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Red Bull Newcastle v Harlequins & The Rugby Championship

Just like in cricket there are are too many rugby tournaments. No doubt TV is responsible : Sky sports and TNT are paymasters and ringmasters. Quins played Red Bull Newcastle – the latter  re-branded from Newcastle Falcons – in the Premiership Cup. Players are now so overloaded that [...]

September 14, 2025 // 0 Comments

VE Day: 80 years on

Broadly I was in favour of an 80th anniversary remembrance of VE Day. There are only some 50 veterans left and it’s right that a new generation knows of the incredible sacrifices made. I say ‘Broadly’ as I thought it wrong that the Poles were not invited. They smuggled out the machine that [...]

May 7, 2025 // 0 Comments

Brighton falter & new cricket season starts

Brighton were badly beaten 3-0 at the Amex last night by Aston Villa. We played well without creating too many chances. The number 10 position poses a problem for Fabian Hürzeler since Pascal Groß departed back to Germany. Six players have been tried there but the most obvious candidate is [...]

April 3, 2025 // 0 Comments

Six Nations/all considered

With staggered kick-offs three countries led the table but most wiseacres thought France would win it – as indeed they did, beating a spirited Scotland. I did not watch Italy v Ireland but, though the latter did not live up to their “favourites” billing, they will supply the bulk [...]

March 16, 2025 // 0 Comments

On podcasts & history

Podcasts are all the rage now and seem to conform with the addiction to mobile phones. A friend of mine likened them to being caught by bores in the pub. The format is generally a duet who either agree with one another sycophantically or indeed disagree from different viewpoints. The dominant [...]

February 28, 2025 // 0 Comments

Does Sir Jim Ratcliffe get a fair press?

Our sporting press like nothing better than to criticise. Two weeks ago, in rugby’s Six Nations tournament, England were predicted to lose to France and head coach Steve Borthwick was under the cosh. England then proved the critics wrong. Underlying this critique is the patronising assumption [...]

February 22, 2025 // 0 Comments

The Tanner Report: Fulham 2 Nottingham Forest 1

We maintained the form that achieved a draw at Liverpool and wins at Chelsea and Newcastle with a well-deserved victory over Forest who won 7 games consecutively in December and had put 7 past Brighton. In terms of performance it might just be our best this season with Forest having no answer to [...]

February 17, 2025 // 0 Comments

Sir Keith Park

On Monday I walked from Victoria Station to my club The Reform in Pall Mall. As a London park I prefer Regents Park, not just because of its greater amenities (the boating lake, Rose Garden, Open Air Theatre and Zoo), but because you can get lost there – whereas at St James, you are more or [...]

January 21, 2025 // 0 Comments

The Tanner Report: Fulham 4 Watford 1

Reporting on this victory is secondary to commenting on the decline of the FA Cup in my lifetime. The year of my birth (1954) witnessed what many consider the greatest game ever played at Craven Cottage – a cup tie with  the holders Newcastle United which the latter won 5-4. The linesman who [...]

January 10, 2025 // 0 Comments

England win Test series 2-0.

It may have passed your notice as sporting events and achievements outside the UK are sparsely covered but New Zealand, without Kane Williamson, won their series in India this year 3-0. The odds on this were 2000-1. England lost theirs in Pakistan 1-2. After winning the first Test, Pakistan [...]

December 8, 2024 // 0 Comments

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