Feb 27, 2021 | The Main Blog
If you’ve been enjoying my series of football book reviews, you might have noticed a bit of a theme. The first four books I’ve reviewed have tended to take “the road less travelled” (i.e., away from the Premier League. If you missed any of them, so far we have had:...
Feb 20, 2021 | The Main Blog
Having set myself the challenge of reviewing the various football books I got for Christmas, I’ve been able to combine two of my passions; learning about the Beautiful Game and writing. Today’s instalment of Reading the Game covers Blue & Gold Passion by Daniel...
Feb 6, 2021 | The Main Blog
COVID-19 has put a stop to the non-League football I’m so passionate about whilst rendering the Premier League almost unwatchable, creating a real problem for someone as obsessive about the game as I am. Thank goodness, then, for Extra Time: 50 Further Delights of...
Jan 30, 2021 | The Main Blog
For this second instalment of the series of book reviews I’m calling Reading the Game, I’m looking at My Father and Other Working Class Football Heroes by Gary Imlach. Now, this isn’t a new release; it was the William Hill Sports Book of the Year...
Jan 24, 2021 | The Main Blog
Anyone who knows me (or has spent more than 30 seconds browsing this site) would describe as a football fan. They might go further; “obsessive” is a term that has been used more than once! But with the nation in lockdown for the third time, no-one can go to grounds...
Nov 25, 2020 | Family Matters
I’d like to tell you the story behind a tweet which was sent out late on a Saturday night but has had a far greater impact than I could ever have imagined. This is the tweet: Josie Jean Coates was born sleeping at 18.35 today, at 21 weeks gestation. She had an...
Sep 22, 2020 | Family Matters
Our family recently got a little smaller, following the passing of my Great Uncle, Norman Raw. Uncle Norman lived to be 100 years old and celebrated the milestone as a guest of Middlesbrough Football Club, who provided the image above. The notice that appeared in his...
Aug 22, 2020 | The Main Blog
The saying goes that “a week is a long time in politics” and there’s more than a grain of truth to that. Last Friday, I published a letter I’d written to my MP in this space (see A sticking plaster on a severed thumb). I shared it on Twitter:...
Aug 14, 2020 | The Main Blog
As will be evident to anyone browsing this site, I am passionate about non-League football. On Tuesday night, I wrote to my MP, Sir George Howarth, to ask him to lobby the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to #LetFansIn to non-League matches. My original...
Jul 31, 2020 | Family Matters
I’ve been working incredibly hard on our Family Tree over the last few months during lockdown and one of the most pleasing aspects of the research is how many paralels I have found between my life and those of my ancestors. It really has surprised me how many...
