your personal new-tech disaster?
Wrecking Steve Curry’s laptop in the Elland Road press box as he was filing his match report – but plenty of frustrated screams when let down on edition time.

Biggest mistake?
Trying to head a Ryan Giggs free-kick behind for a corner. Next person to touch the ball was our centre-forward, at the kick-off. But I’ve scored against an international football team…..

Have you ever been mistaken for anyone else?
I was mistaken for a football writer once. Other than that (although there are occasional suggestions of ”Mark Knopfler”), no.

Most media friendly manager?
Plenty. Ian Holloway is great value. Brendan Rodgers, too. And enjoying the return of Jose Mourinho. So far he hasn’t started ducking press conferences, which is a marked and substantial improvement from the latter days of his first incarnation.

Best ever player?
Diego Maradona. He won the World Cup single-handed (literally!) in 1986.

Best ever teams (club and international)?
Barcelona under Guardiola. Football as an art-form. The current Spain team – when they try and play, rather than coast through tournaments.

Best pre-match grub?
Stamford Bridge. You would pay a fortune for the food in a top-class restaurant. Wasted on us, but don’t tell anyone…

Best meal had on your travels?
Became a huge fan of the Belthazar Restaurant in Cape Town. Not sure will ever match the restaurant Matt Barlow of the Daily Mail found in Jakarta last summer, though.

And worst?
One I missed, actually. Moldova, Zimbru Kishinev v Spurs, 1999. Buffet including ice-cream in the hotel. Everybody else was laid up for a week with acute food-poisoning. Best miss ever.

Best hotel stayed in?
I didn’t get to Brenner’s Park in Baden Baden. Sheraton in Bangkok last summer was pretty decent. Grand Palladium Imbassai near Salvador was a spectacular setting.

…and the worst?
Moldova again. Choice of running water – freezing cold and clear or warm and brown. Lovely. To be fair, Kishinev had improved out of all recognition from 1999, let alone 1996, when went back with England in World Cup qualifiers in 2012.

Do you have a hobby?
Too much of a football anorak to have time for one. Am something of an amateur psephologist, though.

Favourite football writer?
I grew up reading Brian Glanville and David Lacey. But the best of today more than match their standards. I always read Martin Samuel, Henry Winter, Danny Taylor, Ollie Holt and Ollie Kay. Plus John Cross, Neil Ashton, Matt Law and others for news stories, the lifeblood of the industry.

Favourite radio/TV commentator?
John Murray is becoming as good as any commentator, past or present. His love for the game is immense, too.

If you could introduce one change to improve PR between football clubs and football writers what would it be?
Press officers are supposed to be facilitators, not screens – the idea is to get coverage of your club, not no coverage. A press conference without a proper line is NOT a good thing.

One sporting event outside football you would love to experience?
The Masters. Followed, closely, by an Ashes series in Australia (though not the most recent one…!)

Favourite non-football sportsman/sports woman?
Shane Warne. Because he was simply brilliant. Even when you didn’t want to watch him bewitching a generation of  English batsmen, it was impossible to look away.

Last book read?
The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton

Favourite current TV programme?
Homeland

TV show you always switch off?
Any “reality” show. Garbage.

If you could bring one TV series back, which would it be?
The West Wing

Favourite comedian?
Lee Mack. Maybe because I married someone from Bolton….

What really, really annoys you?
My own short-temper. But that’s the way I am. And my inability to hole out from five feet. Which normally leads to the short-temper.

Your most prized football memorabilia?
Bizarrely, a credit card signed by Pele. Pathetic, I know. But it meant I sat next to Pele at dinner, once…..

Advice to anyone coming into the football media world?
Work hard, don’t let anybody tell you you can’t do it, work hard, be lucky, work hard, always make the extra call, ask people for advice, be lucky, work hard……

:: Martin Lipton has been Chief Football Writer for the Daily Mirror since 2002, having joined from the Daily Mail where he was ”nominally” Chief Sports Reporter. Also spent four years in various roles at the Press Association including Football Editor and Chief Football Writer, a year in Leicester with UK News and four years covering court, council, football and rugby league for the West Riding News Service in Huddersfield and Halifax. 

