Book reviews

Nathan Lee Davies explains why Inverness Caledonian Thistle revel in cup glory and league success

Celtic supporters will never forget February 8, 2000 when Inverness Caledonian Thistle won 3-1 at Parkhead in the third round of the Scottish Cup – a result that cost manager John Barnes his job. However, they could be for­given for thinking their team only had to turn up at Caledonian Stadium to progress to the last four of this year’s competition given that, three days earlier, they had comfortably dis­patched Liverpool from the UEFA Cup at An­field. There was little in the first half to suggest a shock was in the offing, but shortly before half time ICT striker Dennis Wyness struck and his side were 45 minutes away from re­peating their feat.

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Dale Hurman explains why things aren't running smoothly at Wycombe

Two matches at Chesterfield in three years il­lus­trate the change experienced by Wycombe Wanderers fans. On April 8, 2000, a 2-1 away win at Saltergate secured our Second Division status for another year and all but condemned the Spireites to relegation. It was a relaxed time to be a Wanderers fan. Within a year, we were taking 19,500 supporters to Villa Park for the FA Cup semi-final with Liverpool. Of course, most went back to whatever had prevented them coming to watch Wycombe before but some stayed. Lawrie Sanchez’s defiant post-match speech to the gathered press harnessed growing expectations. We had also made in the region of £1 million from the cup run. Pro­motion to the First Division was the new goal.

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It’s taken a while, but African players are finally beginning to thrive in England. Alan Duncan charts the changes in both English and African football that have made this possible

A popular African adage says that “pushing stops at the wall”. For the best part of the last decade, Af­rican players have seen the inexorable push of their compatriots across Europe tending to break down at the formidable wall presented by English football.

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WSC speaks to Watford’s Alec Chamberlain about how the game has changed for goalkeepers during his 20 year career

One of the effects of the blanket TV coverage of football is that every player’s mistakes are highlighted. Are keepers given too hard a time generally?
At the risking of sounding paranoid, I definitely think goalkeepers come under the microscope too often, especially in the Premiership and at international level as well. It’s there for all to see, every Saturday night you watch the Premiership and it’s dissected. Out­field play­ers come under criticism, but the commentators hang, draw and quarter you before it even gets to the expert. The advent of super slo-mo hasn’t done us any favours either because when you see things com­ing in real time I think that’s the only fair way to see whether or not the keeper could have done better. Slow motion makes things looks easier than they were in real time.

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Brighton’s veteran goalkeeper talks Chris Eldergill through the ups and downs of a career spanning 24 years, and explains why he’s happy to carry on playing

At the age of 44 and with a wealth of experience dating back 24 years, Dave Beasant is the oldest play­er in the Football League. The 6ft 4in goalkeeper is cur­rently helping out at Brighton & Hove Albion, hav­ing signed from Wigan back in January. Brighton are Beasant’s 13th club and he has now made more than 750 league appearances during his career. His determination to add to this figure is evident.

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