Ian Plenderleith assesses the ability of players to take media criticism
Students of both football players and the internet might be inclined to reach an unscientific conclusion about the utterances of one and the content of the other. Namely, 98 per cent of what you hear from footballers, or read on the internet, is utterly forgettable. Imagine, then, the challenge of searching the internet for something of genuine insight and interest from an active professional.
Scotland's 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign was a painful experience both on and off the pitch. But Neil Forsyth refuses to be downhearted
Onwards Scotland march. Another major tournament without involvement, despite being in arguably the easiest qualifying group, with senior players picking up a sine die ban for an all-night bender, a manager still trying to convince the public of his suitability and an SFA leadership who increasingly resemble the committee of a provincial bowling club.
James Appell looks at Arsenal's struggles with their former ground, now echoing to marketing rather than crowds
On September 24, Arsène Wenger took an afternoon off from fielding questions about Emmanuel Adebayor’s goal celebrations, Eduardo’s lack of balance and such like, and headed down to the site of the old Highbury Stadium. There, lining up alongside a team of other Arsenal greats – Bob Wilson, Frank McLintock, George Graham and, er, Perry Groves – he cut the ribbon to formally open Highbury Square, a new housing development built on the site.
Brian Simpson reports on a disagreement between Oldham Athletic and Failsworth Dynamos, both keen on new footballing homes
Failsworth Dynamos, a club familiar with success on and off the pitch, have an ambitious plan to find a permanent home for their 27 teams. When it seemed the local council was about to offer the club the lease on a piece of land ideal for its ambitions, the Broadway site, it looked like an excuse for a party. However, the celebration pint quickly went flat with the news that the land had instead been promised to someone else. The irony is that the third party is not a supermarket chain or rapacious developer, but local professional club Oldham Athletic who want to move from their Boundary Park home.
The hosts are coming to terms with new realities of the bottom division, financial hardship and predatory bigger clubs, while the visitors are happy to be playing their second season in the League. Charles Morris reports
I first went to Crewe Alexandra’s ground in early, wide-eyed childhood. Ever since it has been a place capable of conjuring up some much-needed magic amid the industrial surroundings of Coronation Street-style houses to the west and the town’s railway station and sidings to the east.