Best Journos

bigstar

What football journalists or papers do you like? reading some posts, people link to lots of newspaper articles in the sun/star/herald etc, that i would not trust for a second, most journos seem to follow the sensationalist philosophy of journalism a la dunphy. which papers/journalists do you read and trust?

Charlie

Sam Wallace - UK Independent.

Expecting this thread to be a Sid Lowe wankfest.

bigstar

no decent irish ones then, no wonder i dont like irish papers

Idu

Miguel Delaney - Sunday Tribune

Knows his stuff

Smegball

Simon Bird! JFK will agree with me

bigstar

cascarino is on SSN, i know hes not strictly a journo but he deserves a mention, absolutely awful, indicative of the football journalism atm.

yahoo_moe

janets_on_clubs wrote: »

Miguel Delaney - Sunday Tribune

Yeah, Miguel Delaney's not bad.

I enjoy Kevin McCarra in the Guardian too - his stuff's often syndicated in the Irish papers too.

Mr Alan

Brian Reade & Oliver Holt in the Mirror are both excellent imo.

_blank_

Paul Hyland.
















































not

Charlie

Mr Alan wrote: »

Brian Reade & Oliver Holt in the Mirror are both excellent imo.

You do know Olly Holt is the biggest United journo going. Daycent, but from a Liverpool perspective, I wouldn't have imagined he would be your cup of tea.

Incidentally, Holt is the son of the actress who has played Emily Bishop on Corrie for 40 odd years.

As tabloids go, the Mirror's coverage is far superior to The Sun.

_blank_

Charlie wrote: »

Emily Bishop

Where's that little smiley you are always using?

Charlie

Des wrote: »

Where's that little smiley you are always using?

You sick cunt.



T'would be equivalent to this^^^^tbh.

shane86

Roy Curtis in the Sunday World, if only to count how many analogies he can fit into one article.

I counted fourteen not long ago ffs


Dunphy us better heard than read He doesnt bother typing words like "baby" so it doesnt have the same impact.......

tomred1

Tom Humphries does it for me.

ibh

James Lawton all the way. Rarely puts a foot wrong. I have seen another journo with the name Lawton as well. wondering if he was related??

gimmick

Graham Hunter, for me, is the best there is at the moment.

SectionF

Daniel McDonnell in the Indo is a proper football reporter, and there are a bunch of good journalists covering the national league generally, though it surely is career suicide to do so.

And 'across the water', Rod Liddle is brilliant.

Charlie

ibh wrote: »

James Lawton all the way. Rarely puts a foot wrong. I have seen another journo with the name Lawton as well. wondering if he was related??

That would be Matt Lawton. A bit meh.

Anyone here watch Sunday Supplement on Sky Sports? Can be very good when they get the right lineup.

RichTea

The Guardian and The Times (UK) are the ones I rate the most.

ibh

Charlie wrote: »

That would be Matt Lawton. A bit meh.

Anyone here watch Sunday Supplement on Sky Sports? Can be very good when they get the right lineup.

Cheers that's him alright..

LuckyLloyd

ibh wrote: »

James Lawton all the way. Rarely puts a foot wrong. I have seen another journo with the name Lawton as well. wondering if he was related??

He's the rolls ryce of football journalism as far as I'm concerned. For a paper as a whole, I think the Guardian stable do a very solid job with their top to bottom coverage.

Xavi6

James Richardson and Henry Winter are two I like. Balligue is good as well because he's a straight talker and reliable.


Oliver Holt is a clown.

Diabhal Beag

Marcotti or Hunter

Anybody who says Henry Winter...













































WRONG!

Charlie

Xavi6 wrote: »

James Richardson and Henry Winter are two I like. Balligue is good as well because he's a straight talker and reliable.


Oliver Holt is a clown.

Henry Winter is excellent. Always enjoy watching him on Sunday Supp.

See Al, I told Oli was a rednose.

UnitedIrishman

Henry Winter, Gabrielle Marcotti, Tom Humphries, Peter Sweeney in the Star isn't bad either. Haven't read much of Ballague's stuff but he comes across well on the La Liga programmes - very straight talking.

Roy Curtis has some great analogies but far too often contradicts himself or goes back on something he has said previously. Very much a bandwagon journalist.

Tom65

tomred1 wrote: »

Tom Humphries does it for me.

