Category Archives: Features

THE SAVOY SHOW GOES ON THANKS TO A DEGREE IN APPLIED STATISTICS

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By CHRISTOPHER DAVIES

FOOTBALL WRITERS are used to working to deadlines. However many words may be needed for the match report, whatever the deadline…even if the WiFi goes down or the lap-top waves its ignominious magic wand and makes the copy disappear into the ether…words will be filed on time. Somehow.

Yet, as Shaun Custis of the Sun observed, trying to arrange for four reporters to meet in a hotel lobby at 8pm is a meeting of the indecisive society. So as Paul McCarthy puts the finishing touches to Sunday’s Football Writers’ Association gala tribute evening at the Savoy to honour Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, which will be attended by around 400 guests, he has found it rather more testing that a lobby quorum.

As chairman of the FWA, McCarthy chose Alan Shearer, George Best and Graham Taylor as the recipients for a dinner to mark their contribution to English football. Now executive secretary and the man responsible for just about everything connected with the dinner, McCarthy said the difference between the two roles means he now needs “a degree in applied statistics.”

Andy Dunn, in his first term as FWA chairman, chose Gerrard last August. There is then an anxious wait until the Sky Sports televised games from the Barclays Premier League for January are announced, a sigh of relief when Liverpool’s match against Norwich remained a Saturday afternoon kick-off. Sunday games involving the recipient involve inevitable nail-biting.

McCarthy said: “Andy and I had our first meeting with the Savoy at the beginning of September. We were given a selection of menus from different price ranges. We find one which is not to extreme in terms of content, something that is modern but not too flamboyant as to put people off, and at a reasonable price.”

The evening is organised on a break-even basis to give members and guests the lowest ticket price.

McCarthy said: “It’s helped that Andy and I have worked together for 13 years on the People and News of the World. We know the way each other works, even if he thinks my organisational capacity is bordering on OCD. Andy’s more laid back and it’s a good balance.”

Inevitably there will be the odd last minute change or problem, some unavoidable and others with little appreciation of the scale of the request. McCarthy said: “Dealing with journalists who are used to working on the tightest of deadlines is great fun. But when someone comes to you eight working days before the dinner and asks if his table can be moved, which of course means then moving someone else’s…you say you’ll do your best, but in the back of your mind you know it’s a no-go.

“Most people would not realise the amount of work the Savoy put in. Alexandra Packman has been absolutely brilliant and has made my life a lot easier than it might have been. Much has been left in place by my predecessors Paul Hetherington and Ken Montgomery, so it’s a case of picking it up and running with it. I’ve enjoyed it, but it’s taxing.”

Dietary requirements will always be an issue with food allergies or personal choices. McCarthy said: “Other than girls who may be pregnant…we’re asked for no rich sauces, no yeast, gluten-free, soya milk only, no salmon, the vegetarian option…but dealing with the Savoy, one of the great hotels in the world, is an education.”

McCarthy will arrive at the Savoy around lunch-time. “Most things are done by then,” he said. “But you have to oversee the branding of the evening which, thanks to our sponsors, Barclays, is always done very professionally. I’ll check that everything is all right with the band and that they have meals, something I never thought about until I took this job. Andy and I will practise our speeches, we’ll watch the video which Sky Sports put together and just make sure everything in the room is in place, which it invariably is.”

Kenny Dalglish and Jamie Carragher will give tributes to Gerrard, a former Footballer of the Year. McCarthy said: “It’s fallen nicely for us given that he’s just won his 100th cap for England, a testament to any footballer to win 100 caps for his country. Steven’s been a great leader for Liverpool and England, he’s the type of captain we’ve needed for a few years. He has the respect of everyone in football plus our side of the industry, too.”

The dinner will see the continuation of the question-and-answer session, which has been well received, particularly by football writers who leave the Savoy with a good Monday-for-Tuesday article on Gerrard. Sunday’s Q&A will be conducted by the Daily Telegraph’s Henry Winter who, with Paul Joyce of the Daily Express, wrote Gerrard’s autobiography. “Henry’s one of the most respected football writers who has been with the Telegraph for almost 20 years. He knows Steven well and is an ideal choice.

“Ben Shepherd [of Sky Sports] did an excellent job last year when he hosted the evening for Gary Neville and Paul Scholes, but we have the talent within our ranks to handle the Q&A. We are fortunate in our industry to have had a grounding in broadcasting thanks to Sky, Five Live and talkSPORT. Henry is particularly comfortable doing this type of thing.

“It was the idea of Lee Clayton, the Daily Mail’s head of sport, who said to me last year we should be able to find someone in the FWA to supervise the Q&A. Henry chatting to Steven fits the bill perfectly.”

Female guests will again receive a wonderful table gift, but FWA lips are sealed to the content.

FWA Q&A: Barney Chilton

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Barney Chilton, editor of Red News, on losing a Fortune…why we put up with the bad when the good can be so good…and avoiding Aussie verrucas

Have you ever worked in a profession other than football?
Many moons ago, when I had both hair and youth on my side, I worked in University bookshops. In theory, fun. In practice, nothing like it. This did, however, teach me two things: optometrists were the worst bunch for stealing their textbooks (then again, a couple of them were over £100 each) and that nothing in the world is more dull than a retail stock take which can still have me waking up at 4am with the shivers. On my first day I was told that the Dewey Decimal Classification of storing books would leave me in good stead for the rest of my life. On my second day I eyed how I could sell more fanzines and escaped. All these years on and poor old Dewey has done me no good whatsoever, not even one single pub quiz question on it, so I am still left wondering exactly when it’ll pop up so I can use it as a life saver.

Most memorable match?
So many to choose from, so little time. Have to go for the Champions League final in 99, but the semi-final victory before it in such circumstances against the fine Old Lady is right up there for the performance, which though wasn’t replicated in the final, who cares? In an era of remarkable comebacks, the Nou Camp will never be topped. It still gives me goosebumps and makes me think ‘did that really happen, has this all been a dream?’ Don’t wake me up then. Fergie just about summed it up afterwards: ‘football, bloody hell.’ Why we so love it. And put up with the bad when the good can be that good.

The one moment in football you would put on a DVD?
Those last few minutes, ignoring the 89 or so before. The best team performance I’ve seen is probably fought out between United and Barcelona in a few battles, lopsided in their direction unfortunately, the scoundrels, from the 4-0 hammering which you couldn’t help but admire in 94 to the cat pawing at an injured mouse pounding we got at Wembley last time. The 3-0 triumph over them in 84 was an occasion still fondly remembered – sadly typifying the era of false dawns as Juve knocked us out next round. But how often can a team with Graeme Hogg in it so intimidate one with Maradona in theirs? One solitary moment? Eric’s pass to Denis Irwin [for Irwin’s goal against Spurs in Jan 1993], which he, himself, chose in Looking for Eric. The pass shaped everything. It is our dream move.

Best stadium?
The Bernabeu, though both Real Madrid and Barca put away fans in the gods which never seems fair. Sitting in the home end is a totally and much more pleasurable experience. It’s for the aesthetics rather than the atmosphere though. It grates me to admit, but those conveyer belt produced replicakit stadiums in the States are great once inside. It’s almost like Willy Wonka factory time – is there anything they don’t offer, with 450 screens replaying all the action, more food that is both practical and logical, and that suffocating marketing that every second spent there is just, well ‘awesome’. But you are drawn in, nonetheless.

…and the worst?
Halifax and the Shay. The old romantic in me would like to glorify the old style allure of it all, but in truth it was an eyesore with an away end behind the goal that was just a uptight grassy hill. Add water to it, and slips galore, Gremlin like. And the floodlights didn’t even offer substantial bright light. Not helped by Jim Leighton slippery fingers when we played there, too.

