SportsJOE announces the signing of Tony Barrett as Chief Football Writer

Maximum Media are delighted to announce the signing of Tony Barrett as Chief Football Writer.

Barrett will join the company in September and will work across SportsJOE.ie and JOE.co.uk. He joins from The Times, where he was North-West Football Correspondent, winning North-West Football Writer of the Year in 2015. A familiar voice to football fans in Ireland and all around the world due to his peerless coverage of Liverpool and Everton, his work has earned him a reputation as the authority on football in the north-west of England, a reputation that's earned him over 300,000 followers on Twitter. Tony is the latest high-profile name to join Maximum Media following the arrival of Dion Fanning as Chief Sports Writer in March and Colm Parkinson from Newstalk as GAA Editor in July. Evan Fanning, editor of SportsJOE.ie, said: "I'm excited and thrilled by the prospect of working with Tony and shaping the face of Premier League coverage which I believe will have no match anywhere else in Ireland or the UK. "We are committed to producing a product of the highest quality, whether that's a podcast such as the GAA Hour, or the written and video content produced day after day throughout Ireland's Euro 2016 campaign. "From our discussions with Tony it was clear that we share the same views and outlook on how football should be covered, that there is a need for informative, engaging and original content that is not bound by convention in any way. Tony is uniquely positioned to provide this coverage across Liverpool, Manchester United and Everton, clubs that have huge support in Ireland. "It's a very exciting signing for the company and a hugely significant moment in media in general." Speaking to The Guardian, JOE.co.uk Editor Richard Beech said: “There’s not an editor in Ireland or the UK who wouldn’t be delighted to have Tony on board, so the fact he’s joined JOE is a huge testament to what we’re building. His name is synonymous with football in the north-west, he’s broken the biggest stories, worked tirelessly on his patch, and subsequently he’s seen as the authority on football in England’s proudest football region.”