The funeral of long-standing FWA member Dave Horridge is on Wednesday, January 30 at noon; Landican Cemetery, Arrowe Park Road, Birkenhead, Wirral, Merseyside, CH49 DLW and then at The Manor Restaurant, Greasby Road.
Dave Horridge, a long-serving member of the Football Writers’ Association, has died at the age of 78.
The Liverpool-born Horridge worked for the Liverpool Echo, Daily Mail and Daily Mirror. Horridge’s career in the media began as a Liverpool Echo photographic messenger before becoming a sports sub editor. He joined the Daily Mail’s sub-editing team in Manchester before moving to a similar role with the Daily Mirror who subsequently offered him the opportunity to be their beat reporter in Liverpool in 1963.
Horridge, together with the late Derek Potter of the Daily Express and the Daily Mail’s Colin Wood, became known as the Mersey Musketeers. The trio were the first football writers specifically appointed by national daily newspapers to cover Merseyside football.
Moving to the Midlands, Horridge covered Nottingham Forest’s two European Cup triumphs for the Mirror.
Horridge, who lived in Greasby, Wirral, with his wife Betty, leaves a son and a daughter.
By CHRISTOPHER DAVIES
FOOTBALL WRITERS are used to working to deadlines. However many words may be needed for the match report, whatever the deadline…even if the WiFi goes down or the lap-top waves its ignominious magic wand and makes the copy disappear into the ether…words will be filed on time. Somehow.
Yet, as Shaun Custis of the Sun observed, trying to arrange for four reporters to meet in a hotel lobby at 8pm is a meeting of the indecisive society. So as Paul McCarthy puts the finishing touches to Sunday’s Football Writers’ Association gala tribute evening at the Savoy to honour Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, which will be attended by around 400 guests, he has found it rather more testing that a lobby quorum.
As chairman of the FWA, McCarthy chose Alan Shearer, George Best and Graham Taylor as the recipients for a dinner to mark their contribution to English football. Now executive secretary and the man responsible for just about everything connected with the dinner, McCarthy said the difference between the two roles means he now needs “a degree in applied statistics.”
Andy Dunn, in his first term as FWA chairman, chose Gerrard last August. There is then an anxious wait until the Sky Sports televised games from the Barclays Premier League for January are announced, a sigh of relief when Liverpool’s match against Norwich remained a Saturday afternoon kick-off. Sunday games involving the recipient involve inevitable nail-biting.
McCarthy said: “Andy and I had our first meeting with the Savoy at the beginning of September. We were given a selection of menus from different price ranges. We find one which is not to extreme in terms of content, something that is modern but not too flamboyant as to put people off, and at a reasonable price.”
The evening is organised on a break-even basis to give members and guests the lowest ticket price.
McCarthy said: “It’s helped that Andy and I have worked together for 13 years on the People and News of the World. We know the way each other works, even if he thinks my organisational capacity is bordering on OCD. Andy’s more laid back and it’s a good balance.”
Inevitably there will be the odd last minute change or problem, some unavoidable and others with little appreciation of the scale of the request. McCarthy said: “Dealing with journalists who are used to working on the tightest of deadlines is great fun. But when someone comes to you eight working days before the dinner and asks if his table can be moved, which of course means then moving someone else’s…you say you’ll do your best, but in the back of your mind you know it’s a no-go.
“Most people would not realise the amount of work the Savoy put in. Alexandra Packman has been absolutely brilliant and has made my life a lot easier than it might have been. Much has been left in place by my predecessors Paul Hetherington and Ken Montgomery, so it’s a case of picking it up and running with it. I’ve enjoyed it, but it’s taxing.”
Dietary requirements will always be an issue with food allergies or personal choices. McCarthy said: “Other than girls who may be pregnant…we’re asked for no rich sauces, no yeast, gluten-free, soya milk only, no salmon, the vegetarian option…but dealing with the Savoy, one of the great hotels in the world, is an education.”
McCarthy will arrive at the Savoy around lunch-time. “Most things are done by then,” he said. “But you have to oversee the branding of the evening which, thanks to our sponsors, Barclays, is always done very professionally. I’ll check that everything is all right with the band and that they have meals, something I never thought about until I took this job. Andy and I will practise our speeches, we’ll watch the video which Sky Sports put together and just make sure everything in the room is in place, which it invariably is.”
Kenny Dalglish and Jamie Carragher will give tributes to Gerrard, a former Footballer of the Year. McCarthy said: “It’s fallen nicely for us given that he’s just won his 100th cap for England, a testament to any footballer to win 100 caps for his country. Steven’s been a great leader for Liverpool and England, he’s the type of captain we’ve needed for a few years. He has the respect of everyone in football plus our side of the industry, too.”
The dinner will see the continuation of the question-and-answer session, which has been well received, particularly by football writers who leave the Savoy with a good Monday-for-Tuesday article on Gerrard. Sunday’s Q&A will be conducted by the Daily Telegraph’s Henry Winter who, with Paul Joyce of the Daily Express, wrote Gerrard’s autobiography. “Henry’s one of the most respected football writers who has been with the Telegraph for almost 20 years. He knows Steven well and is an ideal choice.
