THE third FWA Live event on May 25 was another huge success. A packed audience at the Soho Hotel in London were entertained by a panel which comprised: Jason Burt (chief football writer, Sunday Telegraph), Andy Dunn (chief sports writer, Sunday Mirror and chairman of the FWA), Geoff Shreeves (Sky Sports), Laura Williamson (Daily Mail) and Oliver Holt (chief sports writer, Daily Mirror) plus West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce. The MC was Paul McCarthy, executive secretary of the FWA.
BURT: We forget how difficult at times Mourinho was to deal with, people look at him through rose-tinted glasses
DUNN: Sir Alex Ferguson should earn far more than he does…the Glazers have doubled their investment and he’s responsible for that
ALLARDYCE: Why does someone at Chelsea not say “give David Moyes the job?”
SHREEVES: Roman Abramovich doesn’t believe Moyes will bring him sexy football
WILLIAMSON: When you see the Suarez incident it’s more shocking than a leg-breaking tackle
HOLT: Some of the reaction to Suarez has been pathetic, the worst type of lynch mob mentality
By CHRISTOPHER DAVIES
THE third FWA Live event on May 25 was another huge success. A packed audience at the Soho Hotel in London were entertained by a panel which comprised: Jason Burt (chief football writer, Sunday Telegraph), Andy Dunn (chief sports writer, Sunday Mirror and chairman of the FWA), Geoff Shreeves (Sky Sports), Laura Williamson (Daily Mail) and Oliver Holt (chief sports writer, Daily Mirror) plus West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce. The MC was Paul McCarthy, executive secretary of the FWA.
McCarthy thanked Barclays, sponsors of the Football Writers’ Association, and said that donations on the evening would go to the Brian Woolnough charity for cancer. Brian, who was represented by his son Ben, was known to millions as chief sports writer of the Daily Star and presenter of Sky Sports’ Sunday Supplement. He sadly lost his battle against cancer last year.
The Q&A session started with the 10-game suspension handed to Luis Suarez for biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic.
Holt: I think everyone accepts what he did was wrong. No one argues that he should not be punished…it was animalistic and shocking. My own view is that he should have got the standard three-game ban for violent conduct. If biting is 10 games, don’t ban John Terry for four for racism. Don’t ban Suarez for 10 games when Callum McManaman got nothing, don’t ban him for 10 when Pedro Mendes needed oxygen after being elbowed by Ben Thatcher who got eight. How does Suarez get 10?
Allardyce: They took his previous into account. I’ve been there. “Mr Allardyce about your previous disciplinary misconduct…”
Burt: He was warned about his behaviour when he was banned for the racial abuse of Patrice Evra.
Shreeves: To bite someone is revolting and reprehensible, but as Ruud Gullit said [on Sky Sports] he got a seven-game ban [in Holland] and didn’t learn a thing from it.
McCarthy: Is there a danger the Daily Mail has been leading campaign against Suarez which many people, particularly on Merseyside, will think has led to this? “Spineless” was the back-page headline. How much part do newspapers play in a decision-making process?
Williamson: I hope they don’t because that is the job of an independent FA disciplinary panel, but in reality those outside factors will be factors. When you see the incident it’s more shocking than a leg-breaking tackle…then you are hopefully trying to win the ball – it happens in football. Biting someone’s arm is unacceptable…
Shreeves: Which part of the body is more acceptable?
Williamson: Biting is not acceptable anywhere on the body and that is where my paper has been very strong.
McCarthy: Andy, you were astonished at some of the comments Brendan Rodgers made in his press conference today…
Dunn: What Brendan said basically portrayed Suarez as a victim and he is absolutely nothing of the sort. It’s really a six-game ban, the rest of the season doesn’t matter, Liverpool are going to finish seventh. When you start to compare the severity of penalties as Ollie did…I understand where he’s coming from and it was wrong Jermain Defoe was not punished [for allegedly biting Javier Mascherano], it was wrong John Terry only got four games for what he did…but if you set a bad precedent you ignore it and move on. You can’t say the FA weren’t severe enough on one player and when they are severe say “you only did that to him.” So would you say if Suarez had been given a three-game ban that would be the tariff for biting? The same as for an over-the-top tackle. Once you start setting tariffs you are on dangerous territory.
Shreeves: Where does biting sit with all of us? I think it’s the same as spitting. [Goran] Popov [of West Bromwich] got three games for spitting at Kyle Walker. So if biting is as repugnant as spitting it’s a three-game ban.
Allardyce: It’s no worse than that.
Shreeves: In the same game [Daniel] Sturridge went over the top [on Ryan Bertrand]…
Allardyce: A referee is asked by the FA if he saw a tackle. If he says he did, that’s it.
Burt: There is the “exceptional circumstances” rule, but a ref saying “yes, if I’d seen it and sent him off” means a three-game ban is not an exceptional circumstance. This summer there will be a drive among the stakeholders [including the Premier League, Football League, PFA and LMA] to widen that definition.
McCarthy: The McManaman tackle [on Newcastle’s Massadio Haidara] was horrible, a potential career-ender. The FA went to the LMA and PFA and asked if they considered the tackle an exceptional circumstance – they both said “no.”
Allardyce: At least we have an independent panel now. It used to be you were sat before three FA committee members – you were being judged by the people who had found you guilty.
McCarthy: How would you have handled Suarez?
Allardyce: At Bolton I suspended El-Hadji Diouf and fined him two weeks’ wages [for spitting]. The PFA said “one or the other.”
Shreeves: I understand why Rodgers said what he did [in the interview after the incident]. He said he needed to review it, but I think there is room for immediate condemnation of biting.
Allardyce: You can’t say that as a manager, you have to be very careful what you do. Suarez is a major asset to Liverpool and that is always a key factor. You have to be very careful with emotions straight after a game.
