I Intend To Escape ......................And Come Back

When football was football

I always rather liked Joe Kinnear, who died at the weekend aged 77.

For an insight into football from another era, his obituary in The Telegraph discussed the bonus he got for winning the 1967 FA Cup final with Tottenham:

"His Cup bonus came to £2,500: he gave his mother £500, his sisters £30 and a new outfit each, bought his grandmother in Dublin a TV and an armchair, and himself a new Ford Corsair for £600. He then took his extended family for a six-week holiday in Ireland until the money ran out. “I couldn’t get rid of it quick enough,” he recalled."

While it is easy to dismiss the Kinnear of his Newcastle period as a buffoon, he managed Wimbledon to sixth spot in the top division, and two top ten finishes. Well anyone ever do that again?

Qatar: Two Contributions to Debate

During November we saw the opening of a World Cup that, for the first time in the modern history of football, was not greeted with universal enthusiasm by supporters. Why? The host, and the methods used to win the hosting of the tournament.

I was involved in two contributions which attempted to provide a little more background to Qatar, and in particular Britain's relationship with it. The first was supplying some additional information, along with Dr Damon Perry, to a report by Sir John Jenkins for Policy Exchange. A pdf is below.

Secondly, I wrote a short piece for the Conservative Home which argued that in our dealings with Qatar, the UK's social cohesion must come first. Again, a pdf is below.

Download Qatar-Friend-or-Frenemy 2022

Download Its time that British elites had a reality check about our relationship with Qatar Con Home 23 11 2022

Manchester United used to be above flag waving

In football, traditions matter. I feel the display of a Palestinian flag at Old Trafford by Paul Pogba and Amad Diallo was outside the traditions of the club.

It is hard to imagine it happening in an earlier era, especially when United worked so hard as a club not to be seen as partisan with regards to the Northern Ireland conflict. You can read my article arguing against sectarianism in football on Spiked, and also as a pdf below.

Download Sectarianism has no place at Man United - spiked 19 05 2021