“Ben Shepherd [of Sky Sports] did an excellent job last year when he hosted the evening for Gary Neville and Paul Scholes, but we have the talent within our ranks to handle the Q&A. We are fortunate in our industry to have had a grounding in broadcasting thanks to Sky, Five Live and talkSPORT. Henry is particularly comfortable doing this type of thing.
“It was the idea of Lee Clayton, the Daily Mail’s head of sport, who said to me last year we should be able to find someone in the FWA to supervise the Q&A. Henry chatting to Steven fits the bill perfectly.”
Female guests will again receive a wonderful table gift, but FWA lips are sealed to the content.
By CHRISTOPHER DAVIES
BRAZIL. A country that conjures up images of sunshine, fabulous beaches, carnivals, Pele…the most successful nation in World Cup history, so what better place to stage the 2014 World Cup finals?
Mike Collett, the football editor of Reuters and member of the Football Writers’ Association’s national committee, spent two weeks in Brazil checking out the venues and any possible problems. Brian Homewood was Reuters’ South America football editor for 20 years. Footballwriters.co.uk asked them about the good and bad of Brazil 2014.
Mike, in one sentence, what was your verdict?
MC: It will be a fabulous World Cup, but it will not be easy.
What are the biggest problems?
MC: Travel and the language, the travel first. Brazil is a massive country and to travel around it is fraught with difficulty. We were on an organised FIFA/Government/State Travel Agency tour and we still encountered problems at airports.
Which was the worst?
MC: The airport at Belo Horizonte was particularly chaotic where the Departure Gate changed four times in the hour before the flight, causing general mayhem. We were lucky to be in the hands of the Brazilian travel people. Anyone in the airport that day who did not speak Portuguese could have been left stranded. The travel did work and was generally OK, but it is organised chaos and very stressful. We took nine flights in just over 10 days and every single seat on every plane was taken.
Can’t you drive between the host cities?
BH : Only a very few journeys are drivable. Rio de Janeiro-Sao Paulo is about five hours, other trips of a similar distance would be Sao Paulo-Curitiba, Belo Horizonte-Rio and Recife-Natal. Forget anything else, notably Sao Paulo-Cuiaba which is 24 hours, Rio-Recife which is 60 hours and especially Porto Alegre-Manaus which is 72 hours by coach to Belem and four days on a boat Belem-Manaus.
On the shorter journeys, what are the coaches like?
BH: The buses are quite comfortable, by that I mean no chickens or pigs inside, but there is a small risk of hi-jacking. The usual trick is for a couple of crooks to get on posing as passengers and their colleagues to follow in a car. When the bus reaches the outskirts of the city or somewhere remote, it is forced down a side road, the passengers are robbed at gunpoint and are often locked in the baggage hold. There are no long-distance trains in Brazil.
So what is your advice to football writers and supporters?
BH: Travel is best kept to a minimum. The system struggles to cope even with Brazilian holiday periods so I have no idea how they will manage with a World Cup. Flights are long and expensive. Sao Paulo-Manaus is three-and-a-half hours non-stop, Sao Paulo-Recife is three hours. Some venues such as Cuiaba, Goiania and Natal often have only a few flights a day, all on smaller aircraft so I don’t know what they will do if they suddenly have 10,000 Dutch fans wanting to go travel.
What about flying to Brazil initially?
BH: Where possible, it is best to fly direct to your Brazilian destination rather than going via Rio or Sao Paulo and taking a domestic flight. TAP is the only airline which flies from Europe direct to Brasilia, Belo Horizonte, Fortaleza, Salvador and Recife as far as I know, via Lisbon obviously. I think you can fly to some of these places via Miami although that means facing Homeland Security.
How did you get to Brazil, Mike?
MC: I flew from London to Brazil via Miami. The flight times were only two hours apart and this led to huge problems and loss of luggage for three days. Copa flies from Panama City direct to Manaus, Brasilia and Recife which may be a good alternative. They have a code-sharing agreement with KLM which flies to Panama from Amsterdam. Panama City airport is a much better place to change planes than Miami. It’s small, well-organised and you don’t have to go through immigration or collect luggage.
Football writers often do two jobs in a day, such as a press conference and then a match. Will this be a problem?
MC: I think one factor we must minimise for reporters is stress. It can take hours sitting in traffic to reach anywhere in the cities. In terms of a working day at the World Cup, I think it will be impossible for a reporter to do anything other than cover one thing on match day – the match. In my view, it will not be possible for a reporter to, say, cover a press conference in one part of town, and the match in another on the same day.
You said the language will be a problem, Mike. Without being a little Englander, English is the official language of FIFA…
MC: I would advise everyone going to the World Cup to start taking lessons in Brazilian Portuguese. Seriously. If you are out and about, you cannot rely on getting by with just English in your linguistic arsenal. Even when we were in Fortaleza, a Spanish colleague on the tour had some troubles making himself understood. Very few taxi drivers speak English, and generally very few other people do either. Often there is no other lingua franca, as we say in Aldgate.
