FANTASTIC FOOTBALL MAN, RALPH

MIDDLESBROUGH manager Tony Pulis led tributes to highly-respected football reporter Ralph Ellis, who has died of prostate cancer, aged 62. “Ralph was a fantastic man,” said Pulis. “He wrote what he believed but would respect your opinion.” And former QPR boss Ian Holloway said: “I am absolutely devastated. He was a football man through and through.” Ralph (above) was a freelance writer for a number of national titles, including our sister paper the Sunday Mirror. In June, he completed a gruelling 145-mile London to Amsterdam charity cycle ride to raise thousands of pounds for Prostate Cancer UK with his sons Dan and Matt. Ralph also leaves wife Sue and grandsons Jamie and Ray.