Dear WSC
I recently heard Alan Green and Robbie Savage give the customary abuse to Howard Webb during the Man City v Sunderland game. While Green’s job is to commentate on football, Savage, as a current player, is in an awkward position when he criticises officials from the safety of a studio in terms that would get him booked on the field.
Maybe the threat of a disrepute charge would concentrate his mind. As Savage himself commented during the broadcast: “The officials bring problems on themselves. First sign of dissent, bang, yellow card.” Well you said it, Robbie.
Paul Caulfield, Bradford
Search: 'Dong Fangzhuo'
Stories
Dong Fangzhuo became an Asian sensation when he joined Manchester United from Chinese side Dalian Shide in 2004. Jonathan Fadugba explores the striker’s drastic decline from Europe’s top stage
Just days after wrestling the title away from defending champions Chelsea, Manchester United travelled to Stamford Bridge for a League fixture on May 9, 2007. All the pre-match talk was of a guard of honour. Would José Mourinho be magnanimous enough in defeat to indulge the newly crowned Champions? He was – but Alex Ferguson sent out a reserve team. What followed was an almost farcical scene as John Terry and co lined up to salute the likes of Chris Eagles, Kieran Richardson and Kieran Lee.
For the richest European clubs, the term “the global game” has a new meaning as they rush to sew up their share of overseas markets. Gary Bowerman analyses the attempts to colonise China
As Liverpool’s new marketing strategy starts to look east, China seems an attractive option, particularly as the world’s biggest clubs have made a head start. AC Milan, Manchester United and Real Madrid have all played here in the last four years, with Barcelona, who beat then Chinese Champions Shenzhen Jianlibao 9-0 in Macau in 2003, set to play in Beijing this summer. The public-relations results were mixed, however, especially for Milan, whose second-string team were soundly beaten 2-0 by Shanghai Shenhua in front of a pitifully small crowd at the 80,000-seat Shanghai Stadium. The Chinese fans’ message was clear: don’t take us for granted.
A relaunched domestic league has done little to divert the attention of a jaded Chinese public from Europe, writes Gary Bowerman, but sights are set high for the future
Footballing frustration hangs heavily over China. With a population of 1.3 billion, an economy fast outgrowing all others and an ingrained passion for football, the Chinese constantly berate their national team for their lowly 64th place in FIFA’s rankings. To compound the fans’ frustration, China’s recent tour of Europe yielded a scoreless draw with Andorra, a 1-0 win over Algeria and a thumping 6-0 defeat by Barcelona, while the Under-23 team failed to qualify for the Athens Olympics.