Author Archives: nbidmead

Here is your starter for 52. Can you name the manager of a football club whose team played entertaining and stylish football, won trophies galore, was renowned for his suberb training, managed the club from bootroom to boardroom and resigned … Continue reading →

WE all know how a tiny peninsula in the Arabian Gulf won the right to stage the 2022 World Cup. The greedy and corrupt on the committee who sold football to the sun are unlikely to face anything harsher than … Continue reading →

Liverpool, Arsenal and now Chelsea. Away. Swansea City made a smart move recruiting Michael Laudrup during the summer and in the cool light of mid-winter it looks even smarter but they will do well to keep the charming Dane. Within … Continue reading →

Oliver Mortimer is no fleshy aristocrat with an island or two up his handmade shirt sleeve if the big ends fail to meet nor is he a son of wealth having fun before inheriting the family business. The 29 year … Continue reading →

The roar, when it came, pulled the boys out of their seats. They had never heard anything like it and joined in as Richard Whitehead came off the bend in the 200 metres, blades flailing, and began to motor. As … Continue reading →

Martin Brody knew the feeling. He was the Amity Island police chief who thought it safe to go back in the water. Little did he realise the hungry beast lurked. After the Calciopoli match-fixing scandal in 2006 Italian football gave … Continue reading →

Like a hill near Ladysmith in South Africa the main stand of the first ever purpose-built Olympic water polo arena rises steeply. 3,200 spectators face the teams as they enter the playing area and that is the way David Morley … Continue reading →

If Arsene Wenger watched Match of the Day on Saturday night he is entitled to feel offended. That afternoon Arsenal had drawn 1-1 at Stoke City and the Frenchman was, once again, the target of vile chants with thousands of … Continue reading →

The two football fans glanced at each other. The captain of the British Airways jet bound for Austria had just informed his passengers of the poor visibility at Innsbruck airport and the possibility of diverting to Munich. A snow storm, … Continue reading →

Later this month the rugby union World Cup takes place in New Zealand and hosts are the favourites to win the biggest sporting event of the year. The All Blacks are the best team in the world and home advantage … Continue reading →