Interview with Ian Abrahams aka The Moose from talkSPORT

As my previous interviews have gone down so well on my blog, I thought I'd bring you another one, however this one has a bit of a different edge from Ian Abrahams aka The Moose from award winning radio station talkSPORT. I think most football fans will know who The Moose is, he's certainly a character and whether you're a fan of his or not, he's certainly somebody that people find somewhat intriguing. 


Ian talked to me about how much he loves his jobs, the occasional downsides and gives some fantastic advice on how aspiring sports journalists can get into the industry. I hope you enjoy reading this interview and I'd like to thank Ian for agreeing to do this and for giving some excellent career tips too.

Image copyright of jewishtelegraph.com

Did you always intend to work in sports journalism?

Of course, 100%, it was always my dream from being young and I always wanted to be a sports journalist. Every lad wants to be a footballer, sure, but surely the next best thing is to talk about, watch and interview people about sports all day long.


Was it always broadcast over print?

Yes and I think radio journalism is personally my favourite to work in. I’ve done some television work but radio journalism is much more challenging than television which can sometimes be a bit lazy as you’ve got the pictures to do the talking for you. In radio journalism, especially sports, you’ve got to paint a picture for the listeners and bring information to life.


It’s also a much more intimate form of journalism and is obviously instant, I absolutely love it. I guess when you first start out that can make you feel quite nervous because you’ve got to think on the spot, but I’ve been doing this for 20 odd years now so I’m used to it and it’s like second nature, although I do sometimes get maybe a little nervous or perhaps it’s more excitement these days.


Did you go to university?

I went to Birmingham Polytechnic and studied for a degree in Politics. To be honest, it meant I got Monday and Friday off and only had six hours of lectures a week – which meant it was quite an easy degree and I could enjoy the experience! I then went and did a Post Graduate degree in Broadcast Journalism; my lecturer there was Jonathan Hewett and he was well known in the industry and most people who graduated from there got a job in journalism quite easily.


Sports journalism is tough to crack, what do you think gave you that edge?

It might sound clichéd, but it really is not what you know, but who you know, and always being in the right place at the right time. Of course, having the right qualifications like a degree and experience will also give you that extra edge over someone else too. But I’ve actually never got a job through applying for one or having a formal interview; it’s either been through doing freelance work or knowing someone who has recommended me for a job.


Which part of your job do you enjoy the most?

How can you not enjoy my job?! I get to watch football all the time! I get to meet and talk to footballers and managers and I get paid for it too. Millions of people would love to do what I do and I’m very appreciative of that. I get to get out and about meeting lots of famous people and attending some fantastic events. I’ve been to two World Cup Finals, World Snooker Championships and Wimbledon, and I’ll be at the Olympics next year too. The press seats are also usually the best seats too and I can honestly say that I’d actually pay to attend the events I get to report on and be paid to report on, so I’m very lucky.


Any bad parts of your job?

I wouldn’t say there are any bad parts. Yes the starts are early and the nights can be late but I love what I do. Sometimes you may be watching a match and it can be really dull; you’ve got to tell the listeners what’s going on and make it sound interesting for them, sometimes that can be difficult but if it’s the club they support then you have to make it sound interesting to them.


With any sporting event I’m working on you obviously have to be there quite early too to get yourself set up and do preparation, and you don’t leave until after everyone else has gone too, so there are a lot of long days. However, every fantastic day I have makes up for the odd bad days. I’m a glass half full kind of guy and I have the best job in the world – I’d rather have my job than any other because every day is new and exciting.


Any words of wisdom for aspiring sports journalists?

The main thing is to be enthusiastic and show that it’s something you want to do; you have to love what you do otherwise you won’t enjoy it. It can be a frustrating job with lots of waiting around but having to maintain that enthusiasm, whether it’s a press conference being late, a player not turning up for an interview or the print media doing their interviews first; but it’s always rewarding once you get that interview you’ve been waiting so long for.


