Get Her Off the Pitch was a major undertaking, the nearest thing I’ve done to an autobiography. “This is a thoughtful book, isn’t it?” said the Woman’s Hour presenter on our way to the studio – but from the way she said it, “thoughtful” was clearly not a term of approbation.

However, a lot of thought did go into it, yes. I wanted to analyse my own reactions to sport, question its importance, describe the appalling, gnawing, masochistic anxiety experienced by fans, and so on. I addressed each major sport with an essay, starting with boxing, and ended the book on a high with a description of an England-Germany friendly at the old Wembley Stadium, which England lost. The year was 2000. It rained. Kevin Keegan abandoned England straight after the match. My sister had just died, and I had resigned. In the press box I found myself sitting next to a famous misogynist. The stadium was about to be pulled down. I wept throughout, and we lost.