What about hotels?
MC: The language issue leads me to the hotel situation. We were staying in very good four star hotels near the centres of town and language was again an issue. I stayed in eight hotels in 10 days or so and some common links were obvious. Of course, front desk staff spoke English, but often not that well, and certainly, if any complicated issue arose as it did with a loss of someone’s luggage at one point, the staff had to liaise with our guides to sort out the problem. The hotels where we stayed were fine, two or three were on the beachfront, they did feel safe and secure and this is the priority. But check-ins and check-outs at every hotel seemed to be based on some ancient unworkable greater Brazilian hotel mastercomputer and took forever.
What advice for journalists and supporters about hotels?
I am sure if you are travelling with an organised Football Association or BAC tour you won’t have problems. If you are making any individual or independent plans, do not scrimp pennies on staying in out of the way places that are off the beaten track without WiFi and internet. It will be totally counter-productive and reporters/photographers/engineers/techies will simply not be able to function properly.
Brian, you know Brazil very well, what advice do you have?
BH: A big warning: many websites include hotels which are often in very dodgy areas, especially in Rio de Janeiro. For example, the Sheraton in Rio is opposite a huge favela (shanty town). Locations should be checked very carefully by whoever gets lumbered with this job. City centre hotels should be avoided in Brazil as most city centres are deserted at night and weekends, making them a mugger’s paradise. The best hotels and restaurants tend to be concentrated in outlying, upmarket neighbourhoods. In Rio, these are Flamengo, Copacabana, Ipanema, Leblon and Barra.
Barra’s nice, isn’t it?
BH: Barra is the home of the new rich and has sprung up in the last 30 years. Brazilians think it’s like Miami, perhaps unaware than Miami doesn’t have open sewers all over the place. You can’t really walk around it.
And the better places elsewhere?
BH: In Sao Paulo it’s Itaim and Jardins. In the cases of Recife, Salvador, Natal and Fortaleza, the best hotels are on the beachfront. In motels, rooms are rented by the hour and are often on the main highways into cities, surrounded by shanty towns. Probably don’t need to say any more.
What about car hire?
MC: The Agencies delegates on the tour had a meeting with FIFA and Embratour, the Brazilian State travel agency, who strongly recommended, where possible, for companies to hire cars with drivers. Driving in a Brazilian city such as Sao Paulo or even Salvador is not just like tootling down the High Street to buy a packet of biscuits at Londis. Much of the driving I saw was bonkers, even by London standards.
So a Brazilian SatNav should be on the wish-list?
BH: Not necessarily. It’s very easy to take a wrong turning and end up in a dangerous favela. Car-jackings are a threat on motorways in most cities. It’s inadvisable to stop at red lights in deserted areas in cities at night. GPS systems also happily take you to favelas. Road rage is rampant and traffic disputes are often settled with the use of a gun or knife. Radio taxis are far safer than taxis hailed in the street if you don’t speak the lingo.
We heard horror stories about crime and law and order before South Africa 2010 plus Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine. Both tournaments were completed with very few problems in this respect. Will it be a similar story in Brazil?
BH: The thing about crime is, it can be very variable. Rio has become much safer and a lot of what is written about bus hold-ups and the dangers of withdrawing cash from ATM machines may no longer apply. When I was there in November, people were talking about the improvements and were also wondering where all the crooks had been sent as you simply don’t see them any longer. On the other hand, Sao Paulo seems really nasty at the moment. Policing is the responsibility of the state governments, not the federal government or municipalities, and safety varies wildly depending on who is in power. If Rio were to elect a new governor with different policies next time around, it could deteriorate again very quickly.
How are the stadiums coming along?
MC: We saw six stadiums on our tour at Rio, Fortaleza, Salvador, Recife, Brasilia and Belo Horizonte and while all were in various states of readiness, the press areas and planned press areas seemed to be first class. They were very spacious and when they are kitted out, they will meet the highest international standards. The press boxes all seemed a little high, but roomy and will also have, FIFA assured us, free WiFi/internet.
The Confederations Cup, which Brazil are hosting this summer, will be an interesting dry run…
MC: The warm-up tournament is being treated very seriously by everyone. FIFA are continually monitoring the stadium building to ensure everything is ready by March for the Confederations Cup in June. While the LOC’s [local organising committees] say everything will be ready, I have my doubts about Rio and Brasilia. However, the Confed Cup can serve as an excellent precursor for us as well and, granted, it is not the most important tournament in world soccer, it is very important for us as a logistical run-through.
By COLIN YOUNG
Sunderland goalkeeper Simon Mignolet has been named North East Football Writers’ Association’s player of the year 2012.
And in a double for North East keepers, Middlesbrough and Team GB Olympian Jason Steele has been named young player of the year.
In one of the tightest votes in the award’s 32-year history, Mignolet just pipped Newcastle United midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa to the prize. Newcastle’s Dutch international keeper Tim Krul was third.