You should always listen to what people have to say – managers and players – because they could provide you with a great piece of information that you can then use to create an entirely different story. I never go into a press conference or a interview with any questions written down, I let them do the talking and pick up on things they say and create interview questions that way otherwise I could miss out on something they’ve said that could give me a great lead all because I’m focussing on my next question written down.


I’d also advise any aspiring sports journalist to not just focus on one sport like football but to look at others as well, especially the more obscure sports because that’s where you’ll probably find an opportunity to get your name out there. Keep on plodding away on what you love and you’ll get there. Never take no for answer, pester people as much as you can and be forceful otherwise people will ignore you.


The best way to get out there is to just ask for an interview – if you don’t ask, you don’t get – if I saw Messi, Elton John or even David Flitcroft (!) walking down the street I’d just go and ask for an interview and if they say yes then great, you should never presume people will say no and unexpected interviews are always the best and then I’ve got something that no other journalist has.


Also, at every opportunity you have talk to people and make contacts, always get someone’s number and network as much as possible, like I said earlier, it’s not what you know but who you know.


You can follow Ian Abrahams aka The Moose from talkSPORT on Twitter @Moose_talkSPORT.

Interview with female football agent Georgina Lillis

As you'd probably expect from the name of my blog, I like to bring you the world of football from a female's point of view and what better insight into the game than with someone who's responsible for the comings and goings in the football industry.

Image copyright of TheSun.co.uk

So with that in mind here is an interview with football agent Georgina Lillis (yes Rochdale fans, she's the sister of our ex-keeper!). She's one of just 10 female football agents in the country and she knows a fair bit about football, given that not only is her brother a goalkeeper, but her dad is also a former footballer too.


I hope you enjoy reading about the life of a female football agent...


Tell me about who you work for?

"I work for a company called Star Management Signings. Our offices are in London and I am based in the north. My job as an agent involves many different things, no day is ever the same which I like."


What type of services does the company provide?

"We are involved heavily in contract negotiations when finding a player a new club and also at a player's current club to re-negotiate their contracts. We have to speak to managers on a daily basis, especially now it's the transfer window and make them aware of the availability of our players and get them the best deal we possibly can, with everything they need and are happy with. Once the contract is sorted we then have all the aftercare to think about. We have a lot of foreign clients who we have brought to England, so we have to start at the very beginning with them. We have to help set up bank accounts, find them a house, insurance, internet, cars, changing their driving licenses, language lessons, kids in school, mobile phones etc. It is the same for our English players aswell, if we have found them a new club we then help them move house and get settled. We are on call 24/7 for them. I think some people maybe see that as molly coddling the players slightly, but we just help to ensure everything off the field is all fine so they can concentrate fully on their football and play to the best of their ability."


And what about the commercial side?

"We are also there to gain commercial deals and endorsements for our players, including boot and merchandise deals, always trying to raise their profiles as much as possible for the right reasons. We have accountants, financial advisors and lawyers connected to the company so that the players deal with everything wisely to help in the future. We also help them after football, whether it be going into coaching or refereeing as one of players wants to do!"


What's a typical week like for you?

"We are always actively looking to recruit new players to the company. I go to 4-5 games a week on average, including youth team, reserves and first team games. We then try and make contact with the players and explain what we are about and how we can help them. Standing in the rain and cold on a Tuesday night isnt exactly glamorous, but its what football is about and I love it! (I like to work my way around the grounds and compare the pies!) We also scout for clubs as well and bring players to them if they tell us what they are looking for."


Are you responsible for anything else?

