Fabian Wilnis - a football gentleman

I HAD the pleasure of interviewing Fabian Wilnis earlier today in preparation for a feature on the Dutchman’s years at Portman Road. The long-serving defender spoke at length of his time at Ipswich Town, recalling with a smile the many highs and occasional...

Home-grown quota system is a waste of time

I READ with interest the Football League’s decision to overwhelmingly vote in favour of implementing new quotas on home-grown players from the start of next season. At least four players in every 16-man match-day squad will have to have been registered...

My predictions for 2009

AS 2008 rumbles to a close, I can’t help wondering what next year will bring in the world of football. So, in a desperate effort to pass the time of day, here are my unlikely predictions for 2009: -         ...

I may have got it wrong about Magilton...

A FORTNIGHT ago, I urged Ipswich Town fans to afford Jim Magilton time in his bid to improve the Blues’ fortunes and bring the Premier League back to Suffolk. I called on supporters to resist the temptation to lambast the manager after every defeat...

Spanish football - cheap and very cheerful

A FORTNIGHT ago, I caught the train to London to watch Arsenal - they of the free-flowing, goal-inducing football - as Arsene Weger's talented players took on Fenerbache in the Champions League. The rail ticket cost £35, the match ticket a wallet-busting...

Support Ipswich Town - and Jim Magilton

Ooops, an Ipswich Town defeat - must mean it's time for Jim Magilton to clear his desk and pack his bags. That seems to be the view of the angry callers to the post-match phone-in shows (or, as Joe Royle used to quip, the moan-ins). It's...

Why should Harry Redknapp show any loyalty?

I HEARD a Portsmouth fan on the radio the other night bleating on about loyalty. He was, of course, waxing lyrical on the subject of Harry Redknapp’s sudden departure to Tottenham Hotspur. “How can ‘Arry do this to us again,” he ranted, referring to...

Running the risk in Amsterdam

FOUR pals and I are jetting off to Amsterdam in a fortnight to run in the city’s half marathon. It was a toss up of competing in today's 13.1-mile jog in rainy and wind-swept Felixstowe or donning our trainers in one of Europe’s most hedonistic...

Don't show me the money

OF all the weekend’s football, it was Arsenal’s dismantling of Bolton which really shone above anything else. The Gunners fell behind to an early goal but that setback only served to fuel their appetite as they quickly overturned Wanderers’ opener....

An Italian restores English pride

APPARENTLY, there are some who think international football is boring...oh yeah, that was me. Well, like the man in the orthopaedic shoe, I stand corrected. Last night's display was outstanding, full of attacking verve and old fashioned hard work....

International weekend? Zzzzzzz

INTERNATIONAL weekends are so dull. Everything about them bores me – the over-hyped build up, the inevitable snooze-fest matches, the post-game analysis…it’s all so utterly, completely, totally uninteresting. And yesterday was no different. Fortunately...

Football's sold soul

It wasn’t as if anybody needed reminding, but the extent to which money rules football has been hammered home in emphatic fashion this week. The takeover at Manchester City and the apparent financial meltdown at Carrow Road have illustrated perfectly...

Window shopping is multi-million pound ball game

LOVE it or hate it, there’s no denying that the countdown to the closing of football’s transfer window is packed with excitement. The various will-they-or-won’t-they sagas combined with the out-of-nowhere transfer shocks make for some fascinating fare....

Stand up if you love the Town

According to my old school reports, I have always had an attention span shorter than Ronnie Corbett. So it was no surprise when my mind began to wander during Saturday’s dismal match at Portman Road. With Town failing to dazzle in the drizzle, thoughts...

My Olympic pains

THIS week has been tough – I have been coldly ostracised, cruelly shunned and roundly mocked. My crime? I simply can’t stand the Olympics. Friends and colleagues stare at me in disbelief when I admit that the games in Beijing (or anywhere else for...