"A MASSIVE PART," says Lewis Hall, describing Stephen Purches' role in helping him break into the England squad this season. ...

NOBODY at Newcastle United's training centre calls Simon Weatherstone by his given name; to players and staff alike, he is "Tinners".

When I strolled into the ring at the Pennington Day dog show’s Look-Alike Contest in suburban New Jersey in the mid-1990s, I had all the confidence of a young girl assured of victory.