Your personal new-tech disaster?
The usual incomprehensible failure to back up and be confronted with a dead screen and lost material plus articles typed, which are clearly your best ever, only to see them disappear near completion, gone for good, in circumstances still unknown. Then comes the – while cursing – rewrite which is never as good or as fun. We don’t have a good record with taped interviews. In the old days you can hear the audible gasps as I realise I’ve put the old stale tapes on short play instead of long and the whirring mid-interview is the last breath of the tape about to be spat out in disgust with only half the interview gone as I desperately scrambled for a spare and not look a tit. I decided to double up and always bring two (‘just in case’) but even then there seemed a curse. The amount of times one has gone wrong is comical. We digitally recorded Quinton Fortune in a one-to-one yet both recorders played up. Saying that, Quinton was so unforthcoming we could have put some blank pages in the mag and not missed out any of the interesting quotes from the interview, which we then had to rescue from shorthand and somehow try and make into a semi-interesting piece. Which from vague ‘yes, suppose so’s’ was pretty difficult.

Biggest mistake?
Nothing too major, bar criticising the football of the man in his early days who went on to win us everything which didn’t go down too well at the time. Think he’s forgiven us now. For some reason mistakes with dates and years seems to wind up some readers more than any OTT opinion and actual controversial material. And woe betide a rushed misspelling. Do not mess with the grammar police.

Have you ever been mistaken for anyone else?
In a few letters I was addressed as ‘Barnie Clifton’ which is as close as I’ve got to stardom (cue that going over the heads of anyone under 50). I always dreamed the ‘Barnie’ would one day make it to the full on ‘Bernie’ but sadly not. In real life though, nobody, but we did pretend to be squad players on a pre-season tour of Scandinavia in the late 1980s, using clubcall promo cards as some bizarre confirmation as proof that we were first teamers even if we weren’t on the actual pictures. However, it worked and got us free drinks. And a mate a rather exotic dance.

Most media friendly manager?
Only dealt with the one, thankfully. We had a lot more contact in the early days when United wasn’t the Mr Potato indulged mammoth it is now. In our earliest days, on another pre-season tour of Sweden, we walked into the team hotel where there was no security or waiting fans outside and got a lengthy one-to-one interview about his plans for the 1987/88 season as he ate his breakfast and talked of changing the fortunes of the club. He has helped us on several occasions since, but like Carrington, the blockades are up and the dream of a second such chat, I fear, is some way off. In another world. We’re so big as a club now, everything we once were and how things were done, has gone for good.

Best ever player?
Not seen enough of Messi live, but up close with Ronaldo was a joy to watch. How both stay so fit is a marvel, as much as what they do when fit. For impact, Eric Cantona, though I hope Robin Van Persie will have a similar affect. It’s only when you see a player in the flesh, consistently, that you have a real indication and watching RVP regularly…his movement, his vision, his understanding and reading of the game…has been as big a delight as any I have had since we won the 19th title. Growing up, it was always Bryan Robson. I just wish he had been able to play – and peak – in this era.

Best ever teams (club and international)?
From a distance, AC Milan of the 90s – and that final of 94. Up close, Barcelona reaching a crescendo just at the right (wrong) time to deservedly make two Champions League finals pretty much non contests. Despite their lack of success, the Brazil side of 82 and what they did to capture the imagination of so many kids watching; studying, learning and falling a bit more in love with football which can still have me shouting out ‘SOCRATES’ to celebrate a goal as we all put our club allegiances to one side that summer and just wanted to score in a yellow kit.

Best pre-match grub?
Home made sarnies, flattened accidentally by putting mags on top of them, soggy from the inevitable rain, as you hold up the fanzines for hours and your mates all text you how good the pub is. The reality of all this! Better that, though, than the OT chicken balti pies which a mate is convinced is just Norovirus in a plastic dish.

Best meal had on your travels?
I’d like to come up with some extravagant dish from the hand of a non-speaking Monk using materials from the earth which only flower once a year, but though it sounds dull. It’s probably a pizza before the Champions League Final in Rome. The chef treated the pizza dough as if it were his instrument and with such care I felt guilty eating it – but it was incredible. The local wine helped, of course. Why is takeaway pizza nothing like the real thing…?

…and the worst?
The steak in some backwater bar in Kiev, which didn’t resemble cow and appeared to be more rodent based. I can’t even say it tasted nice. But it was cheap.

Best hotel stayed in?
Room wise, the Wynn in LA which a mate who ran a travel agency had sorted on the cheap and gave a rare insight into opulence so that for a few nights I really could dream I was the real Bernie Clifton. The room had two TV’s the size of concert screens. But for all round madness, the the Prince Park Tower Hotel in Tokyo for the Club World Cup. On arrival I was greeted by four receptionists who seemed so caring I thought they wanted to room with me. I didn’t even realise the hotel had its own massive shopping centre underneath with hundreds of people working until the last day. There were so many lifts you needed a compass to find your room, and I’m sure they were crying as I left. I have that effect.

…and the worst?
Some bunker in Kosice. So bad, the dreary, decaying living room-like reception saw a few of our party turn and get cabs to the team hotel to upgrade. Those of us on a fixed budget had to make do, though the communal showers – for men and women – which stank and had an obligatory Aussie backpacker advising he hoped his verrucas weren’t catching – won’t ever be beaten, for what I do not know. Thankfully the town itself was fantastic. So we spent as little time as possible back at HQ. A room with iron bars has that affect.

Favourite football writer?
Bias of home comforts allows me to select Daniel Taylor for his flair and Mark Ogden for his rhythm, Simon Stone of PA for his diligence, and Ian Herbert rid of his shackles makes me laugh when he’s on one. I like Martin Samuel, especially when his topics are those that surprise (though not that Joey Barton one…), and of course Richard Williams. I wouldn’t want to wake up every morning confronted with fans across the country accusing you of being a fan of this club or that, but each day across the board you can still find quality. I just don’t like the obsession for transfer speculation (though know it sells and gets the most hits) plus over-indulgence of particular headline stories when there are so many other good football stories out there, even on slow news days. Perhaps there is no market, but there are that many former professionals with grand stories to tell, I’m surprised we don’t read more on their thoughts in interviews.

Favourite radio/TV commentator?
In a minority I presume but I like Jonathan Pearce – volume down mind – because he clearly still loves the sport and doesn’t seem to let any cynicism burden his work.

If you could introduce one change to improve PR between football clubs and football writers what would it be?
Build on trust. Develop trust. By starting again. If a journalist betrays that trust, then the club can let him have it, but I do think there has to be a better way than the at-arm’s-length approach we have now. Players should not only be put up for more interviews during the week, but also where there isn’t an edge to it – this or that isn’t off limits – where both are eyeing each other with suspicion. We’re adults after all and fans prefer grown up and meaningful discussion rather than bland insipid nothingness where we’re told such and such will ‘bounce back’ for the nth time and nothing gets said. With Di Law at United we were allowed one-on-ones with players and stuck to basic principles of copy approval, but were allowed to make the conversations more interesting without being treated like children. Now we have officials sat down watching what we say and what the players say, which is both pointless and unsettling. We’re not there to stitch the player up, we just want to hear them speak about more than they are used to, which is surely a good thing. Not probing for private information, but asking for views on broader subjects than the next game and standard platitudes. The modern machine seems scared of allowing anybody the right to open up.

On a tangent, I agree with Neil Custis about journalists giving their stories out for free on the net and it is of concern. We’re in that strange new world at the moment where people think everything online should be free, and as a consequence, I feel, papers have misjudged the mood by offering up everything online, for free, when it should be used to entice people to the content. Why buy a paper if we can read the paper online for free? Everyone also wants to be the first to reveal everything, be that bloggers, fans or those in the media when surely the idea is to tease so that people then go to the real thing (be it paper or virtual)? If I had a good story I’d provide tasters, but the material would go into the mag. Or I’d sit on it. If you show your hand straight away – here’s the story, in a tweet – why would people than take the extra step to read the greater insight? There will be a way to mix the two, as everyone is finding their feet, and so many people writing about football across the board can only be a good thing as you select those you want to read regularly.