Mignolet, who has been a virtual ever-present for Martin O’Neill since he won his place back on New Year’s Day, is the fifth North East keeper to win the award since David Armstrong was the first winner in 1980. Since then, Jim Platt, Stephen Pears, Thomas Sorensen and Shay Given (twice) have won it.
Mignolet said: `It is always a good thing to win individual awards as a footballer. Of course you want to win medals and trophies, but any individual accolade is always nice and I am very pleased.
`It is very kind of the journalists to vote for me. Obviously I know there is tough competition between the three teams, particularly between Sunderland and Newcastle, and there have been some very good players in the teams this year and some very good individual performances.
`There are a lot of big names on the trophy, including some top goalkeepers, and it is an honour for me. I could not be more pleased to be among them and picking it up at the age of 24.’
Mignolet will be presented with his awards at the NEFWA annual dinner at the Ramside Hall Hotel, Durham on Sunday February 24.
The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation’s personality of the year award will also be presented, as well as presentations to Carlisle United captain Peter Murphy, in his testimonial year, and Team GB goalscorer extraordinaire Stephanie Houghton.
The Football Writers’ Association is delighted to announce the National Literacy Association as its first charitable partner.
The FWA plans to work closely with the NLA on several projects over the next 12 months and will help to raise funds for the charity from events such as the Footballer of the Year Dinner in May and the successful Barclays FWA Live.
Andy Dunn, FWA chairman, said: “We’ve been in discussions with the NLA for a few months and it seems like a perfect fit for both associations.
“The NLA are at the forefront of tackling the problems of literacy amongst youngsters and we believe our members can act as an inspiration to those children who might find reading and writing problematic.
“We want to be heavily involved in any NLA scheme where we think our members might be able to help promote literacy and the work of the NLA.”
Ray Barker, chairman of the NLA, added: ‘ We are very happy and honoured at this link with the FWA. Football is important to so many young people and particularly to many of the young people we are concerned about. NLA is a small but influential organisation that has run a number of pioneering projects with children who are struggling with reading and writing for whatever reason. The FWA support will enable us to do more practical work which will make a real and demonstrable difference to their lives.’
The NLA was founded in 1992 and has a Board of Trustees that includes representatives from all the main teaching unions. One of the main aims of the NLA has always been to provide support for the 20% of young people who, for a variety of reasons, have difficulty in becoming literate. During the last two years, the NLA has set up and maintained the online Guide to Literacy Resources (www.nlaguide.co.uk) which aims to be an easy-to-use, time saving, independent, free source of information for teachers, parents and others looking for great materials to help support the literacy skills of the children in their care and encourage a love of reading.
CHRIS BRERETON on the amazing story of Fabrice Muamba’s autobiography which was written in 38 days
By CHRISTOPHER DAVIES
CHRIS BRERETON was watching Tottenham Hotspur versus Bolton Wanderers in a bar in Bangkok when Fabrice Muamba collapsed on the White Hart Lane surface on March 17, 2012 in an FA Cup quarter-finals tie.
As the chief sports sub editor for the English language Bangkok Post, Brereton felt both personal and professional emotions; sadness for the player but aware that it was a huge story. Little did Brereton know that as Muamba began his recovery he would be ghost-writing his autobiography I’m Still Standing.
Brereton, who previously worked for Wardles sports agency before the chance to work in the Far East came about, said: “I was as gobsmacked as the rest of the world when the incident happened. I went into work the next day and it was front and back page lead.
“Six months later I was helping Muamba write his autobiography.”
As the country was gearing up for London 2012, Brereton was offered the opportunity to return to England by Trinity Mirror Sport Media. “I got back on August 11th, I started work on the 13th and a few days later we began talks with Muamba’s representatives about the book. On my third day with the company Steve Hanrahan, my senior editor, walked over to me and asked me a ridiculous question – had I ever written an autobiography in six weeks? No, I hadn’t was the obvious and accurate response. Writing a book from start to finish in six weeks? That’s impossible.”
No it isn’t. Brereton completed the near 100,000 words in a remarkable 38 days. To write a book in three months would be an exercise to test any journalist, but 38 days is mission almost impossible.
Brereton said: I had covered Bolton games for Wardles, but had never met Fabrice before we got together at his agent’s office in London on September 7. It was like ‘hi…we have to get to know each other very quickly.’
“What helped me with the tight schedule was having worked for Wardles and before that, for Hayters, you become used to turning copy round very quickly.”
For just over six weeks Muamba dominated Brereton’s life as his Groundhog Day existence kicked in. While there was far less time than usual for research, Brereton said: “In fact, I never stopped researching his life to the extent I was dreaming about him.”
From September 11 Brereton would interview Muamba for two hours daily, transcribe the tape and then write it into Muamba’s words.