A tribute to Gerald Mortimer

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The Football Writers’ Association would like to pay tribute to former member Gerald Mortimer who passed away last week at the age of 77.

Image courtesy of the Derbyshire Evening Telegraph

John Ley writes:

Gerald was the voice of Derby County, through the pages of the Derby Evening Telegraph for more than 30 years, and without doubt one of the most respected football writers around.

An hour in Gerald’s company quickly became two as he spoke with intelligence and thought on Derby County, Derbyshire County Cricket Club and beyond.

That he was a ‘fan’ of the Daily Telegraph helped my relationship with him, as a football writer on the paper, but it soon became clear that while generous with his knowledge, he was not one to suffer fools gladly.

Fittingly, Derby fans gave Gerald a moving round of applause before the Championship game against Wigan.

Gerald’s funeral service takes place at Markeaton Crematorium on Tuesday, January 14, at 10.20am.

Steve Nicholson succeeded Gerald as the DET’s Derby County correspondent and here he writes a moving tribute to the great man.

Read more of the Derbyshire Evening Telegraph’s tributes to Gerald Mortimer

TO say Gerald Mortimer saw it all with Derby County is no exaggeration.
From Luton to Lisbon, Middlesbrough to Madrid, Grimsby to Geneva he was there covering the club’s fortunes for the Derby Evening Telegraph.
In his 30-plus years as the newspaper’s authoritative voice on the Rams, he filed match reports from Freight Rover Trophy ties watched by a couple of thousand spectators to epic European Cup tussles including one against Real Madrid in front of 120,000 at the Bernabeu Stadium.
He was there for the highs and the lows, from Derby being crowned kings of English football twice in the Seventies to when the club came within minutes of going out of business in the dark days of the early Eighties.
The number of games he attended is in the thousands. In the days when the match report was king and before the demand we see today for quotes and fans’ reaction, his words painted a picture of what happened during the 90 minutes.
In May 1972, Derby beat Liverpool in their final match of the season to go top. They would be crowned champions a week later. A young Steve Powell was handed a shock start against the Reds in place of the injured Ron Webster. Gerald wrote: “Derby’s composure did not suffer by the presence of Steve Powell. He was brilliant. Not brilliant for a 16-year-old: just brilliant.”
Following an 8-2 thrashing of Totenham Hotspur in October 1976, Gerald said: “Derby County treated their supporters to a quarter of an hour of dazzling virtuosity such as they will be lucky to see equalled in their watching lives. During that second-half spell, the Rams scored five goals and not only Tottenham Hotspur but the very fabric of the Baseball Ground reeled before a display of football genius.”
Gerald, who died on Monday, was a stickler for fine English and as I write this piece about my colleague and my friend I find myself wanting to cover the screen in case he is looking down at my grammar and punctuation!
I first met Gerald in October 1985. He was sports editor at the Telegraph and I turned up to be interviewed for the post of sports writer/sub.
He said we should nip across the road to The Smithfield pub for a burger and a beer before I was due to see the editor, Alex Leys. Not a good idea, I thought. I did not want to be smelling of drink when trying to impress Mr Leys but Gerald assured me it would be a useful “net”, to use a cricket term.
“I know the questions he will ask – and I know the answers he will want,” Gerald said.
I got the job and have been here ever since.
Gerald was the football and cricket writer at the time. Apparently, I went to the wrong kind of school to discuss the fine details of cricket, I was informed by Gerald who had been educated at Repton School and Oxford University.
But when it came to football, we shared a thirst and passion for the game.
We spent hours talking about players and teams, past and present, and grounds we had visited.
Gerald was a member of The 92 Club, a society for those who had attended a first-class match on the ground of every professional football club in England and Wales.
He took his ground-hopping to another level by making it a mission to see clubs on each of the grounds they have called home. For example, Brighton at the Goldstone Ground, the Priestfield Stadium, the Withdean Stadium and the Amex.
His mission took the two of us on a midweek trip to London in March 1992, just after Wimbledon had left Plough Lane and become tenants at Crystal Palace’s Selhurst Park.
“What you doing tonight, Nico?” Gerald asked as we sat in the office mid-afternoon. “Fancy going to watch your team, Everton, play Wimbledon at Selhurst Park? I haven’t seen Wimbledon at Selhurst and I need to tick it off my list.”
We hurtled down the M1 in Gerald’s Saab and somehow made it in time for a 7.30pm kick-off. It was a wet, windy and cold evening. The game, a First Division clash, was awful. A drab goalless draw in front of only 3,569.
Gerald turned to me 10 minutes from the end and said: “We needn’t have bothered coming. I’ve just remembered, I saw Wimbledon play here back in 1975 in an FA Cup replay against Leeds!”
Gerald retired in 2002. He continued to attend Derby’s games at Pride Park Stadium and write a weekly column in the Telegraph.
His determination to go to home games despite a deterioration in his health was evident in recent months. He wanted to observe from the press box and struggled to negotiate the steps. Thank you to the stewards who kindly helped him to his seat.
He was unable to attend the last few home matches. I would arrange to pick him up and he said he would let me know on Saturday morning how he felt.
He would call and say: “Not fit enough for the squad today, Nico.”
“Not even fit enough for the bench?” I would reply.
Gerald would laugh but I knew how much missing matches hurt him. Derby County was such a huge part of his life.
Covering matches at Derby’s home will not be quite the same without Gerald sat in the seat next to me.
He was a font of Derby County knowledge. Succeeding him as the man who covered the Rams for the Telegraph was a daunting task and I will forever be grateful for the help he gave me.