McCarthy: Liverpool were criticised for the way they handled the last Suarez incident [with Evra], could they have handled it better this time?
Williamson: I think they were quick, but they could have been quicker, something needed to be said on the night. Then to say they think a three-game ban would be sufficient is like “I’m the victim, woe is me.”
Dunn: I still don’t understand why the FA had to say when they announced the charge they thought three games was insufficient. Surely, if you are going to have a hearing, you can’t say that? It’s like pre-judging a trial.
McCarthy: Or “would you go and consider your guilty verdict.” Will Suarez still be a Liverpool player next season?
Holt: I hope so because he’s a fantastic player and I love watching him play. Sacking him is naive. In this hang-him kind of situation, what do we think is going to happen if they put Suarez up for sale? West Ham would buy him.
Dunn: They can’t afford Andy Carroll let alone Suarez!
Holt: There’s always someone who’ll buy him. Somebody bought Marlon King. Someone bought Lee Hughes. The way some people are talking about Suarez makes him out to be worse than them…for biting an arm of someone which didn’t even draw blood. Some of the reaction has been pathetic, the worst type of lynch mob mentality.
McCarthy: How do you handle problem players?
Allardyce: If you look into his background, where he comes from it probably wasn’t very nice, he probably had a huge experience when he was brought up to survive, and his survival instincts probably came out in that game which had been inbred in him from a very young age, because of the way he had been brought up in his particular country. Just because he is paid a huge amount of money and he is a very talented player, you can’t just lock that in and just forget about it because it will come out in extreme forms somewhere along the line, that is probably what has happened to him. In his upbringing, he has fought to get where he has, and how he has been brought up in life. Someone has seen that talent, and grabbed hold of him and nurtured that talent, moved on to be where he is. All that does not excuse what he did, but it is certainly a factor. Rehabilitation is the best word here, it is about talking him through it – why do you feel the need to do these sort of things? That is not a particular manager’s responsibility, that is for a psychologist.[But] if you make him a calm, tame boy you might lose the beast that is so talented. Within the PFA remit should be doing lots with players about what they could get into today, in terms of things like gambling, they can easily get bored so there is a lot which can be done in terms of prevention – and we would rather be out there trying to prevent it than cure.”
A show of hands from the audience was 50-50 that they thought the 10-game ban was correct.
McCarthy: Manchester United could win the Barclays Premier League with a record [96] points total yet no one seems to be giving them a huge amount of credit…
Burt: It’s been a triumph for Sir Alex Ferguson rather than the team. Even getting close last season was. Not many players are at the height of their careers. Maybe van Persie. There is an element of winning it by default, but to win it so convincingly …I think Fergie is getting better as a manager. Over his period in charge he has not allowed any club to dominate him, Chelsea tried it, but he saw off Jose.
McCarthy: Is this a classic, vintage United?
Allardyce: You think the Treble-winning team [of 1999] was the best team of all because of what it achieved. The proof of the pudding is in the eating and who’s going to win the Treble again in this country? It’s a young team, and a good team, its efficient and successful by a canter.
Shreeves: They could break the Barclays Premier League points total so they cannot be that poor though there has been little challenge to them.
Allardyce: If they were challenged they’d go to the next level.
Dunn: There is every chance this team will lend up with 20 more points than the 99 side.
Williamson: They have won 28 points from losing positions which is phenomenal. It says a lot about the team, rather than individuals.
Allardyce: They had a poor start to season, too. Coming back from a goal down is so hard and to do it so often is phenomenal.
McCarthy: How long can Sir Alex Ferguson go on?
Holt: As someone who wrote him off 10 years ago… I agree with Jason, he’s managing better than ever – maybe for another three or years. After the last time [when he announced he would retire in 2002] we’ll find out on the last day of the season.
Dunn: There really is no sign of him slowing down. And when you think of what the club is worth now compared to when the Glazers took over [in 2005]…what he gets back, if he was working for a big company he’d be earning three, four or five times what he does. These guys have doubled their investment and Sir Alex Ferguson is responsible for that. If he had a deal linked to value of the club…
Allardyce: When George Graham showed him his contract at Tottenham and he saw what George was earning, United gave him more. Alex sorted it out.
McCarthy: He’s had to make some big decisions this season, many around Wayne Rooney. Do you think Rooney will be there next season?
Holt: I find the Rooney situation difficult to read. I think he’s a fantastic player. Neil Custis [of The Sun] said to me when Dwight Yorke was older he dropped back to midfield because he did not have the legs any more. Neil thinks that’s why Fergie is playing him deeper. He’s having more ordinary games than he used to. He was at his peak in 2008 and he’s not the player now he was then. There are always whispers about his weight and fitness…
Allardyce: I think he’ll rise to the challenge not submit to it.
Burt: He’s not a great athlete which you need to be these days…
Allardyce: He was never going to be a great athlete, a great talent yes, but not a great athlete.
Holt: There is an argument that he’s been moved around, playing in different positions, but he has always said it is more important for team to win trophies. You could say he’s a manager’s dream
Allardyce: A very expensive utility player!
During the second-half the panel took questions from the audience. If Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund meet in the Champions League final and it goes to penalties, when would the shootout end…?
Shreeves: If Goetze [who has agreed to join Bayern next season] or Lewandowski [rumoured to follow his Dortmund team-mate] step up to take a penalty – good luck lads.
Another question concerned money going out of the game.
Allardyce: The problem with the agent scenario is we are so far down the line it’s virtually impossible to control what’s going on. They are too tight with the owners. It is much more important to get a relationship with the owners than players. When renegotiating a contract it should only be one per cent or even half a per cent [agent’s fee] and not five per cent as when you bring a player in to a club. To get another five per cent for renegotiating a contract…no.
McCarthy: Do you think Jose Mourinho will be back at Chelsea next season?
