Spectator sport
As West Ham go for dull David Moyes, football badly needs more Pep talks
So West Ham took the least surprising option and sent for David Moyes. Same old same old. I have a…
Death hovers over the scrum
Rugby’s autumn internationals are almost upon us and dark thoughts hover over lovers of the sport. One day soon a…
Why the England team is so unexciting
During a riveting session at the Cheltenham Literary Festival with sporting brainboxes Mike Brearley and Matthew Syed, discussion touched on…
All power to the NFL knee protest
The history of sport and political protest in this country would be a slim old volume. It would feature quite…
Why did you do it, Roy?
Poor old Roy Hodgson, why did he take on Crystal Palace? He was having lunch at a Côte in a…
Which way will Lord’s leap?
In the rarefied circles of the sporting establishment a decision will soon be made affecting not just the future of…
What has the Premier League ever done for us?
Football’s back, I’m afraid, and, in the imperishable words of David Mitchell, every kick in every game matters to someone,…
England’s new heroes were real Test Match specials
The weather forecast last Saturday promised 100 per cent likelihood of rain. I like that formulation: it doesn’t leave much…
Rog apart, Wimbledon 2017 was a disgrace
For obvious reasons this column always welcomes ‘King Roger Rules The World’ headlines on the back pages. And the front…
The keys to the kingdom await
Give them all peerages as far as I’m concerned: if you can pick up a gong for bunging a few…
Pakistan and the power of redemption
The Pakistan supporter was festooned in cream and green, and carried a chalkboard round his neck with the legend: ‘My…
Hacked off with the haka
Kingsley Amis said the most depressing words in the English language were ‘Shall we go straight in?’ — meaning no…
Metal fatigue in the golden generation
Not a bad week for Roger Federer then: first pootling along being cool and rich in a morning suit at…
Two hours down the track
Of the great sporting imponderables that have come into clearer view over the past few days — will The Archers’…
The age of Joshua
Every so often comes a moment that can set the history of sport on a different trajectory. I believe we…
What makes players popular?
What a treat to be Sergio Garcia. Not only have you just won your first major and trousered a small…
Liverpool’s press mess
The comedian Jimmy Carr is not necessarily a guy you would trust on much, but he was spot on the…
Was it football or just mutimillionaires cheating?
Few sporting events in history have been greeted with such swivel-eyed, table-pounding hysteria as Barcelona’s comeback to overturn a 4-0…
Three cheers for rugby’s Italian loophole
A friend was at Twickenham on Sunday sitting not far from the Italian coaching top brass, Conor O’Shea and Mike…
Three cheers for rugby’s Italian loophole
A friend was at Twickenham on Sunday sitting not far from the Italian coaching top brass, Conor O’Shea and Mike…
Breathtaking and brilliant
Perfection in sport: unattainable, but sometimes you can come close. Moments, people, actions you never tire of watching: Roger Federer’s…
Breathtaking and brilliant
Perfection in sport: unattainable, but sometimes you can come close. Moments, people, actions you never tire of watching: Roger Federer’s…
Should Many Clouds have been racing last Saturday?
Few things in sport are more thrilling than a great racehorse giving its all. That’s why the death of that…
Should Many Clouds have been racing last Saturday?
Few things in sport are more thrilling than a great racehorse giving its all. That’s why the death of that…
Big trouble upstream
At a wedding a few years back a very gloomy looking guest, a well-known Geordie actor as it happens, arrived…