"I am also the full time PA for the company which I have done for 4 years now. I do this alongside the agent work which means I have to be very good at time management and prioritise! This includes flight bookings and travel arrangements for the staff, ticket requests, insurance, liaising with the accountants with regards to receipts etc. Our company also organise pre-season tours to Slovenia. Reading came out last year, QPR and West Brom the year before, and Chelsea reserves the year before that. We go out there in July; Reading and Middlesbrough are coming out with us this year. So this time of year is also busy with the arrangements for that. I book all the flights, hotels, liaise with the club sports scientists and fitness guys to ensure the meals are all correct, book the travel to and from training and to the games, and we also organise all the games whilst over there.


You can read more about the company Georgina works for - Star Management Signings - by visiting their website at www.star-signings.com and their Twitter @StarMSignings.


And you'll find Georgina on Twitter too @GeorgieLillis.

Archived work from 2006: Interview with Brian O'Neil

I was recently searching through all the old documents on my laptop and came across some of my university work. For those of you who don't know, I did Journalism at university and I found some great little features and interviews that I did for a portfolio based around football. So I thought I'd share some of them with you.

With that in mind, please remember that I've been out of university for about five years now and I think this interview with Brian O'Neil was in my final year, so it's obviously very much out of date! But I thought I'd still post it up because it's quite nice to look back and it's a good read.

So here's a piece I did for a portfolio of work, I think from 2006...not long after this was done Brian O'Neil retired from football due to injuries.


Preston’s
Brian O’Neil talked to me about his fond memories from Celtic, the
importance of his family and how much he’s enjoying life at North End.

“Are you alright over there Neily?” asks Preston North
End manager Billy Davies, winking with a cheeky grin. Brian O’Neil laughs and
replies in a thick Scottish accent: “No, I could do with some candles and will
you dim down the lights too?”

Thankfully, I don’t take any offence to their jibes; the
familiarity of such a masculine environment is something I’m used to being a
female football fan. Sitting together at a table in the corner of the room,
away from the other journalists, I get all of Brian’s attention. I automatically
dismissed the footballer stereotype as he pulls out my chair and offers me a
drink.

Dressed in his North End training gear, Brian is quite
different to what you’d expect and starts off talking about his personal life
and how important his children are.

Reminiscing, Brian says: “I grew up in Paisley in Scotland
where I first started playing for Celtic as a lad, I was only 12 years old and
my family were huge fans as was I. Now I live in Lytham with my family, I’ve
got three children they’re three, five and eight years old, and are a handful
but worth every minute of it. I’m a family man, I love spending time with my
family and friends, and the occasional game of golf”

The 35-year-old midfielder spent six years at Celtic
before moving to Nottingham Forest, Aberdeen, Wolfsburg and an unhappy spell at
Derby County before he arrived at Preston North End in 2003.

His time at Celtic is fondly remembered and Brian beams
as he thinks of how proud his Dad was. Laughing, Brian says: “We were massive
Celtic fans and he was so proud that I was out there playing for them. My debut
was brilliant and has got to be my best memory of being there.”

Quite disheartened Brian says: “In 1996 I was called up
to the Scotland team for the first time, I was so proud to be playing for my
national team but unfortunately I didn’t get much of a run and I’ve spent most
my call ups on the bench. It can be frustrating being away from my family when
I don’t get to play.”

His Preston debut is one Brian wants to forget as he
tells me they lost 4-0 to Ipswich Town on a cold January day: “It wasn’t great!
But at least things have changed since then.”

Things sure have changed including reaching the play-off
finals, which they lost 2-0. Brian sighs: “It’s not a bad memory but I was so
disappointed we lost the game. I have so many great memories from here already
that it almost doesn’t matter. My best has got to be the play-off game against
Derby County at Deepdale, it was a full house and we won 2-0.”

A true gentleman and a refreshing change, Brian stood up
and thanked me for taking the time to talk to him. As he heads off he grabs his
team mate Danny Dichio and they laugh like a pair of school boys as Brian trips
up a curb.

I've got got a few more features from university that I'm going to put on my blog too, so keep an eye out for them!