Yeah. I know he's not strictly a football journo, but he's probably the best there is at the moment.


The Guardian is surprisingly good for football, too, but I couldn't name any of their writers.

iregk

Ballague, Marcotti and Richardson for me.

Having watched his performance however in the last Sky Ireland match Gary Kelly I think could be in for a super career...

























...as a bag boy in Tesco.

Zebra3

tomred1 wrote: »

Tom Humphries does it for me.

He's hopeless.

ibh wrote: »

James Lawton all the way. Rarely puts a foot wrong. I have seen another journo with the name Lawton as well. wondering if he was related??

Lawton's an idiot. Did you reead his piece on the Sunderland-Newcastle match recently? He made up complete and utter lies claiming there was rioting on the pitch and everything and then started to reminise about the glory days gone past of crowds being well-behaved. Like what the pitch invasions of the 60s? English fans rioting in the 70s? Killing Italians in the 80s? destroying Lansdowne in the 90s? Talk about deluded. How the Guardian (a decent paper) employ him is beyond belief though it makes sense that a rag like the Indo carry his articles.

I find Malone is one, if not the best for the league, and abroad, Guillem Balague for La Liga and James Richardson for Serie A.

stovelid

Off the top of my head: Lawton, Lowe, Mcarra and Liddle. Also John Nicholson on F365, if we're stretching to web pieces.

I wouldn't classify Tom Humphries as a football journalist since he got the GAA fuhrer gig, despite him wheeling out his Leeds/Bohs schtick every now and then.

If we're including non-football journalists, some of Keith Duggan's columns can be pretty good.

_blank_

Tom65 wrote: »

The Guardian is surprisingly good for football, too, but I couldn't name any of their writers.

Surprisingly?

It's been great for football coverage for nigh on ten years now.

I've been reading the guardian website for at least that long.

Best there is, imo.

ibh

Zebra3 wrote: »

.



Lawton's an idiot. Did you reead his piece on the Sunderland-Newcastle match recently? He made up complete and utter lies claiming there was rioting on the pitch and everything and then started to reminise about the glory days gone past of crowds being well-behaved. Like what the pitch invasions of the 60s? English fans rioting in the 70s? Killing Italians in the 80s? destroying Lansdowne in the 90s? Talk about deluded. How the Guardian (a decent paper) employ him is beyond belief though it makes sense that a rag like the Indo carry his articles.

.

I remember his article on that incident but i don't remember it being about how things were great in the good ol days. Maybe that was just how you understood it. I find him to be articulate without being pretentious, and extremely knowlegable on a number of sports, and... i just like the cut of his jib basically...;)

He also has a keen interest in the Irish national team, (professionally at least, prob cause Indo print his stuff) and he generally gives a good balanced view on the England team, unlike some other English journo's who can't believe England aren't winng World Cups with the players they have..:rolleyes:

Tom65

Des wrote: »

Surprisingly?

It's been great for football coverage for nigh on ten years now.

I've been reading the guardian website for at least that long.

Best there is, imo.

I say surprisingly good because I think the paper itself is awful.

yabadabado

i think lawton is very good and the guardian do very good football reporting but there is a huge amount of **** football reporters out there.hate roy curtis with a passion.

ArmaniJeanss

I like Rod Liddle in the Sunday Times, some thought provoking stuff and not afraid to be politically incorrect re stuff like alleged racist/homophobic chanting on Sol Campbell.

HalloweenJack

Tim Vickery's blog on BBC is very good, Paddy Agnew is a very enjoyable writer and Emmet Malone is also very good. The writers in the Guardian are good but I don't read it that often so don't know them by name.

I absolutely despise Tom Humphries. I find his articles pure waffle. He's just not as direct as the ultra-tool Dunphy. I wouldn't touch any of the tabloids, they're all crap.

I have to add Noel Ahern to the list of writers I despise. Easily one of the laziest writers I've ever known. I remember sitting beside him in a press box and seeing him looking up eircom league history on Wikipedia while "reporting" on a football match. FFS :mad:

SectionF

stovelid wrote: »

O
I wouldn't classify Tom Humphries as a football journalist since he got the GAA fuhrer gig, despite him wheeling out his Leeds/Bohs schtick every now and then.

I keep seeing this about his Bohs thing, but I can't remember any claim by him that he's a fan. It comes up every now and again on the Bohs MB and afaik no one can ever remember seeing him at Dalymount.

