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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 Live: London

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Barclays PR Shoot 10/04/2014The latest FWA Live, sponsored by Barclays, was another rousing success. A packed audience at the Soho Hotel in London heard some strong views from the panel which comprised Andy Dunn, chief sports writer of the Sunday Mirror and chairman of the Football Writers’ Association; Martin Lipton, chief football writer of the Daily Mirror; Alan Curbishley, the former Charlton and West Ham manager who had an eventful six weeks as technical director of Fulham; and Ray Wilkins, the former Chelsea and Manchester United (plus nine other clubs) midfielder who more recently was assistant first team coach at Chelsea and Fulham).

MC for the evening was Paul McCarthy, executive secretary of the FWA.Barclays PR Shoot 10/04/2014

All proceeds from the event went to Beating Bowel Cancer, the charity represented by Ben Woolnough whose late father, Brian, was chief sports writer of the Daily Star and a long-standing member of the FWA.

Christopher Davies was there to cover the event for footballwriters.co.uk

The panel kicked-off with Brendan Rodgers, who is doing such a fine job at Liverpool.

AC: I think we all wondered if Brendan had been elevated too soon.Barclays PR Shoot 10/04/2014

AD: The jury was out for a long time but Rodgers deserves all credit he’s getting.

RW: At Chelsea [where Rodgers worked under Jose Mourinho] he watched, listened to and studied a guy at the top of his job.

AD: Brendan had some big decisions when he took over. He got rid of [Pepe] Reina and the club’s record signing [Andy Carroll] without giving him a chance and has been proved right.

RW: His bigger decisions will be next season because he can’t buy young players again, he’s got to buy established players. He will ask ‘can we progress by keep buying young players?’ No. For him to succeed he has to go on and bring in established players. By the way, can I say I think Steven Gerrard should win the [FWA’s] Footballer of the Year award by a mile. He has never played in a great Liverpool team, but has continually dragged the team up by its bootlaces. In Turkey, they were 3-0 down [to AC Milan] and it was Stevie who got Liverpool back in the game. Before the final he scored a wonder goal against Olympiacos to keep them in the tournament. For me he is a great footballer. The word ‘great’ is used too often but it is true with him

ML: Rafa Benitez didn’t trust him with the more defensive role he has now.

RW: He is the best midfield passer from deep position in the Barclays Premier League. I remember against Fulham this season he took four players out with one pass. His ability to adapt from being a more gung-ho midfielder has helped Liverpool and will help England in the World Cup.

PM: Manuel Pellegrini has made a positive impression at Manchester City…

AD: He has conducted himself well apart from one blip [when he criticised the referee after a Champions League tie]. He does not get carried away in victory or defeat. Perhaps Aguero came back too quickly from injury but in his first season in the Barclays Premier League you have to give a 60- year-old rookie a chance.

AC: There was always a crisis around the corner when Roberto Mancini was there. The way he handled Carlos Tevez was ridiculous, his comments about Tevez devalued the player to an extent some clubs might have considered it a sackable offence. He was always on edge, never seemed relaxed and they needed someone more affable. Pellegrini is far more relaxed.

PM: I remember talking to David Platt [Mancini’s assistant] and he told me Mancini had said: “Go out and buy trees so no one can see fights in training.” Platt said: “Why not just don’t fight?”

AC: The Barclays Premier League is not La Liga and when City were beaten at Cardiff he was was stunned by that but learned from it.

PM: Manchester United are a team close to your heart, Ray, do you have sympathy for David Moyes?

RW: I do not have sympathy with Manchester United but I do with David. The club should have been far more active in the transfer market last summer, they let David down there. Some criticism of him has been justified, some not, but it was an ageing squad he inherited and now it’s a year older. This isn’t a one-window scenario, it’s two or three and it will be hard to buy A-list players without the Champions League.

PM: What other blue chip company would appoint someone from a short-list of one?

ML: I can understand why you would want Sir Alex Ferguson to have an input. He wanted David Moyes to succeed and not succeeding is a blow to British coaching.

RW: Given the squad, would a foreign coach have done better?

ML: The issue is clubs won’t want to take that risk on a British manager. Watching United, they have lost their sense of fearlessness. When teams went to Old Trafford, United would come at you while at Everton it was more about resilience and hard work. Away from home that can work and United’s away results have been good but at home they have had shocking results.