Shreeves: Nailed on, nailed on.
Williamson: It would be fantastic for us. I’m already looking forward to a pantomime every Friday…
Burt: …if he turns up. We forget how difficult at times he was to deal with. He didn’t turn up for [press conferences] for six weeks at a time and in the last year or 18 months [at Chelsea] the football was poor. People look at him through rose-tinted glasses.
Dunn: He called all the chief football writers together for a meal at Stamford Bridge because he couldn’t understand why he was winning titles yet we were always praising Arsene Wenger who was winning nothing. He didn’t think we gave him the credit he deserved. As football fans we liked the way they [Arsenal] played. He didn’t help himself by abusing the ambulance service at Reading and playing pragmatic football.
Burt: The press conferences became more entertaining than the games. He became the centre of everything. People forget what he was like. The reason he went was that no one at Chelsea could work with him.
McCarthy: If he comes back, and apparently it’s nailed on, how will the relationship with Roman Abramovich change?
Holt: It strikes me he’s been working very hard to come back. He has friends in the written press who have said for two seasons he’ll definitely be back. I’ve never been able to work out whether he wants to come back or he if wants to extract more money from Real Madrid. I understand what Jason says, but I tend to lean more to the entertainment value he provides. He is fantastic box office and that transcends his achievements.
Allardyce: Why not David Moyes? He over-achieves year after year, he’s got better and better. Why does someone at Chelsea not say “give him the job?”
Shreeves: Abramovich wants to see beautiful attacking football and I think he doesn’t believe Moyes will bring him sexy football…I’m not saying he’s right but it’s what he thinks.
The evening closed with the panel saying who they have voted for to be the Footballer of the Year.
Burt: Gareth Bale, he’s never failed to impress me, he plays with a joy and is driven to be the best he can be.
Dunn: Robin van Persie. Until Sunday I would have voted for Suarez because there has not been a single game where he has failed to make an impact. It’s a shame he did what he did because it deprives us of a chance to honour him. Had he won the award it might have even helped him.
Allardyce: For me, Suarez, too, apart from incident, but now Bale because of the amount of exciting goals he has scored.
McCarthy: Including one against West Ham…
Allardyce: In the 91st minute…
Shreeves: I probably lean to van Persie. He left Arsenal to win things, he said “I listened to the little boy inside me.” You will never, ever hear him say a bad word about Arsenal or Arsene Wenger. There should also be space in the discussion for the likes of Leighton Baines and Pablo Zabaleta who are worth an honourable nod.
Williamson: Bale because when I go to a match I want to be thrilled.
Holt: Juan Mata for the same reasons as the others. I love watching him, Mata has been phenomenal and does something in every game that excites me.
*Additional reporting: Jim van Wijk
REX GOWAR on Maradona being called fatty…a dodgy Tiger in Seoul…and missing out on Messi
Have you ever worked in a profession other than football?
Paint shop manager, teacher, photographer. I was almost 30 when I started my media writing career at the Buenos Aires Herald, Argentina’s English language newspaper.
Most memorable match?
Two, the 1978 and 1986 World Cup finals. I watched the first from “la popular”, the higher banks of terraces behind the goals, in this case the one where Kempes scored both his goals, Naninga headed the Dutch equaliser and Rensenbrink hit the post. Victory ended years of Argentine agony watching big rivals Brazil and Uruguay lift world titles and the need to give substance to a belief of superiority.
The one moment in football you would put on a DVD?
The match when a teenage Maradona put four goals past Boca Juniors Hugo Gatti playing for Argentinos Juniors days after being called a fatty by the goalkeeper. That and other moments of Maradona magic before his first big money move to Boca Juniors. He was to the modest Argentinos side in the late 70s what he became for Napoli and Argentina in the mid-80s.
Best stadium?
River Plate. Apart from being the stadium where I saw my first matches (and bias because they are my team), I have great memories of “shooting” matches there and at many other Buenos Aires grounds in my earlier career as a sports photographer.
…and the worst?
Platense in the Honduran city of Puerto Cortes when on a fact-finding trip three months before the 2010 World Cup finals though I can’t complain about the atmosphere. Good thing I didn’t need to file anything from there.
Your personal new-tech disaster?
Luckily nothing major.
Biggest mistake?
Not interviewing a teenage Messi in Geneva in 2005 when Argentina played England and he was suspended. I didn’t have an appointment but I’m sure I could have talked to him when he’d finished with another journalist in an empty lounge at the team’s hotel if I had had the sense to wait around.
Have you ever been mistaken for anyone else?
Depends what you mean by mistaken. I was at a match at the small Atlanta ground, during the 1978 World Cup, between European and South American media but featuring lots of golden oldies — Di Stefano, Kopa, the Charlton brothers and Ian St John in the European side, Sivori, Artime, Onega for the South Americans and someone in the stands shouted “Tarantini” as I emerged from the tunnel in that exalted company… I regret not taking up the offer to fill a gap they had at full back for the Europeans but I had a bad knee that was sure to give way again at Onega’s first swerve past me.
Most media friendly manager?
Carlos Bilardo… and I recall Bobby Robson being very approachable in Montevideo during England’s 1984 tour of South America.
Best ever player?
Maradona.
Best ever teams (club and international)?
That I’ve seen live, Ronaldinho’s Barcelona team with a young Messi, the Independiente side which in 1985 won the Copa Libertadores and Intercontinental Cup and Brazil at the 1982 World Cup.
Best pre-match grub?
At a rugby match, laid on by the organisers at the Heineken Cup final in Bordeaux between Brive and Bath in 1997, a French feast.
Best meal had on your travels?
A barbeque at Conmebol president Nicolas Leoz’s ranch outside Asuncion on occasion of a South American Football Confederation general assembly.
…and the worst?
