Daniel Harris

Monday

Daniel Harris

Why are sports biographies treated differently to other works?

From our UK edition

Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap has been running in London theatres for 62 years straight - a period that spans more than 25,000 performances. As is traditional in the genre, it ends with the suspects gathered together for a shocking denouement, during which the detective unmasks the murderer, to general horror. Despite the number of times this has happened, the identity of the killer is apparently 'the best-kept secret in show business'; at no point has any reviewer felt the need to reveal that the butler did it. On the other hand, the publication last week of two autobiographies - one by Kevin Pietersen and one by Roy Keane - were treated quite differently.

Saturday

Daniel Harris

Morally, can we justify giving Luis Suárez a Player of the Year award?

From our UK edition

One of football’s many beauties is in encouraging us to forsake unfortunate strictures of accepted behaviour; as long as it’s at the game, we can sing, swear, cuddle strangers, and even care about stuff without fear of ridicule. And, perhaps best of all, we’re entitled to rejoice in the dastardly; it’s entirely justifiable to drool over the respective oeuvres of Roy Keane, Thierry Henry and Sergio Busquets, if they so tickle you. The game can also serve as a masking agent for off-pitch indiscretions, and remind people that personal matters are precisely that. Kenny Dalglish somehow wore links to the Clerkenwell crime syndicate, and though plenty of people dislike Wayne Rooney, it’s generally not on account of his nocturnal activities.

Wednesday

Daniel Harris

David Moyes’ failure – in his own words

From our UK edition

As children, we learn very quickly that a blame shared is a blame halved - but in the long-term, the ruse works only with the co-operation of the co-opted. This is a lesson that must have escaped David Moyes, whose public pronouncements regularly identified unwilling conspirators, illustrating precisely why he failed at Manchester United. Which is not to say that liability resides solely with him. Most obviously, Moyes was let down by his players; their performances were his ultimate responsibility - not excusing the indolence, indignation and entitlement that defined them. Also at fault is Alex Ferguson, who bequeathed Moyes a midfieldless squad - a partial consequence of a takeover he welcomed.