AC: At Everton, David would dilly and dally over transfers but he was always shopping at Sainsburys. Now he is not shopping at Sainsburys and sometimes with less money it’s easier. You make small mistakes, if you spend £10 million and it doesn’t work out you can get away with it but some of the targets [at United] were pie in the sky.

RW: If Everton want £15 million for Leighton Baines, just buy him. United could afford it. If they want him, buy him. For me, the biggest failure in the January transfer market was Julian Draxler of Schalke 04 not going to Arsenal but they wouldn’t pay the asking price. Buy him, it’s not your money. A new face can be so important at that stage of the season.

PM: Would anyone at Arsenal sack Arsene Wenger?

ML: No, they are all scared witless of Wenger. No one has the courage to dismiss him. Personally I think he is too good a manager to let go.

PM: And you have to be careful what you wish for.

AC: No other top four club in Europe would let their manager go eight years without winning a trophy and still be there. It’s a unique situation at Arsenal.

RW: We cannot afford to lose great managers, we need his knowledge and we have to keep him in the Barclays Premier League.

PM: Do Arsenal look stale?

AD: They were humiliated at Anfield and pretty well so at Goodison, too. In big games do you think does he prepare for the opposition?

AC: He doesn’t. Ex-Arsenal players I know say he concentrates on his team, it’s all about them. They don’t discuss the opposition too much and this is not working.

RW: When he started winning with Arsenal he had an unbelievable back five. Seaman in goal, Dixon, Bould, Adams and Winterburn. In midfield there were Vieira and Petit and they were huge…beasts. More recently, at Chelsea our main function was to stop Arsenal coming through the centre of midfield, we made them go wide because JT and whoever could deal with balls into our box. I said to our players: ‘Make contact with them because they are weak…fragile.’ Drogba is the dog’s. The bee’s knees. He’d beat them up. Arsenal have never replaced that back-four.

PM: What about Roberto Martinez at Everton?

AC: I thought Roberto Martinez would have a more difficult job than David Moyes. I wasn’t really one of his biggest fans, but what he’s done this year is to improve Everton. Most teams go to the Emirates shaking in their boots and Everton took game to Arsenal.

AD: Everton fans won’t mind finishing sixth or seventh as long as Liverpool don’t win the Barclays Premier League.

PM: How do you think England will do at the World Cup and what would be success?

AD: Qualifying from the group and I think they will. Everyone is excited about a core of young players and what we want is for them to show there is hope for the future. No one expects them to win or even get beyond quarter-finals but I hope they make it enjoyable for us to watch England again.

AC: Roy Hodgson has a big decision – does he go with the young players? I hope he does. Over the years there has been a siege mentality around England, the players seem unhappy. I look at the England set-up and the players don’t look as if they are enjoying themselves. Roy must get them playing as they do for their clubs.

AD: In 2002 they were beaten in quarter-finals by Brazil, a really heart-breaking defeat as they would have played Turkey next but the England players couldn’t wait to get home. They did not enjoy it.

RW: I was in Kobe and the hotel was bloody enormous. Five-star luxury is perfectly right but to live in a room by themselves…? There was no banter and I think they have lost that along the way. If we get to the quarter-finals I’ll be absolutely delighted but win it? No chance. We are not good enough. I believe a European team can win the World Cup for the first time in South America but it will be Spain or Germany…maybe the Dutch.

AD: I wouldn’t look beyond Brazil though Spain will be major players again. The Spain team that won in 2010 had seven from Barcelona, three from Real Madrid and one who joined Barcelona afterwards. That will probably be the case in Brazil. Spain could pick a team from the Barclays Premier League*. England do not have that strength in depth.

ML: It’s Argentina for me. They are tactically talented and do not have the pressure of Brazil who still have the memory of the 1950 defeat which may wear them down. Germany are getting stronger but I’m not quite sure if Spain are where they were in 2010.

RW: We must be realistic. We don’t have enough world-class players. Brazil? Semi-finals max.

ML: In tournament history, how many major teams have England beaten away from Wembley in the knockout stages? None.

