with Stuart James
Ebury Press, £7.99
Reviewed by Saul Pope
From WSC 365, July 2017
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Stories
This has been a slightly desperate month for the football pages. A non-tournament summer tends to create two main problems. First, there’s the fact that nothing’s really happening. How, at times like these, to fill the 12-page daily sport supplement and stoke the creative muse of 14 weekly picture-bylined columnists? Football has, of course, been the main impetus behind the mushrooming of all this extra space. Without actual matches, we’re left with a noisy and occasionally ragged exercise in misdirection.
Friday 1 Leeds’ administrators are to recount the votes taken at a creditors’ meeting, which appeared to narrowly favour Ken Bates’s proposed takeover. Nigel Worthington is to manage Northern Ireland until the end of their Euro 2008 qualifiers in November. England concede a last-minute equaliser in a 1‑1 draw with Brazil, John Terry having put them ahead in their return to Wembley. “The key thing was the amount of passion that the players showed,” says Steve McClaren, as desperate as ever.
Dear WSC,
There have been suggestions that some African footballers are actually several years older than they claim to be. But there may be a case closer to home. It may be the strain of shouldering Preston’s promotion bid almost single-handed or the fact that he’s endured over a decade of underachievement as an Everton fan, but David Nugent is the oldest-looking 22-year-old I’ve ever seen. With his sunken, haggard features, he looks like he’s been transported into 2007 from some time in the 1930s. But now he’s hanging around with the worldly sophisticates in the England squad, it can only be a matter of time before he gets a makeover. In fact, that might make a nice feature for Icon, Jamie Redknapp’s splendid magazine for millionaire footballers.
David Senior, via email
Thursday 1 Emre is accused of having racially abused Ali Bangura of Watford; the Newcastle player was previously charged with insulting Everton’s black players in December. Anton Ferdinand will face trial for alleged assault over an incident at an Essex nightclub last year. Alan Knill is dismissed by Rotherham, who are without a win in 14 games.