BTW, FP's take on his 'reality'

stovelid

SectionF wrote: »

I keep seeing this about his Bohs thing, but I can't remember any claim by him that he's a fan. It comes up every now and again on the Bohs MB and afaik no one can ever remember seeing him at Dalymount.

Aye, I'm nearly certain he's said it in one of his columns before.

Maybe he's doing it to wind up Rovers fans in the light of his remarks about the club during the Thomas Davis case.

Jazzy

James Richardson

whatawaster

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

I like Rod Liddle in the Sunday Times, some thought provoking stuff and not afraid to be politically incorrect re stuff like alleged racist/homophobic chanting on Sol Campbell.

Dunphy's friend?

Brian Reade, Marcotti, Ballague, Holt, Lowe

eZe^

Sid Lowe and Phil Ball.

eirebhoy

bigstar wrote: »

no decent irish ones then, no wonder i dont like irish papers

Daniel McDonnell in the Indo is good. He actually knows his football.

Face of the future

Friday December 21 2007

James McCarthy was hugely influenced in his decision to play for Ireland by his grandfather and has impressed in their under-age teams

MARIE McCARTHY is getting used to the chore of welcoming strangers into her home and making them cups of tea. Rarely a day passes without some unknown face arriving onto her doorstep.

From the outside, their two storey home looks no different to any other in the vast working class housing estates on the outskirts of Glasgow. Within the four walls, however, there has been a wide array of visitors who have travelled from afar in search of their own Holy Grail.

That's what happens when you house one of the most sought after teenage midfielders in European football. Seventeen-year-old James McCarthy may ply his trade with the modest artisans of Hamilton Academicals in the Scottish First Division but his prodigious talent has alerted every major scout in the game.

Representatives of all the top Premiership clubs have visited at some stage or another in a bid to secure the signature of the hottest property in Scotland. The locals claim that Hamilton's average attendance has doubled with all the observers who come to watch the red haired central midfielder with a goalscoring touch.

Surreal

As we speak in hushed tones in the kitchen while a surprise visitor from the BBC interviews James in the adjoining living room, Marie's husband Willie explains that Brian Kidd had recently been in this spot bartering on Sheffield United's behalf. For the hosts, it was a surreal experience.

The day after our meeting, a representative of Sunderland was on the guest list. And, in addition to the Premiership Big Four, there has even been a visitor from Spain where Barcelona and Deportivo La Coruna have been watching his progress with interest.

They are giddy times but the story has an added twist. He may be Glasgow born and bred in but the photos on the wall make it clear where his international allegiances lie. Fittingly, the postman drops by with a delivery of custom made football boots from Nike for his elder brother Paul. At the heel, the chosen emblem is the familiar tricolour of green white and gold.

McCarthy has declared for Ireland and is not for turning on the matter.

The natives aren't happy but then maybe they don't quite understand where he is coming from. Either way, they will have to accept it.

****

Paddy Coyle's story was a common one amongst his generation. In the early 1930's, as a teenager, he left his home in Donegal to move to Scotland in search of work and link up with some of those which had gone before him. Economical truths were told about his age in order to secure work labouring and doing whatever was needed to make a few bob.

He was the eldest of eight children and, as circumstance would have it, when he married he would father eight kids of his own. The family set up home in the Castlemilk area on the south east of the city, a part of town established by the local Corporation to find housing space for people living in the overcrowded inner city slums.

Over time, the area has developed considerably in terms of amenities for the locals and is unrecognisable from what it once was.

What has remained constant is the suburb's distinctly Irish feel. The shop fronts and businesses bear names like McDaid and Farrell and other clans of Irish origin. In some respects, it has become a home away from home.

Throughout his life, Paddy never lost touch with the land he left behind. He'd been a handy enough GAA player in his day and represented Donegal at underage level so always kept in touch with their exploits.

Pleasure

In his new home, Glasgow Celtic and football became a passion and in his latter years, he took immense pleasure from Ireland qualifying for three World Cups and made sure that the ever extending family circle clearly understood the significance.

For the exiles of Castlemilk it had a special resonance as a central figure in those glory days was someone who had grown up just around the corner.

The Houghton family were near neighbours and Ray's brother John had dated one of the Coyle sisters in their youth. To this day, the families remain in touch -- albeit from afar as the Houghtons moved south with Ray when football took him there.