Brereton said: “It can be very intense talking about every detail of your life…where Fabrice were brought up, what the house was like, his first pair of football boots, what food he loved, what growing up in DR Congo was like…you can only go so far each day. We spoke in the morning from about half past nine, we’d chat for a couple of hours with breaks, I’d leave lunch-time, go home and start working on it. To say I lived and breathed the book is no exaggeration. We’re talking 20-hour days at times.”
What helped Brereton was the help and co-operation of the medical staff involved with saving Muamba’s life, plus his parents and Bolton manager at the time Owen Coyle…“it was old-fashioned journalism, just hammering the phones,” said Brereton. “I’d pull into a service station on the M6, chat to someone on speakerphone as my dictaphone was recording it while also taking it down in shorthand.”
Muamba’s story was rather more challenging than reporting about zonal marking or the benefits of two holding midfielders. The B-grade in biology Brereton achieved in 1998 was of little help when it came to writing about a ventricular tachycardia is [it’s a rapid heartbeat to save you Googling].
Brereton said: “The high regard in which Fabrice is held was clearly shown by the willingness of everyone to help. Everybody. If I had to leave a message for a doctor or specialist, they returned the call the same day and gave me as much time as I needed, explaining the medical details and procedures.
“Mark Alderton, the Bolton press officer, and Owen Coyle couldn’t have been more co-operative while Phil Mason, the club chaplain who prayed with Fabrice in his room, was also brilliant. Despite his heavy schedule, Owen invited me into his office and gave me three hours uninterrupted, offering me an enormous amount of information and colour.”
Brereton’s early days as a news reporter on the Salford Advertiser helped as he complied the book, not least the 78 minutes after Muamba collapsed following his cardiac arrest – the player calls it “78 minutes of nothing”.
The proofs were read and approved by Muamba plus the doctors, paramedics and consultant cardiologists while Brereton paid tribute to Ken Rogers, executive editor of Trinity Mirror Sport Media and the rest of the editorial team who worked round to clock to meet the October 19 deadline.
The result is a fascinating if harrowing insight into the ultimate recovery. Muamba recalls the moment he came back from the dead: “When I opened my eyes I’ve never EVER felt worse. Think of the worst hangover you’ve ever had then add a whole new level on top. Groggy, exhausted, useless.
“It felt like I was dying. I looked down and saw this hospital gown covering me up. Two big pillows and a hospital gown? Is this a wind up? I couldn’t even begin to understand the situation.
“What is going on here? Where am I? Just total confusion. I had a head full of fluff but I looked again to my right to see [wife] Shauna.
“My skin felt like it wasn’t part of my body. At that moment in time somebody had stolen my arms and legs and my brain felt brainless. I’d had better days.
“You’ve got to remember that if you fall off a ladder or you are in a bus crash or whatever, when you wake up you can probably remember a little of the build up to what happened. You can slowly piece together the past so you can work out why you’re in a hospital bed. But I had none of that luck. I’d gone from kicking a football around to being surrounded by people crying just because when they asked me how I was, I told them I was ‘OK.’ It doesn’t get much weirder than that and it really freaked me out.”
Muamba has a rather more trivial problem at the moment. His legs are sore as he prepares for a stint on Strictly Come Dancing. After everything else he’s beaten, he should waltz through his next challenge.
*Fabrice Muamba – I’m Still Standing (published by Sport Media, £12.99). You can follow Chris Brereton on Twitter: @chrisbrereton1.
Kenny MacDonald of the Scottish Sun on the challenges – and fun – of covering Rangers in Division Three
By CHRISTOPHER DAVIES
PAUL QUINN is not used to 15 seconds of fame, let alone 15 minutes. Under the heading “About Paul” the East Stirlingshire FC web site’s profile on the forward is blank. The 22-year-old signed from Stenhousemuir, is unaccustomed to media attention.
Yet on August 18, 2012, Quinn was doing an after-match interview because his penalty at Ibrox was the first goal Rangers had conceded at home as they started life in the Scottish Division Three. Rangers recovered to win 5-1 but Quinn was, in newspaper parlance, a story. And the reporter interviewing him was from the New York Times. Not the Falkirk News. The New York Times.
Kenny MacDonald, of the Scottish Sun, thought he had been there, seen it, done it and bought lots of T-shirts, but covering Rangers in the fourth tier of Scottish football has “made me see things I’d never seen in 35 years reporting football.”
MacDonald said: “I told Paul after his interview that he probably didn’t expect to be talking to the New York Times. In fact, at every game Rangers have played this season there have been foreign journalists. Canal+ from France, a Dutch TV crew…the interest has been incredible.”
One of the delights of being a football writer is covering a big club when they are drawn away to a non-league team in the FA Cup or Scottish Cup. A new ground…a genuine welcome from everyone proud of their special day…no jobsworth saying “you can’t go there.”
MacDonald said: “When Rangers went into Division Three during the summer we knew our satnavs were going to be in use more than usual. There was some trepidation among reporters about going to Elgin in mid-week in mid-winter. You drive all the way up there and you find the game’s off because they don’t have undersoil heating.
“At the same time we thought we’d been going to Easter Road or Tynecastle four times a season for 20 years, so it will be nice to see some different surroundings.”