Korean fast food at the Tomorrow Tiger in Seoul during the 1988 Olympic Games. We were two Reuters journalists writing for the Spanish Language Service until all hours of the night and this was the only place we found open… night after night.
Best hotel stayed in?
The Aloft in Abu Dhabi for the 2010 Club World Cup, great buffet breakfast and superb pool.
…and the worst?
A flea pit with sheets for walls between rooms in some remote part of the south of France while covering the Tour de France in 1997. The contrast could not have been greater when the next night we stayed at a chateau with its own wine label and ate like dukes. Don’t remember the names of either of them.
Favourite football writer?
In England, I’ve always liked reading David Lacey of football and Rob Kitson on rugby, in Argentina Ezequiel Fernandez Moores who writes a weekly column in La Nacion.
Favourite radio/TV commentator?
Martin Tyler, who I’ve known since the 1978 World Cup when we compared university notes and found he played as striker for East Anglia U against me in goal for Essex U in Norwich. I forget the score but have to concede it might have been 2-1 to them.
If you could introduce one change to improve PR between football clubs and football writers what would it be?
It’s a pipe dream in modern football but let us arrange to speak to players when we want without having to go through a press officer who rarely answers the phone.
One sporting event outside football you would love to experience?
I’ve been lucky to get to top games in a wide variety of sports but none of the major American sports so of these I’d go for a NFL Super Bowl.
Last book read?
A biography of Juan Sebastian Veron in Spanish called “El Lado V” and I am now reading Jonathan Wilson’s The Outsider on goalkeepers.
Favourite current TV programme?
French police drama Spiral.
Your most prized football memorabilia?
A tape recording of an interview with a 19-year-old Maradona in 1980 before he travelled with Menotti’s Argentina to Europe to play England at Wembley. I did it for Shoot magazine but it was never published because of a printers’ strike in the UK. Talk about exclusive!
Advice to anyone coming into the football media world?
None that has not already been given in this column by people far better qualified to give such advice.
REX GOWAR is a Buenos Aires-based Reuters sports correspondent for Latin America.
Next week the Q&A’s world tour ends with World Soccer editor Gavin Hamilton.
TOBY PORTER on the public perception of FA Cup semi-finalists Millwall
By CHRISTOPHER DAVIES
NO ONE may like Millwall, but Toby Porter certainly does care about how others view the club.
Porter is the sports editor of the South London Press and has covered Millwall for 11 years. Millwall have a stigma, mostly outdated and based on events from 30 or 40 years ago, but it is an image that the club will find difficult to shake off even though they have done everything to eliminate violence and racism with success.
As the Lions prepare for their FA Cup semi-final against Wigan Athletic at Wembley, the perception most have about Millwall does not affect the way Porter goes about his job, but on a personal level it is a different story.
He said: “In the first season I covered Millwall there were 187 arrests for football-related incidents. Since then there have been no more than 20 or 30 [a season] and consistently lower than that. Basically about a tenth of what it was.
“The 2002 playoff semi-final against Birmingham City [at The Den], where there was a lot of unrest, was significant in Millwall moving forward, making a decision to ensure anyone with a criminal background was not allowed in the ground or allowed to go to away games with the club.
“The reality is that the violence is much less than it was. There are still some elements drawn to Millwall because of the past, but the club could not have done more to eradicate violence or racism. Those who work for Millwall must pull their hair out at times at the way the club are depicted in a quite out-of-date manner by lazy journalists.
“Millwall’s main claim to fame was the 59-game unbeaten home run ended in 1967 [by Plymouth Argyle]. Most people would not have heard of the club apart from the bad stuff.
“For the media, there is no other hook to hang on Millwall. It doesn’t affect my job in any way because I know what the truth is. But inaccuracies should hurt any journalist and it affects me personally when I see the club depicted in an unfair manner, though that’s an emotional reaction.”
Bradford City of League Two reached the Capital One Cup final on the crest of a media wave with most neutrals hoping the Bantams would add Swansea City to their list of Barclays Premier League scalps, underlining the British affection for the underdog. Should Millwall overcome Wigan they are unlikely to enjoy such support, even against Chelsea or Manchester City, whose Russian and Middle Eastern financial backing causes such resentment.
Porter said: “The crucial period for Millwall’s reputation was the Panorama documentary in 1974.”
Millwall had invited the TV cameras into The Den for a programme about their supporters. Over the previous three years there had been a considerable drop in hooliganism, which was rife in English football at the time, and the club hoped the programme could show the benefits of responsible stewarding.
It backfired spectacularly with the BBC concentrating almost exclusively on the alleged thug element that followed the club. When Millwall and the police saw a review of the show they implored it should not be broadcast. Denis Howell, the Minister for Sport, met with Sir Michael Swann, chairman of the BBC, because of fears that the programme would succeed in encouraging rather than discouraging unruly behaviour. And so it proved.
The horrendous scenes at the 1985 FA Cup tie at Luton gave Millwall a scar for life and it is the image many people still have of the south-east London club.
That was then. When Millwall reached the FA Cup final nine years ago, there were zero arrests among their fans at the semi-final against Sunderland at Old Trafford or in Cardiff where Manchester United won 3-0 at the Millennium stadium.
Millwall are no strangers to Wembley in recent years – they made their debut in the Auto Windscreens Shield final in 1999, losing 1-0 to Wigan, the Lions cheered on by an estimated 47,000 of the 55,000 in attendance. They also reached League One playoff finals in 2009 (losing to Scunthorpe) and 2010 (beating Swindon).
This is their first FA Cup semi-final at English football’s headquarters and Porter said: “It means more to the older generation because for them Wembley was a long wait. Millwall have now been to Wembley four times in the last decade and a half whereas there had been none previously to that.”
