R is for Referees. There is a shortage of qualified referees in grassroots football. The situation I experienced as a manager is the one that I’ve included in Foul and Fair – most teams other than the oldest of junior sides have to supply their own refs, with the few available league-app...

A few weeks ago, I had a phone call from a friend asking if I’d be interested in appearing as a guest on a new podcast she was setting up. Sophie’s idea was that all writers, whether we mean to our not, reveal something of ourselves in our writing. It’s not just about personality, ...

I heard a podcast discussion recently that included the topic of music in films. One of the presenters offered the view that when songs accompany key scenes on the screen, it creates an opportunity for listening in a more emotionally focused way than any other. We may connect with a song on the radi...

Q is for Quotations

James’ habit of working literary quotations into this team-talks in Foul and Fair started as a bit of fun for me while writing the book, and a way to make the footballing part of the narrative more enjoyable for any readers who aren’t necessarily that interested in ma...

P is for Parents.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that the worst thing about being a grassroots football coach is the parents. For the most part, I was very lucky with the parents of my West Moors boys, but that isn’t always the case. The character of Rob in Foul and Fair isn’t bas...