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Articles by Rex Mitchell

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About Rex Mitchell

Rex Mitchell is a Brentford supporter from childhood. This has not prevented him having a distinguished Fleet Street career as a sports reporter and later deputy football editor. A widower, Rex is a bit of a bandit golfer off his official handicap of 20 and is currently chairman of his local bowls club. More Posts

BT FOOTBALL COVERAGE

Last night I watched the latest round of the Champions League on BT Sport. I have never been that impressed by their presentation but having acquired the rights they have certainly invested heavily in presenters. When I first began watching tv football in the sixties there were only two channels, [...]

November 25, 2015 // 0 Comments

El Clasico

Yesterday I watched Barcelona thrash Real Madrid 4-0 in El Clasico. It’s interesting how these big club matches are hyped up. There is genuine dislike between the two cities going back to the Spanish Civil War and the oppression of General Franco who stifled Catalan culture, education and [...]

November 22, 2015 // 0 Comments

Jurgen Klopp

Paul Hayward of the Telegraph is one of our more insightful sports correspondents. I remember hearing him on some football programme discussing the dismissal of Big Phil Scolari from Chelsea. He admitted that journalists had been lazy in their research as Scolari’s record in club football was [...]

October 14, 2015 // 0 Comments

View from abroad

I was rather surprised when, as football correspondent with a meagre knowledge of rugby, the sports editor asked me to contribute a piece on England’s victory over Fiji. I am scarcely qualified to speak on the technical stuff but they like to do this view from a different sport on the Rust. I [...]

September 19, 2015 // 0 Comments

The Olympic ideal

I was out driving yesterday – listening to Radio Five Live, natch – when the news came through that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had, by a margin of 44 votes to 40, decided to award the hosting of the 2022 Winter Olympics to Beijing in China instead of Almaty in Kazakhstan. There [...]

August 1, 2015 // 0 Comments

1966 and all that

I have been following Bernadette’s advice and watching The Professionals every Sunday morning. Yesterday I noticed there was a programme about Bobby Charlton before it and I became engrossed by it. I believe that 1966-70 was the golden period of British post war football. During it England [...]

June 22, 2015 // 0 Comments

The Champions League Final

The Champions League final can often produce a bore where the result is all. The auguries were not good when a well organised side like Juventus play a more expressive team like Barcelona. I was even more apprehensive when Phil Neville, a mediocre analyist, predicted an exciting game. For once Phil [...]

June 7, 2015 // 0 Comments

The Cup Final

The 2015 Cup Final between Arsenal and Aston Villa was too one-sided  a contest to be memorable so it’s worth considering the current status and presentation of this show piece of the sporting calendar … or is it?  In my lifetime it has reduced significantly in status. This is because [...]

May 31, 2015 // 0 Comments

Off the cuff v tactical

When I was a kid and became interested in football in the sixties, Charlie Buchan’s Football Monthly was required reading. It had big colour photos of our heroes but some interesting copy as well. Basil Easterbrook, a football writer for 35 years would recall great games he saw with a style [...]

April 28, 2015 // 0 Comments

He is one of our own

This is a popular chant beloved by Spurs fans of Harry Kane, who reflects the supporters conviction that their team is all the better for the participation of one of their own. In Newcastle John Carver – whose track record as manger is inferior to that of the southerner Alan Pardew, 26 [...]

April 7, 2015 // 0 Comments

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