Showing 1 - 4 of 4
The umpire who became a legend
Sports, Nobby Piles, Published on 27/09/2025
» The widespread tributes to cricket umpire Harold 'Dickie' Bird who passed away this week at the age of 92 show how much he was admired in the cricketing world. It is extremely rare for an official in any sport to be acknowledged in such a manner, but Bird was someone special. He was an eccentric character and the subject of many anecdotes.
Just ordinary! When 'Billy the Horse' saved Wembley match
Sports, Nobby Piles, Published on 03/06/2023
» Despite the two big Manchester clubs reaching the FA Cup final for a combined 31 times, this afternoon at Wembley will be the first time United and City have actually met in the final.
Perils of playing out from the back
Sports, Nobby Piles, Published on 05/10/2019
» In recent years the sight of Premier League teams "playing from the back" has become increasingly prevalent. It looks very nice when it works, but as everyone has witnessed, it can so easily end in tears with farcical goals.
A football fan's place is not on pitch
Sports, Nobby Piles, Published on 16/03/2019
» When I watched Reading at Elm Park as a kid back in pre-historic times, a few minutes before the final whistle, over the public address system would come the stern message: "Please don't run on the pitch after the match." Of course as soon as the final whistle sounded, dozens of kids would run onto the pitch, for the simple reason they had just been told not to.