Sports writing

[Yorkshire Blue]

Trescothick's autobiography is pretty good. You can also get it free from your local library.

If you are looking for good cricket reading, I'd also recommend Nasser Hussain's autobiography, Playing with Fire for one of the key figures of the last decade in English cricket and John Barclay's Life Beyond the Airing Cupboard, a nostalgic look back at his cricketing life and county cricket in a very English, understated way.

 

[number11]

Trescothick's autobiography is pretty good. You can also get it free from your local library.

If you are looking for good cricket reading, I'd also recommend Nasser Hussain's autobiography, Playing with Fire for one of the key figures of the last decade in English cricket and John Barclay's Life Beyond the Airing Cupboard, a nostalgic look back at his cricketing life and county cricket in a very English, understated way.

Yeah raced through Nasser's in about 3 days when it came out and was a good read. Enjoyed Fletcher's but think it came out a little too close to his association with England. Quality of cricket autobiographies is much higher than footballers ones. Though I felt embarrassed when I noticed Alistair Cook has one out.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Yeah raced through Nasser's in about 3 days when it came out and was a good read. Enjoyed Fletcher's but think it came out a little too close to his association with England. Quality of cricket autobiographies is much higher than footballers ones. Though I felt embarrassed when I noticed Alistair Cook has one out.

I bet Cook felt embarrassed as well, but I could probably live with the embarrassment for a nice five figure sum for very little work.

I think cricket books are better because cricket writers are generally better. Slipper is about the only decent football writer I can think of. Jonathan Wilson is pretty good on Eastern European football and Tim Vickery on South American football, but where are the great writers on English football?

 

[canveyshrimper]

I bet Cook felt embarrassed as well, but I could probably live with the embarrassment for a nice five figure sum for very little work.

I think cricket books are better because cricket writers are generally better. Slipper is about the only decent football writer I can think of. Jonathan Wilson is pretty good on Eastern European football and Tim Vickery on South American football, but where are the great writers on English football?

Cricket has for some reason always attracted great writers such as Cardus, Altham, James (the West Indian not Steve), Arlott, and numerous others have enthralled me with their breathless prose. I always thought that Brian Glanville & Hunter Davies wrote well about football, other than that there aren't many.

Back to the subject in hand Strauss gets his 3rd ton in consecutive tests. Well done skipper.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Cricket has for some reason always attracted great writers such as Cardus, Altham, James (the West Indian not Steve), Arlott, and numerous others have enthralled me with their breathless prose. I always thought that Brian Glanville & Hunter Davies wrote well about football, other than that there aren't many.

Back to the subject in hand Strauss gets his 3rd ton in consecutive tests. Well done skipper.

Hunter Davies writes well (although I'd never class him as a great writer) but I don't particularly see him as a football writer. I suspect Glanville has seen better days (Hugh McIlvaney as well), because he has a good reputation but I've read little to back it up. I still can't believe James Lawton is employed.

Time to get the pros in and see who were the football writers that inspired them. Slipper - where are you?

 

[canveyshrimper]

Hunter Davies writes well (although I'd never class him as a great writer) but I don't particularly see him as a football writer. I suspect Glanville has seen better days (Hugh McIlvaney as well), because he has a good reputation but I've read little to back it up. I still can't believe James Lawton is employed.

Time to get the pros in and see who were the football writers that inspired them. Slipper - where are you?

Hunter Davies did a very good "fly on the wall" book about Tottenham in the 70's, and IIRC not many players came out of it favourably, Pat Jennings in particular whose vocabulary was limited to one word, bollocks.

Glanville used to write very well about Italian football in particular, I'd agree about McIlvaney, who I believe writes well about sport in general.

 

[Slipperduke]

Hunter Davies writes well (although I'd never class him as a great writer) but I don't particularly see him as a football writer. I suspect Glanville has seen better days (Hugh McIlvaney as well), because he has a good reputation but I've read little to back it up. I still can't believe James Lawton is employed.

Time to get the pros in and see who were the football writers that inspired them. Slipper - where are you?