Interview with Neil Wainwright

After the popularity and great response from my interview with Julian Alsop, I thought I'd bring you another one, this time with Neil Wainwright. I first got talking to Neil on Twitter (I originally requested he joined in with Reece from Shirt Off 4 Wolves for a shirtless photo...it didn't happen...well it did, just not shirtless...lol!) and I'm very thankful of him for doing this for me as I hope to have more interviews on my blog.


Most known for his time at Darlington, making 235 appearances for the club and also more recently with Morecambe, Neil has also spent time on loan at various other league clubs after starting as a trainee at Wrexham and makes a great candidate for an interview considering my blog focuses mainly on the lower leagues.


Neil agreed to talk to me about his footballing career and a look into his future, so I hope you enjoy...

You were recently released by Morecambe, did it come as a shock or were you expecting it?

When there was a change of manager I was more optimistic about a new deal but it certainly didn't come as a shock as I've not played anywhere near as much as I've wanted to this season.

Image copyright of Darlofc.co.uk

Does this mean your footballing days now behind you?

Not at all, I'm as fit now as I ever have been and there is quite a few years left in me yet.

You're only 33, could we see you popping up in non-league football any time soon?

Quite possibly, it depends on who is interested in securing my services. I'd like to continue at as high a level as possible but it's hard to tell at this stage what my options will be.

You spent most your career at Darlington, was it hard moving on from there?

I loved it at Darlington and would have probably liked to have finished my career there so it was tough but you have to get on with it and I was lucky to join another fantastic club in Morecambe.

What are your best memories from your playing career?

My move to Sunderland is my highlight and meeting so many fantastic people throughout my playing days thus far and of course scoring the last ever goal at Darlington's old ground Feethams.

And your worst memories?

Any time I've had an injury in my career, those are always the worst times and the most frustrating.

If you could change anything from your career, would you?

I wouldn't change anything about my career, I have no regrets whatsoever and have played for some fantastic football clubs, I've been very lucky in that respect.

What are your plans for the immediate future?

Just basically find myself a new team, complete my UEFA B coaching licence and see where all of that takes me.

And do you have any long-term plans yet?

The ideal long term plan is to become a coach/manager somewhere but long term plans can be adjusted depending on what transpires.

Any words of advice for footballers coming to the end of their playing career?

Work hard to find alternatives to football as it's a scary transition.

I hope you've enjoyed reading this interview and if you want to follow Neil's next steps in his career or have a chat with him, you'll find him on Twitter @wainy11.

Where are they now - Interview with Julian Alsop

This edition of "Where are they now" has taken a bit of a different turn, as I've been lucky enough for the person being featured here to agree to do an interview for me and I think this a really great person to look more in-depth at too. I hope Cheltenham Town don't mind me using this picture below, so have accredited it.

Image copyright of ctfc.com

Most lower league and non-league football fans will know who Julian Alsop is...probably from the infamous "banana" incident that led to his departure from Oxford United...you're probably best to Google it because I'm not going to discuss that here - it's been done to death and to be honest, now I've had chance to get to know him, I'm not interested in talking about it.


I first got chatting to Julian on Twitter not long after I signed up; I'm not sure he realises that I was actually a little bit excited that someone like him was following me! Of course, everyone has preconceptions, especially after hearing those rumours about him, but having chatted to him quite a bit I've realised there's a lot more to him than meets the eye and once you've finished reading this interview I think you'll have a slightly different opinion than you started with.


So sit back, relax and I hope you enjoy...




You recently marked your retirement from football, how did that feel?

It felt strange
to be honest, I am going to miss smashing the goalkeeper and centre halves on a
Saturday afternoon and the general banter of the lads and fans, especially the
away fans who over the last 20 years have called me all sorts from donkey to the
banana man shouts and telling me how bad of a player I was. My reply to them as
always been the same; you don’t have to tell me, I know how bad I am!


What are the best memories from your playing career?

