Football
The hunt for the next Messi: Godwin, by Joseph O’Neill, reviewed
A video file of an African teenager with legendary ball skills is circulating far from his homeland – wherever that is. How hard can it be to track him down?
Arise, Sir Gareth!
I detected a degree of surprise among those people who were uncommonly cheered by Sir Keir Starmer’s election victory that…
I lost to Harry Kane at darts
Gareth Southgate has always been a man interested in life outside the football circus. When he played for England, I…
Voters still don’t know what Keir Starmer stands for
Keir Starmer is frustrated. He wants to talk about the future but interviewers like me will insist on asking him…
Poland 1–2 Netherlands
Poland’s manager, Michael Probierz, wore a shapeless tweed-ish suit with bulging waistcoat and, when the Dutch scored their winner, had…
Gareth Southgate has finally shown some bottle
The provisional England squad for the Euros unveiled by manager Gareth Southgate contains one notable omission: Jordan Henderson. That’s a…
Is pro-golf eating itself?
Spare a thought for Manchester United’s Erik ten Hag. He’s got a fairly crummy, injury-hit team who appear to have…
The strikers giving Southgate a headache
Poor Gareth Southgate. Having three outstanding finishers is giving him a thumping headache ahead of the European Championship. Harry Kane,…
Wayne Rooney, the war buff
I blame Thierry Henry and I never blame Thierry for anything. He’s funny, charming and was a majestic footballer. But…
County cricket needs Bazball
It’s freezing cold and everywhere is flooded, so it must be the start of the county cricket season. Surrey, last…
Surprise package: Tackle!, by Jilly Cooper, reviewed
Rupert Campbell-Black (‘still Nirvana to most women’) decides to buy a football club – to the amazement of Rutshire, and no doubt Cooper’s devoted readers
How sport helped shape the British character
David Horspool connects different sports to our historical experience: cricket with class, golf with property rights, tennis with female emancipation and boxing with ethnicity
Surprisingly addictive and heartwarming: Netflix’s Beckham reviewed
If you’re not remotely interested in football or celebrity, I recommend Netflix’s four-part documentary series Beckham. Yes, I know it’s…
A tribute to Alf Ramsey, football’s forgotten hero
England’s 1966 World Cup triumph owed much to the team’s dedicated manager, loved by his players but monstrously treated by those in charge of the FA
What the future holds for women’s football
Well, that’s the end of that. Football, like an unrepentant runaway, stubbornly refuses to come home. Spain, deservedly probably, edged…
Real football fans watch non-League football
How to watch real football
Magic tricks
Five short stories with male narrators – including a seahorse and a vampire – revolve around masculinity’s contradictory demands and the wish to belong
Am I allowed to make fun of women’s football?
I’m loath to write about the current Fifa World Cup because criticising women’s football is textbook ‘misogyny’ – at least,…
Much of the mysteriousness is inadvertent: ITV’s The Reunion reviewed
The Reunion opened in 1997 with some young people being carefree: a fact they obligingly signalled by zipping around the…
What does a supercomputer say about QPR’s chances?
The football season gets under way again on Saturday – or at least it does if your team isn’t in…
The Premier League’s sleeping pill problem
Football’s sleeping pill problem
