Brian Glanville was an enthusiast at every level of football, including the lowest. About 50 years ago I played one season for the Foul team, Foul being the Private Eye of football magazines.
Glanville had a team called Chelsea Casuals, for which he appeared as a full-back, at this stage long on experience and still as keen as mustard but with skill, fitness and other useful quantities in short supply.
When we played the Casuals he was given the run-around early on by Foul’s young and unexpectedly decent winger, at which point he discovered an injury and limped off. He then stationed himself behind the Casuals’ goal, from where he displayed his full critical repertoire at the expense of the inadequate efforts of our forwards, of which I was one.
I still remember a particularly dismal miss that was greeted with unbridled incredulity. At least I could boast of having once being commented on by Mr Glanville.