It’s sad that so many fanzines have closed down as some think that era has now passed. I’d argue that fanzines are still valuable – and vocal – and provide an insight into their club which is necessary. We’re lucky at United that we still have all three, mainly down to the single mindedness and stubbornness of each editor. We’re all going digital, but we’re charging for content with occasional free material posted to showcase to readers because I believe this is the model that will flourish.

One sporting event outside football you would love to experience?
The Ashes, in Australia. But before it became popular. Or a Test in Wellington, walking up that road right to the ground.

Last book read?
Hunter S Thompson ‘Fear and Loathing at Rolling Stone’ – not perfect, but a good insight into his style with a toothpick into American history.

Favourite current TV programme?
A choice between Walking Dead which has re-invented the tired Zombie genre; Homeland which is now so implausible I fear for its future; and Boardwalk Empire which trots slow, slow, quick, quick, slow but is masked by the quality of the scenery and acting. And Gary Nev on a Monday night. If only all pundits were that good. Hopefully his work will see the end of a tired formula on MOTD who should be taking note with a shake up of the golfing club.

Your most prized football memorabilia?
A three page letter from SAF on his opinion on the role of fanzines at United and his opinion on the early Red News’s. Not for publication, its contents remain private, and fascinating (and not that rude).

Advice to anyone coming into the football media world?
Be yourself. Everyone wants to copy someone or other, when I still believe good, quality writing will rise to the top. Set your own sights and ambitions on where you want to go rather than what others suggest is the way you should head. The road less travelled can lead to a lifetime of unique and unforgettable experiences. Football reporting is at a drastic point, print IS decaying, sadly, and the internet has meant the demand for old style reports is irrelevant, unless it’s very, very good. This should provide an opportunity for more forensic and quality copy which will create demand because it is so good. We all know the score, so I enjoy as much about the game we didn’t see as the one we did and know about. I am not a journalist, I am just a Manchester United fan who had the opportunity to write about my club during an incredible period of its history. I am both fearful and excited for the future.

Red News is the first Manchester United fanzine which was started in 1987. It’s been sold at over 800 United games in all conditions; the material is from the contributions of Manchester United supporters, of which several have gone on to become authors in their own right. It has interviewed over 60 former Manchester United players, with only Dimitar Berbatov and Roy Keane declining.

FWA Q&A: JEREMY CROSS

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JEREMY CROSS of the Daily Star on why Oakwell is flipping awful…a £40 mousse…and happy to have Pele put the boot in

Have you ever worked in a profession other than football?
Yes. I was a postman for a summer after completing my A levels. The 3am starts put me off for life!

Most memorable match?
Manchester City scoring in extra time to beat QPR and pip Manchester United to the 2012 league title. Remarkable finish to a remarkable season.

The one moment in football you would put on a DVD?
Liverpool coming from 3-0 down to beat AC Milan in the 2005 Champions League final in Istanbul.

Best stadium?
The Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid. Great facilities and even better atmosphere.

…and the worst?
Blundell Park, home of Grimsby Town. The roof of the stand where the press sit has sunk, which means you can’t see the action if the ball goes above shoulder height, which tends to happen quite a lot there.

Your personal new-tech disaster?
Flipping the desk over at Oakwell once and smashing my laptop on the floor five minutes before kick-off.

Biggest mistake?
Getting Jon Parkin and Ben Burgess mixed up during a match report for a game at Hull City once. Thankfully no-one realised.

Have you ever been mistaken for anyone else?
Yes. Paul Robinson, the Blackburn and ex-England goalkeeper.

Most media friendly manager?
Phil Brown during his time in charge at Hull City, or Roberto Martinez at Wigan.

Best ever player?
Zinedine Zidane.

Best ever teams (club and international)?
Barcelona (present team) and Brazil (1970).

Best pre-match grub?
Manchester City (by a country mile).

Best meal had on your travels?
Steak and fish bonanza during a pre-season tour to Cape Town with Manchester United. Fine wine too, all for a reasonable price.

…and the worst?
Once ordered what I thought was steak in a place in Stockholm costing £40 and when it arrived it was fish mousse!!

Worst hotel stayed in?
Holiday Inn, SoHo, New York. Felt like sleeping in a lift.

Favourite football writer?
Martin Samuel (Daily Mail).

Favourite radio/TV commentator?
Ian Dennis (BBC Five Live).

If you could introduce one change to improve PR between football clubs and football writers what would it be?
More contact with the players and more respect shown from managers to reporters.

One sporting event outside football you would love to experience?
The Masters, Augusta.

Last book read?
Paul Scholes’s autobiography.

Favourite current TV programme?
The Inbetweeners.

Your most prized football memorabilia?
A pair of football boots belonging to and signed by Pele.

Advice to anyone coming into the football media world?
Be determined and prepared to accept you won’t make friends all the time. Have a thick skin and don’t worry about having to write something that might upset someone.

 

 

Not a vintage season but United’s goal power could surprise Europe

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As the Barclays Premier League reaches the halfway stage footballwriters.co.uk asked the Daily Mirror’s Chief Football Writer MARTIN LIPTON for his views on the season so far.

As the Barclays Premier League season reaches the halfway mark, how would you assess 2012/13 so far?
It’s been quite entertaining and enjoyable, but I also think the standard of the top teams is a long way behind what it was in 2008 and 2009 which for me was the high watermark in English football for the quality of players available. We still have some fantastic footballers, though, it’s been a pleasure to watch Juan Mata grow as a player at Chelsea this season, we’ve seen some terrific performances by Luis Suarez who’s as good as anyone in the world as an out-and-out striker and Robin van Persie’s been great for Manchester United. There’s some outstanding home-grown talent, too. Gareth Bale is brilliant on the ball, really exciting, but generally the overall standard has dropped.

Five years ago England was the dominant force in the Champions League…
Yes, the only teams who could beat the English teams were the English teams. Liverpool beat Arsenal, Chelsea beat Liverpool, United beat Chelsea…we don’t have that standard at the moment.

Do you see an English club winning the Champions League this season?
I didn’t see one winning it last season. You would never discount it because football can be a strange beast, but I think there are five or six teams better than Arsenal or United though United will always have a chance because they can score goals. In Rooney, particularly van Persie, Hernandez and Welkbeck they have lot of goals. I don’t think they are as good as Barcelona, Real Madrid or Bayern Munich and maybe not as good as Juventus or Shakhtar Donetsk. But if Vidic returns properly fit, if Jones and Smalling can add something…plus if Carrick continues to play as he is at the moment then United will have a chance against anyone.

Chelsea won the Champions League last season playing in a way that would be alien to United…
United aren’t built that way, they play a different style of football. However, if they beat Real in the last 16, the confidence boost it would give them will be huge and then teams can develop a momentum of their own. At half-time during the tie against Napoli [last February when the score was 1-1 with Napoli winning the first leg of the last 16 tie 3-1] there is no way you would have predicted Chelsea would even be in the final. They were lucky not to lose by five or six in Naples.

At the start of the season most people would probably have said the title would be a three horse race involving the two Manchester clubs and Chelsea, but Chelsea’s defeat by Queens Park Rangers makes it very difficult for them now…
To be fair, I thought it was a two horse race, just a question of which Manchester club came out top. That’s still the case. Chelsea would have to win probably 16 of their remaining 18 games, lose one and draw the other [to get 87 points]. In those games they’d have to beat United and City away which is unlikely. United have a massive advantage because they can afford to lose three [more] matches and still win the title. The unusual thing about United is they have drawn only one game.

So it’s United to win the Barclays Premier League title then…
I still think City could win it. They don’t have the distraction of the Champions League, they have a very strong squad with the capacity to spend silly money if they choose to over the next few weeks.

Who’s been your surprise package?
West Bromwich Albion have been my team of the season so far. Steve Clarke has done exceptionally well. Claudio Yacob’s been an excellent signing, I like Youssouf Mulumbu, Romelu Lukaku, on loan from Chelsea, has flourished this season and looks like a mini-Drogba. Shane Long does an outstanding job, James Morrison and Chris Brunt are playing well and Jonas Olsson’s been terrific.