Not that the Coyle kids needed much reminding of their Irishness. Through their father's storytelling and interests it was never far away.

Honour

Even as they grew up and flew the coop they were never too far from his side. All but one still live in the general area and, despite his passing, the offspring still gather every Saturday night in the family home to honour a tradition which was part of their upbringing.

Those Saturdays were special. The lads might go out for a pint while the women would stick around the house having a chat as the brood marauded around the place.

Now and again, there would be the odd singsong while some of the younger ones engaged in Irish dancing. It may sound like a cliche, but this was the reality for the tight knit Coyle clan and so much of the Irish diaspora who made this part of Glasgow their home.

Marie was the third born Coyle child and the first daughter. She grew up and married Willie McCarthy, a Scot who has Cork blood back in his family tree. They settled, unsurprisingly, in Castlemilk and have four children. First came Paul, then Brian, then Lisa and last in the line was James.

As it became abundantly clear that James was a special football talent, Paddy said nothing would make him happier than to see his grandson represent Ireland. Scotland had consistently dithered over including him in squads but when Sean McCaffrey was made aware of his availability two years ago he was on the next plane over and the rest, as they say, is history.

Sadly, Paddy would not be around to witness his dream come to fruition. Early last year, aged 89, he left this world with a dying wish that James would stay true to his Irish ambitions.

After making that promise, there was never any chance of James turning back. And there never will be.

What he didn't expect was the furore that it would cause. He's well used to being asked by the Scottish press about his intentions and a recent presentation of a Player of the Month award was hijacked and turned into a grilling on the topic.

"It's always the same when you get an interview here in Scotland," says James.

"They're always asking so 'what's happening, are you going to change?' and it's at the stage now where I just say 'we'll see what happens' to put them off and get them off my back.

Happy

"I won a Player of the Month Award but spent my entire time talking about that. But I'm happy where I'm at, with Ireland. The fuss can be annoying, but it doesn't really bother me."

He'd rather just play football. Yet the nastier side of the fall-out behind his decision has angered the family. At certain away grounds, they've sat and endured the pain of hearing abuse being rained down upon James with trips to Stirling and Partick in particular bringing back bad memories. To the uneducated, he is a traitor and many more unprintables.

After one particular game, Paul and Brian stumbled upon an internet forum where the accusation had been made that James had blessed himself twice during a match as means of provocation. It was absolutely groundless but the legacy of the courage of his convictions is that such innuendo is likely to follow him.

It would be diff-erent if he moved away from Scotland and privately his family are accepting of that fact. Realis-tically, it will come into the equation when big decisions are made in the New Year.

There are no regrets though. He has been involved in McCaffrey squads at under 17, under 18 and under 19 level and has settled into the group quickly, keeping in contact with his team-mates between call ups. Their camaraderie helped ahead of his first outing against Italy.

"They just laughed about everything that was going on around the time. Yeah, there was a wee bit of pressure and nerves but once I get on the park I don't really get nervous."

The last statement -- like most of McCarthy's words -- is spoken softly rather than with youthful brashness. There is confidence in his ability, but no trace of arrogance. All the same, it is reassuring that when asked his opinion of the prodigy, ex-Dunferm-line boss Stephen Kenny speaks of his toughness on the park as a principal attribute.

His unassuming nature could fool one into possibly thinking that the necessary hard edge to mix it with the big boys might be lacking. On the other hand, it's doubtful that any player -- let alone one who made his debut at the tender young age of 15 -- could excel in the tough world of the Scottish First Division without having the necessary aggression.

Personally he believes his two years scrapping it out have been a far better education than what would have awaited him at Celtic who opted not to take him on as they were over-subscribed numbers wise. Considering they are now amongst his suitors, it was an unfortunate call on their part.

"I was upset about it at the time but I just got on with it and it's worked out better," recalls McCarthy. "I'm playing first team with Hamilton and I've enjoyed it. The set up is great and it's a fantastic stepping stone."

After a flying start to the campaign, the Accies are fighting it out for top spot with Dundee. There's a young nucleus to the squad which has made the bedding in process far easier than it might have been in different environments.

Ambition

As a debt of gratitude to the faith his manager Billy Reid and all at the club have shown in him, McCarthy is desperate to stick around and deliver promotion even if he knows that there's little prospect of him still being around for the SPL if that ambition is achieved.

