When it was published this excellent autobiography was short-listed for the Irish Sports Book of the Year 2014, (an award won by Roy Keane’s “Second Half”). Alan McLouglin has plenty of stories to entertain any football fan regardless of whether they have an interest in Pompey or the Republic of Ireland, two teams I most closely associate with a player who many rate as one of the best attacking midfielder players seen in a Portsmouth shirt.

Co -written by Bryce Evans of Hope University, Liverpool the book spins along at a fair rate and gives an excellent insight to the work of being a professional footballer with the talent to perform at international level with the impact such a job has on family life.

The book starts dramatically, giving an insight into a typical male attitude to health and well-being, when our hero discovers he has testicular cancer in the most distressing of circumstances. If the NHS were to use the opening scenes in any health awareness campaign I suspect that many more men would get checked out a lot sooner for this killer condition sooner rather than later.

The quality of writing is high throughout and as the chapters unfold the voice of Alan tells his story using well chosen phrases of humour and sensitivity. The book has a gentle style that guides the reader through some wonderful footballing moments, not least the goal that took the Republic to the World Cup Tournament of 1994. This personal triumph that means that Alan McLouglin will never be able to sneak quietly into an Irish bar again in his life without shaking hands and politely declining offers of a free drink, is balanced by the account of Eire failing to qualify for the Euro nations tournament due to a last minute goal conceded in Macedonia.

My favourite moments from the Alan McLoughlin years in a Pompey shirt include his two goals at The Baseball Ground when Pompey thrashed Derby County 4-2 on Boxing Day 1992; equalising penalties in mid-week games at Millwall and then Sunderland at Roker Park, (making two late night journeys home more enjoyable); his goal at Wolves in the 3rd Round FA Cup game at Molineux when we beat Wolves 1-2 on a chilly 4th January in 1997 afternoon and the headed opening goal at Leeds United in the 2-3 FAC 5th round win the same year, (after which Gary Crooks called him “Andy” McLoughlin in the BBC Match of The Day highlights). Some of these moments, including the Blackburn FA Cup away hat-trick get a mention in ‘Another Kind of Green.’  He did very well in the FA Cup for Pompey looking back, adding plenty of cup magic for we fans.

Alan McLoughlin was a key player in Jim Smith’s free-scoring team of the early 1990s and then a stalwart of the latter years of the Gregory regime. It must have been a joy to turn up for work alongside the talents of  Chamberlain, Whittingham and Walsh in a sparkling attack, but more challenging in later years when seeming to carry a team single-handed. The book covers all with good grace and also reveals some very funny moments from Jack Charlton’s years in charge of the Ireland national team.

A good book for those otherwise dull days between matches – recommended.

CLP  30/07/2018

What drama unfolds behind these gates

Audio Description Commentary is a service that has been offered to visually impaired supporters at Pompey since the 2015 season.

Using trained volunteers, the Pompey AD service provides instantaneous live matchday commentary using an approach designed to give as accurate and immediate description of the footballing action as possible.

The service was set up in 2015 by the Pompey Disabled Supporters Association, who paid for the radio transmitter, handsets and selection and training of the first Pompey AD commentators. Originally the service was run in partnership with a specialist sports media company, Alan March Sports Limited.

The service is straight forward. A small UHF transmitter broadcasts the commentary to supporters who are lent a small radio receiver and headphones (although some fans choose to bring their own headsets). The AD commentary is then sent direct and immediately to the fans instantaneously, without any broadcast delay, as happens with local public radio stations.

The AD commentators have been trained to concentrate on all the match action as it happens. The aim is to give the clearest description of what is happening on the pitch without missing anything. Working in teams of at least two per game, the AD commentators’ first rule is to ensure listeners know where the ball is on the pitch at all times. This is so the fans in the ground who cannot see the game follow every kick, header, pass and goal live.

Comments about tactics and opinions are only given when the ball is out of play. Unlike radio commentary elsewhere, the Pompey AD team are focused on describing the match action, not talking about the game in general.

Getting up to speed to give accurate and entertaining commentary in this way is a real challenge and the Pompey AD team work hard to maintain the highest quality service. This professional attitude is appreciated by the fans who listen in and they rate the quality of commentary highly. Fans from visiting clubs are always welcome to listen to the AD Commentary and Plymouth Argyle supporters have been particularly impressed by the accuracy and quality of AD commentary at Fratton Park.

The first Pompey AD commentators were James Richardson, Niall McCaughan, Dan Shaw and Chris Perry. Niall is now working full-time in sports journalism, also hosting The Football Hour on Express FM. Dan Shaw’s talents as a match day commentator have also been recognised and he has also been heard on the local commercial radio station giving his thoughts on how Pompey and opponents play.

Dan Shaw and Chris Perry have also provided AD commentary at Crawley Town FC, where Chris helped train two new recruits for the 2017/18 season. Chris is returning to the Pompey AD rota for 2018/19.

The team has evolved since 2015 and is now coordinated by Danny Parkinson, who began AD Commentary in the 2016/17 season with Dan Casey and Mark Alloway. There will be new voices to listen out for during the 2018/19 season to ensure every Pompey home game is fully covered by AD Commentary.

The club is supportive of this volunteer team and has taken on funding the service from the Pompey Disabled Supporters Association. The club is keen to extend access to the AD Commentary service for fans with visual impairment. Enquiries about how to use the service can be made via the Pompey ticket office.

More information about accessibility for fans with disability can be found on the Portsmouth FC official website.

CLP 30/07/2018