FWA LIVE: LUMLEY CASTLE – PART 2

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Photography: Action Images

 

Bird: Because Adnan Januzaj has lived here for five years we should not turn him into an Englishman

Ball: The most important thing about young players is their attitude

Dunn: It will be hard for Manchester United not to brand Old Trafford

Cass: Everyone thought Joe Kinnear was the most idiotic appointment anybody could ever make, but Mike Ashley still did it

Harper: I think we’d win the World Cup if we had a team of taxi drivers

Young: Martin O’Neill said Ireland will look through the Guinness drinkers of the Barclays Premier League to see who is qualified

The latest FWA Live, sponsored by Barclays, was held at Lumley Castle in Chester-Le-Street, Durham.

The panel comprised Simon Bird (north-east football correspondent of the Daily Mirror), Kevin Ball (Sunderland’s senior development coach), Andy Dunn (chief sports writer for the Sunday Mirror and FWA chairman), Bob Cass (Mail On Sunday), Steve Harper (who joined Hull City last summer after 20 years with Newcastle United) and Colin Young (Daily Mail). The MC was FWA executive secretary Paul McCarthy.

The second half of the event saw the panel answer questions from a packed audience. As usual, no punches were pulled.

I am petrified by thought of Joe Kinnear – what is he there for?

Bird: [the main recipient of Joe Kinnear’s infamous foul-mouthed tirade at a press conference in October 2008 when he swore 52 times]: He’s Mike Ashley’s best mate, they meet in the pub. Mike wants some eyes and ears at the training ground to know what’s going on. These days, if you are going to do a transfer deal, it’s a very complicated thing because there is so much to negotiate and I don’t see how Joe Kinnear is the right man to do that. He’s there as a spy for Mike Ashley, to check on what’s happening, not as serious figure as director of football.

 

McCarthy: Does anyone take him [Joe Kinnear] seriously, Colin?

Young: Mike Ashley takes him seriously. I was not alone in fearing for Alan Pardew…it just seemed to be a natural progression if they had a poor start, you sensed Pardew was one bad result from the sack and Kinnear would be the next manager. Thankfully the barriers seem to have be drawn with lines in the sand for people’s roles fairly well established. That has given Pardew a little more security. I think that has been reflected by the quality on the pitch because players need that security, too.


