Richard Pilcher

When I was six I won an award at my local club where Andy Cole and Rob Lee were special guests at the presentation night. After having my photo taken with them for the local newspaper my family suggested I become a Newcastle fan. So for my next birthday I asked for a Newcastle top with Ginola printed on the back (which I can just about still squeeze in to) and became a Newcastle fan in a sea of Man Utd and Arsenal fans. A rose among thorns! As Newcastle challenged for the Premier League title I grew up pretending to be Shearer, Ferdinand or Asprilla. I even had a spell as Philippe Albert after his chip against United. But nowadays I’m just relieved to get through Sunday morning football without being compared to Boumsong... When I graduated from University my dream of captaining Newcastle and leading them to the Premier League title wasn't looking too good. However, I still dreamt of working within the world of football and I decided to train as a sports journalist. I am now looking to establish myself as a football journalist and hope my articles on Soccerlens will help get me started!