Ben Foster’s been as good as any goalkeeper…
I know Roy Hodgson is desperate to persuade him to come back into England contention because after Joe Hart, Foster is, without question, the best English goalkeeper. We really need him to be available to play for England again.

England’s start to the 2014 World Cup qualifiers has been solid – wins in Moldova and at home to San Marino, a draw in Poland and at home to Ukraine…
The theory that we have only about 20 players has been disproved because Roy has used 44 and that doesn’t include Chris Smalling who would certainly be among the top 30 players. I think Jack Wilshere, now he’s fully fit, will make a difference, the development of Theo Walcott has been a positive, Danny Welbeck scores more goals for England than he does for United and has looked really good in an England shirt…arguably England’s Player of the Year for 2012. We’re not a top four team and haven’t been for a long time. Realistically we’re a top eight side as we showed at Euro 2012 where we were unbeaten. Given the circumstances England did better than par for the course.

Can England qualify automatically? The nine group winners go through to Brazil with the eight best runners-up playing off for the remaining four places…
The game in Montenegro in March is key. If England win in Podgorica then they will be set up because three of the last four games are at Wembley where you’d expect them to win – then the other match in Ukraine (in September) wouldn’t matter. If we lose in Montenegro then it may mean going through the playoffs. I’d be surprised if England’s weren’t in the top two and I think they’ll probably win the group. They haven’t lost yet which is a positive.

Team England seems to have a spirit that was possibly been missing in one or two finals before Euro 2012…
It is clear we have a set of England players who want to play with each other, which has not always been the case, they want to play for the manager, which has not always been the case, and are keen to play for the shirt which has not always been the case. That gives you a decent starting position.

Can Robin van Persie be voted the Footballer of the Year for the second successive time?
There will be a huge lobby for van Persie and rightly so. There will be strong support for Luis Suarez despite what you might think of him occasionally. He’s behaved himself pretty well this season, more sinned against than a sinner as has another candidate, Gareth Bale. Both he and Suarez have been cautioned [for diving] on reputation which is unfortunate.

There has been much discussion about referees and the Respect programme…
I wish it actually meant something. I think a lot of referees across the country were let down by Mike Dean [with the Sir Alex Ferguson controversy]. Dean probably thought he handled it properly, he may have even convinced himself there was no rage from Ferguson but it sure didn’t look that way. The fact Ferguson then took it out on an assistant referee and the fourth official said it all. The bottom line was, to allow Jonny Evans’ own-goal was a correct decision.

Referees will inevitably be singled out for blame, usually by the losing manager…
It’s easy to criticise them, but there are a couple of referees who are no longer fit for purpose in the Barclays Premier League.

Who are?
Mark Halsey and Chris Foy. They should be given their pension books at the end of the season. Both are past their sell-by date. Referees will always make mistakes, but when they keep on making bad mistakes…

Do you think the forensic examination of match officials by television is unfair?
It’s ridiculous. We shouldn’t slaughter assistant referees for being two inches wrong and most of the times they are correct. But if a player is obviously offside, like Lukaku was when he scored [for West Bromwich] against Fulham it’s different. He was almost on his own inside the six-yard box.

Major hopes for 2013?
I’d love the title race to go to the wire again though we can’ t expect it to be decided by the last kick in the last game like last season. I’d like to go into the last month of the season with nothing settled at both ends of the table. Probably more than anything, I’d like to be writing about football rather than issues within the game that overshadowed the game so much in 2012.

FWA Q&A: Patrick Barclay

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PATRICK BARCLAY on the joys of staying at Broadmoor…Messi’s divine retribution…a free Star Trek poppadum in Carlisle…and a desperate own Cole…

Have you ever worked in a profession other than football?
As a teenager I used to heave boxes around a grocery warehouse during school holidays. Not only did you develop rippling muscles – you were allowed to take home the stuff that was past its sell-by date, which, in those less pernickety days, entailed the appearance of rust or mould or packaging that turned to dust upon being touched. Powdered doughnut mixture – just add water and sprinkle with sugar and bake until your patience expires. Yum!

Later I did a bit of journalism. I used to be a sub-editor on The Guardian and the best years were spent in charge of – okay, I was the only person working on – the Parliamentary pages. Debates were covered in some detail by this newspaper in the 1970s and the job was to edit them so they were fairly reflected as well as easily readable. I loved it and became acutely interested in politics. The most memorable occurrence was the Irish republican Bernadette Devlin’s maiden speech, which had even some Conservative hearts pounding with excitement. I enjoyed seeing stars rise. Brian Walden, later to be a superb television performer, was one. Others were to encounter falls, Jeffrey Archer among them.

Most memorable match?
It was always going to take something special to knock Milan 4 Barcelona 0 in 1994 off its f***ing perch and another Champions League final was to do the trick: Barcelona 3 Manchester United 1 at Wembley in 2011. Both of those matches were one-sided and yet majestic and to receive from Barcelona confirmation that the football played in their 5-0 win over Real Madrid earlier in the season had been no fluke…well, I make no apology for saying that it was like a dream come true.

The one moment in football you would put on a DVD?
Lionel Messi’s solo destruction of Jose Mourinho’s cynical Real Madrid in the Champions League semi at the Bernabeu. That’s what football should be about – divine retribution.

Best stadium?
Camp Nou.

…and the worst?
Any that lack an element of symmetry bring out the OCD in me. I find myself mentally completing them, rounding them off, instead of concentrating on the match. The old Leicester ground used to drive me mad. Even St James’ Park in Newcastle, a marvellous ground in every other way, is a hazardous place to visit for this reason.

Your personal new-tech disaster?
The first still makes me retch. I spent a week or thereabouts boiling down Bruce Grobbelaar’s autobiograpy – as told to Bob ”Bomber” Harris, the Boswell to many a footballing Johnson – into four sections of 2,000 words each for the purpose of serialisation during the first week of Today newspaper in 1986. I did what seemed a brilliant job. And then pressed the wrong button and lost the lot and had to do it all over again in one day.

[I don’t know why this subject makes journalists laugh. I bet Chris Davies only puts it in the FWA Q & A in the hope of a giggle. But what’s funny about having inadequate tools for the job? Say if a surgeon was given, instead of a scalpel, a stick of liquorice? Would that be funny?]

I was three years on The Times and should have spotted the danger signals when the laptop they gave me was not only a hand-me-down but still warm, with – and this is no syllable of a lie – sandwich crumbs stuck between the keys. A succession of machines in the late autumn of their years followed and it was only after parting company with News International and buying my own computer that I was reminded that manufacturers purveyed new ones that worked.

Biggest mistake?
Awarding a goal to Andy Cole when Brian McClair had scored it. Okay, they were physically similar but still…

And not just that. I built my whole piece around it, forecasting that the breaking of Cole’s eight-match drought (now nine matches, of course, and much remarked upon in other newspapers) would cause the dam to burst so woe betide Liverpool or whoever United were facing in their next match. The subs caught the error before it reached London and Manchester but I prefer not to picture the bewilderment of the good folk of Cornwall and Cumbria, to which the early editions had been despatched.

Have you ever been mistaken for anyone else?
Only Andy Cole. Just joking – Patrick Stewart, the actor. He’s even older than me but in damn good shape so I take it as a huge compliment. The benefits of occasionally neglecting to destroy the illusion have included large haddock for the price of small in my local chippy and free poppadum with a curry in Carlisle. But the best is experienced on visits to the West End theatre: the demurely respectful smiles of passing damsels, which it is only polite to return.

Most media friendly manager?
Add me to the list of Roberto Martinez’s admirers. He is a man of old-fashioned courtesy, extended to one and all. Personally, I used to find Alex Ferguson generous and like David Moyes.