AD: I’d take Andy Carroll. You can afford a maverick pick. If you use him as an impact sub…I don’t think bringing on Rickie Lambert against Italy would unsettle them too much.

ML: I’m not sure if referees will allow Andy Carroll to get within five yards of an opponent.

*How about: De Gea (Man Utd) – Azpilcueta (Chelsea), Cuellar (A. Villa), Chico Flores (Swansea), Monreal (Arsenal) – David Silva (Man City), Mata (Man Utd), Cazorla (Arsenal) – Navas (Man City), Michu (Swansea), Negredo (Man City). Manager: Roberto Martinez (Everton).

MORE FROM THE PANEL NEXT WEEK.

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.

FWA Live: Lumley Castle

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Photography: Action Images

BIRD: Moyes didn’t inherit the greatest United team and needs another transfer window to get some deals done

BALL: Referees have a horrendous job that is getting harder and harder

DUNN: In the Merseyside derby both managers lost their tactical marbles

CASS: The doubts around AVB are driven by the media

HARPER: You need fire in your belly and ice in your head for a local derby

YOUNG: If Mike Riley apologises for every refereeing mistake he’ll be on the phone all the time

THE LATEST FWA Live, sponsored by Barclays, was held at Lumley Castle in Chester-Le-Street.

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.

A variety of subjects was on the agenda, kicking-off with the good and bad of English football.

McCarthy: We’ve seen allegations of match fixing this week, we’ve had diving, apologies for referees’ decisions…surely there is something we can cherish from the Barclays Premier League and English football?

Cass:  The test is when you have an international week and there is no Barclays Premier League on the Saturday. There’s a hole in everybody’s life. What do we do? I have to go shopping. We want our football on Saturday because it is such a terrific competition and the standard is so much better than it was 20 years ago.

Dunn: I was at a game last weekend, Everton v Liverpool, and I don’t think any other league in the world could give us a match like that. If the Kevin Mirallas challenge [on Luis Suarez] dominated phone-ins, then there is something wrong. It was a game that had everything. Both managers lost their tactical marbles to a certain extent, it was like Sunday morning football on steroids…you attack, we attack. Sometimes it’s a sweeping generalisation to say the Barclays Premier League is the best in the world, but I struggle to think where else you would get that intensity and excitement. We create this sort of passion and the players, no matter where they are from…there were probably only four of five local players, but everyone took it on board, what the derby meant. Yes, the ref should have sent-off Mirallas, but why don’t we just say what a fabulous game of football it was?

McCarthy: Do players get caught up in that type of atmosphere, Steve? You’ve played in north-east derbies…

Harper: You need fire in your belly and ice in your head. For Newcastle v Sunderland games, I thought the away derbies were easier because there is less pressure. To say the home fans wanted you to win is an understatement. At the Stadium of Light there’d be 48,000 and if you’ve got anything about you, you say: “I’m going to spoil your day.” You cannot help but get caught up in it though the best players keep their cool.

McCarthy: Do we in the media look for negatives too much? Andy spoke about the Mirallas challenge dominating a great Merseyside derby…

Young: It is inevitable in our industry because the way the game is covered means that every incident is picked up. We would not be doing our jobs properly if we did not question whether decisions are right.

Bird: As journalists we get caught in the soap opera surrounding football – the controversies and feuds between managers. What we miss as football writers is sitting back and marvelling at the pace, the athleticism and skill of the players, how tactics are evolving. We are privileged to watch such quality in the game.

Ball: I think you are right to report on these things, but because everything is so over-analysed, before long we could have a whiter than white game, a non-contact sport.

Dunn: The Wes Brown tackle on Charlie Adam is interesting. His red card was rescinded and we all knew it was a bad decision. From a referee’s point of view, I think they can be overloaded with guidelines and what they must do. The idea that if you use excessive force to win the ball and follow through it’s a red card…Wes had a bad first touch, but did he use excessive force? Well yes, apart from the fact he didn’t touch Adam.

Ball: I feel sorry for referees, genuinely. I think they have a horrendous job. In a high intensity sport they must make a snap decision in a split second and if they get it wrong they are criticised. Their job is getting harder and harder.

Cass: We are covering a match and as well as reporting on who scored the goals and things like that, we are now looking at how many mistakes the ref makes. Has he made a bad one? If he does, then he gets pilloried. We shouldn’t be looking at them all the time.

