Neil Allen

With modern sports journalism and its accompanying pressures, creativity can be stifled, originality discouraged, individuality crushed - and the tried and trusted championed. Yet it’s imperative our profession continues to push reporting boundaries and demonstrate bravery in subject matter, even if it breaks convention. She wrote about three exclusive articles, Evie Gane, this emotional story drew national attention and a remarkable response across both the men’s and women’s games after highlighting the issue of mental health in football.

In a stunningly honest interview, the 22-year-old bravely detailed how she quit football after a dream move to the Women’s Championship caused a breakdown, leaving her battling depression and contemplating suicide. Having fought misogyny from an early age and not even being allowed to play football at school, it was a heartbreaking end to a life-long ambition. The decision to speak openly to The News has been a lightning rod to greater understanding of mental health within the game, with football clubs including Watford and Crawley getting in touch to explore how they can help their players. In addition, many women footballers enduring similar experiences have contacted Evie, along with a number of male Pompey fans seeking her advice in coping with their own problems having been empowered by her tale.

John Westwood, one of English football’s most instantly recognisable fans, he hadn’t missed a Pompey game since 1979 until last season. However, in 2022-23, his often over-exuberant match-day behaviour earned him four bans, totalling 20 matches, and culminating in a five-month suspension. In a soul-searching interview, John admits his unique way of following his team is now outdated, branding himself ‘a dinosaur’ and vowing to change his ways to fit into modern society. The front page splash caught the attention of supporters nationally and is the most-read sports story in The News’ digital history. In fact, it is The News’ third most-read story overall of 2023. Louis Bell, a hugely well-known local football manager and coach, yet Louis can no longer be part of the game he loves. Since 2019 he’s been diagnosed with cancer three times, beating it twice, but now has been given potentially six months to live. Yet this is no story of self-pity, despite acknowledging the crucial failure to act on tell-tale signs of prostate cancer for eight months before seeking medical help. He wished to give this exclusive interview - which became a front page splash - to raise awareness and encourage others not to repeat the mistakes which he believes have taken away his future. As a consequence, four friends subsequently contacted him admitting they were suffering the same symptoms and have since contacted their doctor for advice, potentially saving their lives.