All's well at icy Oakwell

Of all the places to have to go when the weather has turned icy and snowy with the threat of more, Barnsley would not be anywhere near the top of my list!

There are a number of reasons for this and you will have heard my former co-commentator, Neil Price, speak of his affection for Oakwell on many an occasion too! It's nothing to do with Barnsley as a club, or the people there who are always very friendly - the lack of facilities are my main reason.

Saturday morning arrived and my phone went twice before I was due to leave and each time I thought I was going to be told the game was off, but to no avail! In fact, through Twitter I heard from someone who was close to Oakwell that conditions were expected to be fine unless there was any fresh snowfall during the morning, which wasn't forecast.

So northwards we headed and for once this season, we encountered no hold-ups (or break-downs!) and arrived in Barnsley at 12.30. Plenty of time in hand to find some fish & chips to give us some warmth before heading outside into the cold air we thought. I haven't found anywhere near the ground as yet on all my previous trips and news came from the other car of travelling press that they were heading into the town centre in search of lunch.

We came across Morrisons and saw that it had a cafe so I decided to give that a go. The busy car park should have been a warning of what was to follow but I carried on regardless in my pursuit of my fish and chips! The queue in the cafe was an even bigger clue but my order was placed and the wait began.

I had wanted to be in the ground and set up for around 1.15 as I had a couple of pieces to pre-record before our programme went on air. However, whilst stood in the queue to pay whilst we waited for our food I soon realised I had made a big mistake! 1.15 was looking more and more likely as the time we might actually get our food at our table given how many other people were waiting - the cafe (& the store) was packed! Somewhat embarrassingly Allan Smart, my co-commentator for the day called to confirm he was at the ground whilst my fish and chips was still being prepared. Once our food arrived (& it was only really a 5/10 rating I'm afraid) it had to be quickly devoured before making the dash back to the car and the now slow traffic in and around the ground. Saturday's commentary was therefore conducted with severe indigestion!

By the time I got my press pass and ran to find my seat I was getting some frantic phone calls from the studio to find out where I was so it was a huge relief to finally get everything set up and my pre-match piece recorded with just about 10 minutes to spare.

It was icy around the ground and there was a bit of snow on the perimeter but the pitch looked OK, apart from one or two icy looking patches at each end. However, the players later said that if anything the pitch was soft due to the under soil heating.


Snow on the dugouts at Oakwell as Watford's players warm up pre-match.

 It was bitterly cold and it was no surprise that a number of players chose to wear gloves. However, when you are taking notes it's not so easy to write with gloves on so my hands just had to freeze! There is not a lot of room to operate in the press box at Oakwell so it's a balancing act as to where you place all your equipment. I probably positioned our effects microphone (the one that picks the general crowd noise) in the wrong place as the lead trailed across my notes and made a crackling sound every time I wrote something.

At half-time every member of the press made a bee-line for the press room (a portacabin away out towards the car park), so much so that I couldn't even get in! A quick visit to the outside loo was my half-time entertainment before heading back to my seat for second-half duty. Kick-off almost caught a few out as the queue for the teas had been so long that there were a few late arrivals in the press box for the second-half.

It wasn't a great game although we did have some goalmouth action in the second-half but not really enough to take our minds off the cold. The aim post-match was to get interviews and reports done as quickly as possible in order to get back into the warm!

I huddled together with a number of other freezing reporters pitchside at the end of the players tunnel waiting for the managers and nominated players to emerge. To be fair, it wasn't a long wait before Scott Loach appeared and fresh from a clean sheet he was happy to give us an interview. I was able to get my questions in first for our radio interview and Scott told us how pleased he was with the clean sheet and how that he would be buzzing all week. He was also looking forward to seeing his save on the highlights on Saturday night and even had a word of sympathy for us stood out in the cold as he said he hadn't felt too cold whilst playing! He actually felt it was warmer that Peterborough away last December!

I then followed Barnsley boss Mark Robins into the press room to hear what he had to say whilst waiting for Malky Mackay. I then noticed the plaque on the door!

The plaque on the door of the press room at Oakwell

However, this Benny Hill was a former journalist who passed away earlier this year who used to edit a column in the Barnsley match day programme although some who knew him closely described as funnier than the actual comedian who went by the same name.

My interview with Malky Mackay was conducted in a small room underneath the old main stand before he reached the press room, which looked like it could have once been used as a kitchen. The Watford boss dismissed the freezing conditions as a nice warm day in his native Glasgow!

