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The Blizzard - The Football Quarterly: Issue 8
The Blizzard is a quarterly football publication, put together by a cooperative of journalists and authors, its main aim to provide a platform for top-class writers from across the globe to enjoy the space and the freedom to write what they like about the football stories that matter to them.
Issue Eight contains 21 articles in 10 different sections:
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Cyprus
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* The Wrong Side of the Border, by Jacob Steinberg—After decades of stalemate, Northern Cypriot football may be about to come in from the cold
* The Hangover of War, by Cyrus Philbrick—Almost four decades after the Turkish invasion, the shadow of conflict hangs over the Nicosia derby
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Interview
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* Sepp Blatter, by Philippe Auclair—The president of fifa admits he may stand for re-election in 2015 and reveals his concerns over the Qatar World Cup
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Theory
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* Mourinho's Cult of Personality, by Roy Henderson—How the Real Madrid manager's charismatic authority fosters loyalty
* The Lawnmower and the Teapot, by Iain Macintosh—Barry Fry discusses how to motivate players and how the world of management has changed
* The Bicycle Thief, by Lars Sivertsen—Zlatan Ibrahimovic has always been an individual—it's how he fits in
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Fans
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* But You Can't Change..., by Mike Calvin—How a Watford supporter ended up being converted into a Millwall fan
* In the Shadow of the Goldfish, by Gary Hartley—Having lived the dream, Leeds have slowly drifted into a protracted doze
* Paying the Price, by Craig Anderson—Rangers' administration and relegation were about far more than a club that couldn't pay its debts
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In Appreciation of...
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* Franco Baresi, by Sheridan Bird—How the great libero staged a remarkable recovery from a knee injury to play in the 1994 World Cup final
* Brian Glanville, by Philippe Auclair—The doyen of English football writing discusses the forefathers of modern sports journalism
* Ireland's Pioneers, by David Owen—This year marks the centenary of Ireland's first victory over England
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Africa
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* Eat Them Like Bread, by Jonathan Wilson—Nigeria ended their 19-year wait for a third Cup of Nations but a familiar sense of chaos remains
* After the Circus, by Luke Alfred—What was the legacy of the World Cup for South Africa
* The Great Administrator, by Tom Dunmore—How Ydnekatchew Tessema led the fight to have African football taken seriously
* Bamako Twilight, by Stuart Roy Clarke—Away from the war, football goes on in the Malian capital
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Polemics
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* In Praise of Football, by Alex Keble—For all the commercialisation and scandal, football remains the purest and most demotic of cultural modes
* Financial Fair Play?, by Steve Menary—How Champions League revenues can devastate competition in Europe's smaller leagues
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Fiction
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* The Limping God, part 3, by David Ashton—His football career ended by injury, John Brodie's life is going nowhere until he is sucked into the world of crime
--------------------------
Greatest Games
--------------------------
* Boca Juniors 2 Real Madrid 1, by Rupert Fryer—Toyota Intercontinental Cup final, National Stadium, Tokyo, 28 November 2000
--------------------
Eight Bells
----------
Issue Eight contains 21 articles in 10 different sections:
------------
Cyprus
------------
* The Wrong Side of the Border, by Jacob Steinberg—After decades of stalemate, Northern Cypriot football may be about to come in from the cold
* The Hangover of War, by Cyrus Philbrick—Almost four decades after the Turkish invasion, the shadow of conflict hangs over the Nicosia derby
--------------
Interview
--------------
* Sepp Blatter, by Philippe Auclair—The president of fifa admits he may stand for re-election in 2015 and reveals his concerns over the Qatar World Cup
------------
Theory
------------
* Mourinho's Cult of Personality, by Roy Henderson—How the Real Madrid manager's charismatic authority fosters loyalty
* The Lawnmower and the Teapot, by Iain Macintosh—Barry Fry discusses how to motivate players and how the world of management has changed
* The Bicycle Thief, by Lars Sivertsen—Zlatan Ibrahimovic has always been an individual—it's how he fits in
------------
Fans
------------
* But You Can't Change..., by Mike Calvin—How a Watford supporter ended up being converted into a Millwall fan
* In the Shadow of the Goldfish, by Gary Hartley—Having lived the dream, Leeds have slowly drifted into a protracted doze
* Paying the Price, by Craig Anderson—Rangers' administration and relegation were about far more than a club that couldn't pay its debts
----------------------------------
In Appreciation of...