McCarthy: Mike Riley apologised to West Bromwich Albion manager Steve Clarke for Chelsea’s penalty the other week. Should he have done this? Has he made a rod for his own back?

Young: Gus Poyet spoke to Mike Riley about the Wes Brown sending-off. I don’t know whether he was opening some lines of communication to managers or whether he feels every time a bad decision is made he should apologise. If that’s the case he’s never going to be off the phone.

[Mike Riley, head of the Professional Game Match Officials Board, has had regular communication with Barclays Premier League managers over the past four years to discuss refereeing matters. West Bromwich decided to put details of his conversation with their manager on their web site].

Dunn:  Mike was quite within his right to think Steve Clarke was not going to make it public. He wouldn’t expect managers to tell people what was said in a phone call. Do managers ring referees and say “I’m sorry my player tried to con you?”

McCarthy: Andre Villas-Boas is apparently a man on the brink 12 games into the season. There always has to be a crisis somewhere…

Bird: Speaking as someone who’s had 27 managers in 11 years in the north-east, we know the perils of instability and impatience. Tottenham need to give him more than 12 games. He’s got seven new players who need to settle in and it takes time to become used to the Barclays Premier League.

Cass: Who’s driven the doubt with AVB? It’s us, it’s driven by the media. He’s 11/8 to be the next manager to be sacked which is absolutely ridiculous.

McCarthy: But no one writes stories like this off their own back…

Cass:  I don’t think he will get the sack. Martin Jol might because Fulham are near the bottom, but not AVB. Someone said they have three points more than at this stage last season.

Dunn: Statistically this is their third best start in a decade so there should be no major crisis. It’s not so much where they are [in the table], it was the last defeat [6-0 at Manchester City] that started it. You can buy all these players, but Spurs lost Gareth Bale, someone who won so many matches for them, who changed so many games individually. You sell him and replace him even with seven good players, you are still going to feel the effect.

McCarthy:  Manchester United stood firm over Wayne Rooney and Liverpool did over Luis Suarez, could Tottenham have stood firm over Gareth Bale?

Bird: Would Bale have wanted that? The chance to join  Real Madrid? Can you stand in the way of an £80m transfer? It’s a tough one to turn down for a chairman.

McCarthy:  Have they spent the Bale money wisely?

Young: They broke their transfer record three times and the concern is that apart from Christian Eriksen, none has really set world on fire, but it is very early to make a judgment and say the fellow who has been told to to bring these players in  should be sacked.

McCarthy: If AVB goes, shouldn’t the job of the one who did the deals, Franco Baldini [Spurs’ technical director], be on the line, too?

Dunn: A few weeks ago most of us were saying Baldini was a great appointment and was the person Arsene Wenger should’ve had to do the deals [at Arsenal]. We were lauding him for the deals he had done and saying how good his contacts were to make these deals happen.  AVB will always have a problem in that a lot of people like Harry Redknapp.

McCarthy: Talking about the intensity on managers, it was not that long ago David Moyes was under scrutiny, but the 5-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen eased that situation.

Bird: United were right back to form in Leverkusen. Succeeding the greatest manager in the history of the Premier League means any trophy would be a success this season. He didn’t inherit the greatest Manchester United team of all time and needs another transfer window to get some deals done. I don’t think they’ll win the title [this season], but either Cup would ease the pressure and get him started.

Cass: We are too quick to praise and too quick to criticise. Moyes knows what Fergie’s left him and [winning] anything this season will be a bonus, though no there is no question he’ll win title in the next few years.

Dunn: I think it will be two or three seasons before comparison [with Ferguson] stops and for it to be David Moyes’ team

McCarthy:  Is it the same in the north-east?

Bird: Bobby [Robson]did great job, but that was 10 years ago. There have been some good and bad managers at St James’ Park, some strange and egotistical.

Young: Some did not accept the ethos and history of the club. Ruud Gullit was extremely dismissive of the derby the day before the game. For two weekends of the season the north-east is the centre of national attention, the games live on Sky Sports. His attitude was reflected in his team selections

McCarthy: He has played in Milan derbies…

Young: That’s why he was dismissive of our derbies. He’d spend 10 minutes talking about the Milan derbies before ours.

