I have been working as a writer, editor, researcher and statistician on European and
international football for over 30 years. General Editor of the European Football
Yearbook from beginning (1988/89 edition) to end (2017/18), I also worked from 1993 to
2006 as a contributor to the Sunday Times and have supplied the Visitors copy to the
Arsenal matchday programme since 1997.
I have been a consultant to UEFA.com since 2007 and currently write and edit press kits
for the Champions League, Europa League and European Qualifiers as well as updating
the all-time statistics of the two major club competitions after each matchday.
I have worked for a number of magazines in the past, including World Soccer, Football
Europe, 90 Minutes, Inside Edge, Eleven and Champions, and have written and edited
many preview publications for World Cups and European Championships.
The written word is my forté, so I prefer to shy away from television and radio. One of
the most fulfilling aspects of my job is unearthing – often through painstaking research –
a fact, landmark or background story that is not widely known, and I hope to make that
one of the main reasons why people will want to visit this website.
On a personal level, I am married with two children (one of each, both in their 20s) and
have supported Leicester City for over half a century. I was actually born on the same
day as club legend Gary Lineker, who was one of two sporting idols of my youth (though
I tend to cringe at most things he says these days as a broadcaster and tweeter). The other
was Nick Faldo, who helped inspire me to take up golf, which remains a blissful, if
occasionally frustrating, addiction (I veer between nine and ten handicap) – rather like
my visits to the King Power Stadium with my son, which, since our fabulous Premier
League title win and magical Champions League adventure, have never been anticipated
with so much fervour and excitement.
Football is my work, but it is also my passion. There are other sports that I enjoy greatly
– primarily golf, cricket, rugby union and NFL – but football is the one I care about most,
and I trust that my long-standing, deep-rooted affinity for the game and its welfare will
come through in my words and comments on this website.