Porter and the South London Press have enjoyed a close relationship with Millwall over the years and it would be difficult to find any football writer with a complaint about manager Kenny Jackett’s commitment to the media. “They give me all the co-operation a journalist needs,” said Porter. “It’s a very good, positive relationship and works best that way.
“Kenny is a considerate man. He likes to keep his cards very close to his chest when it comes to giving out information on the club purely because it makes his job more difficult if this becomes public. I understand that even though as a journalist I want every bit of news possible.”
Porter will be writing the bulk of the eight-page supplement ahead of the Wembley match which should boost sales of the SLP. “Since I joined the paper the only time sales increased drastically and were sustained was in 2004 when Millwall reached the FA Cup final.”
To paraphrase Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump, Wigan are like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get. They are as likely to score three goals as concede three, though Porter does not see a goal-feast at Wembley.
He said: “In recent games Jackett’s made it hard to score against Millwall. They have had five clean sheets in the last seven matches and I think they’ll be difficult to break down. Wigan have some very talented players and I think it will be close.”
Mike Collett of Reuters analyses the Barclays Premier League run-in at both ends of the table.
“It wasn’t possible to talk to Sir Bobby Robson without falling in love with football all over again,” says Sports Writer of the Year PAUL HAYWARD
By CHRISTOPHER DAVIES
PAUL HAYWARD will never forget writing the article that gave him most pleasure in an award-winning career – it left him injured and unable to walk properly for a week.
Hayward, the Daily Telegraph’s chief sports writer, was this week named the 2012 Sports Journalists’ Association Sports Writer of the Year. The only damage this time was to his wallet as he bought celebratory champagne for his colleagues in Podgorica, his Olympic-based portfolio winning the award for the second time.
The injury came while writing his 5,000-word Olympic review “which ended up as its own supplement,” said Hayward. “I started writing on the Friday and filed it on the Sunday afternoon. It was such hard work almost being chained to my lap-top for three days that I put my back out. I could hardly walk for the following week.
“But it was a great privilege to be asked to write the piece, telling the story of the Games. I’ll never have the chance to cover an Olympics in London again and it turned out to be a glorious success rather than the farce some had predicted.”
Hayward was not at the awards ceremony, he was in a bar in Montenegro with England sponsors Vauxhall. “We were watching the results roll in on Twitter, there’s a sign of the times,” said Hayward. “Martin Lipton [of the Daily Mirror] showed me his BlackBerry with confirmation I’d won it. I initially told him to stop messing about because for me David Walsh was certain to win the award after exposing Lance Armstrong. Martin showed me his phone and I spent a lot of money on Montenegrin champagne.”
The winners are not told in advance “but had I known I would have still gone to Montenegro because the job always has to come first.”
Walsh, of the Sunday Times, was named Sports News Reporter and Feature Writer. “We all assumed David would complete the Slam, winning every award possible. His exposure of Armstrong is a great moment for our profession. It shows sports journalism still has bite, that reporting, digging and a free press is still the highest form of journalism. David had to put up with so much intimidation and pressure, but he kept going. In the end he brought the villain down.”
Hayward was with the Daily Telegraph when he won the award for the first time 16 years ago. He started his career on the Racing Post, joining the Daily Telegraph from the Independent. After two stints with the Guardian and one with the Daily Mail, Hayward returned to what many consider his natural home in 2011. “I’ve been a Guardian reader from my young days, but the Telegraph has always promoted sports journalism like no one else and has given me my greatest opportunities.
“The daily sports supplement during the Olympics was magnificent, the proudest I’ve ever been on a newspaper. The people in the office were producing a 30- or 40-page supplement every day and each page was brilliant.”
The sports editor when the Daily Telegraph became the first national daily newspaper to produce a sports supplement that appeared initially in 1990 appearing on Mondays and Saturdays and then daily was David Welch who died a year before London 2012, sadly never seeing his dream become a reality. Hayward said: “David campaigned for the London Olympics at a time when it was a very unfashionable idea. He kept banging the drum, even getting it talked about in the House of Commons. He believed London would stage a great Olympics and on the day of the opening ceremony I thought of David. He’d have loved to have seen that, but unfortunately he was taken away from us before he could have that opportunity. I made sure I remembered his contribution throughout the Games.”
While Hayward’s title is chief sports writer, inevitably football dominates his schedule. “We were speaking about this in Podgorica, discussing what proportion of the agenda is taken up by football in sports journalism. I argued for 70 per cent. Henry Winter, our football correspondent, said: ‘As low as that?’ Henry loves football so much he’d like it to be 100 per cent.
“At various points of the year other sports become dominant. The British & Irish Lions tour this summer will be huge, there’s Wimbledon, the Open, the Ashes…they have their periods when they are the absolute centre of attention, but taking the whole cycle of the year football rules. It’s still the daily consuming diet of drama and controversy plus usually high class action.”
Unsurprisingly the Olympics and football World Cup are Hayward’s favourite major events. “I like World Cups because they give you the opportunity to travel round countries. I enjoy the feeling of moving along on a white water rapid where the story changes all the time. When there is an Olympics or World Cup, there is a beginning, a middle and an end…it takes your life over and every day is a fresh chapter.”
Hayward has met most of the outstanding sportsmen and sportswomen of his generation, but one stands head and shoulders above all others. “Sir Bobby Robson, a true gentleman” he said, a sentiment no doubt shared by those who were lucky enough to work with him. “I still have a very soft spot for Bobby who transmitted his enthusiasm to you. It wasn’t possible to talk to him without falling in love with football all over again. When I was writing his final autobiography I used to come out of our sessions together bouncing and loving football in a new way. I’d sit down and ask Bobby one question and by the time he’d finished talking I’d have 100,000 words.
“During our interviews he’d be jumping up and imitating Alan Shearer or illustrating some defensive position to stop Ronaldo. His energy for the game would just pour out of him and I found that very infectious.”
