Steve Cook

As fans, we are ‘football junkies’ and our drug of choice possesses potent mood-changing qualities. Win, and all seems well with the world. Lose, and the misery hangs over us long after the final whistle, casting a dark shadow over those unfortunate enough to be in our presence. Positive results on the pitch convince us […]

You know it’s really bad when anger turns to apathy. When the final whistle that signals another abject home defeat is met with silence from deserted stands, rather than a cacophony of booing. Without condoning the actions of those who recently chose to vent their frustration outside the Directors’ boxes, at least it shows that […]

A friend of mine recently boasted about completing a job application and when asked for his religion, he’d put down ‘football’. He didn’t get an interview. But in the same way that people choose to label themselves according to their religious beliefs, when we tell people we are Norwich supporters, it becomes less about what […]

Back in March of 2019, Dad and I walked through the turnstiles at the Riverside stadium, knowing that victory over Middlesbrough would create a seven-point gap to third-place, with just seven games left. “God, I hope we get promoted”, I said. “I know next year would be a total car-crash and we’d probably lose every […]

Brighton became the latest club to part ways with Chris Hughton and in doing so, encountered similar criticism to that faced by his previous employers, Norwich and Newcastle. The national media were joined by many ‘neutrals’ on social media to condemn the decision; the general inference being that those clubs which sit outside of the […]

For most of us, Mario Vrancic’s late winner at Villa Park simply served to ease any remaining jitters and ensure the title-winning party started five minutes early. However, for those in the MFW team vying for our own accolade – that of Champion Tipster (for our predictions that have featured in every preview piece), the […]

The summer is over, a new season starting, Hope is diminished, through Madders departing. A rebuild, a project, a club in transition, Signs of improvement, the only ambition. Early defeats, against West Brom and Leeds, Dissenting voices, on the Twitter feeds. And radio phone-ins, a place for the moaners, To point their fingers at Farke and owners. Then to the derby; the same […]

I don’t know about you, but the pressure of the promotion race has completely destroyed my sense of perspective. Early on in the season, with minimal expectations, I was fine. But over the last few weeks, I’ve come to view everything through a singular lens; one that is solely focussed on our club getting promoted […]

Last time around, I mentioned my mate Jack, who supports Leeds, and I tried to counter his ongoing assertion that City have been lucky to climb to the top of the table. His other favourite ‘wind-up’ relates to the size of our respective fanbases, and in particular the travelling support. ‘Leeds would have taken more’. […]

Do you believe in luck? For me, it’s just a term that gets used to rationalise improbable outcomes. A suggestion that mysterious forces are somehow bending the rules of probability, when in reality, it’s just a matter of statistics. Or to put it another way… ‘Luck is probability taken personally’ (Chip Denman) According to pre-season […]

With City sitting pretty at the top of the table, and an international break to savour the feeling, let’s talk about the ‘P word’. Popularity. News of Daniel Farke’s contract extension was greeted with general delight and it’s hard to think of a more popular City manager in recent years. (One name comes to mind, […]

At my grandparents’ house, there was a small model alpine cabin that would provide a rudimentary weather forecast. A tiny lady figurine would appear through a door on one side, if it was going to be sunny and a man with a brolly – much like Steve McClaren at Wembley – would emerge from the […]

Let’s go back to March of this year; the 14th to be precise. Southampton announced the appointment of Mark Hughes as first team manager, a little over seven weeks after his sacking at Stoke. The Saints, in desperate need of someone to galvanise a talented squad of underperforming and relegation-threatened players, turned to someone who […]

There’s always a risk in broaching a subject which, arguably, you’re ill-placed to pass comment on and one that is as complex and emotive as the issue of prejudice and inclusivity within football. However, on the back of Ian Wright’s two-part documentary ‘Out of Their Skin’ and Norwich City’s support of the Rainbow Laces campaign, […]

“I think the most pleasing thing of the year has been the connection with the fans and being able to share brilliant experiences with them.” You could be forgiven for assuming those words emanated from a Colney press conference, rather than Gareth Southgate’s reflections on England’s passage to the Nations League Semi-finals. Southgate, like Daniel […]

Anyone who’s had a brief trawl through the transaction history of my online betting account would question why I keep promoting tipster competitions on MyFootballWriter. I’m not exactly Mystic Meg. And yet, hot on the heels of our World Cup competition, I recently asked for Championship predictions, with 37 of us answering the call. Because […]

Here we go again. Football fans will soon be waking up with that familiar buzz that signals the start of a new season. Up and down the country (and further afield), pre-match rituals are set to be renewed and new shirts given their first proper outing, as football is set to take over our lives […]

On the eve of the new season, the World Cup already seems a distant memory, but what a tournament it was. Stunning goals, shock results and England even won a penalty shoot-out. The only minor irritation came from the criticism directed towards the English over the resurgence of the terrace anthem, ‘It’s coming home’. The […]

It’s crystal ball time again. Just weeks after our Championship predictions were exposed as little more than random guesswork, the MFW team are putting what little credibility remains, on the line by offering up our World Cup forecasts. For those who fancy joining in, the rules are simple. We’re asking you to identify: The 16 […]

It’s hard to feel much sympathy for someone who earns more in a week than I do in a year, especially when they ‘earn’ it by playing a game I love. I’m the sort of person who delights when professional footballers shank one into the stands with an accompanying cry of “whaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyy”. Maybe it’s petty-minded […]