Backpage Sports Stories

Blog

NEW BOOK: Deadlines and Darts with Dele

I USED to count the days until Jonathan Northcroft left the country. This is not a slight on the man himself. It’d be hard to meet a finer fellow in journalism. You see, around the early noughties, Jonny was working for Sunday Times Scotland as their chief football writer. Rumour had it that he was moving to a north of England beat, which would lead to a reshuffle on the Scottish desk. Read More →

Blog

Tribute: How a leap of faith propelled Alan Gilzean to the heights of the game

This callow 14-year-old, a schoolboy during the day and berry picker in the Perthshire countryside during the evenings, is laying the groundwork for a career in professional football. He does not know this yet. But one day, for a time, he will be the most-feared centre-forward in Europe and arguably the best header of a football ever. Read More →

Blog

Exclusive extract: Thierry, Technique and Team Belgium

This is an exclusive extract from Football 2.0: How the world’s best play the modern game. Through extensive interviews with one player in every key position on and off the pitch, Grant Wahl (Sports Illustrated) breaks down the technical and tactical revolution that has transformed football. ‘The Manager’ chapter is built around extensive interviews with Belgium head coach Roberto Martinez. Here, he breaks down how he assembled his backroom team, including Thierry Henry Read More →

Podcast

Between the Lines: New World Cup Series

Huge thanks to everyone who listened and subscribed to Season One of Between the Lines. We’ve recorded some new episodes for a World Cup series, which will hopefully get you in the mood for Russia this summer. Read More →

Blog

NEW BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT! Football 2.0: How the world’s best play the modern game

We have been fans of Grant Wahl’s writing for many years. I read his first book, The Beckham Experiment, when it came out and have followed his writing closely for Sports Illustrated. Read More →

Podcast

Between the Lines #3: How Sports Illustrated made the greatest long-shot in sportswriting history

In 2014 Ben Reiter wrote a cover story for Sports Illustrated. The headline ran: Your 2017 World Series Champs. The picture was of George Springer, then a rookie for the Houston Astros, then the worst team in baseball and maybe the worst in the history of the sport. Read More →

Blog

Rodgers’ Invincibles have already secured their place in history

“Have you started writing Invincible II?” I’ve been asked that question several times over the last six months as Celtic continued their unbeaten domestic record under Brendan Rodgers. My answer has always been the same: “No, because it won’t be another Invincible season.” Read More →

Podcast

NEW PODCAST! Between the Lines: The Stories Behind Great Sports Writing

Today we launch a new podcast – Between the Lines: The Stories Behind Great Sports Writing. The premise is simple: we interview the authors of great sports writing – from classic sports books to brilliant pieces of long-form journalism and huge sports news stories. Read More →

Blog

Father’s Day? How about a book of nostalgic football poetry that funds a brilliant charity?

A few years ago, we got involved with a project called Football Memories. Run by Alzheimer Scotland, these groups help improve the lives of people with dementia by using old images to start discussions about players, teams and matches from years ago. I’ve sat in on a few of these sessions and the transformation in the people present is staggering. Read More →

Blog

NEW BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT! Invincible: Brendan Rodgers’ historic first season at Celtic

We spent the first six weeks of 2017 planning out the rest of the year and the first half of 2018. We got our production schedule locked down and it looked like being a packed 12-18 months. One day during this six-week period, my phone rang. It was David Friel, a friend and football writer for the Scottish Sun. He had started writing an ebook on Celtic’s 2016/17 campaign, which was shaping up to be trophy laden under new manager Brendan Rodgers. Read More →