The year is 2020. The month is July. Liverpool have just won their first league title for 30 years by beating Burnley 2-0 in an empty stadium in Sydney. At the final whistle, the only cheers are from the players. The cardboard cut-outs in the stand are oblivious to what’s just happened. Actually, it’s more […]
Punching people… Ernie Wise… Hot Cross Bone… Odd crushes… & more bad boys
Before we even start let me explain. These are not necessarily the best players ever to pull on the green and yellow shirt. If so the brilliant but clean-living Martin Peters and Ron Davies would be in here. But they’re not. These are the players that I will always remember and not necessarily for the […]
‘You don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone’… including the footie
‘You don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone’ sang Joni Mitchell. Well following recent events, lots of us are starting to find out. Of course, in a global crisis like the Coronavirus pandemic, sport is of minor importance compared with what’s at stake for some people. Believe me, I know. I live with my […]
Anyone going to miss the derby? The pain of losing far outweighs the thrill of victory
Anyone else still got the FCR version of Yellow Submarine stuck in their heads? I have. Apart from the original being classic earworm material, City fans’ choreographed rendition rolls so delightfully off the tongue and is so easy to sing. It’s the best feeling but in spite of this, I will be glad to see […]
BIRMINGHAM PREVIEW: Buoyant Bluenoses … arrogant Villains … and that Ian Abrahams
I first met Birmingham City fan Peter Humphreys in 2006 when we both set out to tick Ben Nevis off our respective bucket lists. He can take the credit for getting me to the summit by repeatedly lying to me that we were ‘almost at the top’ when every muscle in my body was screaming ‘stop!’ […]
City no longer under the radar – with Mr Webber reportedly on Southampton’s
Oh dear. It’s starting to look like we’re above the radar after all. After weeks of feeling slightly miffed that everyone was fixating on Bielsa’s Leeds and Frank Lampard’s Derby while ignoring us, it turns out someone has looked at the league table. We’ve been spotted and it seems we have something that they may […]
WIGAN PREVIEW: FA Cup wins… keeping it in the family… and one town, two sports
Ahead of City v Wigan, our Kathy had a chat with Paul Kendrick, Sports reporter for the Wigan Observer/Wigan Post. And. compared to some Q&As gone by, they were super nice to each other… *** I’m old enough to remember Wigan being a non-league side. Since those days it’s been a dramatic ride for you with […]
MUSIC WEEK: Kathy starts with Chicory Tip and ends with ABBA, but beware the journey in between
Well, I never thought anyone would ask me about my musical preferences but they did! Being one of the more mature (older) MFW columnists means I have a lot more material to work with than most. I just hope you’ve all heard of some of it. I seem to have somehow acquired a reputation for […]
FULHAM PREVIEW: Storm chasing, that Michael Jackson statue, McNally and low-profile owners
In my continuing series of football fans I have met unusual circumstances, let me introduce Fulham fan, Graham Clowes. I first ran into him storm chasing in the Great Plains in 2013. Since then we have spent many hours putting the football world to rights on long road trips across the US midwest whilst getting in just the right position to […]
BORO PREVIEW: Wembley, Anish Kapoor sculptures, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Trump, Jonny and Auf Wiedersehen Pet
“Can we play you every week?” The words of a song (usually trotted out when we play that lot) but also a genuine plea from the Ed because interviewees like Mr Paul Armstrong are ‘two a penny’. Not only does he happen to be ex-editor of Match of the Day and a football/Boro aficionado but, […]
BRENTFORD PREVIEW – Respect, optimism, Warbs, Pritch and that lovely Jeff Stelling
Ahead of tonight’s clash of Canaries and Bees, Kathy has been chatting with Sky Sports News presenter and Brentford fan, Natalie Sawyer…. K. I have nothing but respect for fans of smaller clubs that are geographically close to ‘the big five’. This includes supporters of clubs in Greater Manchester like Bury and Stockport. It must […]
Oh for ‘Fortress Carrow Road’ to become a thing again. Our Kathy B has a radical solution…
Remember the term ‘Fortress Carrow Road? I still use it occasionally because FCR is useful in a 140 character limited tweet (pfft… so WWII – Ed), but it’s not really a thing any more is it? These days we seem as likely to win away from home as at ‘FCR’– a very ‘Un-Norwich City’ trait […]
Birmingham Preview: From Rowett to ‘Arry via Zola, for the Blues of the second city it’s been a bumpy one
I first met Birmingham City fan Peter Humphreys in 2006 when we both set out to tick Ben Nevis off our respective bucket lists. He can take the credit for getting me to the summit by repeatedly lying to me that we were ‘almost at the top’ when every muscle in my body was screaming […]
A proud weekend all round for the ladies. A hat tip to hard work and a refusal to take no for an answer
As a veteran of both ladies cricket and ladies football, this weekend was pretty special for me. Winning is always nice but it was the feeling that it was a watershed and something had finally changed for the better that really warmed my soul. I played in the inaugural East Anglian Ladies Football League in […]