Every now and then, I stood in as the Yorkshire Post’s hard-hitting answer to Hugh McIlvanney or Vincent Hogan and was given free run of the back page to vent my opinions. Here are a few examples:

The topic of blurred nationality is still highly relevant in sport, even if the subject here, Lesley Vainikolo is currently residing in the ‘where are they now’ file – at the time, he was pulling up trees for Gloucester (5 tries on Premiership debut, albeit against Leeds) in his first season since switching from rugby league, where he was a force of nature. (It seems to end rather abruptly – I blame the subs)

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Uncharacteristically prescient analysis of what might go wrong for Martin Johnson, when he was appointed England coach in 2008, with no coaching experience.

Johnson-has-plenty-to-lose-in-new-role

Why the FA Cup can rise above the cliches and stay relevant. Plus, why darts deserves Olympic status, and Sam Allardyce vs Alan Green.

Romance-not-needed-in-passion-of-FA-Cup