Harper:  He was dismissive of everything. Sam Allardyce came to Newcastle and tried to change too much too quickly. He plays percentage football. I couldn’t take a free-kick until everyone was in a ring around where the ball would go and ready to win the knock-down. His way was alien to the playing staff and the fans. Bobby and [Kevin] Keegan bought in to what the public wanted.

McCarthy: Will Jose Mourinho, who the FWA are honouring at our Gala Tribute Evening at the Savoy in January, recapture the magic of his first spell at Chelsea?

Cass: No.

McCarthy: Thanks, Bob.

Cass: I don’t think he’s as hungry because he’s been so successful elsewhere. He came back because the fans wanted him and Roman Abramovich, who never listens to fans, did this time. I don’t think he’s the same type of manager he was first time round.  He has just as good a team, but not the same motivation.

Dunn: I disagree. I see nothing less in his appetite and he has a point to prove. He was a failure at Real Madrid and was forced out of arguably the greatest club job in world football. He would have been hurt by that and has a point to prove.

Ball:  I like him. He brings something special and if he thinks people don’t believe he’ll be a success that will drive him on.

NEXT TIME: What the panel think of Mike Ashley, Joe Kinnear, Ellis Short plus the inside track on match-fixing.

BARCELONA VS REAL MADRID -THE BIGGEST RIVALRY IN WORLD FOOTBALL

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No one can accuse Sid Lowe of cutting any corners as he wrote Fear And Loathing In La Liga: Barcelona vs Real Madrid. His first draft was 199,000 words, of which 70,000 – almost a book in itself – ended on the editing floor.

Barcelona claim to be “mes que un club” – more than a club. Lowe’s fascinating account of the good, the bad and the ugly of what he claims is the sport’s biggest rivalry is more than a football book. He is well placed to write about both the occasionally beautiful game plus the politics and cultural differences that are inseparable from the two clubs that dominate Spanish football. Lowe went to Spain 12 years ago as a 25-year-old to write a PHD on right wing politics and fascism in the 1930’s Spain. He was already covering Spanish football, though little did he know what was to come. The Barclays Premier League may dominate in England, but such is the popularity of La Liga that Saturday’s clásico is almost as eagerly awaited as anything the domestic game has to offer.

“In 2001 when I came to Spain it was the summer Real Madrid bought Zinedine Zidane,” said Lowe as the era of the galáctico moved into top gear. “The interest from David Beckham made a big difference while the importance of the Champions League obliges English fans to take an interest in other countries. The success of Real and Barcelona plus the Spain national team and the crossover of Spanish players into England…a lot of ingredients have come together which, from my point of view, have been ideal.”

Writing a book on any rivalry inevitably leads to accusations of bias, but Lowe’s allegiances are with Real Oviedo of the Spanish second division B. Oviedo was where he was based during the third year of his university degree in 1996/97. As Spanish football gained a growing cult following on Sky Sports, Lowe became a regular contributor to, among others, the Guardian, World Soccer and talkSPORT.

The idea of writing a book on one of the most intriguing and bitter rivalries in world football did not initially appeal to Lowe. He said: “I’ve always tried to champion the other teams in Spain and undermine the dominance of Real and Barcelona. The deciding factor was the run of four clásicos in 18 days [in the spring of 2011] when the impression was these teams had eclipsed everyone else in the world. There was a feeling there could never be anything as big as this again, though since then neither have won the Champions League.

“I grew into the idea of the book, but if I was going to do it, I was going to do it right. By that I meant trawling through the archives and interviewing as many people involved with the clubs as possible. I wanted it to have a value for Spaniards as well, not just an English market.”

No one who has read the book, which will be published in Spanish early next year, could doubt Lowe’s research has been anything than thorough, his knowledge of Spanish politics a helpful tool as he explains the restrictions – from a Barça perspective – of the days of the Franco regime to the era of Pep Guardiona and José Mourinho and Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

There are many rivalries in world football based on more than football, Celtic v Rangers the closest to home example, but el clásico is, according to Lowe “everything the other rivalries are and more.” He continued: “Boca Juniors v River Plate may, like el clásico, be the game that dominates Argentina, but they aren’t as big internationally as Real and Barça. Celtic v Rangers has the sectarian, political and social element which el clásico has, but personally I think the feeling between Real and Barça is even greater.