There have been a
few; making my debut in the league for Bristol Rovers against Luton Town and
scoring my first league goal against Burnley a week later. Winning the league
with Swansea and promotion through the play offs for Cheltenham and scoring at
the Millennium Stadium in front of all my friends and family. Strangely, which
I will explain, was my sacking and then four month ban over the banana incident.


It gave me a wakeup call that I had no qualifications and nothing to fall back
on after football, so I went and did an access course and then on to complete a
degree with honours I might add in accounting and financial management. I had
offers from league clubs after my ban, however, I live in Cheltenham and
refused to move or travel and live in digs all week, so I went part time so that I
could study.

And the worst memories?

The only bad
memories I take from the game are the amount of "big time Charlies" you come
across when they have done nothing in the game. When I was younger you took on
board what an experienced player had told you and got on with it; these days
players hold a grudge forever.


Some people would describe you as a bit of a journeyman, is that actually a bad thing?

I have had my
fair share of clubs in total over 20 years and if that gets you the tag "journeyman" then that’s me! The only
league club I have ever asked for a transfer was Oxford United when for 27 days in a
row I took in a transfer request, come to think of it they never did reply, oh
they sacked me!


I have always been honest; if I am not enjoying my football I
will tell you straight and say let me go. I can’t just sit there and pick my
money up, and trust me I have seen that loads of times and that gets right up me
when you see players who don’t care. Every one of those clubs I have run
through brick walls for and they will all say "not the best but all ways gave
100%" and that’s me to a T.

You didn't turn pro until you were 23, did you ever feel like you wouldn’t make it?

You always
believe that you can make it into the league; I had a couple of clubs that were
interested in signing me, Doncaster offered money to Tamworth for me but when I
went up there to play in a friendly for them although I scored two goals and the manager
Sammy Chung offered me a deal, it did not feel like it was the right move for me.
Northampton Town were looking to sign me at the time too but Tamworth wanted
the money up front from the clubs. So I had started to have a few doubts and
started to think Tamworth were wanting too much money for me. 


In the end I signed for Halesowen Town who
had to lost promotion to Rushden & Diamonds by the odd point to the Conference the year before and were looking to push on and we would have got
promotion but the club policy was to sell players into the league and they sold
me to Bristol Rovers in the February and they finished 3^rd.

And how did it feel signing for Cheltenham at 36?

Signing back at
Cheltenham at 36 after four years since my previous football league game was mad.
It all started with landing back from a family holiday in Spain and the team I
play for always play Cheltenham in a pre-season game for our club to raise money. I
had agreed with our gaffer I would play 45 minutes and all I did was my normal
job of heading it and holding the ball but I roughed the defence up like
normal.


Afterwards I was having a pint and Martin Allan the gaffer said what
you doing with yourself, I explained just finishing of my degree and looking to
set a business up. We shook hands and that was that, well not exactly, when on
the Monday I got a call from one of the staff to ring the gaffer. I did that
and before you know I am scoring the winner against Rochdale at the start of
the season. It went from there and I ended up winning supporters player of the
year, eight years since I had last won it, which to be honest was amazing and I
thank the supporters for that.

So aside from your playing career, you have a weekly column in a local newspaper, how’s that going?

I write a column
once a week for the Gloucestershire Echo called Alsop’s Fables. I agreed to
write only if I could been very light hearted and rib a few players or fans or
my mates from my local who I have given nicknames to, i.e. the Polish car
washer, Gerald from Full Monty, The Lord Prince of Prestbury, the list is never
ending but I never reveal their
identity. I also try and get a song title in there
too and the response has been  fantastic
and have asked for me to carry until next year so who knows I could be writing
for the Sun soon!

You've also set up Footballers Careers, tell me a bit about that?

I have played professional or semi-pro
football for a career spanning over 20 years and during that time it never
really occurred to me what my next step was going to be. Playing football
full-time was fantastic, but when my career ended it became increasingly
apparent that I had no qualifications and no job skills that I could rely upon and in turn this made it very difficult for me to decide what it was I wanted
to do, but more importantly, there was no-one for me to approach in terms of
advice and help in my next career path.