Hayward was also influenced by many his own profession. “From a young age I looked at the great sports writers as people to be revered. They set the standard for journalism and I read them avidly at university. When Frank Keating died recently it brought back the memory of the time I was at the Cheltenham Festival as a young Racing Post reporter and he came into the press box. I couldn’t believe I was in the same room as Frank Keating and was unable to speak to him.”
When Hayward was in Podgorica celebrating his latest award he proposed a toast to “the reporters.” While Hayward’s job does not involve him to be at the sharp end of digging for news stories he retains the greatest respect for those who are responsible for the back page stories.
“My message to young journalists is to remember to report, to talk to people, go to places, makes notes…all the old fashioned reporting skills which have been under threat as a result of mass opinion, Twitter and blogs. Reporting is still the most valuable thing we do and for me there is no higher calling in journalism that being a reporter.
“In football, the barriers are so high. Football pushes you away, putting obstacles between writers and the game, it closes itself to journalists. Reporters who have to fight their way through that jungle to get stories…they are amazing and I don’t know how they do it.”
Hayward has the luxury of a week off before heading to Augusta to see whether Tiger Woods can win his fifth Masters tournament, but keeping a close eye on Brighton’s challenge for promotion to the Barclays Premier League.
TIM VICKERY on his dislike of walking in Venezuela…disrespecting Kaka’s voice…and Alfredo the great…
Have you ever worked in a profession other than football?
Take your pick – paper boy, menswear shop assisant, labourer, comedy writer, box office assistant, theatre manager, English teacher.
Most memorable match?
Think I’ll go with the 1992 European Cup final, Barcelona v Sampdoria at Wembley. London turned into the Mediterranean for a few days, and a wonderfully enthralling game got a historic result in the last minute. I lapped it up.
The one moment in football you would put on a DVD?
Pele and Bobby Moore together after the 1970 World Cup match between England and Brazil – a fantastic match in which these great players performed to full capacity, winning the respect of each other and friendship in the process.
Best stadium…and worst?
South America is full of stadiums where you’re breathing the air of the history of the game – the Centenario in Montevideo and La Bonbonera in Buenos Aires are personal favourites (not least because you can walk to both from the centre of town). But there’s a new one (2007) which for me could fit into the category of best and worst – the Metropolitano in Barquisimeto, Venezuela. It was built for the 2007 Copa América, and it was bizarre to see a compact, English model stadium in relatively small town Venezuela. Very impressive – except that it was nowhere near ready when it opened for the Copa – it was a building site, full of empty lift shafts, though it looked great on TV. My big complaint about it, though, is that it’s so far out of town – a pet hate of mine, especially when there are no mass transport options.
Your personal new-tech disaster?
I know my limitations. Stick to pen and paper, mate. Biggest disaster was when I forgot to take a pen.
Biggest mistake?
Too many to mention but a couple stand out. My first piece for World Soccer magazine was a profile of a Brazilian goalkeeper with German ancestry. I foolishly commented that this was the perfect combination, some Teutonic steel to balance out the local flair. I should have known that Brazil’s defensive record is and always has been, way superior to Germany’s. Lesson – take no myth for granted.
Or a few months back on Brazilian TV. Kaká had just been recalled to the national team even though he was not getting a game for Real Madrid. I couldn’t resist the easy quip, saying that the only explanation for his comeback was that he has been singing the national anthem very well. It was a lack of respect to a quality player, who proved me wrong when he slotted successfully into the side.
Have you ever been mistaken for anyone else?
Charlton Heston (when he was still alive). I recommended a good optician.
Most media friendly manager?
In Brazil they tend to be very media friendly.
Best ever player?
Pele, Maradona, Messi – genius in all of them. But hard to believe that anyone has been as influential as Alfredo Di Stéfano.
Best ever teams (club and international)?
Barcelona of recent years (they have brought back the little player) and Brazil of 1958 – without the media of 70 but far better man for man.
Best pre-match grub?
Doesn’t happen over here. We don’t get fed.
Best meal had on your travels?
A good old Ruby Murray every time I come back home.
…and the worst?
Can’t remember what it was in Colombia that had me up all night vomiting.
Best hotel stayed in?
Any time, anywhere – providing someone else is paying.
…and the worst?
A place in Cali, Colombia that I checked into, paid for a night up front, had a little nap and then noticed did not have running water. Needless to say, I was paying for the place myself.
Favourite football writer?
Hughie Mac.
Favourite radio/TV commentator?
Peter Jones/Brian Moore.
If you could introduce one change to improve PR between football clubs and football writers what would it be?
Let me in whenever I want – don’t need anything else – just want to watch the game and come to my own conclusions.
One sporting event outside football you would love to experience?
The Ashes in Oz.
Last book read?
Thatcher’s Britain by Richard Vinen.
Favourite current TV programme?
Discovered Law and Order SVU during the last Copa América. Got hooked. Think I’ve shaken it now.
Your most prized football memorabilia?
Copy of the autobiography of the late and undoubtedly great Zizinho, signed to me.
Advice to anyone coming into the football media world?
Don’t expect wealth or security, and always remember that your subject is more important than yourself.
Tim Vickery has lived in Brazil since 1994. A regular contributor to World Soccer and Sports Illustrated, he can be heard on 5Live and talkSPORT. Twitter: @Tim_Vickery
Next week: The Q&A world tour continues in Asia with Michael Church.
Mike Collett of Reuters looks ahead to England’s 2014 World Cup qualifiers against San Marino and Montenegro.
WIN in Montenegro and England are favourites to qualify
LOSE and there’s an international crisis
By CHRISTOPHER DAVIES
The preparation to the week that will go a long way to shaping England’s 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign could hardly have started worse. Instead of the focus being on an improving and dangerous Montenegro after the lesser demands of San Marino, Riogate has dominated the build-up.
