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Bromley football writer lifts lid on career in new book

A football journalist from Bromley has lifted the lid on his career in the press box by publishing a book of his life as a globetrotting sports reporter.
Paul Green, sports editor at the News Shopper, found out more…


Christopher Davies, (60), has covered the national game for 40 years during a career which took in spells at Shoot magazine and the Daily Star before he retired last year after almost 20 years with the Daily Telegraph.

He began keeping a diary of his professional exploits in the run up to the Republic of Ireland’s appearance at the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea.

He covered the Irish team for the Daily Telegraph since the late 1980s and even met the Pope while travelling with Jack Charlton’s squad at the 1990 World Cup in Italy.

But his idea of a diary was one which came late in a distinguished career.

The result is the recently published book Behind the back page – The adventures of a sports writer.

Christopher has dealt regularly with some of the biggest names in the business, from George Best and Sir Matt Busby in the 1960s, to modern day household names such as Arsene Wenger, Roy Keane and Jose Mourinho.

To many people it is the ideal job – getting paid to travel the globe watching World Cups and European Championships and mixing with high-profile names.

Christopher is quick to agree and claims he has many friends who are millionaires and are envious of his professional role.

However, he also points out it isn’t all glitz and glamour and hopes the book makes this clear.

He said: “I survived in Japan for a month on Marmite sandwiches and sleeping in hotel rooms the size of cupboards.

“I hope people appreciate the self deprecation in the book about my moans and groans.

“The only thing which really annoys me about the job is poor technology, when you get to a World Cup game in Japan and then find you cannot get an internet connection.

“I’ve stayed in some of the best hotels in the world and some of the worst as well, but overall my memories are mainly good ones.”

He added: “It is not a book about football because people can buy a newspaper and find out about that.

“What it is is a blow by blow account of the good, the bad and the ugly of life as a sports reporter and what it is like to do this job.

“It is a great job but it isn’t all about glamour. There are some really funny stories in the book and I hope it will make people laugh along the way.”

Despite stepping down from his staff job with the Daily Telegraph, he still writes regularly for the paper in a freelance capacity as well as reporting for the Sunday People and penning a weekly column for the Japan Times.

Christopher also helped to ghost write former referee Graham Poll’s recent autobiography and believes there is a shocking lack of knowledge from journalists, fans, players and managers about the rules of football.

He said: “Everyone in the game should make a concerted effort to have more knowledge because you never get this problem in tennis or rugby. It seems to be an ignorance you wouldn’t get anywhere else.”

As well as being genuinely funny with numerous anecdotes, the book is a revealing insight into the competitive world of sports journalism and Christopher has the following advice for anyone hoping to follow in his footsteps.

“You need to be yourself and have the ability to believe in yourself,” he said.

“So many people have the same level of qualifications these days so you really need to stand out a bit.

“The people who go furthest in this game will be the ones who go the extra mile.

“I covered the 1994 World Cup final for the Daily Telegraph and it was the best day of my career.

“In my next life I want to come back as a football reporter and do it all again.”

  • Behind the back page – The adventures of a sports writer is published by Know the Score Books and costs £9.99.