It was a dash back up to the press box to send the interviews back to the studio and both went on air before 6pm. There was also time to answer a couple of e-mails and texts that had come in that we hadn't had chance to see during the game.

A prompt 6pm finish was achieved so I began to thaw out on the journey home, which again was a decent one.

For our next trip to Barnsley, I won't be heading to Morrisons so if anyone has any tips for good pre-match grub do let me know! I'd also be interested to know your best fish & chip experiences on the road and maybe we can share and create a league table of the best and worst in the season!

A day at the Turf

One of the longest trips of the season began in slightly bizarre fashion, early on Saturday morning when one member of our travelling party arrived at a different hotel to the one that we had all agreed to meet at! With over 200 miles of motorway ahead of us, there wasn't a huge amount of time to spare for us to wait for our remaining passenger to make it round from Hemel Hempstead to High Wycombe.

So we arranged to meet at the M6 Toll services in the absence of a better place between the M40 and M1 and began the drive north.

My only previous visit to Burnley as a reporter had not been a particularly pleasant one in March 2008 when a tempestuous affair on the pitch boiled over in the stands and even in the press box. Both home fans and some of the local press turned on members of the visiting press and club staff  (Neil Price won't mind me mentioning that he nearly came to blows with one fan sat in front of him who continued to hurl abuse his way!) and the situation very nearly got out of hand.

So it was with a little trepidation that I approached this visit and all of us had taken the precaution of removing obvious signs that we were there to report on the visiting team!

We met up at Norton Canes Services as planned with our remaining passenger (who will remain nameless!!) and it was nice to see some friendly faces from the official supporters coach, who I had a quick chat with.

Despite a quick de-tour around Stoke due to an accident on the M6, we arrived in Burnley at 1pm and were met by chicken curry in the press room. I think my colleagues made hay whilst I went and set my equipment up and recorded a couple of pieces with the studio as I was doing some extra reports for another local radio station in addition to the commentary. My early morning sandwich purchase saw me through the afternoon!

The press seats at Turf Moor are right at the back of the James Hargreaves stand, the one which replaced the popular terracing in the mid 1990's and are a long way up! A few more seats have been added along with some small tv screens fixed to the desks, which are a requirement of all clubs when they are in the Premier League. All media seats must have sight of a screen for replays otherwise the clubs get fined by the Premier League as I understand it.

Despite the addition of more seats, I was hardly delighted to find my position was right on the end of the row with the home fans congregating right next to us but I am pleased to say that we had nothing to worry about on this visit.

Allan Smart was our guest summariser for the afternoon, having made the relatively short journey from nearby Preston. He was able to give us his view on the Championship as he has been covering some games at Deepdale for BBC Radio Lancashire. He also confirmed that he has still has the scarf that was thrown from the Wembley stands in celebration at the end of the 1999 play-off final victory over Bolton, alongside his other mementos from that day.

We were expecting goals as there had been a remarkable 34 in the previous six meetings at Turf Moor between the two sides and, despite a quiet opening 20 minutes, we weren't to be disappointed. Yet again, Watford were made to pay for failing to take their chances although they did appear to have good reason to feel aggrieved at the penalty decision that handed Graham Alexander the opportunity to strike home the winner from the penalty spot.

The tv screens that we had at our disposal showed a live feed of the game, with roughly a five second time delay on the pictures. So it did mean that you could check to see the pictures of an incident straight after it had happened, although I did find myself nearly missing the next phase of a couple of incidents because I was checking the screen for what had just happened.

I had a quick chat about the game with Watford's Chief Executive whilst Malky Mackay was interviewed for TV and Brian Laws was talking to the written media in the press room. I had arranged to speak to Don Cowie also but given that the game had finished after 5pm due to seven minutes of injury time,and the fact that it was a long walk back to my seat from the interview area, I had to make the decision to get the Malky Mackay interview ready to hit the airwaves before we went off air at 6pm, and therefore missed out on getting the Cowie interview.

With the interviews and reports written it was time to start the journey home, which wasn't until after 6.30pm. At least by that time, the traffic around the ground had gone so we had a trouble free run back to Norton Canes Services where some welcome fish and chips were ordered!