And I hear you’re also training for the London Marathon next year?

The London
Marathon training is currently at the application form stage! I have a meeting
this week to establish what charity I will run for. It will be my first and
going to be completely honest and look to do it in over 5 hours! The main
reason for it is to give myself a target to release some energy now I have
retired from football and of course raise money for a charity.




I hope you've enjoyed reading this blog post, I've certainly enjoy putting it together and I'd like to thank Julian for giving up his time to do this for me. 


To find out more about Footballers Careers or to have a chat with Julian, you'll find him here...




Footballers Careers - www.footballerscareers.com

Julian's Twitter - www.twitter.com/footballcareers

Interview with Reece from Shirt Off 4 Wolves

Since starting my football blog in February this year and since joining Twitter, I've met lots of new people and other football bloggers, and one person in particular that I've had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know is Reece who runs the Shirt Off 4 Wolves blog.

As you've probably already realised from the name of his blog, Reece takes his shirt off at Wolves matches and blogs about it, something which I'm not going to complain about, I doubt other females will!

Not only does Reece have a great blog...of course he does, he takes his shirt off...but in all seriousness he also uses it to raise money for a very worthwhile cause.


So I thought that Reece deserved a little space on my blog and here's what he had to say about both his blog and fundraising for Jack's Fund...




You run Shirt Off 4 Wolves blog, is that basically what it says on the tin?
Yes it is, the usual looks I get when I tell people are probably happening just as people are reading this too.


And how did you come up with the idea for your blog? 

Well the blog wasn't my idea, it was a friend's idea who said I should do one. He said I can put my own views across and tell more people what I'm doing and people can keep up to date on what I'm up to as well.


Do you get a good response from away fans for your blog?

I get a lot of positive response from everyone in all fairness. Everyone is very supportive of my blog and what I'm doing, which is really pleasing. 

Who's been the best to have a picture with so far?

They're all fun to do, but I do like the picture that one of the Wolves photographers took. But my favourite picture is of me and Jack Marshall; he's a true inspiration.


I know you do fundraising for Jack Marshall, tell us a little bit about him?

Well Jack is 5 years old and is battling like a soldier as he is suffering from a brain tumor. He and his family are such an inspiration.

And how did you begin fundraising for Jack's Fund?

Twitter! I wanted to do something with SO4W (Shirt Off 4 Wolves) and asked my followers on Twitter if they would recommend someone/thing I could raise money and/or awareness for. I had seen Jack's name pop up on Twitter so I had a look at Jack's website and read his story and it really touched me, so I approached Jack's Mum Tracy and it started from there.


What type of fundraising initiatives have you done so far for him?

There are a few other Wolves lads who are doing a few things as well, one of the lads won £250 at a game at half time at Molinuex, which he donated to Jack's Fund and also a match-worn Andy Keogh shirt which was signed by the whole team to be auctioned off to raise more money for Jack's Fund. I got to take up to Scunthorpe where they live and meet all the family which was just amazing to meet them. All the work the whole family do is unreal and I was just inspired by the whole family for what they're doing; not only for Jack but their efforts to raise awareness.


And any more planned for the near future?

I'm hoping to do many things in aid of Jack's Fund from sponsored walks, charity football matches and I have a big idea but I'm not saying to much about that yet.

If you want to check out Reece's blog or read more about Jack, you'll find them here...


Shirt Off 4 Wolves (SO4W)

Website - http://www.so4w.blogspot.com

Twitter - @ReeceWolvesSO4W



Jack's Fund

Website - http://www.jacksfund.co.uk

Twitter - @Jack_Marshall_

So if you see Reece at a Wolves match, please spare a few minutes of your time for a quick photograph with Reece, it's all for a great cause!