Best ever player?
Diego Maradona. Without a split-second of hesitation. What he did in the face of wild tackling was suffer for his art. When I heard people call him a cheat, it used to make me so angry. Lionel Messi does even more than Maradona did to light up our lives, it’s true, but he doesn’t have to put up with the brutality of an earlier age. Not nearly as much, anyway. I know you are not supposed to give FIFA credit for anything, but Sepp Blatter in his earlier incarnation put in place the adjustments in refereeing that have helped Messi to flourish and become not just the greatest entertainer in the history of the game but the best example to youth.

Best ever teams (club and international)?
Barcelona under Rijkaard, Guardiola and Vilanova. And Brazil 1970 – the highlight of my journalistic career so far was sitting down one day in Rio de Janeiro with Carlos Alberto, the captain of that team, and being told that he had as much time to talk as I wanted. It may have been the lowest point of his life – you’d have to ask him – but his second-by-second description of the fourth goal in the final was magical. It was like being in the presence of history. By the time I’d let him go, he’d grown a long beard and become eligible for a state pension.

Best pre-match grub?
I’d love to be present at a play-off for that title between Arsenal and Manchester City. They are very different spreads – one looks as if it has been prepared under the supervision of Arsene Wenger, the other by Frannie Lee – yet equally impressive. I haven’t been to Leicester recently but their excellent offering used to be none the worse for a small charge that was given to charity.

Best meal had on your travels?
From an introduction to Italian food while visiting Liam Brady in his Juventus days to a tapas place near the Bernabeu now, treat has just kept piling on treat. The salads in Skopje may surprise you, but they are not mentioned for purely alliterative reasons. Nor is the ”cognac” in Kishinev – some of the best brandy I’ve ever tasted. But I suppose I’ll have to go for the eight-hour lunch laid on by the mayor of Tblisi and his burly henchmen in a candlelit barn in the middle of a field. Don’t ask me when it was. Don’t ask me what we ate. All I can remember was that the theme was ”culture”, which amounted to the offering of toast after toast to the respective merits of Georgia and England and each time promptly downing an entire glass of the local farmers’ wine. It was so good that no hangover ensued. Did some local busybodies thereafter argue that the council-tax revenue of the citizens of Tblisi might have been better spent? I often wonder, but I hope not.

…and the worst?
In Barcelona, funnily enough. My friends and I have found what may well be the only bad restaurant in Catalunya – and yet it’s irresistible, being so close to Camp Nou that your hands are still tingling from the applause when you pick up the laminated menu. It’s not that bad. I genuinely can’t remember having a bad meal anywhere. The only thing I don’t like is restaurants that fancy themselves and make a living out of the customers’ snobbery. Once in Dusseldorf everyone else had enjoyed the half-mouthfuls that constituted their first courses and I asked the waiter when mine – ”medallions of turbot” – would arrive. He pointed at my plate. I’d assumed those three little circles were part of the pattern.

Best hotel stayed in?
A place called Broadmoor near Colorado Springs. A vast, traditional place in magnificent countryside where we stayed with Bobby Robson’s England squad before the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. In those days it was not unusual to mingle with the players beside the pool. Peter Reid admired my music – a Velvet Underground tape was exercising the Walkman at that time – and not only borrowed it but (and this, bear in mind, was a footballer) later gave it back.

…and the worst?
In Liverpool. I can’t remember the name, but it was a conversion of a century-old commercial building. The worst example of a genre that blights Manchester and Glasgow as well. What makes them think we’ll not notice the principal drawback of high ceilings? You want to climb into the mini-bar to get warm – except that there’s not a mini-bar. Give me a Premier Inn any day of the week.

Favourite football writer?
Brian Glanville. Only David Lacey gets close in terms of erudition, but Glanville’s bravery sets him apart. It’s the quality that I wish more of the current galacticos would embrace. Straying from the herd doesn’t do Martin Samuel any harm, does it? Another must-read in my opinion is Ian Chadband when he covers football.

Favourite radio/TV commentator?
Alan Green and Mike Ingham. And, if you ask me to choose, I’ll throw in the bright young Darren Fletcher to complicate matters. He doesn’t mind telling you what he thinks either.

If you could introduce one change to improve PR between football clubs and football writers what would it be?
Media activities every day, as in Germany. That way the arguments can be settled earlier and information channelled more as the clubs would wish. I’m amazed that Manchester City, with a clean sheet of paper and an obvious weakness in the opposition’s armoury to exploit, haven’t done it already.

One sporting event outside football you would love to experience?
A Test in the West Indies when they were kings of cricket.

Last book read?
Martin Kelner’s Stand Up and Cheer – a very funny and educative history of sport on television.

Favourite current TV programme?
Question Time.

Your most prized football memorabilia?
The team sheet for the World Cup final of 1998 with Edmundo’s name on it. It was withdrawn and replaced after Ronaldo was persuaded to play at the 11th hour.

Advice to anyone coming into the football media world?
Only do it if you must. And, if you truly must, diversify. Football writing is now one of those things, like photography, which everyone thinks he or she can do. You have to give yourself an edge by being imaginative and innovative across the media. Oh, and cheap.

PATRICK BARCLAY is a columnist for the Sunday Independent and Evening Standard.

Quotes of 2012

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PHIL SHAW picks out some of the best Quotes of 2012…

‘A fresh of bread air’

“Things were so much easier when I earned 100pound a week on yts #stress.”
Jamie O’Hara, reputedly on £35,000 a week at Wolves.

“We’ve got a full-back called Dinh Dong. I immediately christened him “Doorbell”.”
Dylan Kerr, assistant manager of Vietnam and ex-Leeds reserve.

“It was nice to hear Ray Wilkins speaking so articulate.”
Micky Quinn

“I’ve just watched the replay and there is absolutely no doubt – it’s inconclusive.”
Garth Crooks

“On a different day, the referee might have been throwing yellow cards around like a man with no arms.”
George Andrews at Stoke v Everton for Signal Radio.

“By his own admission under-fire Spurs boss Harry Redknapp writes like a two-year-old. So who writed his weekly Sun column then?”
Letter to The Guardian when Redknapp was in court over alleged tax-evasion.

“Joe Royle texted saying keeping QPR up would be like turning water into wine or feeding the 5,000 or something. I’ve never read the Bible, but I think he meant it’d be a miracle.”
Harry Redknapp

“England’s a nation of warriors. At Liverpool, the fans applaud if Carragher hammers the ball out of play. In Camp Nou you’d never get that. It’s a different culture that values different things. Here, if they see you’re afraid in possession, you get whistled. It’s the world in reverse.”
Xavi

“McLean’s been like a fresh of bread air.”
Roy Keane

“You know who really gives kids a bad name? Posh and Becks.”
Stewart Francis, comedian.

“In the papers this morning: “Police closing in on Ian Holloway.” Sorry, it’s “Palace closing in on Ian Holloway.””
Alan Brazil

“Mario Balotelli is like Marmite – you either love him or hate him. Me? I’m in between.”
Joe Royle

“He wears the club shop, he wears the club shop, Tony Pulis, he wears the club shop.”
Song by Manchester City fans at Stoke.

“Hopefully Andy [Carroll] has only tweeted his hamstring.”
Sam Allardyce

“It is too little, too late. He’s a low-life. A clever low-life…but a low-life.”
Trevor Hicks, Hillsborough Family Support Group chairman, on ex-Sun editor Kelvin MacKenzie’s apology.

“Reporter: Do you know how many managers have City have had in your 25 years with United? Alex Ferguson: Fourteen, but I wish it was 15.”
Exchange as Roberto Mancini’s Manchester City challenged United for the title.

“How can you call me a c*nt? You shagged your team-mate’s missus. You’re the c*nt.”
Anton Ferdinand to John Terry, QPR v Chelsea.

“Improbable, implausible and contrived.”
FA verdict on Terry’s defence against allegations that he racially abused Ferdinand.

“Hahahahaa, well done #fa I lied did I, #BUNCHOFTWATS.”
Ashley Cole tweet on the FA finding Terry guilty.