There was time for a slightly tense end to the day though as my petrol light came on just as we passed the last services before home, still 17 miles short of our drop off point. Much discussion ensued as to how far we could get and eventually I took the decision to come off the motorway and hunt for a petrol station. But all three that we saw were closed!

Fortunately we made it back to the hotel where I was able to drop off my three remaining passengers and we were all back in our cars in time to hear the Haye-Harrison 'fight'. It was over by the time I got home, just ten minutes down the road!

Pre-match chat & a freezing night at the Palace

Before every match, each club will invite the press to come and talk to the manager as well as selected players as part of the build-up to the game. In the Premier League these can be quite formal occasions that are attended by all the national press as well as the local media. Below that level, it is quite different and last week I got a late call to attend Watford's training ground at London Colney ahead of the match against Nottingham Forest.

When I arrived I could see that I was the only radio reporter there and the only other journalists there were two reporters from local magazine 'My Watford News'. I sat at a table at one end of the canteen area as the players started to filter in and have their lunch. I put in my request for a player interview to the Watford media staff and that was duly arranged.

Scott Loach was one of the first to finish his lunch so I was able to get my interview with him under way without much waiting around. I had wanted to speak to him as I knew his family were all Forest fans so that would give us a nice angle in the lead up to the game and also the match was to be his 100th appearance for Watford, to be followed up by his 100th start at Crystal Palace. Before we started he was checking his appearance figures himself and also finding out where he stood in the table of all-time consecutive starts for the Club - he has some way to go, that's all I can say, but wants to try & overhaul Adrian Mariappa sooner rather than later!

He revealed that his family had all been in the Watford end at Derby the previous weekend but had all got tickets in the Forest fans for the game so he was hoping for a few of them to applaud him when he was in goal at the Vicarage Road End, which would make a change from getting stick of opposition supporters! He also confirmed that he does look at statistics and likes to know how many appearances he is on and things like that. His honesty is genuine and very refreshing.

I then waited for Malky Mackay to emerge from various meetings over lunch to get his pre-match thoughts. I don't often get to go to the pre-match briefings as up until a few weeks ago I had a 'day job' but talking to a number of people who do this full-time, waiting around for interviews is part of the job and you really can spend hours sometimes waiting for even pre-arranged interviews. It wasn't too long a wait for me though and anyway, it gave me chance to talk freely with other players and staff as they started to head to the gym although some had a game of table tennis first. From what I could see, Lloyd Doyley seemed to see of the challenges of Stephen McGinn and Adrian Mariappa before Danny Graham took over against Andrew Taylor.

After I had interviewed Malky Mackay it was then a dash back round the motorway to home to ensure I was home in time for the school run and then I needed to get the interviews sent to Three Counties Radio for them to use in the news bulletins on Friday. This is either done by sending the recording back to the studio via an ISDN line or alternatively converting the recording into a mp3 or other media file and e-mailing it over. The e-mail version worked for me (fortunately otherwise it would have been another motorway dash back up to Luton) and my work was done!

Last season I went to the training ground twice before games and both times the matches ended in 5-0 defeats, so at least Saturday's 1-1 draw with Forest stopped that particular run!

On Tuesday it was the familiar but awkward journey to Selhurst Park that awaited. This is a journey that I always do by car and can take anything from an hour up to four hours and I have experienced both! So I decided on an early start to try & avoid the rush hour traffic and it paid off as we made it to the ground in just over an hour and a half. However, the downside was we were sat in Sainsburys car park next to the ground at 5pm, a full three hours before kick-off. Those that know the area will be aware that there isn't exactly much to do but we did find a little fish and chip shop that had a seated area inside. So it was somewhere to keep warm for half an hour and to sample a portion of cod and chips (somewhat expensive at £5.50 though!).

We wandered back to the ground and collected our press passes before making our way, completely unchallenged into the ground. I wasn't completely sure of the way in but we decided to follow the Palace keeper, Julian Speroni, through an unlocked gate and then went up a staircase which seemed familiar from my last visit! Still there was no-one to stop us and we got all the way to the top of the stand and into an empty press box. It seemed quite bizarre that we had been able to get up there without anyone seeing us, let alone checking who we were, so we waited for a while before setting up our equipment just in case anyone else decided to come in to the ground that way and help themselves to our kit!

We were eventually joined by more reporters which made you feel a bit more comfortable and we set up all our equipment. I was asked to arrange a couple of interviews pre-match so we spoke to my BBC London counterpart who gave us an interesting insight into the situation at Palace, and once my summariser for the evening, Derek Payne, had battled his way through the traffic we had a chat with him too before kick-off.