Cass: The appointment of Joe Kinnear reflected what Mike Ashley thinks of the people who support Newcastle United. He was saying: “It’s my club, I’ll do what I want.” And he does what he wants. The local papers took him on and Ashley doesn’t give two monkeys for them so there was only one outcome [he banned them]. If he wants to appoint Joe Kinnear then he will. The rest of us, we all thought it was the most idiotic appointment anybody could ever make, but he still did it.  Any job at Newcastle is there at the whim of Mike Ashley. Alan Pardew, anybody. If he wants them out he’ll get them out. He can do what he wants, he can appoint Joe Kinnear, it’s the way he runs the club.

McCarthy: When you were at the News Of The World, Andy, you spent a day with Joe…

Dunn: There is no doubt Kinnear still thinks he still belongs in the game. He loves it and believes he has something to offer. The majority may think he’s deluded, but he believes it and he’s convinced Mike Ashley of it, too. What I will say is Ashley is not daft, you don’t build the business he has or do as well as him commercially to make decisions purely, as Bob suggests, to piss people off. There must be some method in what he’s doing. If he annoys the fans by doing this, maybe he wants to remind them he’s running the club, he’s doing it his way and he has to think it’s a successful way. He’s not a respecter of heritage or tradition, he’s a businessman, but I cannot believe he doesn’t think there is some benefit to be had in appointing Joe Kinnear. Maybe he does want someone who is his eyes and ears – businesses tend to think they want someone like that.

Harper: He was there briefly as manager when I was there. Yes, he is quite a likeable guy, but if he was going to be Newcastle United manager again he would have been be by now. If Alan Pardew does lose his job then Joe Kinnear might be interim, but he won’t be next manager. Ashley will appoint somebody.

A lot of Newcastle United fans would ask about the Hall and Shepherd families taking so much money out of club. Mike Ashley, for all his faults, took the club over when they were not doing very well, he came in at a time when Newcastle were on their knees…

Cass: There have been arguments between [Newcastle United] fans and board ad infinitum. Newcastle were never winning anything when John Hall took over [in the early Nineties] and his regime lifted them them to heights they had never experienced in their post-War history.

Bird: They paid themselves about £600,000 a year and with shareholdings it came to £1.2 million a year. One thing you can say about Mike Ashley is that he spent £133 million in buying the club, he cleared the debts and put £140 million into the club interest free.

Cass:  He would probably take the chance to make money if right offer came along, so let’s not think he’s doing it for the benefit of his health. He’s a philanthropist just like the Halls were. I, personally, persuaded John Hall to come into Newcastle United. Under the Hall regime, they brought Kevin Keegan into the club, they came second [in 1995/96 and 1996/97 in the Carling Premiership]. All the good things that have happened since…don’t run down what the Halls did for Newcastle United Football Club. OK, they took money out of it, but the Halls gave Newcastle a team they’d never had before [applause from audience].

Harper: When you are qualifying for the Champions League people will over look the accounts. When it’s not going too well, that’s when you come under more scrutiny.

What does Steve think about the Hull Tigers? Owner Assem Allam wants to change the name…

Harper: The fans can say they do not want name changed, but if you own a club you can do what you want.  My contract says I signed for Hull City FC. Whether he is a visionary and knows where football is going I don’t know. He’s trying to change the brand awareness to put Hull on the map and I would be surprised if it goes through.

Dunn: There was a major furore when Vincent Tan [Cardiff owner] changed the colours of Cardiff. There is nothing more fundamental than that and clearly people were unhappy, but they got promoted and they are seeing Cardiff play Manchester United and Manchester City. Protests only surface you are not doing well. When you move like Arsenal or Manchester City did, it is not rebrabnding a stadium because they were new grounds. Going forward, it will be hard for Manchester United not to brand Old Trafford.

McCarthy: Is there any loyalty in football?

Young: In this region football is an essential part of people’s life. There is something unique about the area…you sign up a contract for life with the club [you support]. The lack of respect from the current regime at Newcastle has caused so many problems. If they [players] move only for money then their loyalty is to their back pocket.