MacDonald covered Rangers’ first league game this season at Peterhead, which is the easternmost point in mainland Scotland. He said: “You couldn’t get any further away than this. The furthest we would go in the SPL is Aberdeen, but Peterhead is almost an hour’s drive north. It’s not a great drive, either.
“We would only go to places like Peterhead for a Scottish Cup tie but, this was Rangers’ new world. I’d never covered a game at Balmoor, but had been there for a preview when Celtic played there in the Cup. I remember the drive from Glasgow and thought of Rangers fans getting there this time…for them, Division Three has become a badge of honour, they want to see every match.
“Ibrox is packed for every game, but Division Three grounds hold a fraction of Ibrox. Balmoor’s capacity is 4,000. I asked the Peterhead chairman where the press box was and the expression on his face was one of panic. He showed me the press box which comprised six seats on a passageway at the back of the stand with one electrical point.”
Around 30 football writers including Rangers’ own TV channel were at Balmoor for the historical match. “Peterhead did all they could and put in more seats, but it was a little bit sailing by the seat of our pants.”
Another new ground for MacDonald to cover a game was Annan’s Galabank. “That was an experience,” he said. “Annan are new to the Scottish League. Their stadium holds just over 2,000, but had never even been half full. Suddenly the circus came to town.
“They had to erect a TV gantry outside the ground on a pavement overlooking the pitch. It was a similar story when Rangers played Forres Mechanics in the Cup. Mosset Park in Forres is a beautiful, idyllic Highland setting but the 1,400-capacity ground was completely unprepared for the pantomime about to descend on them. Behind one goal the land slopes down and it was literally people’s gardens. They did a roaring trade for fans who had been unable to buy tickets, charging them a couple of quid to stand in their gardens to watch the game. The punters had a perfect, undisturbed view of the entire length of the pitch.”
Whatever the inevitable practical problems, the welcome Rangers management and players, the supporters and media have received in their new surroundings has been warm and friendly if different.
For the visit to Annan, the Rangers’ coach could not reach the players’ entrance. MacDonald said: “You know what footballers are like, they come off the team bus, headphones on and straight in the door. At Annan they had to walk 100 yards along this pot-holed road filled with puddles which was something new for them.”
Rangers, the only full-time club in Division Three, sold 36,000 season tickets and despite its lowly status, SFL3 is the only fourth tier in world football which has two FIFA- and UEFA-approved stadiums capable of hosting international and European finals – Ibrox and Hampden Park. Ibrox’s press box has wifi and electrical sockets for lap-tops, facilities understandably not available at most away grounds this season.
MacDonald: “I was at East Stirlingshire who play their homes games at Stenhousemuir and reporters without dongles for their lap-tops headed off to the local Subway coffee shop which is half a mile from the ground because it had wifi. We filed our copy having coffee and a sandwich.
“The best by a country mile was Forres. The press room was like a soup kitchen where there was cock-a-leekie soup, coffee, sandwiches and cakes before the game, at half-time and after the match. The local ladies who did the cooking gave reporters a little doggy-bag and waved us on our way with the words, which I’ll always remember: ‘Hope to see you all next week, we’re playing Turriff United.
“But too many SPL clubs are poor in the way they treat the media. I covered Dundee United v Hearts and the post-match press conference was held in a room where the stewards changed. It was dismally unsuitable for what it was being used for.
“In contrast, the way we’ve been treated in the Third Division has been very good. OK, you will get some guy whose seat has been moved to accommodate the press come and say ‘I never saw you on Tuesday night when there were only 200 here…I’ve sat there for 30 years, son, and now you have my seat.’ Unfortunately that comes with the territory, but generally speaking everyone has been great.”
While MacDonald and his colleagues know SPL players well, they are seeing new names on a regular basis now. “This is where there internet kicks in,” he said. “If we are going to Annan or East Stirlingshire we have to do background work on the players. If we’re lucky there will be a player nearing the end of his career who has slithered down the divisions who may have even played against Rangers in the past.
“While SPL clubs have a dedicated media officer, in Division Three you have to ask the secretary or manager to send in one of their players “and can you come in with him in so we know it is him.”
The demotion of Rangers has been a financial windfall for clubs who normally struggle to attract a crowd of 500, but MacDonald pointed out the visiting supporters are not being ripped off by inflated prices. “When Rangers went to Peterhead, the home club charged £12 a ticket, the same as any game. Rangers were worried clubs would hike-up their prices, but most have not done that. They are happy with two bumper gates from Rangers’ visits.”
Despite some disappointing away results MacDonald has no doubt Rangers will win promotion and manager Ally McCoist has been incredibly upbeat despite his club’s punishment. “Ally is a glass half full guy,” said MacDonald. “He’s conducted press conferences on the pitch in the rain, but there has never been any issue with him.”
If Rangers go up they will probably have visits to Cliftonhill, home of Division Two Albion Rovers and a) generally considered the worst senior ground in Scotland and b) located in Coatbridge, a monumental Celtic-supporting stronghold to come.