The view from the press box at Selhurst Park

The press seats are situated at one end of the main stand so it can be hard to peer around the pillars to get a clear view of what is happening at the far end. But I certainly had a clear view of the eagle sat on his perch just by the players tunnel ahead of kick-off. He was huge and every now and then would turn around to face the stand. I was convinced he was looking straight at me each time, even though he must have been 100 yards away! He also demonstrated his wing span a couple of times which was very impressive although with both his handlers in close attendance he didn't appear to want to try and fly off into the South London night!

Just before kick-off, he was taken onto the pitch and his handlers positioned themselves on the edge of each penalty area. The eagle then flew between them whilst the players began their final warm-ups.

Derek Payne was the latest former Hornet to take the role of co-commentator and this was the first time he had done anything like it. He admitted to some pre-match nerves but then grew into the role very quickly, and offered great opinions and tactical assessments of the game as it ebbed and flowed. As debuts go, his was an excellent one and you can read his views on the game at http://www.watfordfc.com/ and also see a picture of him with his headphones on! It's not an easy role to fill but I think I have been very lucky so far to get some great Watford names onto the airwaves who all talk very well about the game. Derek was no exception and he said afterwards how much he enjoyed it. I hope everyone listening did too and I am interested to know your thoughts on our summarisers. We will definitely be inviting Derek back again soon! He also gave us a few little snippets from his playing days, including his thoughts on his Vicarage Road nickname which of course was Fred West!

The game was a great one for the neutral, with some fantastic goals and lots of near misses. Of course, a little run without a win means we hear more from listeners via text and e-mail and there were some frustrated people getting in touch on Tuesday night. It's great to get so many people contacting us and we really do try and get every comment onto the airwaves. It's interesting though that bad results prompt more people to get involved rather than good ones. Why is that the case?

My post-match interview with Malky Mackay was conducted in the empty, windswept and extremely cold stand and he was clearly angry and upset at his team's profligacy in front of goal that cost them so much on the night.

Just before leaving, I was in the relative warmth of the press room and we could hear shutters being pulled down outside the door. The other reporters had the same thought as me that we were potentially about to be locked in! Fortunately, the door opened and we were shown another door that would allow us to get out of the ground! I haven't been locked inside a ground yet, and it was a relief that Selhurst Park was not going to break that record!

Derby's Pride & Question Time At The Vic

Motorway's are an occupational hazard for us travelling the country to get to games and last weekend's trip to Derby threw up another little challenge to ensure we got there in good time. After picking up a BBC car from the radio station's headquarters we were in good shape as we began the journey up the M1 with a Pride Park arrival time of around 12.30 looking likely.

However, not long after the end of the roadworks at Junction 13, the traffic came to a halt and the overhead warning signs were telling us that there was an accident ahead. We exchanged a few phone calls with colleagues elsewhere on the motorway and made the decision to come off the motorway to head cross country.

We headed in and out of Northampton, sitting in more traffic outside the rugby ground as fans started arrive ahead of the Northampton Saints v Newcastle Falcons clash in the afternoon and beginning to think that we were going to be very, very late! Into the countryside we went, going past the final resting place of the Princess of Wales at Althorp House and taking in lots of Northamptonshire fields! Pride Park seemed far away at this point.

But credit to our map reader for the afternoon as we made it back to the M1 unscathed and arrived in Derby at around 1.15. There were no such problems for my co-commentator, Craig Ramage, who only lives a short distance from Pride Park and was in good spirits when I met up with him in the press room.

The set-up at Derby is excellent as there is just a short walk into the stand from the press room and plenty of room for broadcasters to operate, with small TV screens on the desks at every other seat that meant we could have Soccer Saturday at our fingertips for all the latest score updates throughout the afternoon.

Despite there being plenty of room for everyone to sit, Craig & I found ourselves sandwiched between two other broadcasters with little room to manoeuvre whilst twenty or so seats to our left sat empty! Everything worked OK though and as Radio Derby were one of those next to us it enabled Craig to put his former-Ram hat on before kick-off and do a live interview with them, at the same time as signing a few autographs for the home fans around us.