“Spain have had an unbelievable amount of sex, er, success.”
Alan Shearer after the Euro 2012 final.

“Where were you when you were us?”
AFC Wimbledon fans at MK Dons.

PRESS BOXING

Reporter: What do you think of Tottenham?
Roger Johnson (Wolves captain): C’mon! Are these real questions? I couldn’t give a shit to be honest. Is that it, yeah? Cheers.

“Sir Alex was very convivial. So I chanced a joke to him that it was the longest he’d spent talking to the press in years. He laughed but five minutes later in the corridor outside he growled: “I’ll remember you.”
Barry Flatman, tennis writer, on Ferguson’s appearance at Andy Murray press conference in New York.

“You are all great managers. I read the newspapers every day and I can tell you that you are always great managers. How many games have you managed? I promise you if you manage one I will sit in the stands and chant: “You know what you are doing”.
Arsene Wenger when queried about his substitutions after an Arsenal game.

“I’ve given up this year. I’ve decided to bin it off. I’ve signed my three-year deal and I thought I’d leave it this year, sit back, have a few cans and a few cigarettes and chill with the kids.”
Grant Holt to a reporter who asked whether his new contract at Norwich meant he had “lost his hunger”.

“We’ve all talked the same nonsense over the years. Everything you tell the press is a lie.”
Jamie Carragher

FWA Q&A: Geoff Peters

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talkSPORT’s GEOFF PETERS on being given a mouthful by Serbs…going out with a manager’s girlfriend…and why Winter is best.

Have you ever worked in a profession other than football?
In my formative journalistic years as a teenager, working on a free weekly newspaper and then for a press agency, I had to cover stuff like inquests, magistrates courts etc and even got roped in to do some stuff for the entertainment pages. It once took me a whole day to write a review of a play. The editor never asked me again. I’ve been a DJ since the age of 14 – working in Ibiza and Egypt and other much less glamorous places – and currently have bar and club gigs on Friday and Saturday nights in the Midlands so, along with football, it means my weekends are rather hectic. I had a spell out of journalism and part of that time was spent working for Leicester City’s lottery department, servicing venues around the county who sold the club’s scratchcards. It was actually a lot more fun than it probably sounds.

Most memorable match?
May 30, 1994. It was the Division One Play-off Final between Leicester City and Derby County. Leicester – the team I support – came from behind to win and get promotion to the Premiership. It was their first win at Wembley in seven attempts. I was just 21 and commentating for BBC Radio Leicester and it remains a golden moment for me.

The one moment in football you would put on a DVD?
Leicester v Arsenal in 1997. Leicester came from 2-0 down to equalise in the last 10 minutes through Heskey and Elliott but Dennis Bergkamp went back up the field to score a stunning goal, complete his hat-trick and seemingly win it. The never say die spirit of Martin O’Neill came to the fore as Steve Walsh headed home to make it 3-3 deep into stoppage time. Pulsating, breathless stuff. Bergkamp was sublime that night.
From a more general perspective, the pure theatre from the Manchester City-QPR game in May 2012 will take some beating.

Best stadium?
I had a brief flirtation as a Liverpool fan in my very early years – Rush and Grobbelaar were my two favourite players – and the first time I went to Anfield really took my breath away.

…and the worst?
Visiting The Den as an away fan was a nightmare. The least safe I’ve ever felt in a press box was at the Gerhard Hanappi stadium in Vienna when Leicester played Red Star Belgrade there in a UEFA Cup tie in 2000. The Serbian fans were like caged animals and, among other things, they were spitting at the press guys.

Your personal new-tech disaster?
When I was writing a book in early 1998 about Martin O’Neill’s first two years as Leicester manager, I borrowed a Mac and managed to lose work several times through my technical ineptitude. I managed to get it finished and self published it, selling about 3,500 copies in the end. It was never going to win any literary awards – I was 24 and had no idea what I was doing to be honest – but it made it to print which seemed unlikely at various points. I now back up stuff regularly because while computers are amazing things, the idiot who uses them is a mere human.

Biggest mistake?
Too numerous to mention but becoming friends with the girlfriend of a football manager and then seeing a photograph of us together splashed over the front pages of several national newspapers, who suggested there was a lot more to our friendship, certainly caused a fair amount of aggravation. The main mistake was not listening to journalist pals who warned me about her. I took advice from these people a lot more after that particular episode.

Have you ever been mistaken for anyone else?
In my 20s people said I looked like Johnny Vaughan and Dale Winton and since shaving my head, I’ve had all the Right Said Fred and Crystal Maze jokes. Not that I’ve ever actually been mistaken for any of those guys. I suppose if I walked around Molineux in a Wolves jacket on matchday I might get confused with Stale Solbakken.

Most media friendly manager?
I like Brian McDermott at Reading. He’s always honest and doesn’t leap down your throat if you ask a daft question as can happen from time to time. Brian Little was brilliant when I was starting out in the BBC and Micky Adams would always look you in the eye when giving interviews. He lost the plot one day in a pre-recorded piece and it left me a little shell shocked if I’m honest. Somehow he got my number and rang me later to apologise which I don’t think many managers would do.

Least media friendly manager?
Gordon Strachan. Can’t understand why the media keep employing him when he’s treated journalists with such disrespect over the years. He’s been rude to me when I’ve asked simple, non-threatening questions and there’s really no need for it.

Best ever player?
Tough choice. In my lifetime it would be Maradona, Bergkamp, Zidane or Messi – I could make a case for all of them. My favourite player ever at my club is Steve Walsh. He cared about the shirt and gave everything he could for the best part of a decade and a half.

Best ever teams (club and international)?
Dull and predictable but it’s hard to look past Barcelona and Spain in recent years.

Best pre-match grub?
Aston Villa – top class catering.

Best hotel stayed in?
Non-football but I went on a press trip to northern Spain in December 1992 to record a feature for a holiday show. Can’t remember the name of the place but it was big, luxurious and, most importantly, we had a free bar. The hotel staff didn’t make one murmur of complaint after cleaning up the mess I left. I’ve never been that drunk or that ill from booze since.

Favourite football writer?
I love Henry Winter’s writing style. He’s also a very cool, calm person. I’m still a bit in awe of him whenever I speak to him. He’s everything that a journalist should be – fair, polite and hard working.

Favourite radio/TV commentator?
Barry Davies was the best one on TV although Martin Tyler runs him close these days. Voices you can trust and believe in and add sparkle to the pictures you can see. I remember as a young kid the distinct tones of Bryon Butler on a crackly medium wave radio.

I was fortunate to work with the likes of John Rawling, Jonathan Agnew and Iain Carter in my formative broadcasting years in the BBC and I learnt a lot from them.

If you could introduce one change to improve PR between football clubs and football writers what would it be?
The media are not the enemy – they’re a voice for the clubs to communicate to the fans. I think the clubs sometimes forget that. More openness and trust wouldn’t go amiss.

One sporting event outside football you would love to experience?
The Ashes in Australia with England stuffing them.

Last book read?
Fibber In The Heat by Miles Jupp. He somehow blagged his way onto an England cricket tour to India with the press pack a few years ago. A bizarre but very funny read.

Favourite current TV programme?
Have I Got News For You – especially when they get Jeremy Clarkson to host it.

Your most prized football memorabilia?
I have a few signed shirts and pictures – the best is probably a replica England 1966 shirt signed by Sir Geoff Hurst.

Advice to anyone coming into the football media world?
The line is blurred these days between newspapers, radio, TV and websites – don’t be afraid to embrace more than one. Listen and learn from older, wiser, more experienced colleagues. If you get paid to watch football – however cold and tired you might be sitting in a press box – don’t complain too much. It’s a great job.

Follow Geoff Peters on Twitter @talkSPORTgeoff

THE FAX BEHIND THE MOST SENSATIONAL TRANSFER IN BRITISH FOOTBALL

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Football writers are reluctant to reveal their sources, but here JACK IRVINE tells the details behind the exclusive story of the ground-breaking transfer of former Celtic striker Mo Johnston to Rangers.