“On top of everything else, Real and Barça are two of the best teams in the world with the two best players, there is the social-political element with a sense of national identification where one is seen as a representative of Spain and the other sees itself and is seen as a representative of Catalonia. No other rivalry has the symbolic charge or the sheer weight of representativeness of Real and Barça.”

It is impossible to understate the importance of el clásico. In the book Lowe writes: “They are two footballing behemoths, eponymous representatives of the two biggest cities in Spain – different cities with different identities, seemingly locked in permanent confrontation, cities whose political and cultural contexts are different. More than just football clubs, these are powerful and democratic institutions. Four national newspapers a day are essentially dedicated to them – two in Madrid, two in Barcelona – and the pressure can be as brutal as the power is seductive.”

The late Sir Bobby Robson, who coached Barcelona, once claimed: “Catalonia is a country and Barcelona is its army.”

The games when Guardiola and Mourinho went head-to-head were classic clásicos. Mourinho’s debut clásico took place back in November 2010 and Madrid were demolished 5-0 at the Camp Nou. Under Guardiola, Barça triumphed in five of the 11 matches, Mourinho’s Real winning twice, one of those in extra-time.

It was a very special mini-era and Lowe said: “I don’t think you could get four games as big as the four clásicos in 18 days which were perfectly set up. There was a La Liga game, then a Copa del Rey final followed by two Champions League semi-finals, at that stage only the third time in history they had met at that stage.

“Guardiola against Mourinho, Messi against Ronaldo…two sets of men who appear to represent their clubs perfectly. As a narrative it was sensational.”

The coaches have gone to Bayern Munich and Chelsea respectively, but Ronaldo and Messi remain, the latter to the former’s frustration – putting it mildly – invariably pipping the Portugal captain in individual honours and awards.

Ronaldo has been joined by Gareth Bale who should make his clásico debut at Camp Nou on Saturday where the former Tottenham forward will experience a whole new world of rivalry.

Lowe said: “The scrutiny is immense, he will have to become used to every little thing he does being poured over. He will have to be clear in his mind who the media are. By that I mean he will be slaughtered, come what may, by Mundo Deportivo and Sport, the Catalan sports dailies. They will only criticise him in Madrid if he makes mistakes. MARCA and AS are Madrid-supporting papers and if he was to have a good clásico that would give him six months free from pressure.”

Bale has more than football to deal with as his career with Real, which has been interrupted by injury, reaches an early peak on Saturday. Lowe said: “There are things beyond the price tag, the significance of the clubs and the media pressure. He has to settle in Madrid, learn the language, become friends with team-mates and learn the style of football which will be different, not as up-and-down as he’s used to, though Real can be quite a direct side.

“When players leave Spain, how they look back on it can be less to do with how well they have played, but how they enjoyed their time here. Michael Owen was reasonably successful [with Real] but considers it a failure because he never settled. Jonathan Woodgate was very popular and despite all his injuries would tell you he enjoyed his time in Spain. Steve McManaman would say the same, so would Gary Lineker, but Mark Hughes probably wouldn’t.

“Success is important, of course, but there are things less tangible that make you look back with satisfaction.”

*Fear And Loathing In La Liga: Barcelona vs Real Madrid by Sid Lowe (Yellow Jersey Press, £18.99).

‘WIGAN ARE PROOF THAT FOOTBALL DREAMS CAN STILL COME TRUE,’ said Roberto Martinez

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Photography: Action Images

David Moyes was given a standing ovation, Roberto Martinez reminded everyone that you do not need a billionaire owner to be successful and Phil Parkinson was granted a return visit to the Capital One Cup final later this season even though Bradford City were knocked out by Huddersfield Town in the first round last month.

“Three things are guaranteed at this dinner,” said Paul Hetherington as the chairman introduced the Football Writers’ Association Northern Branch’s 2013 Managers’ Awards Dinner, sponsored by Barclays, at the Radisson Edwardian hotel in Manchester. The first concerned the bar takings which needs no explanation. Hetherington added: “Another is that Sir Alex Ferguson will win an award and a third is that a manager from the north-east will be honoured.”

