Song to Elizabeth Fraser

This week I was reminded of a song that I had long forgotten. The song was one of my favourites at the end of the 1980s and on playing it again after many years of not hearing it, it still sounded like one of the most beautiful songs ever recorded. The song was ‘Song to the Siren’ by This Mortal Coil, but they were essentially The Cocteau Twins under another name. What makes the song so special is an amazing vocal performance by Cocteau Twins lead singer, Elizabeth Fraser.

Elisabeth Fraser was once described as having “the voice of God”. While the description might be excessive, listening to ‘Song to the Siren’, you can understand where the person who wrote it was coming from. Fraser’s voice is truly unique and other-worldly, yet connects with your soul in a way few other voices can. I first heard ‘Song to the Siren’ in the late 1980s a few years after its...

Champions League Final 2016

Two years later and the Champions League Final has the same two finalists from the same city. So what’s changed in two years?

In that time, Real Madrid have sacked their managers twice, Carlo Ancelotti, who they won the 2014 Champions League with, and Rafa Benítez. Although they still have the two most expensive players in the world with Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo. Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, Atletico Madrid have kept their manager, Diego Simeone, but have had many changes in players.

Some things however, don’t change: the profile of their respective supporters has remained much the same. Two years ago I wrote an article previewing the final from the point of view of someone who lives in Madrid but didn’t grow up there. There’s not much I’d change in that assessment. Whilst Atletico supporters remain broadly similar to supporters of...

“Daddy! He said knickers!”

I fell in love with I am the walrus when I realised that John Lennon sang about knickers in the song. Knickers was a blasphemous word for me at that age. It ranked alongside poo-poo, willy and bottom as words to cause offence.

I knew the song because my dad had a home recorded cassette tape of The Beatles 1967–1970 double album — AKA “the blue one”. It was played a lot in the car on long journeys. I remember the tape well: it said “BEATLES 67–70” written down the side on red Dymo adhesive tape. The majority of the other cassette tapes that my dad had in the car had blue Dymo adhesive tape with things like “EAGLES GREATEST”, “DEREK & THE DOMINOS”, “SIMON & GARFUNKEL”. The red Dymo tape made the Beatles tape stand out and for me it was “the red one”. This would confuse me later in life.

My dad also had the other Beatles collection — The Beatles 1962–1966 —...

All the group stage matches have been played and tomorrow the knock-out phase begins with the ‘round of 16’ or octavos, as it is more conveniently called in Spanish. Let’s take stock of what’s happened – every team has scored, there have been great goals and great saves; amazing dribbles and intricate interplay; counter attacks and free kicks; solid defending and shambolic defending; refereeing errors and new technology; last minute drama and huge upsets. Plus we’ve had the Suarez bite and a squad implosion with Ghana. There’s been a lot to celebrate. This World Cup has been brilliant and we’ve only just got through the group phase!

England are out of the World Cup. But despite spirited performances they looked like they were lacking in ideas and technical know-how. This isn’t a new thing with England - time after time in major tournaments, England play with a lot of spirit but just...

There’s been a lot of speculation and waiting but finally on Thursday night the first match of the 2014 World Cup kicks off when Brazil, the hosts, take on Croatia. This means that the office sweepstakes around the world are being drawn.

The main contenders

But who are the best teams to draw? Undoubtedly, the team who most think have the best chance of winning is Brazil: home advantage, five times past winners, star players throughout their team … How could they possibly fail to win it? Too much pressure maybe? It was probably too much pressure which cost Brazil the World Cup when they last hosted it in 1950 and were similarly favourites to win it.

Argentina are second favourites. As well as the best player in the world with Messi, Argentina have many other talented players, and are tipped by many to win their third World Cup. They’ve certainly got the attacking players but do they...

For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the message was lost.
For want of a message the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

Argentina vs Netherlands, World Cup Final, 1978. The score is 1-1 and in injury time Rensenbrink, the Dutch forward, gets onto the end of a long pass and this happens:

Five centimetres to the right and The Netherlands score the goal that would have won them the World Cup. How would things be different if the ball had gone in?

Of the many things you hear said about football, one of the most common is the cliché about it being ‘only a game’. Which factually, is perfectly true. It’s also true that Michelangelo’s painting in the Sistine Chapel is only a ceiling, and Stonehenge is only a few rocks. It’s the...

30 May 2014 - This article is dedicated to my father who encouraged me to write and like football; and without whom this article would not have been possible. Happy Birthday Dad!

fatherhood + football = summer 2014

This summer there are two things that are dominating my thoughts: being a father for the second time and the football World Cup.

As sporting events go, the World Cup is big. Really, really big. In 2010, three billion people, that’s half the planet, watched the final between Netherlands and Spain. This is the largest ever TV audience, which makes the World Cup final the single greatest simultaneous human collective experience in history.

Why is football so big? How does it manage to attract so much attention? Maybe, it’s due to its apparent simplicity - it can be played on practically any surface and the equipment needed is minimal. However, its popularity is also its...

Champions League Final 2014

The Champions League Final later this month is the first time in the history of the European Cup final that the two finalists have come from the same city. Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid’s stadiums are located either side of the city centre, but what distinguishes the two teams? Are they merely two teams separated by a few kilometres, or are they separated by class, history, politics or something else?

Real Madrid are the kings of football in these parts - they have won nine European titles to Atletico Madrid’s none. Additionally, Real have won 32 La Liga titles to Atletico’s nine. So, Real are literally leagues ahead of Atletico in footballing terms. What distinguishes them beyond titles won? Atletico Madrid have the profile which is more that of a typical football team, their supporter profile has traditionally been more working class, whilst the Real...