Some new adventures for Scottish football writers to come. At the moment, apart from his new professional experiences MacDonald has discovered something about his homeland he was unaware of. “I had reached the age of 53 without being aware there was a place in Scotland called Tarty which is a fishing village on the way to Peterhead. I remember seeing the sign and thought ‘if Rangers being in the Third Division has taught me nothing else, it has taught me there is a place in Scotland called Tarty.”
As part of the FA’s 150th Anniversary celebrations, there will be an FA England Awards evening held at St George’s Park on Sunday, February 3 2013.
In memory of Brian Woolnough, the FA have initiated an award for outstanding journalism for those reporters who have covered England over the past 12 months.
To be known as the Brian Woolnough Tribute Award, it is open to all journalists, not just members of the Football Writers’ Association, and covers England match reports, comment, interviews and news stories throughout 2012.
The FWA has been asked to help collate entries on behalf of the FA. Entries will then go before an FA panel who will draw up a short-list with the winner being announced at the Awards evening in February.
It is fitting this award should be named in honour of Wooly. He had a real passion for the England team and spent many years covering successive England sides around the world and at major tournaments.
As FWA chairman, Andy Dunn, said: “Those of us who worked alongside Brian over the years knew what England meant to him. He took pride in covering the national team and craved success for it as much as any England player or manager.
“We’re delighted the FA have named a journalism award in his honour and I’m sure it will become as prestigious as any of the other industry awards for great writing and news coverage.”
The charitable partner for the FA England Awards is the Bobby Moore Fund for Cancer Research, to mark 20 years since the World Cup-winning captain’s death.
To enter the Brian Woolnough Tribute Award, candidates should supply THREE articles published in 2012 in paper or on websites which they consider their best example of England coverage.
This can be a match report, a commentary piece, a column, an interview or news story, as long as its primary basis is England coverage.
Entries can be sent as either a PDF to paul@maccamedia.co.uk or as hard copy to:
Football Writers‘ Association
56 Belvedere Gardens
Chineham
Basingstoke
Hampshire RG24 8GB
Closing date is Monday, December 31 2012 and a short-list will be announced by the middle of January.
Any queries, contact Paul McCarthy on 07831 650977 or paul@maccamedia.co.uk
COLIN YOUNG of the Daily Mail explains the difficulties of working with Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni
By CHRISTOPHER DAVIES
IF THE football writers who cover England thought Fabio Capello was hard work, a few days with his fellow countryman Giovanni Trapattoni would have them yearning for the good old days under Don Fabio.
After Giovanni Trapattoni’s press conferences, conducted in what those who follow the Republic of Ireland call Trappish, the journalists get together in an effort to agree on what they think the Italian said.
Trappatoni has been manager of Ireland for four and a half years, but Colin Young, who has covered Ireland for the Daily Mail and The Sun since the Mick McCarthy era, said: “His English has actually got worse during that period.
“When Capello was in charge of England, the problems he had and what he was criticised for by the media and English players…they didn’t know how lucky they were, compared to being with Trapattoni.”
His press conference ahead of the friendly against Greece had even experienced Trapattoni watchers scratching their collective heads, his muddled English compounded by saying “black” and “eight” in reference to players. Young said: “It was possibly the most baffling one yet and they are always baffling.
“It just didn’t make sense. Twenty hours later, just before the Greece game was to kick off, we were still trying to work out what it all meant. Even those of us who went through the tape recording of the press conference couldn’t make complete sense of it.
“A lot of what Trapattoni says you have to assume what he meant or translate yourself. His usual translator, Manuela Spinelli, who has been with him from day one, wasn’t there on Tuesday. Peter Sherrard is the FAI’s director of communications and while he speaks very good Italian, he doesn’t have the sort of grasp that Manuela has of what Traps is trying to say.
“Tuesday’s press conference by Trapattoni would not have been allowed by the English FA. The Irish press are far from happy with the situation but he’s got away with it. I once wrote the answers Trapattoni delivered verbatim so readers could appreciate just how difficult it is for us to put what he says into proper English.”
After press conferences the Irish written media get together in an effort to agree what they should say Traps said. Neil O’Riordan of the Irish Sun is usually the man entrusted with the final version which, to ensure uniformity, he emails to his colleagues.
Perhaps to his credit, Trapattoni has always insisted on doing his press conferences in English. Young said: “The problem is, he’s 73, he lives in Milan and the only time he speaks English is when he comes here. He’s not going to start English lessons now, especially as he might not be in the job too much longer.
“I find his press conferences frustrating. I’ve begged the FAI to make him do them in Italian. I can understand why he wants to be seen speaking English but the downside of that is television struggle to find even a small segment to broadcast. The purpose of a press conference, from the FAI’s viewpoint, is to sell tickets, not to sell newspapers. But the manager is not doing his job.
“He is becoming a figure of ridicule, not the legend he really is. A couple of times during the press conference there were sniggers and guffaws from the press audience. And how his captain John O’Shea managed to keep a straight face, I really don’t know. He looked as baffled and bemused as the rest of us.
