Steve Cook

When fantasy football turned into the stuff of nightmares… July 30, 2020 - 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… ...
Hughton’s demise was a football decision; not to be confused with the issue around lack of opportunity for BAME managers May 23, 2019 - 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… ...
MFW predicts: The Results – Messrs Lewis and Finbow take the gongs… May 21, 2019 - 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… ...
An ode to Daniel and his men – ‘The most special of years’ May 7, 2019 - 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.… ...
Perspective is everything, but in the white heat of a promotion run-in? Forget it! April 25, 2019 - 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… ...
A salute to the Wigan 5,300, whether ‘regular’ or newbie – heroes all April 18, 2019 - 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.… ...
‘Lucky City’… ‘given a ‘bye’ … ‘sinister forces’ … Can’t possibly be that we’re a really good side April 13, 2019 - 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’… ...
Soundbites and chest thumping? Or winning football matches? You decide… March 20, 2019 - 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.… ...
It’s entertaining, it’s exciting, sometimes excruciating, other times exhilarating January 29, 2019 - 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… ...
Kudos to the City board for not taking their pick from the managerial merry-go-round December 14, 2018 - 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… ...

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