Search: 'Esteban Fuertes'
Stories
Suddenly, the midlands is full of financially stricken First Division clubs. Peter Gutteridge tries to isolate the reasons for Derby's spectacular plunge
Rams fans can tell you that rock bottom does not exist. No matter how far you sink there is plenty of room to sink deeper. Derby County are a reported £30 million in debt and the bank is feeding in cash through an intravenous drip. We can’t even sign non-contract players until we have reduced the wage bill. We can’t reduce the wage bill because the transfer market is dead and we can’t release players because we can’t pay off their contracts. Rumour has it that two takeover bids and one refinancing package are under discussion. In four seasons we have progressed from the top half of the Premiership to relegation and the fringes of administration.
For a few weeks, it seemed he might be the answer to Derby's goal drought. But then the mysterious Argentine ran into a new opponent, as Chris Hall recounts
In August 1999 a burly Argentine headed the winner for Derby against Everton at Pride Park. Less than three months later, the same man, on his way back from a training camp in Portugal, was refused re-entry into England at Heathrow on the grounds that his passport was a forgery. The name on the passport was Esteban Fuertes – and the player, whoever he was, never appeared in a Derby shirt again.
Jamie Rainbow tells us about Teletext on the internet, the two main teams in the East Midlands and advice you need to invest in football
Combine the immediacy of Teletext with the scope of the internet and you’ve got the perfect medium for keeping abreast of all the latest football news. Or so you might think. The reality is something of a letdown. Although the Teletext site provides links to specially written club columns and is available for longer than the televised version, that’s about all it has to offer.
Tuesday 2 Man Utd finish top of their Champions League group with a 2-1 win over Sturm Graz. "The competition will be more exciting for everyone from now on," yawns Alex. Arsenal's magnificently meaningless last group game ends in a 3-2 win in Stockholm. The FA are to take no action against Neil Ruddock over garlic-related remarks allegedly made to Patrick Vieira. "We fully accept that he is not racist ñ as his many black friends in the game will testify," says one of those FA spokesmen. Charlton regain second spot in the First Division after winning at Crewe. Moneybags Wigan, still unbeaten, go top of the Second by beating Chesterfield. Another bad day at the office for Barry Hearn as Leyton Orient slip to the bottom of the Third after losing at Darlington while rivals Chester win at Shrewsbury. Exciting times ahead in the Potteries, possibly, as Stoke City are bought by a consortium of Icelandic businessmen.