Due to the fact I will be making an attempt to include few, if any, football related posts it is quite ironic that I believe a football correspondent to be the best sports journalist.
Henry Winter began his career at the Independent and moved to The Telegraph in 1994 and he is now their chief football correspondent. He is a familiar face also on Sky Sports’ Sunday Supplement. Winter is without doubt one of the top sports writers in Britain, and has been for over 20 years, not only writing in both the Daily Telegraph and Telegraph online but also in Four Four Two magazine.
Unlike other football writers Winter doesn’t simply concentrate on the Premiership. Not only is it refreshing to see this but he does it so beautifully. When you think that half of all football attendances in Britain are outside of the Premiership it is only logical that this should be the case. It is fair to say that the currently League One side Leeds, who once scaled the dizzying heights of elite European club football, are bigger than some of the clubs currently in the Premiership.
Winter’s writing extends beyond the work he does for the Telegraph and Four Four Two magazine, he wrote Kenny Dalglish’s biography, which he has described as a great honour. He also wrote the book F.A. Confidential and he, himself, admits that it is no surprise the things that were revealed inside the Football Association.
It is my view that Henry Writer is the best sports journalist as a result of his honesty. Like other sports writers and commentators he has been accused of being biased, naturally by those who don’t agree with his, at times, controversial comments.
As an Arsenal fan, as can be expected when such a high profile journalist, he has been accused of being a Manchester United fan by Manchester City fans, a Liverpool fan by Everton fans and a Tottenham fan by Arsenal fans. It is fair to say that as a sports journalist you have to become quite neutral in order to avoid criticism.
Henry Winter has many qualities that make him the best in the country, not by far mind you as Michael Atherton in the Times is a very close second. Winter wins by a nose.
Winter’s responses in both his articles and on the Sunday Supplement are educated and well constructed, unlike like some journalists from the red top tabloids who use a ‘scatter-gun’ approach in order to get their points across. Not taking anything away or deriding their knowledge or views because it is to some readers taste and suits the image of the working man who might read his ‘Supergoals’ pull out in The Sun.
All this being said Henry Winter is such an appealing writer due to the fact that he is a superb word-smith and his broad use of the English language makes for riveting, easily read and well constructed articles that are a pleasure when it comes to reading them.
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