The great and good of the sports media industry were out in force for the 2023 SJA British Sports Journalism Awards, sponsored by the National Lottery and Canon. The Park Plaza Westminster Bridge welcomed 700 guests and winners for the gala awards dinner, with Jim Rosenthal returning as master of ceremonies. Adam Crafton of The […]
As a black goalkeeper in the 1980s, Alex Williams endured shocking racist abuse from opposition fans but was much loved at Manchester City, spending 33 years with the club’s community programme. His autobiography ‘You Saw Me Standing Alone’ is out now…
Long-running monthly title under new ownership, while co-host of popular ‘Talking Snooker’ podcast Nick Metcalfe takes over as editor from Hall of Fame inductee Clive Everton…
Mike Ingham’s acclaimed autobiography will be universally available at the end of March when it is released in paperback. Ingham, for many years the football voice of BBC Radio, wrote his life story in 2019 as a hardback limited edition. However, After Extra Time and Penalties…Memories of a BBC football correspondent, was so well-received Ingham […]
Manchester City’s official illustrated history has been published to celebrate the club’s 125th anniversary but they seem to have missed out someone very important. Review by ERIC BROWN Alf Ramsey’s England were basking in world cup glory when Manchester City pulled off one of the most significant transfers in their history. Expectant fans awaited big […]
Mike Ingham, for many years the voice of football on BBC radio, has written his autobiography, reviewed by ANTON RIPPON. On 29 May 1985, Mike Ingham was preparing to commentate on the European Cup final between Liverpool and Juventus at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels. Ingham and his BBC colleague Peter Jones were waiting to […]
A new book which traces Jack Walker’s galvanising effect on modest second division outfit Blackburn Rovers in the early 1990s is reviewed by ERIC BROWN A young and inexperienced football reporter attending his first match at Ewood Park inquired where the managers could be interviewed afterwards. He was directed towards a terraced house opposite where, […]
By Eric Brown Colin Grainger shared dressing rooms with Stanley Matthews and the Beatles, scored on his England debut against Brazil and counted film stars among his friends. He rose from being a £1-a-week garage mechanic to become one of the finest footballers in England and a highly rated crooner who appeared on stage and […]
By ERIC BROWN It was, perhaps, football’s greatest mystery. Why did Arsenal make striker Clive Allen the first £1million teenager in English football only to sell him on 62 days later without playing a single competitive game for the club ? Arsenal paid Queens Park Rangers £1.25million for free-scoring Allen on 12 June 1980. The […]
JOHN ANDERSON pays tribute to Graham Taylor, the son of a sports journalist who went on to manage Watford, Villa and England, and to do a bit of broadcasting himself