I always liked Ian Wooldridge, but I can't say that any football writers particularly inspired me. Henry Winter, Patrick Barclay and Kevin McCarra are probably the best of the current crop, they're the writers I always look for first. Jonathan Wilson is very good on foreign football as well.

To be honest though, my influences were Alan Coren and Terry Pratchett, which probably explains why I won't be writing for any of the big UK papers in the near future!

 

[Thorpe Groyney]

Harry Pearson can hit the right note every now and then, too, but then being a Middlesbrough lad gives you an in-built cynicism and dry wit in any case.

 

[EastStandBlue]

I always liked Ian Wooldridge, but I can't say that any football writers particularly inspired me. Henry Winter, Patrick Barclay and Kevin McCarra are probably the best of the current crop, they're the writers I always look for first. Jonathan Wilson is very good on foreign football as well.

To be honest though, my influences were Alan Coren and Terry Pratchett, which probably explains why I won't be writing for any of the big UK papers in the near future!

No Martin Samuels? I don't think i've ever disagreed with anything he's published...

 

[Slipperduke]

No Martin Samuels? I don't think i've ever disagreed with anything he's published...

Completely forgot about Samuels. Can't abide the Daily Mail so he's dropped off my radar. What I like about Samuels is that he continues to push his writing style, searching for new ground. It doesn't always work, but he's not afraid to try. A few months ago he used quantum physics as the basis for a riff on Newcastle United. That's bold.

 

[Napster]

I'd agree about McIlvaney, who I believe writes well about sport in general.

Hugh's the first thing I read in the Sunday Times. After Winner's Dinners, of course.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

I always liked Ian Wooldridge, but I can't say that any football writers particularly inspired me. Henry Winter, Patrick Barclay and Kevin McCarra are probably the best of the current crop, they're the writers I always look for first. Jonathan Wilson is very good on foreign football as well.

To be honest though, my influences were Alan Coren and Terry Pratchett, which probably explains why I won't be writing for any of the big UK papers in the near future!

I think Winter tends to come over as a complete ****. Even when I read the Torygraph sports section regularly, I tended to skip his bits.

Barclay is a bit meh, and McCarra the name doesn't even register. Just looked him up and he's the Grauniad guy and yeah he's alright but I wouldn't say must read.

Completely forgot about Samuels. Can't abide the Daily Mail so he's dropped off my radar. What I like about Samuels is that he continues to push his writing style, searching for new ground. It doesn't always work, but he's not afraid to try. A few months ago he used quantum physics as the basis for a riff on Newcastle United. That's bold.

Interesting.

Hugh's the first thing I read in the Sunday Times. After Winner's Dinners, of course.

I might be being a bit harsh, but is he still relevant? (ps Mrs Mills?)

Feel free to post links to some good McIlvaney, Winter stuff.

Actually its probably about time this conversation was moved to a separate thread. Could a moderator please create a new sports writing thread and move this all over please?

 

[Uncle Leo]

Martin Samuel is probably my favourite and as a subscriber to The Times I was gutted when he moved over to the Daily Mail. His Wednesday column in The Times has been replaced by former ping-pong player Matthew Syed who is rapidly disappearing up his own arse.

McIlvanney deserves his position as the doyen of British sports writers but I must confess to not enjoying his stuff as much as I used to.

Paul Kimmage (Sunday Times) is an excellent interviewer, whilst I enjoy Alan Lee (Times Horse Racing correspondent and occasional cricket writer) as well.

 

[Uncle Leo]

Actually its probably about time this conversation was moved to a separate thread. Could a moderator please create a new sports writing thread and move this all over please?

Good point YB. Sorted.

 

[Napster]

I might be being a bit harsh, but is he still relevant? (ps Mrs Mills?)

Feel free to post links to some good McIlvaney, Winter stuff.

Ok, Mrs Mills is up there as well - but Sport, then News Review, then the mags...

This is from the last piece about the ECB...