Harper: Newcastle’s structure is to find young, cheaper players, improve them and sell them for more money. Cheick Tiote, in first season, was brilliant, then he had a few people in his ear telling him how good he was and  in training he started to go walkabouts, trying things he can’t do. Once he was on the left wing, Coloccini stopped the game and said: “You play here,” pointing to central midfield. Now he is back to winning the ball and giving it. In July 2009 [after relegation to the Championship] we were battered [6-1] at Leyton Orient [pre-season]. The players had a meeting after the game and we said to everyone: “Tell us now, who does not want to play in this league? Just put your hand up and we’ll tell the manager.” A few put their hands up and we said to them: “Just give your all until you go,” but we knew rest were totally committed to Newcastle United.

Cass: I have reported north-east football for nearly 50 years. I’m fed up with failure. I’d like the teams to start winning. Kevin Keegan said he thought Newcastle United fans would rather see the team lose 4-3 than win 1-0. I was at that famous game [at Liverpool] when Newcastle lost 4-3 and I didn’t feel any great elation. Winning 1-0 wins you the title, losing 4-3 gets you relegated.

I’m a Sunderland fan, do you you think smaller clubs get the worst of refereeing decisions?

Ball:  No I don’t think so. It’s what people would like to think and at times and we tend to look at it this way to make us feel better.

Dunn: It seems that way often because bigger clubs have more of the game, they attack more so a referee would have to make, say, half a dozen decisions for Manchester United in the opposing penalty area and perhaps one for the team they are playing against. The law of averages suggests they are going to get the benefit of any decision because they put themselves in that position more often than their opponents.

Harper:  I think it’s more a home and away issue than big and small clubs. You think you might get a penalty at St James’ but maybe you would not get it away from home. Andy made a very good point when he said the better teams have the better players so create more chances in and around the penalty area, so they will get more penalties.

What more could be done for England at a younger level to help the senior side?

Harper:  I think we’d win the World Cup if we had a team of taxi drivers because every taxi driver I have had is a brilliant player, an unbelievable footballer tactically and technically.

Young: Are England really expected to win the World Cup in Brazil? It will be drummed up by media that England should be competing, even coming back with the World Cup. The reality is no European team has won it in South America and given the quality of some of the opposition we’ve already seen at Wembley, if England get to the quarter-finals I’d say it would be a good campaign. On a wider basis, in the German and Spanish leagues 80 per cent of the players are German and Spanish, in the Barclays Premier League 80 per cent of the players are foreigners. This is something we must look at.

Cass: Roy Hodgson has done what he was appointed for, getting England qualified for the World Cup. As far as winning it, we have no chance. We are not developing young players, the kind of young players who will enable us to win the World Cup.

Ball: A problem is giving them their chance. There are special ones who come through like Jordan Henderson at Liverpool. I’m blowing my own trumpet here because when he was 17 I said Jordan [who was with Sunderland between 2008 and 2011] would play for England [he has seven caps]. Generally, I don’t think we have a good enough pathway to the first team for young players. Results these days make it difficult to give younger players their chance. We allow them to drop down to lower leagues too quickly and the technically good find it difficult to survive whereas the more physical players can. The most important thing, though, is their attitude. If they have a poor attitude they aren’t going to make it. They must have the attitude to make themselves better. I remember Michael Bridges when he was a young player at Sunderland, what I liked about him was that he was cock-sure with a fantastic talent. People would say to him: “You’re a great player.” I would say: “No, he’s not yet. He has the potential to be a great player.” Sometimes we put that label on young players too early.

Dunn:  At the Liverpool FWA Live event, [Everton coach] Alan Stubbs said one of their problems is they have a lot of good young players yet agents come in and want them to have a contract for two grand a week at 17. They’ve not played in first team, but still want two grand a week. If you give them that contract, what will their mentality be?

Ball: Do they need agents at that age? I don’t think so. If you give a player too much too soon it can dull his appetite for the game.

Should Adnan Januzaj play for England?

Bird: I’m not sure if we should go down that road. If you’ve come here as a youngster, fine. But because he’s lived here for five years should we turn him into an Englishman? No.

Young:  [New Republic if Ireland manager] Martin O’Neill said they will look through the Guinness drinkers of the Barclays Premier League to see who is qualified. It’s what Ireland did to great effect in the Jack Charlton era. In other sports fewer questions are asked, why football seems to be above that I don’t understand.

