‘If you’ve the remotest interest in football, sport or people, buy Family this instant.’

Posted on 2012/01/18 , tagged as

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Michael Calvin, author of Family: Life, Death and Football, published this month by our sports imprint Corinthian, is interviewed about the world of sports writing, his sabbatical from print journalism, and writing Family in this piece for The FCF:

The FCF: What did you expect from the experience of writing Family, and how was it different?

MC: I asked for the impossible – unrestricted access – and got it. Writing Family has given me a unique insight into the realities of a game that we tend to judge on superficialities. I’m not sure I’m worthy of the compliment, but managers and players who have read the book tend to treat me with a respect that is routinely denied to football writers these days. Relationships have changed, fundamentally, in my career. In 1982, my first World Cup, I remember travelling from the airport in the England team bus and sitting next to Ray Wilkins. I was the youngest member of the Press corps and he was one of the youngest players in the squad. We spoke about our respective positions. That sort of intimacy of contact has gone now. It’s us versus them.

You can read more of the interview on The FCF website.

Janine Self from Sportsjournalists.co.uk also reviews Family – ‘an insightful fly on the wall book of a football season’ – here.