“When Ireland played Italy twice in the 2010 World Cup campaign he did his press conferences in Italian with Manuela translating. There were some lovely, anecdotal, colourful stories. It was the same when Ireland played Bulgaria and Cathal Dervan [sports editor of the Irish Sun] and I had some time with Trapattoni. He spoke in Italian with translation. It was brilliant…the fans had been chanting his name after the 1-1 draw in Sofia which he really appreciated and he became quite emotional when he spoke about his mother and upbringing.
“It was so much easier and so much better, but he is the one who dictates which language he speaks in and he insists on Trappish.”
Trapattoni’s lack of English also presents inevitable problems for the players. Young said: “We have signed former player Kevin Kilbane as a columnist and he has given an insight into the difficulties the players face. Quite often communication is not a problem because he doesn’t communicate with them.
“When he was appointed, Liam Brady was there and he was a brilliant go-between because he spoke Italian and understood what Trapattoni was trying to say in terms of theories and tactics. Brady has since left and now at half-time Trapattoni doesn’t say anything, neither does his assistant Marco Tardelli. The players do it all. It’s a really bizarre ritual with the manager saying nothing but that’s the way it has always been.”
Initially Trappattoni’s stature as a club manager – seven Serie A titles, one European Cup, three UEFA Cups, one Cup-winners’ Cup in Italy, plus championships in Germany, Portugal and Austria – gave him instant respect. “That helped him a lot and got his foot in the door,” said Young. “The majority of the squad knew of his achievements but the newer, younger Ireland players who are 19 or 20 are less aware of this reputation. They don’t remember what he did with Juventus, Inter and Bayern Munich.”
Trapattoni’s inability to talk to his players in a way they are used to with their club managers has seen confrontations with some squad members. Darron Gibson (Everton), James McCarthy (Wigan), James McClean (Sunderland) and Kevin Foley (Wolves) have all had communication problems with the manager. Young said: “There are no one-on-ones and Trapattoni doesn’t feel he has to explain his decisions to anyone. He’s the complete opposite of someone like Mick McCarthy.”
Wolves utility player Foley was in the original squad for the Euro 2012 finals and was in the training camp in Montecatini, Italy. He was informed just hours before the Euro Finals deadline that he would not be going to the finals before the warm-up friendly against Hungary. Young said: “Trapattoni dropped Foley from the squad in a cold hearted way, but he couldn’t understand what all the fuss was about. If Mick had to tell a player he wasn’t going to a finals he would have had sleepless nights for a week worrying about how he would announce it and the effect it would have on the player.”
Trapattoni had previously watched his players playing for their clubs on television or on DVDs at his home in Milan, but at a recent meeting with FAI chief executive John Delaney the manager was told he must attend matches to see Ireland internationals first hand.
Young said: “It wasn’t a problem before because they had qualified for Euro 2012, so whatever system he had in place six months ago was working. Ireland were unbeaten in 14 games, most of those matches clean sheets, they were at a major finals for the first time in 10 years so while what he was doing then was being scrutinised, it certainly wasn’t criticised.”
Euro 2012 could hardly have gone worse for Ireland who left the finals without a point, scoring one goal in three inept displays. The FAI had extended Trapattoni’s contract for a further two years before the squad left for Poland and Ukraine and Young said: “In hindsight they got a little carried away with themselves and they now cannot afford to get rid of him.”
Trapattoni’s popularity is plummeting yet despite the record 6-1 home defeat by Germany and needing two goals in the final three minutes to beat Kazakhstan it is not beyond the realms of possibility for Ireland to qualify for the 2014 World Cup. Young said: “If they grind out results against Sweden and Austria as they did in the last two qualifying campaigns they could finish second.”
In the Euro 2012 qualifiers just about every break went Ireland’s way, being the recipients of some generous penalty decisions, opponents being harshly dismissed and then drawing Estonia, the weakest link in the play-offs.
“At various points in the last two campaigns he’s been lucky, the sort of good fortune that often deserted his predecessors, though Trapattoni may counter that with the Thierry Henry incident in the 2010 World Cup play-off against France in Paris.”
In any language, the Hand of Gaul cost Ireland dearly
Trappish…Giovanni Trapattoni’s word-for-word reply when asked after Ireland 1-0 defeat by Greece whether his side’s failure to convert possession into goals is the biggest disappointment:
[Asks for clarification of something in Italian]. “Yes, yes, there is this situation. You have to no forget this team is there [unintelligible] plays is strong team, play, play, played a long time together is a good maybe missing little bit heavy in the [something Italian], in the box, but possession is no enough is right what you say. But it was important our confident, the look, the score, look also this situation. Eh this watch about our personality because is there, is the first game Coleman, the first game also okay Long play something time, but I think we had this good impact approach because it was important. It was important after make a good performance after this disappoint, the German. Also Faroe eh Kazakstan [starts speaking in Italian, translated roughly as ‘we have seen a progression’]. Yes.”
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