Dunn: Januzaj [born in Belgium of a Kosovan father and an Albanian mother] has no single national identity. If in five years he wants citizenship why shouldn’t he play for England?

Cass:  If he scores the winning goal in the World Cup final I won’t care where he comes from.

You should only be able to represent the country you were born in.

McCarthy: Mo Farrah [who came to England from Somalia when he was eight]? That is different to adopting someone because they could make the England team better.

He [Farrah] is not English. It demeans world sport if you can bring people in from other countries.

Harper: If a dog’s born in a stable it does not mean it’s a horse. If someone with, say, Scottish or Irish parents was born in England, they would be no less Scottish or Irish.

How worried should we be by the recent match fixing allegations?

Bird: It is worrying,  but I do not see it happening at the top level where the rewards are so great. I think we are talking more spot fixing like sendings-off rather than the match. It’s easier for player on £300 a week to be bribed by 10 grand.

Dunn: They are more likely to target Conference games where 10 grand is a lot of money. But it could creep up the pyramid and there are players in financial difficulty who could be targeted. The person who can influence most is the referee.

Cass: If you are going to fix a game there is only one player who can do it – the goalkeeper.

Gus Poyet wants total control over transfers at Sunderland. What’s going on?

Ball: That’s above my remit, I do not have any idea how the first team take things forward.

Bird: Poyet told us he has three targets for January and if he rejects a player and they [Sunderland have a director of football, Roberto de Fanti] sign one, he won’t be Sunderland manager.

What is the panel’s view on [Sunderland chairman] Ellis Short?

Young:  He is trying to do things that are right for the football club. He felt Martin O’Neill could not get the points [to survive relegation last season] and made a fairly unusual appointment [Paolo di Canio]. The gamble paid off by virtue of staying up, but it subsequently backfired. I don’t know who is advising him, who is putting these names forward. Behind the scenes, the loss of Niall Quinn was massive, to lose that influence on a daily basis was always going to be big for a club like Sunderland. There are criticisms to be made of Sunderland just like Newcastle.

END

 

FWA Q&A: PAUL McCARTHY

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FWA Q&A: PAUL McCARTHY


Have you ever worked in a profession other than football?
I worked in several bars during a spell living in California, but jacked the last one in when about the 20th customer that night asked me what part of Australia I was from.

Most memorable match?
Hard one to call, but Germany 1 England 5 takes some beating – as do the hours after when basically too many of us ended up drinking through the night and onto the plane home from Munich. (Just noticed those first two answers have bars/pubs in common. Bit worrying, really.)

The one moment in football you would put on a DVD?
Thierry Henry back-heeling the ball through Mark Fish’s legs for the most audacious and ridiculous goal I can recall. Or Dennis Bergkamp’s hat-trick v Leicester at Filbert Street.

Best stadium?
Most of the grounds in Japan in 2002 were astonishing, but I’m not sure you can beat either Anfield or St James’ Park for atmosphere on a night game.

…and the worst?
Vale Park. Not sure if it’s the same now, but in 1989 you had to basically sit in a shed on the roof of one of the stands. On this particular night, they had lost the key so somebody had to smash a window to get in. It then proceeded to blow a gale and lash down rain that came horizontally in through said window. To add insult to frost-bite, it was a League Cup game that went to extra time.

Your personal new-tech disaster?
Once sent an e-mail to a colleague absolutely caning my editor at the time. However, it might have been an idea not to type the editor’s e-mail address into the recipient’s box. This answer may possibly have something in common with answers 1 and 2. Thankfully the editor had a sense of humour.

Biggest mistake?
See above.
And also agreeing to ghost a very public Vinnie Jones apology for biting a reporter’s nose in Dublin the night England fans rioted only for Piers Morgan to turn it into a front page ‘We Sack Vinnie’ splash. Should have seen that one coming and got somebody else to do the spiteful and dirty on a mate. Thankfully I have made up with both Vinnie and Piers subsequently.

Have you ever been mistaken for anyone else?
Mark Alford at Mail Online reckons I am never likely to be seen in the same room as Malky Mackay.