Instead, he will be employed in more salubrious pastures but isn't sure where. He has already spent time on trial with Reading, Celtic and Liverpool and enjoyed the various experiences. The opportunity to join the last and most illustrious of those was there in January but all concerned felt it would be better if he stuck around home a little bit longer.

"I didn't want to leave home," he concedes. "I'm happy here with the family, they keep my feet on the ground but at the end of the season I'll see what happens.

I just enjoy being here at home but I know something might be around the corner.

"I leave it to my advisor (George Gray) to deal with it because I just want to concentrate on football. It's good to be mentioned in the papers about who wants me and this and that. And, yeah, sometimes I might be lying in bed thinking about what might happen but I've got to focus on my football and not let the talk get to me."

Instead, it's Willie and Marie who are left to ponder the heart rendering decisions that have to be made. Like the Houghtons all those years ago, every offer from a club in England comes with the carrot of free accommodation for the family to ensure maximum stability for James. They accept that life as they know it may never be the same again.

The excitement about what may lie ahead is palpable but it's tempered by the reason that comes with solid upbringing.

Promising teenagers who have been touted as the next big thing but disappeared just as quickly are ten a dozen. In football circles, though, there is strong belief that this kid can be one of the other two.

Paddy Coyle would be proud. His love for Ireland never wavered and now his legacy to his country will be stronger than he ever could have imagined when he headed for the boat all those years ago.

As James knows more than most, home is truly where the heart is.

James McCarthy: Factfile of a star in the making

Born: November 12, 1990: Glasgow

Club: Hamilton Academicals

Position: Central Midfield

Appearances: 46

Goals: 7

Debut: September 30, 2006 v Queen of the South

Ireland Debut: January 23, 2007 Ireland U-17 v Italy

What they say about him

Billy Reid, Hamilton manager: "I have heard a lot of young players getting hyped up over the years and for any youngster to be compared to established international stars is unfair but this isn't just hype with James. We have something special."


Sean McCaffrey, Ireland youth boss: "There's no question James has all the attributes needed to become a top player. He's special but his next career move is very important."

What he says about the future

"I just want to concentrate on football. It's good to be mentioned in the papers about who wants me and this and that. And, yeah, sometimes I might be lying in bed thinking about what might happen, but I've got to focus on my football and not let the talk get to me."

SectionF

stovelid wrote: »

Maybe he's doing it to wind up Rovers fans in the light of his remarks about the club during the Thomas Davis case.

No. He's just trying to be cool, like us.

applehunter

Liam Mackey from the Examiner.

OPENROAD

Subscribe to the London Evening Standard which is good for London clubs, otherwise The London Times and The Guardian on a Saturday are good.

Daysha

James Lawton is like a professional Eamonn Dunphy. He tries to come across all impressive and philisophical, but in the end of the day he's just a begrudgering idiot who kicks up a fuss over nothing

Aidric

janets_on_clubs wrote: »

Miguel Delaney - Sunday Tribune

Knows his stuff

Good shout. I enjoy his articles a lot. I'd add Tom Humphries to that also. Lol @ the Roy Curtis reference, he tries to outdo himself with each piece of sh1t he pens.

LuckyLloyd

HalloweenJack wrote: »

Paddy Agnew

Great shout, can't believe I forgot him. His ode to Italian football, "Forza Italia", is strongly recommended.

eagle eye

There are a lot of fantastic writers in the Observer/Guardian and the Independent in the UK not the Irish one. I personally like Simon Burnton.

SectionF

deise59 wrote: »

James Lawton is like a professional Eamonn Dunphy. He tries to come across all impressive and philisophical, but in the end of the day he's just a begrudgering idiot who kicks up a fuss over nothing

I'm trying to work out how much of that refers to Dunphy.

Mr Alan

Charlie wrote: »

You do know Olly Holt is the biggest United journo going. Daycent, but from a Liverpool perspective, I wouldn't have imagined he would be your cup of tea.

Him being pro Utd isnt really an issue tbh.

Long as he isn't making **** up about them that isnt true, or glossing over problems they have it doesnt bother me.

He writes excellent pieces on the way the game is today. The main reason i like both him & reade is cause they are clearly passionate about the game & are not overly enthused about the direction the game has gone.

smashey

I read Oliver Holt and Henry Winter and although he's not strictly a football journalist, Hugh McIlvaney writes with a lot of knowledge and common sense.