Now here's a turn-up. Curious Girl Writes About Football shock. I was intrigued when a friend, Fred Landergren, published his Top Five Footballers of All Time on Facebook.
I had a think about it and came up with: George Best, Ruud Gullit, Thierry Henri, Sepp Maier (pictured now, aged 65), Paul Gascoigne. Now I wouldn't say any of them are on the list because of their footballing skills per se. No, it's more of a charisma rating. I couldn't comment on footballing skills because I find football so deathly dull.
It wasn't always so.
Back in the radio years, I was a bit of a pioneer because I was one of the first women to broadcast about football. The reporters' box at Home Park (ground of Plymouth Argyle FC) was an all-man zone until I turned up, and the first time I did my tentative first report, there was a sudden hush as they all listened to me. Over time they came to accept "the bird," and even to share the half-time broken biscuits with me.
I started doing the match reports at home matches and the Thursday "what's the team news?" report. I got to know the two managers of that time, Bobby Moncur and John Hore and even "broke" the news of Moncur's sudden departure.
I was sent to Plainmoor (Torquay United) to interview their new manager, Dave Webb. He kept me waiting for ages, on a Sunday when my shift had finished, so when he breezed in saying "do you know anything about football love?" I testily replied (mindful of their position at the bottom of the table) "yes, do you?"
Anyway, the football reporting came to an abrupt halt when PAFC reached the semi-finals of the FA cup and I was bounced from doing any match reporting in favour of The Guys.
Phrases like "sick as a parrot" or "game of two halves" were never to fall from my lips again. And I haven't watched the game ever since.
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