Brian Woolnough (30 September 1948 – 18 September 2012) was a British

sports journalist Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in a par ...

and Chief Sports writer for the '' Daily Star''. Previously a writer for ''

The Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot Plasma (physics), plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as ...

,'' in 1999 the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the tit ...

'' tried unsuccessfully to hire him. Woolnough was hired by the ''Daily Star'' in 2001 after owner

Richard Desmond Richard Clive Desmond (born 8 December 1951) is a British publisher, businessman, and former Pornography, pornographer. According to the 2021 ''Sunday Times Rich List'', Desmond was the 107th richest person in the United Kingdom. He is the fo ...

authorised a £200,000 pay package. In December 2004, following

Norwich City Norwich City Football Club is a professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was founded in 1902. Since 1935, Norwich have played their h ...

's 4–0 defeat at Chelsea, Woolnough produced a Monday morning column that enraged many Norwich fans, saying that City were "gutless," that they would "stink the place out" with Premiership performances of a similar ilk, and that he "Hopes they go down, and good riddance." Woolnough was strongly criticised for the article in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

, and although refusing to withdraw his comments, he later visited

Carrow Road Carrow Road is a association football, football stadium in Norwich, Norfolk, England, and is the home of EFL Championship club Norwich City F.C., Norwich City. The stadium is east of the city, near Norwich railway station and the River Wensum. ...

after receiving 450 e-mails and the local newspaper getting involved with the debate. From 2007, Woolnough was the presenter of Sky Sport's '' Sunday Supplement,'' replacing

Jimmy Hill James William Thomas Hill, Order of the British Empire, OBE (22 July 1928 – 19 December 2015) was an English football in England, footballer and later a television personality. His career included almost every role in the sport, including pla ...

. Woolnough was previously the presenter of ''Hold the Back Page'' from 1994. Woolnough died on 18 September 2012, aged 63 from bowel cancer although originally it was thought to be for no reason.

Gary Lineker Gary Winston Lineker ( ; born 30 November 1960) is an English Sports broadcasting, sports broadcaster and former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. Lineker is the only player t ...

described Woolnough as "one of football's finest journalists." The then

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

manager Sir Alex Ferguson said that Woolnough was "a good journalist and a good personality."

References

1948 births 2012 deaths British male journalists British sportswriters Deaths from colorectal cancer Sky Sports presenters and reporters {{UK-journalist-stub