Most media friendly manager?
Terry Venables, Sam Allardyce, Harry Redknapp, Gerard Houllier – take your pick.

Best ever player?
I would love to say Pele, but I never saw him play live. Was fortunate enough to be at Hampden when Maradona destroyed Scotland so difficult to look past him although Ronaldo, Messi and Zidane give him a run.

Best ever teams (club and international)?
The Barcelona vintage that beat Manchester United at Wembley was incredible. At international level, Brazil 82 were immense and I still can’t quite believe they lost to Italy.

Best pre-match grub?
I am told Arsenal and Chelsea currently lead the pack in terms of nosebag, but I was always partial to the bacon and sausage baps at Old Trafford for an early kick-off.

Best meal had on your travels?
Myself and Lee Clayton once stumbled into a restaurant in Warsaw’s Old Town. It had rugs instead of doors and didn’t really look much, but it was the greatest meal I have had. It was called ‘Fukier’ which, after about three or four vodkas, sounded even funnier.

And worst?
The Georgia FA threw a banquet for the English media during Glenn Hoddle’s era and the food was indescribably bad. But the hospitality was incredible. I guess hospitality is a euphemism…

Best hotel stayed in?
The W in Doha was impressive, as was Delano in Miami, but I will still take the Brenner’s Park in Baden Baden for the sheer comedy value of a bar packed with WAGS and the families of England players confronting the media on a nightly basis.
Some great stories – and sights – all played out under the noses of incredulous German dowagers there to take the waters.

…and the worst?
Can’t remember the name of the Albanian hovel we discovered in Tirana. Probably because I have wiped it from the memory banks it was so bad.

Do you have a hobby?
Cooking. Especially filleting seabass – as Steve Howard never tires of reminding me.

Favourite football writer?
Martin Samuel’s columns, Andy Dunn’s match reports and John Cross’ Arsenal ratings

Favourite radio/TV commentator?
On the radio, I think Mike Ingham is superb. Just wish he didn’t have share commentary with the sneering, bumptious oaf who so often sits alongside him.
On TV, I think Alan Parry’s emotion brings games alive.

If you could introduce one change to improve PR between football clubs and football writers what would it be?
If neither sides told lies and tried to be tricky, it would be a start.

One sporting event outside football you would love to experience?
Been very lucky to have been at many big events, but I think the final day at Augusta with a Brit leading the Masters field would be fairly memorable.

Favourite non-football sportsman/sports woman?
John McEnroe, Michael Jordan, Sugar Ray Leonard, Usain Bolt.

Last book read?
Morrissey’s autobiography.

Favourite current TV programme?
Veep, True Blood, Homeland – and my wife bought me the box-set of Breaking Bad which I am besotted with at the moment.

TV show you always switch off?
I would love to be able to turn Downton Abbey off in every room in the house, but divorces are expensive these days so I simply retreat to a far flung corner where I am safe from such hideously inane dialogue.

If you could bring one TV series back, which would it be?
The Wire, although I think five series was just about perfect.

Favourite comedian?
Steven Wright or Bob Mortimer. On Twitter, David Schneider is magnificently funny.

What really, really annoys you?
People who are too lazy or stupid to use the English language properly. And about 99 per cent of Twitter. I also annoy myself by not following Martin Samuel’s lead and ducking out of Twitter altogether. I am too insecure that I might be missing something.

Your most prized football memorabilia?
I am going to get Billy Big Time here and say my England Schools Under-19 caps – and the memory of when I could run further than the diameter of the centre circle without breathing out of my backside. Sadly, it is almost too long ago to recall.

Advice to anyone coming into the football media world?
Contacts are the be-all and end-all of a good journalistic career. You can write like a dream, but if you don’t know what’s going on or can’t speak to the people who matter, you are knackered. Without good contacts, you are just a pointless keyboard warrior filling space.

:: Paul McCarthy now heads up media consultancy firm Macca Media following roles as Sports Editor of the News of the World and Chief Football Writer at The Express, having started his career on the South London Press covering Wimbledon. Paul also served as Chairman of the Football Writers’ Association, before recently taking on the post of Executive Secretary.