----------------------------------
* Franco Baresi, by Sheridan Bird—How the great libero staged a remarkable recovery from a knee injury to play in the 1994 World Cup final
* Brian Glanville, by Philippe Auclair—The doyen of English football writing discusses the forefathers of modern sports journalism
* Ireland's Pioneers, by David Owen—This year marks the centenary of Ireland's first victory over England
------------
Africa
------------
* Eat Them Like Bread, by Jonathan Wilson—Nigeria ended their 19-year wait for a third Cup of Nations but a familiar sense of chaos remains
* After the Circus, by Luke Alfred—What was the legacy of the World Cup for South Africa
* The Great Administrator, by Tom Dunmore—How Ydnekatchew Tessema led the fight to have African football taken seriously
* Bamako Twilight, by Stuart Roy Clarke—Away from the war, football goes on in the Malian capital
----------------
Polemics
----------------
* In Praise of Football, by Alex Keble—For all the commercialisation and scandal, football remains the purest and most demotic of cultural modes
* Financial Fair Play?, by Steve Menary—How Champions League revenues can devastate competition in Europe's smaller leagues
------------
Fiction
------------
* The Limping God, part 3, by David Ashton—His football career ended by injury, John Brodie's life is going nowhere until he is sucked into the world of crime
--------------------------
Greatest Games
--------------------------
* Boca Juniors 2 Real Madrid 1, by Rupert Fryer—Toyota Intercontinental Cup final, National Stadium, Tokyo, 28 November 2000
--------------------
Eight Bells
----------
192 pages, Paperback
First published March 8, 2013
About the author
Jonathan Wilson
90 books547 followersJonathan Wilson is a British sports journalist and author who writes for a number of publications including the Guardian, the Independent and Sports Illustrated. He also appears on the Guardian football podcast, Football Weekly.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 1, 2013
Probably the most consistent edition of the Blizzard yet, high points in this issue include another run through of an African Cup of Nations from Jonathan Wilson himself, two articles on football in Cyprus (the best of which is by Cyrus Philbrick), a study of the enigma that is Zlatan Ibrahimović, Tom Dunmore on African administrator Ydnekatchew Tessema and Mike Calvin on swapping allegiance for Watford for Millwall (of all teams).
But amid these comparative obscurities, very much the organ's stock in trade, I was surprised to find myself lapping up Roy Henderson's psychological dusting down of Jose Mourinho - I didn't think I needed to read another piece on that egregious critic of the Royal Berkshire Ambulance Service but an account of how this rampant egotist met his match at Real Madrid leaves one unsurprised that he is returning to the small moral horizons of those jumped up west Londoners in Chelsea. Excellent - again.
But amid these comparative obscurities, very much the organ's stock in trade, I was surprised to find myself lapping up Roy Henderson's psychological dusting down of Jose Mourinho - I didn't think I needed to read another piece on that egregious critic of the Royal Berkshire Ambulance Service but an account of how this rampant egotist met his match at Real Madrid leaves one unsurprised that he is returning to the small moral horizons of those jumped up west Londoners in Chelsea. Excellent - again.
August 28, 2014
Yet more consistently good football journalism that deserves continued support. Highlights for me include articles related to politics and football in Cyprus and articles about the recent African Cup of Nations (Wilson always does great write ups of African tournaments). I'm about a year behind on Blizzard'd so the interviews with Sepp Blatter and the profile of Jose Mourinho are quite prophetic a year on - I wouldn't trust Blatter as far as I could throw him!
There's a really fun interview with Barry Fry which I wish was a little longer and a great article on Rangers administration and demotion in Scotland. The article focuses on how out of touch Scottish administrators were in the face of fan opinion. Combined with the article on Gretna Green in the last issue I think there is a great book somewhere to focus on the last 10-20 years of Scottish football and it's upheaval.
I found the profile on early CAF administrator Ydnekatchew Tessema really interesting and found the article on how Champions League football and revenue is having an adverse impact on smaller countries due to high prize money for teams with relatively low turnover in turn leading to dominance for single teams in Europe's fledgling part time leagues.
There's a really fun interview with Barry Fry which I wish was a little longer and a great article on Rangers administration and demotion in Scotland. The article focuses on how out of touch Scottish administrators were in the face of fan opinion. Combined with the article on Gretna Green in the last issue I think there is a great book somewhere to focus on the last 10-20 years of Scottish football and it's upheaval.
I found the profile on early CAF administrator Ydnekatchew Tessema really interesting and found the article on how Champions League football and revenue is having an adverse impact on smaller countries due to high prize money for teams with relatively low turnover in turn leading to dominance for single teams in Europe's fledgling part time leagues.
February 10, 2014
More of the consistently brilliant football writing that is The Blizzard's hallmark.
October 20, 2015
running out of different things to say , as always a masterful collection.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews