My Grandad’s Game

“It’s really important to tell their stories and I’d love to hear grandad’s story, and he wants to do it,” Vicky McClure, 2023. Eighty years ago, the D-Day Landings took place on the beaches of Normandy, France, among them, a promising young footballer, Ralph McClure, of Collingham Footway, the Meadows, in Nottingham. Fast-forward eighty years,…

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Autograph Days

I blame Manchester United – in part, at least – for the early demise to my blossoming career as a sports journalist. It’s a tale full of intrigue, with accusations of fraud and dodgy money-making. The saga would have sat comfortably in today’s Westminster world of law-bending and money for honours culture but this was…

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Night Match

Is there anything quite like a match at the City Ground on a winter’s night? Something about darkness intensifies the experience as senses shift into hyper-alert. Every smell becomes essence of, whether it’s fags, beer or burgers. Every sight gains another characteristic, from a black velvet, rippling Trent, to a stadium so illuminated it has…

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Then And Now

Some people have it in spades; some people can barely muster a teaspoon full: emotional intelligence. It’s a fancy phrase to describe how well we communicate with one another, how we mange relationships at a personal or public level. To be effective, you need self-awareness and empathy. Forest fans currently don’t have to stray far…

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