First up was Jason Ainsley, manager of Spennymoor Town who maintained what is becoming a north-east tradition as Moors beat Tunbridge Wells in the FA Carlsberg Vase. Gateshead-based Dunston UTS in 2012 had followed a hat-trick of wins by Whitley Bay. “I am extremely proud to receive this award in front of so many top-class managers,” said Ainsley. “We’re a small club in the north-east, but this means a lot to everyone here.”

Wembley held bitter-sweet memories for Wrexham player-manager Andy Morrell last season. The Welsh club won the FA Carlsberg Trophy, but were then beaten in the Blue Square Bet Premier playoff final by Newport County. Steve Davis, who led Crewe Alexandra to Johnstone’s Paint Trophy final triumph over Southend United, was honoured as was Parkinson, whose Bradford stunned the big guns of the Barclays Premier League by reaching the Capital One Cup final against Swansea City.

The Bantams lost to Michael Laudrup’s team, but Parkinson had happier Wembley memories after Bradford won promotion to League One via the playoffs. Parkinson said: “We had 64 games last season and you don’t get through those without having good people working with you and [assistant manager] Steve Parkin deserves a special round of applause. To be at Wembley…to win at Wembley…is something I’ll never forget.”

In the charity raffle, which has raised around £100,000 for various good causes over the years – the Friends of Muscular Dystrophy were Sunday’s recipients – Parkinson won two tickets for this season’s Capital One Cup final, which the Bradford manager returned so the prize could go to another guest.

Micky Adams’ recent hip replacement operation prevented the Port Vale manager, whose club secured automatic promotion from League Two, from attending. There were no such problems for Steve Evans of Rotherham United who made it a third promotion from League Two for northern clubs.

The most dramatic promotion in any league last season was surely that of Doncaster Rovers from League One. In the fourth minute of stoppage time in the final game of the season at Brentford – “it was our 46th game of the season and it was winner takes all,” said Rovers’ manager at the time Bryan Flynn – referee Michael Oliver pointed to the spot after Dean Furman had fouled Toumani Diagouraga.

Bees substitute Marcello Trotta took the responsibility from designated penalty taker Kevin O’Connor, but the Italian’s effort crashed against the underside of the crossbar. As Brentford cursed their luck the ball was cleared upfield to Billy Paynter who ran half the length of the pitch unchallenged before passing to James Coppinger to score the only goal of the match.

For Doncaster, the title; for Brentford, the playoffs and Flynn said: “Eighteen seconds and six inches but more importantly, the desire of a 32-year-old who ran 70 yards to tap in the winner decided our season. I kept signalling to Billy to stay just inside their half [to remain onside]. The ball came to him and Coppinger ran 70 yards to receive the ball and score…I was thinking ‘oh well, here comes the playoffs’ and then within a minute we were champions.”

Family commitments prevented Steve Bruce, who guided Hull City back to the Barclays Premier League on a thrilling last day of the Championship, from attending. Sir Alex Ferguson, whose last act as Manchester United manager was to secure the Reds’ 20th title by a remarkable 11 points, was similarly absent. “Arrangements have been made to give them their awards over a damn good lunch,” said Hetherington.

Moyes, Ferguson’s chosen successor, was among a star-studded audience and received a standing ovation when introduced by host Vince Miller.

The man who took over from Moyes at Everton, Martinez, was presented with his award for leading Wigan Athletic to their 1-0 FA Cup final victory over Manchester City, the first time the Latics had won domestic football’s most prestigious cup competition.

Martinez paid special tribute to Wigan chairman Dave Whelan and said: “Most people think that only the teams with huge investments are allowed to win the big trophies…the major trophies. I’d like to take this opportunity to tell everyone that that what happened at Wigan Athletic is proof that football dreams can still happen.

*The FA Cup runners-up will not qualify for a place in the Europa League from 2015/16. At the moment, if the FA Cup winners have qualified for the Champions League then the runners-up go into the Europa League. UEFA have changed the regulation after most national associations indicated they would rather have an extra place from their domestic league qualifying for the Europa League rather than a losing cup finalist. The concern was that a side struggling in the top division or a team from the country’s second tier could be handed a European place by losing the final.