RIP Danny Kelly’s Football365 legacy and Spurs passion echo

RIP Danny Kelly, the charismatic founder of Football365, was mourned today after his sudden death, with colleagues recalling his exuberant declaration “I LOVE FOOTBALL STAN, I LOVE IT.” and his notorious follow‑up “SO UNPROFESSIONAL”, both echoing his lifelong devotion to the game.

He loved football obsessively, especially Tottenham Hotspur, and also music, publishing, Guinness and a booming laugh that filled the Football365 office in the early internet boom. He was the creative mind behind a publishing concept, not a true website, summed up as “we bloody love football but also, isn’t it absolutely sodding ridiculous?”.

The Football365 offices were housed in a massive London terrace near Baker Street, with Kelly living upstairs in a flat stacked with records. He sometimes descended to the office for hours‑long stories from his NME days, likened to a substitute teacher drawn into his favourite subject.

At other times he stayed in his flat, inviting colleagues for uproarious jazz‑backed chats. He also summoned people to the Worcester Arms, his third home and source of many ideas.

Spin‑offs and quirky predictions

Football365 spawned Music365, Win365 and around seventeen other spin‑offs such as Gardening365 and Future365. A highlight was Russell Grant’s rune‑based football prediction delivered from a tiny room lined with egg‑box panels.

This eclectic media landscape characterised the late 1990s. The author hints that drugs may have been involved.

The writer believes Kelly launched Football365 with unnamed executives to surround himself with cool football fans. He also recruited “not‑cool” people who could invent ten fish‑sounding footballers.

The author became the first person in the office each day to secure Kelly’s undivided attention. Making Kelly laugh produced a high that lasted for days.

Kelly told the author “I’m going to change your life” when offering the Deputy Editor role ahead of several older men. He was described as the least threatening media figure of the 1990s, an entertainer first, friend second, boss third.

The author recalls Kelly hating the label ‘larger than life’, preferring to be called a “really bloody good guy”. He ends with “I LOVE DANNY, I LOVE HIM.”