Football
The problem with football
Anything been happening in football in the past couple of weeks? No? Moving on then… Hang about though. The doomed…
High life
New York What follows has been covered ad nauseam, but I wonder why people were surprised at the planned breakaway…
Portrait of the week
Home Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, announced the hunt was on for two effective pills to treat Covid, to be…
How the Super League sabotaged itself
‘So you’re telling me they’re wetting the bed because we’re suggesting the same teams should compete in a competition in…
There’s nothing wrong with foreign owned football
Many are blaming the failed European Super League on foreign owners, presenting it as a greed fuelled attempt by overseas…
The two elites squeezing the life out of football
So, all of a sudden the chattering classes care about football fans? Yesterday, the kind of people who usually wring…
Why are politicians picking on the football Super League?
The collective gasp of outrage – led by Prime Minister Boris Johnson – at the decision of a few wealthy…
A certifiable plan
As I’ve written before, the thing I’ve missed the most in the past 12 months is going to see QPR…
Barometer
Mounting losses The England football team beat San Marino 5-0, taking to 56 the number of competitive games that the…
How I’m making up for lost time after lockdown
The last time I went to a football game was on Saturday 7 March last year when my 12-year-old son…
Cut the poor ref some slack
Rugby has enough problems — from baffling rule changes to concussion — without the referees muddying the pitch even more.…
Nothing personal
Pelé is a two-hour documentary about the great Brazilian footballer — the greatest footballer ever, some would say — who…
Barometer
New normal Why have so many people started saying ‘normalcy’ rather than ‘normality’? — Normalcy has been traced back to…
Trump’s exit is an opportunity to ditch the nuclear ‘football’
Among the most alarming episodes during Donald J. Trump’s tumultuous final weeks in the White House was an announcement by…
Pig in the middle
It’s the Portuguese piglet you feel really sorry for. The diminutive (ready cooked) porker — a festive delicacy all over…
Dear Mary
Your problems solved
The year of living obediently
I wonder if British universities will follow Cornell’s innovative approach to ensuring students are protected from wretched viruses? The American…
In defence of Millwall fans
It is an enormous shame that the Millwall fans who booed their players for ‘taking a knee’ in support of…
Rugby must try harder
Remember those lazy, hazy, crazy days of last year’s rugby World Cup, when as perfect a performance by England as…
Quite smitten
As his biographer, I feel obliged to quote John Updike’s wise sayings — among them the first rule in his…
Farewell to four of the finest
So the Good Lord really wants to fill out his team: how else to interpret the passing in recent months…
Gifting
Boris Johnson, the Telegraphsuggested last week, is understood to have a personal interest in rewilding, ‘recently gifting his father beavers…
Low life
Everything is happening so fast. First we were put under a night curfew. A few days later M. Macron announced…
Sit back and enjoy the spectacle ahead
‘At least there’s sport,’ said the woman in the supermarket queue. True enough, and in a welcome sop to an…
Singing the blues
A second lockdown won’t cause me much suffering. I don’t have a shop selling ‘non-essential’ goods (e.g. books) that will…