Whatever the rights and wrongs surrounding Rio Ferdinand’s England call-up and withdrawal, wherever your sympathies or any perceived agendas regarding the 34-year-old Manchester United defender, it has not been the ideal start to the next games on the road to Brazil.
“It’s going to make England seem a little incompetent with poor lines of communication,” said Patrick Barclay, columnist for the Independent on Sunday and Evening Standard. “This may be a little unfair. The start of all this was Rio’s rather impetuous statement that he’d be ready to pack his bags at a moment’s notice. There was an asterisk missing with ‘medical advice permitting.’
“But it is a poor beginning to what is an absolutely vital game [against Montenegro] because of what England are playing for.”
Montenegro lead Group H after four games with 10 points having beaten San Marino twice, drawn at home with Poland and a 1-0 victory in Ukraine. England are second with eight points after a draw in Poland, a home victory over San Marino, an away win in Moldova and a 1-1 draw at Wembley against Ukraine.
In the Euro 2012 qualifiers Montenegro draw 0-0 at Wembley, with Wayne Rooney sent-off during the 2-2 draw in Podgorica. Montenegro may be relatively new to FIFA as an independent team having joined in 2007, but Barclay said: “They are a solid, experienced well-knit side. At Wembley they were extremely well organised, a good all-round side with a quality player up front in Mirko Vucinic of Juventus.
“If you offered Roy Hodgson four points from the ties in San Marino and Montenegro he’d be tempted to take it. It will be very important for England to keep their discipline and not have anyone sent-off again because it will be difficult enough with 11 players.”
Ideally Hodgson’s team would be one with regulars playing well for their clubs in the Barclays Premier League. That will not be the case and Gary Cahill’s absence through injury for the San Marino leaves England with a problem in the centre of defence already without Phil Jagielka and Joleon Lescott no longer a first choice at Manchester City. In attack Danny Welbeck did a fine job for England last year, but has scored only one goal in 22 league appearances, many as a substitute, for Manchester United.
Barclay said: “It seemed like a good idea for England when Chris Smalling left Fulham for Manchester United because he was such a promising defender, a right-back we thought. He’s started fewer than half of United’s games this season with injuries compounding the problem.
“I was sorry to see Michael Dawson pull out, most of us thought he was worth another England chance on his club performances. Steven Caulker shows potential for Spurs, yet if you put him in you’d have to keep your fingers crossed.
“Welbeck stamped his authority on the European Championship as a real player, but he goes back to United and has to fight for a place with Robin van Persie.”
Against Montenegro, Hodgson will probably choose Cahill, if fit, and Smalling who played together in the 2-1 win over Brazil last month. The midfield against the 2014 hosts was Theo Walcott, Steven Gerrard, Jack Wilshere and Tom Cleverly though Wilshere is injured.
Barclay said: “Gerrard’s form for Liverpool this season has been a big plus for England. He has found a way of conserving his energy and in this respect the arrival of Philippe Coutinho has helped. The Brazilian has taken a load off Gerrard’s shoulders in midfield while the return of Lucas has also been a bonus.
“Gerrard is not a worry. Michael Carrick is in good form, so is Cleverly…it’s a question of getting the balance right. I don’t think England have had a completely balanced midfield since Owen Hargreaves became unfit. Every top country in the world has a holding player, a ball winner, except England. For me, when he was fit Hargreaves was the first name on the team-sheet. I don’t think England have replaced him.”
Before the challenge of Podgorica there is the inevitable victory over San Marino in the Serravalle Stadio Olimpico on Friday. True, San Marino made history in November 1993 scoring after 8.3 seconds which remains the fastest World Cup qualifying goal though England went on to win 7-1.
In the FIFA rankings nobody is below San Marino, the third smallest state in Europe after Monaco and Vatican City and who have never won a competitive game (with only one friendly victory, against Liechtenstein).
Barclay said: “I have no problem with the likes of San Marino and Andorra being in the World Cup, but they should have to pre-qualify, as in the Champions League. I don ‘t agree with those who say it would lessen these countries’ chances of progressing. You would find they will build confidence with matches at a level closer to themselves and that could be carried on into the next stage.”
There are nine European groups with each winner qualifying for Brazil 2014. The eight best group runners-up will be paired into four home-and-away playoffs. If teams are even on points at the end of group play, the tied teams will be ranked by:
1. goal difference in all group matches
2. greater number of goals scored in all group matches
3. greater number of points obtained in matches between the tied teams
4. goal difference in matches between the tied teams
5. greater number of goals scored in matches between the tied teams
6. greater number of away goals scored in matches between the tied teams if only two teams are tied.
Barclay does not believe Hodgson should rest key players against San Marino, despite the risk of injury or a red card. “It’s important at international level more so than at club level to keep the understanding between players,” he said.
England last failed to qualify for the World Cup finals in 1994, but in a tight, competitive group with, in many respects, little to choose between England, Montenegro, Poland and Ukraine there is no room for error. Barclay said: “All World Cups are important, but this one in Brazil has a little more stardust. If you could use a cricketing analogy it’s an Ashes series…you want to be there more than ever.
“I am nervous for England. If they win in Montenegro the whole nation will breathe a sigh of relief because England could consider themselves favourites [to qualify]. I think this is a potentially exciting era for England coming up. I don’t necessarily think they will win the World Cup, but if they can build a team – and Hodgson is doing that – then at Euro 2016 in France…if they can get a team and not just 11 players it could be a really thrilling European Championship for them.”
And if England lose in Podgorica? “There is no question a defeat for England would be extremely damaging. People will be asking if Roy Hodgson is the man to take them forward. At the moment most recognise we have the right man in charge, what’s more he’s an English manager and that’s important. Should England lose, suddenly there’s an international crisis, that’s how big this game is.”
