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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

Football finale

It’s the most exciting Premier finish in years but are the public really engaged? High ticket prices, VAR – and the rarity of a key match on the traditional kick off time of 3 pm –  have all estranged the public. In the week I saw my optometrist, a visit with his son and friend to [...]

March 11, 2024 // 0 Comments

Ipswich 2 Norwich 2

I have a few good friends who support Ipswich so I watched on Sky yesterday what is wittily known as “the Old Farm Derby”. There must be some clever copywriters out there composing names for derbies as Brighton v Southampton is called the El Coastico. Mind you, these derbies are serious [...]

December 17, 2023 // 0 Comments

Watford Forever/John Preston

This is an illuminating account of the rise of Watford, focussing on Elton John and Graham Taylor. The relationship between the owner and manager is the key one in any club. There were few better than that between Elton John and Graham Taylor despite the fact the two were polar opposites. Elton [...]

November 29, 2023 // 0 Comments

Answered prayers/Duncan Hamilton

Duncan Hamilton is rightly acclaimed as one of our best – if not the best – sports biographer. It’s not a literary field crammed with talent. Most ghosted sports biographies are dull with some revelation for the serialisation in a newspaper. Duncan Hamilton writes on major but [...]

September 19, 2023 // 0 Comments

Football Prospects

We asked out football correspondents to provide their informed views on their clubs and prospects.   BRENTFORD Before I discuss Brentford it’s worth mentioning what we learned in the pre-season. Arsenal equalised in the 101st minute of the Community Shield match, confirming that extra time [...]

August 12, 2023 // 0 Comments

Patriotic football allegiances

In the week I had a long lunch with an old friend of mine – an Arsenal fanatic. He told me once that he was the only English supporter of Benfica in the 1968 European Cup Final against Manchester United. He now said he was firmly behind Inter Milan and this time I believe he did not walk [...]

June 11, 2023 // 0 Comments

Legends not Maketh Managers

There is a large sign at Stamford Bridge – ‘Welcome back Super Frank‘ – notwithstanding he has lost his first five games and was sacked from Chelsea. Lampard had early success at Derby largely because, through his Chelsea connections, he could get on loan youngsters like Mason [...]

April 20, 2023 // 0 Comments

England expects (not any more)

Since England won the World Cup on 1966 we have only got beyond the quarters twice – in 1990 and 2018. So it was no surprise to lose to France though it’s normally at the shootout not by missing penalties. The interesting aspect, some 72 hours on, is that there is not much stirring of [...]

December 14, 2022 // 0 Comments

World Cup thoughts

On the Rust we try to avoid replicating stuff from the back pages so I will not join in the chorus of criticism of Gareth Southgate for never bringing Phil Foden on in a dull performance against USA – except to say it was ever thus. In 1970 West Germany sent spies to the England training camp [...]

November 28, 2022 // 0 Comments

Champions League qualifiers

As often as not, a match on which much hangs can result in a cagey game. Not so Barcelona v Inter Milan last night. Barcelona’s debts are said to have reached 1 billion euros and their  future revenue streams have been compromised. Although on top of La Liga they must qualify for the business [...]

October 13, 2022 // 0 Comments

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