Football
Football’s problems run far beyond the Qatar World Cup
Are there any redeeming features of the Qatar World Cup? Perhaps one: the tournament has a sane and logical format.…
The joy of morphine sulphate
Two football friends, brothers, Mick and Pete, came to visit last week. We’ve been going to matches together since 1969,…
Why football needs a regulator
Plans by the government to introduce a regulator to the football industry – endorsed by all Westminster parties just a…
In defence of Rangers’ royal tribute
Ibrox stadium, home of Rangers football club, saw a powerful tribute to the late Queen last night before the team’s…
The (occasional) joy of being a QPR fan
I made my way to Loftus Road on Saturday for QPR’s first home fixture of the season. We’ve got a…
When did ‘best before’ dates begin?
An idea past its sell-by date Waitrose has announced the removal of ‘best before’ dates from many food products. –…
How Kyrgios saved Wimbledon
What separates this year’s ‘empty seats on centre court’ scandal from every other year’s ‘empty seats on centre court’ scandal?…
When did footballers’ wives become ‘WAGs’?
Wagtime Footballers’ wives Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney are locked in a libel trial dubbed ‘Wagatha Christie’. The term WAGs,…
Idrissa Gueye and the problem with Pride
Is waving the Pride flag compulsory now? The Idrissa Gueye scandal suggests it might be. Footballer Gueye did not play…
The tragedy of being a QPR fan
Normal families spend the Easter holidays by the seaside or in the Mediterranean. But not the Youngs. My three boys…
What English cricket needs now
You couldn’t ask for a more amiable man than Rob Key to run English cricket: affable, shrewd and universally liked,…
Pep and Klopp, kings of England
It’s a game for the ages all right, City againstLiverpool on Sunday as the Premier League moves to its most…
Let’s scrap the Six Nations
If you were one of the sharp-suited head honchos at CVC Capital Partners, the private equity megalith that has ploughed…
Is football hooliganism on its way back?
Forty-odd years ago a friend, a Liverpool supporter, somewhat unwisely took his girlfriend to Elland Road for a Leeds match…
Mason Greenwood and football’s obsession with prodigies
Well, there’s a surprise: Nike have cancelled their sponsorship of the Manchester United and England footballer Mason Greenwood, who is…
The year sport and politics became inseparable
Sport and politics have always been intertwined, but this was the year they became joined at the hip. Yorkshire racism;…
A tale of bitter brotherly rivalry
For early humans there was no distinction between spirit and matter. There was no idea of self; no barrier between…
Sky Sports is ruining my football season
When I promised my 13-year-old son, Charlie, that we would go to as many QPR games as possible in 2021-22…
The burden of being a Newcastle United fan
The second thing I learned about football, after moving to London, is that you can never, ever switch your allegiance.…
Who owns the language?
The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is giving local residents £25,000 grants to enable them to change the names of…
Why the Reds have got the blues
Not so much the hair dryer: more a gentle home perm. Contemplating the increasingly less youthful visage of Ole Gunnar…
The thrill of running late
‘Dad, why is it that whenever we go anywhere, we’re always running to catch a train?’ asked Charlie, my 13-year-old.…
Bleak, unashamedly macho and grown-up: BBC2's The North Water reviewed
‘The world is hell, and men are both the tormented souls and the devils within it.’ This was the cheery…
Barça’s golden age and its ruling triumvirate
Even against our better judgment we tend to imbue our sporting heroes with characteristics they may not possess. This can…
Why I don’t stick to football
In football, you are always stronger in numbers. With a shared focus, people from different cultures, nationalities, races, sexual orientations,…