Giles must be joking

If wincing is the natural reaction to the gargantuan arrogance of Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman who was at the centre of the historic embarrassment created by English cricket’s tartish eagerness to fall into the financial embraces of Sir Allen Stanford, it must be said that Clarke has lately shown himself capable of making us laugh, albeit bitterly. He was busy last week reiterating his conviction that it would be ridiculous to expect him to resign in response to the news that the US Securities and Exchange Commission have accused the Texas-born Stanford of an $8bn fraud following lengthy investigations conducted by them and by the FBI. ‘I’m not going to walk away from something given the nature of some of the people who are shouting at me,’ said Clarke. ‘I think they are useless people who couldn’t run a ****-up in a brewery. . .’ If only we could believe that line was self-mockery.

 

[Napster]

Oh and Paul Hayward's OK as well. Believe it or not, Steve Howard isn't bad either.

 

[canveyshrimper]

Slipperduke reminded me of the late Ian Wooldridge who could write beautifully on a variety of topics but in particular Cricket & Boxing.

He was equally disparaging about the Olympic movement and His Excellency Juan Antonio Samaranch in particular.

As I mentioned on the other thread cricket appears to have some of the very best writers of any sport. My earliest recollections of sports reading were Neville Cardus, HS Altham, John Arlott (before the drink took him) and the inimitable Jonners.

Many former cricketers have also recently transferred well to the press box and I think Atherton & Pringle are normally worth a look. I like Nasser Hussain but can't be sure how much of his stuff is his.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Martin Samuel is probably my favourite and as a subscriber to The Times I was gutted when he moved over to the Daily Mail. His Wednesday column in The Times has been replaced by former ping-pong player Matthew Syed who is rapidly disappearing up his own arse.

McIlvanney deserves his position as the doyen of British sports writers but I must confess to not enjoying his stuff as much as I used to.

Paul Kimmage (Sunday Times) is an excellent interviewer, whilst I enjoy Alan Lee (Times Horse Racing correspondent and occasional cricket writer) as well.

Kimmage (if that is how you spell it) is superb and was going to be the first name I mentioned in the new thread.

Ok, Mrs Mills is up there as well - but Sport, then News Review, then the mags...

This is from the last piece about the ECB...

Giles must be joking

If wincing is the natural reaction to the gargantuan arrogance of Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman who was at the centre of the historic embarrassment created by English cricket’s tartish eagerness to fall into the financial embraces of Sir Allen Stanford, it must be said that Clarke has lately shown himself capable of making us laugh, albeit bitterly. He was busy last week reiterating his conviction that it would be ridiculous to expect him to resign in response to the news that the US Securities and Exchange Commission have accused the Texas-born Stanford of an $8bn fraud following lengthy investigations conducted by them and by the FBI. ‘I’m not going to walk away from something given the nature of some of the people who are shouting at me,’ said Clarke. ‘I think they are useless people who couldn’t run a ****-up in a brewery. . .’ If only we could believe that line was self-mockery.

That doesn't do it for me.

Slipperduke reminded me of the late Ian Wooldridge who could write beautifully on a variety of topics but in particular Cricket & Boxing.

He was equally disparaging about the Olympic movement and His Excellency Juan Antonio Samaranch in particular.

As I mentioned on the other thread cricket appears to have some of the very best writers of any sport. My earliest recollections of sports reading were Neville Cardus, HS Altham, John Arlott (before the drink took him) and the inimitable Jonners.

Many former cricketers have also recently transferred well to the press box and I think Atherton & Pringle are normally worth a look. I like Nasser Hussain but can't be sure how much of his stuff is his.

Who does Nasser write for? A lot of Atherton's stuff is now "in conversation with". It's a real shame as when he can be bothered to actually pen a piece he is a good writer. Hussain is a good perceptive commentator (and I hope those headhunters have sounded him out about the England coach's job)

You mentioned CLR James before as well, and I've had his View From the Boundary on my library wishlist for some time.

 

[Napster]

Kimmage (if that is how you spell it) is superb and was going to be the first name I mentioned in the new thread.

That doesn't do it for me.

Oo-er missus.

 

[BILLERICAY BLUE]

Who does Nasser write for?

Nasser writes for The Daily Mail. I only know this 'cos Mrs BB buys it. Wouldn't want you to think that I read it myself ;)

Another vote for Paul Hayward here as well.