By JACK IRVINE

The Sun has been a potent force in Scottish journalism since its launch in 1987.

However in the first couple of years under my editorship there was always a degree of resistance to this “English interloper” into the cosy world of Scottish newspapers then dominated by The Daily Record.

That all changed on July 10, 1989 with a Sun front page headline that read simply “MO JOINS GERS.” Since that day it’s the one story that I am repeatedly questioned about and the one surrounded by myth and misinformation. Did I pay Graeme Souness £100,000 for the story? Was it Rangers owner David Murray or Maurice Johnston’s agent Bill McMurdo who delivered the goods? Why did the Daily Record fail to pick it up when it hit their desks on the evening of July 9?

Well, the truth is much simpler and at the same time an example of good old fashioned journalism and gut instinct tinged with the wee bit of luck that every reporter needs

At the end of June I had attended a Press Fund Charity lunch at the Marriot Hotel in Glasgow. To my delight I won the raffle which was a week for two in Majorca. That evening I showed the hotel details to my wife who said: “What a dump, I’m not going there. Take one of your golfing pals.” I arranged to do just that.

A couple of days later Graeme Souness called me. I had got to know him and Walter Smith because of the number of stories we had broken about Rangers and we had always got on well.

Souness indicated that he had heard about my win and he would be visiting his kids in Majorca following the breakdown of his marriage. His former wife was staying with her parents, who had been resident on the island for a number of years, but he would only be able to see the children for a couple of hours a day and would have a lot of time on his hands.

“How about we team up when I’m there? “said Souness. “And we can play golf and soak up some sun?”

Sneakily I then up upgraded our run of the mill hotel to the five star Sheraton Son Vida where Souness would be staying. Naturally I didn’t share that information with Mrs Irvine.

The pattern was the same every day for the next week. Lying by the pool (oddly the place was deserted), lunch, golf for me and my mate (Graeme didn’t play in these days) then out for dinner every night to the island’s finest restaurants where Graeme was instantly recognised from his days with Liverpool and Sampdoria.

Round about the third bottle of Rioja, Souness would always ask the same question, “Should Rangers sign a Catholic?”

Now remember Souness was married (or about to be unmarried) to a Roman Catholic and as an Edinburgh lad he had never really experienced sectarianism until he joined Rangers in 1986 as player/manager.

He knew only too well that things had to change at Ibrox if only to give them access to top continental players, but I must stress that the questions and the conversations were non-specific and extremely general.

However, I had observed that every day as we lay by the pool Souness was repeatedly approached by a waiter to be informed that a “Mr Rodger was on the phone from Scotland.”

Mr Rodger was the legendary sportswriter Jim Rodger of the Daily Mirror. I say “sportswriter” but to be perfectly honest the then 66-year-old was probably the worst writer in the business. However his contacts were legendary and he had access to every leading football manager in the world, not to forget The Pope and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher who he insisted on calling “hen.”

Souness kept his cards close to his chest and I assumed that Jim was talking to him about some future transfer because the Daily Mirror man was notorious for acting as a go-between between managers and agents. Whether the Mirror ever benefitted from this inside information is a mute point. They were certainly going to miss out in a few days time.

I flew back to Glasgow on the Saturday July 8 to be informed by my wife that we were buying a new house. I think that was my punishment for the Son Vida. Souness was flying back to Edinburgh on the Sunday.

As I’d been skiving for a week I felt obliged to give my deputy the Sunday off and take the editor’s chair. Early in the afternoon our young gofer, a 16-year-old schoolboy called Keith Jackson [now a respected sports writer with the Daily Record] nervously popped his head round the editor’s door and asked if he could speak to me.

The conversation was surreal.

“Mr Irvine, I was round at my girlfriend’s house last night.”

“Mmm, interesting.”

“I saw a fax on her dad’s machine.”

“Yes.”

“It had Mo Johnston’s name on it…”

“Yeah, so?”

“Oh, I should have explained, her dad handles all the insurance for Rangers players.”

The world stopped on its axis. “Bloody hell,” I shouted or maybe something fruitier.

I dialled Souness’s mobile and as luck would have it he had just stepped off the plane at Edinburgh

“Graeme, remember you asked me if you should sign a Catholic? It’s Mo isn’t it?”

Souness, a man of few words simply said: “Call you back.”

About 20 minutes later he called: “Print it” was all he said.

The Sun went into meltdown on that Sunday afternoon. The sports desk, under the brilliant Steve Wolstencroft, teamed up with the news boys and it fell to Derek Stewart Brown to write the front page splash which was quite an achievement considering he had virtually no hard facts apart from the Souness confirmation, Keith’s sight of the fax and my endless conversations in Majorca.

If memory serves me correctly there were 14 news pages alone devoted to the story and sport must have done almost as many. My Daily Record spies told me the next day that when the early editions of The Sun landed on the Record sports desk at Anderston Quay they almost collapsed before phoning star sportswriter Alex Cameron who was in his bed.

When the late man on the Record sports desk explained that The Sun were claiming that Mo was about to join Rangers, Cameron grumpily said: “They’re just taking a flyer. Don’t wake me up again with crap like this.”

The Record boys promptly went back to sleep and have remained that way ever since.

The next morning, Monday, Rangers called a press conference. Sun sportswriter Jim Black told me later that day when the media pack all arrived they were heaping derision on The Sun and at the head of the detractors was one Alex Cameron. Suddenly David Murray and Graeme Souness were followed into the room by Maurice Johnston.

Jim told me: “Alex turned chalk white. It was as if his life was flashing in front of them.”

Apparently when I had called Souness he was on his way to David Murray’s home where Mo and Bill McMurdo were waiting for him. He told them that I had been on the phone and had guessed what was happening. I knew all of them and they agreed that Souness could confirm the story.

From that day on we knew we had broken the Record’s spirit and every big story dropped into my lap.

How much did it cost me? I gave young Keith £500 to go on holidays and that was the end of it. How he ended up on The Day-late Record after such a promising start I’ll never know.

So sorry to disappoint the conspiracy theorists. No bungs. No phone hacking. Just old fashioned journalism. Oh, and of course, an editorial genius at the helm.

This is a chapter from “Henrik, Hairdryers and the Hand of God” edited by Brian Marjoribanks (Back Page Press £8.99).

Scottish Daily Mail sports writer Brian Marjoribanks came up with the idea for the project as a tribute to his late baby son Andrew, who arrived stillborn at 39 weeks on September 12, 2011 – three days before his due date. Moved and inspired by the subsequent flood of letters and cards from across the sports writing fraternity, Brian decided to try to put together a book in honour of his son, with all proceeds going to Sands, the stillbirth and neonatal death charity.

Brian said: “The idea I had was for a book telling terrific sports stories first and foremost, while simultaneously giving the reader a unique insight into a career that fascinates many and enrages even more. I was touched and honoured by the response from my fellow sports writers. Each and every journalist kindly donated an article for no charge and it shines through in the book that it is the work of gifted professionals and good people, who love their job, adore their sport and are passionate about what they do for a living.”

The book includes exclusive articles by leading sports writers and broadcasters including Football Writers’ Association national committee member Patrick Barclay, FWA life member Malcolm Brodie, Roddy Forsyth, Graham Hunter, Tom English, Graham Spiers, Kenny MacDonald, Gerry McNee, Davie Provan, Pat Nevin and Brian Marjoribanks.

Brian said: “The exceptional standard of writing in the book makes it a worthy tribute to my son and all monies raised will go to the Sands charity, which my wife Jennifer and I, sadly, know provide such invaluable support to parents who lose children.”

BT join the battle for Barclays Premier League TV supremacy

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By CHRISTOPHER DAVIES

In the basement of BT’s headquarters in London, a stone’s throw from St Paul’s, Michael Calvin looked at a camera and said: “Welcome to lifesapitch.co.uk.” Rory Smith (The Times), Jason Burt (Sunday Telegraph) and footballer turned journalist Adrian Clarke were about to record the latest podcast for the site, with Arsenal and Manchester City top of the agenda.

