I have been in sports journalism, in one capacity or another, all my working life, cutting my teeth on local evening and weekly papers in South Yorkshire before taking the leap into nationals with the Daily Mirror in Manchester. From down-table sub-editor I progressed to chief sub in my 10 years with the Mirror before moving to the Daily Mail as Deputy Sports Editor. Another 10 years on and I switched to the Sunday People as Deputy Sports Editor and stayed there for 12 years before the Robert Maxwell demise and a total production switch to London. I preferred to stay in the North and spent several happy years doing Saturday Premiership match reports for The People.