Craig Ramage, notes in mouth, signs an autograph before being interviewed on BBC Radio Derby

 Craig is quite clear though that whilst Derby is his hometown club, Watford is where his heart is and I am sure he left listeners in no doubt as to who he wanted to win. He has a genuine affection for the Hornets and also takes his role as a summariser seriously too, arriving with notes made on both teams which helped me as well as he had taken the time to speak to people he knows with inside knowledge of Derby so we knew how they would line-up as soon as the teams were confirmed.

Another man who has played for both clubs appeared on the pitch at half-time and took part in a draw that saw one Derby fan win £20,000! Now that's not bad for a day out at the football is it?! The man drawing the winning numbers was Nigel Callaghan, who seemed in good form although I understand that he is soon to head back to hospital for more cancer treatment and I send my best wishes to him for a full and speedy recovery.

The result wasn't what we had hoped for but it was an entertaining game with some exciting attacking play at times, as well as some good goals. I headed down to the side of the pitch to wait for post-match interviews with Malky Mackay and also a player if possible. I put my request into the press team and they then select players to come and speak to the press, or a just a specific reporter.

Martin Taylor was selected for me and as always, he spoke very honestly about the game expressing his disappointment at the manner of the goals that his side had conceded. Robbie Savage then appeared, still in his kit, and was kitted out with an earpiece and microphone to do a live TV interview for BBC Final Score before his 606 duties commenced a little later. He also took time to speak to everyone that was waiting around and sign autographs for some younger fans too. It was actually quite strange seeing so many fans waiting around inside the ground for quite a long time after the final whistle, at most grounds any fans that linger are quickly moved on their way by the stewards.

Matty Whichelow and Lloyd Doyley also came out to be interviewed on video for the Watford website and once I had interviewed Malky Mackay we got it on air within five minutes.


Lloyd Doyley faces the cameras after the defeat at Pride Park

It was fans forum night on Monday at Vicarage Road, with the whole event being broadcast live on Three Counties Radio. I was hosting the proceedings from the ground whilst Luke Ashmead presented the programme back at the studio. We also had an engineer on site to set up all the equipment as obviously it's not quite as straightforward as plugging a wire in on evening such as this!

I arrived at the ground at 5pm and went through the running order for the evening as well as discussing a few ideas for interviews with those in charge at the club. There was a live audience of around 200 people and it's important to keep re-iterating that there are no pre-submitted questions for the panel to prepare for, forums such as these at Watford are completely open to anyone to ask whatever they like.



The stage is set for the Watford fans forum

 I began by tucked away in the corner of the room so I could talk live on air without anyone in the room hearing as our programme started at 7, whilst the forum had a scheduled start of 7.45. As that time grew closer, I was kitted out in a mobile set of earphones with a small listening device that I attached to my belt so I could hear Luke in the studio. I was then able to be mobile and take my place to the side of the top table, with a hand-held cordless microphone.

Monday's question's ranged from the future of the ground share with Saracens, defensive tactics at corners, Elton John's phone calls, Lord Ashcroft's financial support and Harry the Hornet's dance routines and tail all being discussed. The panel, which consisted of Malky Mackay, Stuart Timperley, Michael Jones, Don Cowie and Michael Bryan, were all excellent and no-one ducked or side-stepped any question that was asked of them.

Michael Bryan risked a big fine when confirming he is on Facebook and on hearing that the manager isn't, telling us that he thought Facebook and Twitter etc were for younger people! We also had one of our regular texters, the brilliantly named Mya McHayface in touch to ask a question and a 2 year old little girl from Aston Clinton got her Dad to ask about Harry the Hornet! I was also referred to as the Grim Reaper by Mr Mackay when he talked his media duties after matches!

These types of events are very different obviously to a match commentary and I have to be aware of keeping the evening flowing as well as trying to make sure the whole panel is included. Time is also very important and fortunately, despite over-running in the first-half by a few minutes we were able to get everything completed on time by the end.

It was great to get the thoughts of some fans who attended the evening on the air too both beforehand and at the interval and my thanks to everyone I met on the evening as well.

Watford run these evenings extremely well and whilst Monday was the only one currently scheduled to be broadcast, they are continuing to hold other similar events away from Vicarage Road. The next one is scheduled for Garston in December and I would thoroughly recommend anyone to get along if they can.

Next time, I'll talk about a dash to Watford's training ground for the Thursday pre-match press conference and reflect on two games in four days, including the trip to Selhurst Park next Tuesday.