Jonathan Wilson, multi award-winning Football Historian, talks to Football Paradise about the monopolisation of media and why the stories that must be told.
‘Eclectic’ is our favourite word in the English dictionary. More than a word, it’s an idea. Eclecticism finds its roots in a class of ancient Greek and Roman philosophers who did not belong to any recognised school of thought but investigated doctrines and perspectives from a wide variety of sources. It’s a conceptual approach that does not hold rigidly to a single paradigm or set of assumptions, but instead draws upon multiple theories, styles, or ideas to gain complementary insights into a subject, or applies different theories to explain or interrogate the truths that have been taken for granted.
For multi-award winning football historian, Jonathan Wilson, it’s an ideal. Inverting the Pyramid – A history of football tactics; The Outsiders – A history of the goalkeeper, Angels With Dirty Faces – The footballing history of Argentina, Nobody Ever Says Thank You – A Biography of Brian Clough, Behind the Curtain – Travels in Easter European football etc: a quick browse through his bibliography will reveal to you his mastery of the word.
He talks to Srijandeep Das, the chief editor of Football Paradise, about the monopolisation of journalism, the responsibility to tell stories that need to be told and the origins of football’s most eclectic quarterly, The Blizzard magazine. Now, there are some of you who haven’t read Jonathan Wilson before despite your best intentions. No worries; reading on from beyond this point should make you want to rectify that situation.