Next season BT will become big players on Planet Football, taking some of Sky’s Barclays Premier League games. Michael Jarvis, Head of Corporate Communications, BT Retail, said: “BT won a regulatory hearing which enabled them to sell Sky Sports 1 and 2. Ofcom [the independent regulator] said Sky had to wholesale those channels to us which was a new step for us.

“We’d gone from selling calls to also selling broadband and we believed our customers wanted a bundle including TV. A crucial part of that bundle for some customers was Sky Sports. We wanted to set up a web site to show a commitment to sports fans, to showcase something we thought they’d enjoy and prove BT had something to offer in this market.

“Lifesapitch.co.uk has been going since 2010 and we now have around 200,000 unique users.”

In a short time BT have gone from wholesaling Sky Sports 1 and 2 to owning the Barclays Premier League rights for 38 live games per season, 18 of which are the top pick “so we’ll have some absolutely fantastic matches, most of which will be 12:45 on a Saturday,” said Jarvis.

To retail these, BT have had to set up from scratch a football channel, which will be called BT Sport, and are currently talking to presenters, pundits and those working behind the scenes who will bring us the live broadcasts. BT have also signed up for Aviva Premiership rugby, Italy’s Serie A, France’s Ligue 1, the top tier of Brazilian football and Major League Soccer.

Jake Humphrey, 34, will be the face of BT Sport. A former match reporter with BBC Radio 5 Live, Humphrey began his television career by presenting the 2006 Commonwealth Games before moving on to Football Focus. In 2009 he became the anchor-man for the BBC’s Formula One coverage, while this year Humphrey played a major role in the channel’s coverage of Euro 2012 and the London 2012 Olympic games.

“We’re delighted to get Jake, he’s young, fresh, high profile and has done a lot of football. He suits the BT channel and will bring something new to the table.”

Live football is very much part of satellite television’s programming but 10 years ago a TV football podcast was unheard of. Since then, there has been live coverage of England’s 2010 World Cup qualifier in Ukraine broadcast exclusively on line three years ago and with newspaper circulations showing a general downward trend, the electronic media is a growing force.

Lifesapitch.co.uk, which is updated several times daily, will continue “but develop” said Jarvis. “We’ll be looking at magazine content and it will grow into the television aspect. We are approaching a really pivotal decade for sports broadcasting. BT’s network should cover as much as 90 per cent of UK homes in the next five years so a really fast broadband connection will be widely available.

“The broadcast of the England game was an interesting experiment and the more the fibre network grows the more screening games over broadband will be viable, but in the coming years games will also still be delivered over satellite.

“What’s driven BT’s entry into the sports market is that customers don’t want to buy products separately; they are given a better deal if they buy their phone-line and broadband together.” While the financial details have yet to be finalised, Jarvis said: “There will be a fantastic offer for BT customers, they will get the best deal for Barclays Premier League football on the new channel. Sky Sports customers will still be able to get the channel easily.”

BT’s “home” will be the state of the art international broadcast centre at Olympic Park in Stratford. In the meantime, Calvin and the studio guests recorded the latest podcast with Burt adamant: “If City don’t finish fourth Roberto Mancini will have to go. He also seems to attack the wrong targets in the dressing-room. The players are disillusioned by the manager.” Clarke’s view went one step further: “He’s a dead man walking, even if they win the Barclays Premier League he’ll still go.”

Calvin wound up proceedings by looking ahead to the January transfer market which gave Smith the platform for his dry wit. “Xabi Alonso to return to Anfield?” asked Calvin. “Oh yes, I’m sure he’d want to leave Real Madrid where he’s winning honours every year to resume his career with Martin Skrtel…”

And so ended the latest lifesapitch.co.uk, but in August 2013 BT will be in our homes, not just on the electronic media.

WHY THE PRESS HAVE TO PLAY POLITICS WITH SIR ALEX FERGUSON

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By CHRISTOPHER DAVIES

SIR ALEX FERGUSON has broken just about every record in English football during his 26 years as manager of Manchester United. The most ignominious, however, is that the Scot has banned more journalists from the club than any other, a matter which greatly concerns the Football Writers’ Association.

Clubs can ban any journalist, or any person, from their property as they wish and United, sadly, are not the only club to ban reporters for what, in many cases, is being guilty of no more than printing a story that is 100 per cent accurate. Football writers are not cheerleaders or public relations executives for clubs; they are there to write independent, honest, accurate views and news yet ironically what every club should demand from a football writer can still lead to a ban.

Covering Manchester for a national daily newspaper is enjoyable, challenging and competitive with City and United rarely leaving writers without a decent story. Yet the difference between Roberto Mancini and Ferguson could hardly be more different and while the Italian is an occasional no-show at press conferences, the Scot dodges the written media after domestic games, MUTV the source of managerial quotes for those covering the Reds.

The obvious conclusion is that football writers should take a firmer stand with Ferguson, but as leading Manchester-based correspondents told a packed audience at the Barclays-sponsored FWA Live evening, it is not quite as easy as that.

“You have to handle Fergie in a certain way,” said Ian Ladyman of the Daily Mail. “Believe you me, we have all tried to stand up to him in, let’s say, an aggressive or confrontational way, and it won’t work. He’ll either refuse to answer you or ban you. So you have to be pragmatic.”

Neil Custis of The Sun said: “In the old days at Carrington, there used to be a small media room with about half a dozen press guys, the TV cameras weren’t there, but now there are seven or eight cameras present. We used to have rows which he seemed to enjoy, he was able to call me any name and it wouldn’t bother me. The cameras are there now and I remember two years ago I had a row with him in the middle of a press conference and he banned me for 18 months for standing up to him.

“As Ian said, you have to handle him in a different way. Ferguson does not like being challenged. After I was banned my boss sat me down and told me I had to play politics to work things out with Fergie.”

Mancini always seems to be in the middle of a crisis, despite leading City to success in the FA Cup and winning the title last season. Custis said: “I think Roberto Mancini has become too easy a target for some people because he doesn’t have the longevity [of Ferguson] and they don’t think he has the staying power. Sometimes they are too disrespectful to him.”

Custis stressed that despite the perception of some fans, the media cover clubs in a balanced, neutral manner. He said: “It all depends on how the club’s doing. They think we pick on people, we go for certain people…if Manchester United are doing badly we have to ask Sir Alex Ferguson why this is happening…we’ll ask him the same questions as anyone.”

Mancini was unhappy at the projection given to his disclosure that he had talks with other clubs last season before signing a new five-year deal with City in July. Ladyman believes Mancini has been too honest for his own good. He said: “We don’t go to a press conference thinking ‘what question can we ask to get the right answer?’ If Roberto Mancini thinks he’s being taken advantage of then maybe he should consider not being too open with his answers.”

The two Manchester managers share one common bond: both clubs are in the hands of long distance owners – City by the UAE-based Sheikh Mansour and United by the publicity shy Malcolm Glazer, who also owns the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League.

Steve Bates of the Sunday People said “From day one, Malcolm Glazer, like Roman Abramovich, has never engaged the fans so there has been a disrespect towards him. I don’t think he’s ever been to a United match and nobody is pleased with the way they’ve loaded United up with the debt.”

Former United full-back Gary Neville made the point the American is not the first unpopular owner/chairman at Old Trafford. He said: “There has been absolutely no interference from the Glazer family at all. [Former chairman] Martin Edwards wasn’t that popular.”

Ladyman added: “When they unveiled the statue of Sir Alex at Old Trafford last month people came from all over the world to be there, but there was no member of the owner’s family present. When we put that to Manchester United we were told it was because it was Thanksgiving Day.”

“If Sir Alex Ferguson had not been at Manchester United they would seriously struggle. He has kept the club together in the face of so much debt…for so much of United’s profits to go to paying a debt is an absolute disgrace.”