May 15, 2026 | Football Writing, The Main Blog
On Monday, I wrote about the decisions faced by the Football Association in terms of allocating clubs to the divisions of the non-League Pyramid and the fact that, as in 2024, there seemed to be a higher-than-average number of clubs withdrawing from the National...
May 11, 2026 | Football Writing, The Main Blog
For the last couple of years, I have written from time-to-time about the increasingly parlous state of non-League football and in February 2024 I asked whether English football had a pyramid built on quicksand. Now, in May 2026 as another season concludes it is worth...
May 6, 2026 | The Main Blog
If you’re as old as I am, you will know that ‘Life Is A Rollercoaster’ whether you want to or not, thanks to Ronan Keating’s popularity at the beginning of the Noughties. While the song would not feature on any of my personal playlists, I can get behind the idea,...
Dec 28, 2025 | The Main Blog
At the risk of creating a positing ‘tradition’ this blog must follow, I’d like to share a list of the books I have read in 2025 and briefly discuss patterns and possible trends. This piece is therefore a companion to similar blogs wrapping up 2024 and summarising...
Jul 1, 2025 | Football Writing, The Main Blog
I have written a few times about the frequency with which non-League football clubs are folding; I asked whether the National Leagues System was A Pyramid Built on Quicksand as early as February 2024. The club closest to my heart, Ashford Town (Middlesex) would...
Jun 20, 2025 | Football Writing, The Main Blog
A year ago, I wrote about the demise of Clapton FC and the emergence of an alternative club, Clapton Community FC. Clapton Community have been in the headlines recently, following the controversial abandonment of a Cup Final in which their women’s team was playing....
May 1, 2025 | The Main Blog
The piece below was written in February 2025 and entered into the 2025 Curae Prize, which is for writers who are also unpaid carers. It hasn’t made the shortlist, but I remain proud of it so am sharing it today (1 May 2025). Congratulations to everyone who has...
Apr 30, 2025 | Football Writing, The Main Blog
One of the greatest players of all time, Diego Maradona once said that “football isn’t a game, nor a sport; it’s a religion” which might at least partially explain why I was sitting on a train to London, alone, last Saturday. Regular readers will already be aware that...
Apr 22, 2025 | Football Writing, The Main Blog
This Saturday (26 April), I am going to a football match. For anyone who read the blog I wrote last November called Losing Interest, this might be a surprise. If I’m honest with myself, it is a surprise to me. But, 357 days after my last game, I’m not just going to...
Apr 1, 2025 | The Main Blog
My name is called, and almost 2,000 people applaud. The Presiding Officer smiles warmly at me from across the stage and I’m suddenly acutely aware not just of my surroundings, but that there are a lot of people waiting to do what I am about to. I take a breath and...