Group H
P W D L F A Pts
1 Montenegro 4 3 1 0 12 2 10
2 England 4 2 2 0 12 2 8
3 Poland 3 1 2 0 2 5 5
4 Moldova 4 1 1 2 2 7 4
5 Ukraine 3 0 2 1 1 2 2
6 San Marino 4 0 0 4 0 16 0
By CHRISTOPHER DAVIES
SCOTT MINTO is living the dream. To be the presenter of Sky Sports’ coverage of Spanish football at a time when Barcelona have come within touching distance of perfection, their rivalry with Real Madrid has reached new heights and the national team rules Europe and the world is as good as it gets.
Minto has a great job – he is reluctant to call it work – and it is the reward for his dedication when, after 17 years as lively left-back for Charlton, Chelsea, Benfica, West Ham and Rotherham, the sands of time caught up with him.
“I was injured as lot during my last year at Rotherham and at 35 I knew it was time to quit,” Minto told footballwriters.co.uk. He contacted Pete Stevens of Radio London – the pair had worked together covering games – and asked if there was a chance of work on a more permanent basis.
Minto was living in Sheffield and was assigned to cover London clubs playing in the north for the station. Eager to learn as much as he could about his potential new career he took up the offer from Lawrie Madden, who played over 300 games for Charlton and Sheffield Wednesday before becoming part of the Daily Telegraph’s football coverage.
“Lawrie told me about a journalism course for players and ex-players. While things were going well on the radio I didn’t want to be sitting around doing nothing. As a player I was a lazy sod, come home, feet up and watch TV. I wanted to stay in football, but not management so the two-year course was ideal.”
The studies were intense and left little time for being a couch potato – “how those players who were still active found time to do it I don’t know.”
In the meantime Minto had started to work for Chelsea TV and Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday. His first live game was Burnley v West Bromwich where he took his position “up with the gods” at Turf Moor. “I could hardly see the numbers on the stripes. In fact, I was so high I could hardly see the Burnley numbers. The first time Jeff Stelling came to me after a goal I was tongue-tied. ‘Yes it’s a goal from a free-kick, I mean goal-kick, no corner…’ Driving home I thought to myself it wasn’t meant to be.”
But Sky Sports saw potential in Minto and persevered with him. .” In 2008 Minto graduated from Staffordshire University with a degree in Professional Sports Writing and Broadcasting. The course taught him, among other things, how to write match reports and to assess what the best story-line was. Minto was given work by the London Evening Standard until budget cuts forced belt-tightening.
“Rather than speak to someone and they put it into my words I wanted to write it myself. I was completely different to how I was as a player. I didn’t need to work on my mind then, but when I retired and the physical work ended I found I was happy to put pressure on myself mentally. I’m glad I did the course and I am where I am now because of this.”
Minto’s big break came in September 2011 when Sky Sports decided not to renew the contract of Mark Bolton who had presented their Spanish football coverage. Producers at Sky’s headquarters in Isleworth had watched Minto presenting shows on Chelsea TV and Al Jazeera and were impressed with his calm authority.
With a young daughter plus twins on the way – all three are still under the age of three – Minto knew accepting the job meant the demands on his time would be immense. He also knew it was an offer he could not refuse.
While he is fluent in Spanish – he has a Colombian wife – his language skills were not a consideration. He said: “Though it helps being able to talk to Rafa Benitez, Albert Ferrer, Marcelino, Gaizka Mendieta and other Spanish guests in their language off air, the shows are all in English.”
Minto has grown into his role, at ease with live coverage where, as a presenter talks to the camera, the producer can be chatting to him via his earpiece. “They may be saying ‘keep going, we can’t go to that replay yet’ or ‘hurry up we have to go to a break.’
“I was talking to a famous presenter recently and he told me the first time he did a live show he said on air ‘yes I know, I know’ as the producer spoke to him.”
La Liga games on Saturday and Sunday show the best of Spanish football with Revista de la Liga on Tuesday a look-back at the weekend’s action alongside Guillem Balague, Graham Hunter and Terry Gibson [Minto is pictured with Mendieta and Balague, courtesy of Sky Sports].
“In some ways Revista can be more manic than a live game because there is so much to cram in. I’ll chat to producer Mark Payne the day before about the schedule. I am passionate about Spanish football and I hope that comes across.
“I think Spain have the best two teams, certainly the best two players, arguably the best five players in the world. But when it comes to the organisation it can be shocking. Often we have only two weeks’ notice about when a game will be played. Our pundits say such things are so much more professional in England.”
Games involving Barcelona and Real Madrid rarely disappoint and the clasico head-to-heads between Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola were like Hollywood productions. “I watched every second of every clasico, even before I was offered the job. For me, the most glamorous club game in world football has always been Barcelona versus Real Madrid. They seem to play each other more than they used to, but I absolutely love it…I loved watching the games and now presenting them.
“The matches are never dull. It’s the same even if they play Granada or Deportivo…there is always something to talk about.”
Minto’s passion did not extend to the extreme of his brother-in-law. “He is a massive Barcelona fan and they’ve just had a baby boy. He texted me last Tuesday to say they want to call him Lionel.”
That night Minto saw Barcelona’s brilliant, breathtaking 4-0 victory over AC Milan on a boat with the London-based Barca fan club. He watched the game again at home, savouring every moment. “I needed to confirm what I thought at the time and that was it was one of the best performances in the history of football. I have nothing but admiration for players and teams under immense pressure not just producing the goods, but then some. In Barcelona’s case some people were almost writing them off to the point those critics wanted them to lose so they would be proved right.
“It was one of the few occasions where Barcelona were the underdogs to go through, yet the way they started and continued was Barca at their absolute best.”
A Barcelona versus Real Madrid Champions League final is still a possibility as the clubs were kept apart in the draw for the quarter-finals. For Minto and millions of others, Wembley would be host for the ultimate clasico.
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