Football
Bad boys of the Six Nations
Sadly it looks as though the 2020 Six Nations may have to go down with an asterisk and an explanation…
Tyson Fury, the colossusweight star
Thankfully, Tyson Fury is as good at boxing as he is terrible at singing. But he really should pick on…
Eight lessons from the world of sport
What we have learned in the past few weeks: 1) Don’t play rugby in a howling gale, even though for…
Can England rise to the Six Nations challenge?
Not everyone likes the Six Nations — a recent well-received book on the state of rugby union described it as…
Sport needs more men like Vincent Kompany
Anyone still vaguely tempted to subscribe to that lazy and stupid cliché about footballers just being overpaid idiots should have…
England’s rugby team are embarrassingly sore losers
Sports events come and go, but good manners, as William of Wykeham might have put it, last for ever. Or…
Why I love a bit of death on a Sunday night
There’s nothing like a nice bit of death on a Sunday evening. Radio 4 originally transmit their obituary programme Last…
It’s not just hooligans – hipsters also love a football shirt
When I was young, from about the age of nine to 13, I went through what my parents recall with…
The joy of Japanese-style rugby
Proud son of Wexford he may be, and of doughty farming stock too, but the heart sinks at the prospect…
On photography, shrines and Maradona: Geoff Dyer’s Neapolitan pilgrimage
At the Villa Pignatelli in Naples there is an exhibition by Elisa Sighicelli: photographs of bits and pieces of antiquity…
End this hate speech against my community
I am a football fan. Each fortnight I go to watch my club and, like the overwhelming majority of the…
The women’s world cup pay gap is nothing to do with sexism
As the Women’s World Cup drew to a close yesterday, the noise around the ground wasn’t just generated by fans…
I admit it: I enjoyed the Women’s World Cup
I was asked on to the BBC Today programme — my old manor — last week to talk about the…
Gripping and heartbreaking but I wanted to know more: Diego Maradona reviewed
Diego Maradona, Asif Kapadia’s take on the poor boy from the slums of Buenos Aires who became a footballing god,…
Could my slogan have swayed the Brexit vote?
People sometimes ask what slogan could have swayed the Brexit vote: the opposite of the touchstone phrase ‘Take back control’.…
The fans make British football what it is – stop fleecing them
It is always possible to tell the difference between a bunch of Manchester City fans and auditions for the latest…
I watched Jadon Sancho grow up. That’s why I know he’s Britain’s next footballing megastar
How much is Jadon Sancho worth? Fifty million? A hundred million? As the speculation mounts, the numbers keep growing. Jadon…
Is Lionel Messi the greatest footballer of all time?
If you don’t know who Lionel Messi is you won’t enjoy this book much. If you do, you probably will.…
The All Blacks: world-class time-wasters
Marvellous team, the All Blacks, of course. But they certainly know how to waste some time. Here are some things…
A pub brawl certainly livened up a boring football match
I told Oscar to wait outside and I went in and said to the barman: ‘Would it be all right…
How gentlemen supplanted hooligans in football
Most British sports fans are familiar with the maxim that ‘football is a game for gentlemen played by hooligans, and…
The great thing about the World Cup is you don’t even have to watch it to enjoy it
Even though I don’t watch much football I love the World Cup because it’s my passport to total freedom. I…
What happened to the teams who scored more than six goals in a World Cup?
Nursing numbers Was there ever a time when the NHS wasn’t in crisis? According to a report by NHS Health…
As our World Cup hopes grow, let’s not fret about the brilliant Belgians
Here’s a question: name some famous Belgians. Well there’s Kevin De Bruyne, Vincent Kompany, and Eden Hazard. And if that’s…
Doctors and deaths: how many mortalities were avoidable?
Mortal combat Health secretary Jeremy Hunt promised more protection for medical staff accused of criminal malpractice after a doctor was…
