IN MY early years in football journalism, Reading’s Elm Park was a regular assignment. This was in the years immediately after the Bradford fire disaster, so at half-time reporters and fans would leave the wooden main stand to have a smoke pitchside. After the match, the handful of media would adjourn to Ian Branfoot’s cramped office for the post-match ‘press conference’.
The manager would ask whoever was nearest the filing cabinet to open the bottom drawer and hand round the beers kept in there.
It was a homely place. The nearest it came to internationa...