Football without the crowds is a winner
The Liverpool defence might have decided in a rare show of togetherness to demonstrate what the word ‘appalling’ means, and…
A scene with Harry and Son
José Mourinho, it was surprising to read, recently said how relieved he was that the Amazon Prime cameras were out…
In praise of today’s young footballers
You suspect that a bar of duty-free Toblerone, no matter how supersized, wouldn’t really do the trick when hapless England…
Sport as a TV event
Crowds, Covid and sport: could it get any crazier? I don’t mind about golf: no idiots yelling ‘Get in the…
Test of character
You are, shall we say, a famous commentator, one of a tiny elite in the British media. You are paid…
Carlos the magnificent
We know about the endlessly jaw-dropping greatness of Ben Stokes (a peerage soon, surely), the furious power of a supercharged…
The ugly side of the beautiful game
So all that sound and fury about Manchester City’s sins signified precisely nothing. Well, a €10 million fine isn’t nothing,…
Hats off to Liverpool
Where were we? Oh yes, Liverpool were running away with the Premier League and a mere three months later have…
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…
Roger Alton’s highlights from a magical year in sport
We don’t half take a lot for granted. We may look up to the Aussies, kowtow to the Americans and…
Only now are we seeing what an extraordinary figure Bob Willis was
Maybe it’s just an age thing, but the death of Bob Willis has left me — and, I am sure,…
Why Ben Stokes should win Sports Personality of the Year
Oh those lazy, hazy, Stokesy days of summer: how long ago they seem now. When England won the cricket World…
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…
Seven things we’ve learned from the rugby World Cup
New Zealanders can teach the world a lot about sportsmanship. Steve Hansen after last Saturday’s All Blacks defeat by England…
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…
Why rugby is a perfect match for Japanese culture
The ITV set for the channel’s thunderingly good coverage of the Rugby World Cup is more Japanese than anything in…
Farewell, Garry Richardson. We’ll miss you
A day of sporting shocks this Sunday past. As if the news of Tracey Horrobin’s bewitching performance with the ball…
Will Ben Stokes be the greatest cricketer of all time?
Feeling depressed about politics? I hope not. Politicians don’t shape the world: they are the furniture movers, not the furniture…
Bring out the biltong for Labuschagne, an Ashes hero
Funny, the things cricketers put on their bats. England’s Jos Buttler has ‘Fuck it’ written at the top of his…
Any true English cricket lover has to acknowledge that Steve Smith is a great hero
During the World Cup (remember that?), Virat Kohli, the very model of a modern major cricketer, appealed to Indian fans…
Why women shouldn’t play Test cricket
The name Cameron Delport might not be immediately familiar, but his exploits last week could mean more for the future…
