Book reviews

In May, an arbitrarily appointed FA body sanctioned Wimbledon's move to Milton Keynes. Ian Pollock reorts on the staggering logic of a hugely damaging ruling

Just before the World Cup started, a special three-man commission of the FA came to one of the most profound decisions any foot­ball authority in England has ever made by giving permission for Wim­bledon to move 60 miles north to Milton Keynes. With most fans’ at­tention firmly fixed on events in Japan and South Korea, it is not surprising that hardly any scru­tiny has been given to the ruling handed down by the commission on May 28. After all, it only concerned Wim­bledon, so who cares?

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Falkirk appear to hae been saved from relegation by Airdrie's demise. But James Teideman is still bitter about the fate of clubs excluded from the SPL

It is the night that Bayer Leverkusen host Manchester United in the second leg of their semi-final. The Cham­p­ions League music that welcomes the teams on to the pitch at Brockville Park floats with comic irony over the terraces – as if it isn’t surreal enough that Ev­erton are playing here tonight for the honour of lifting the Alex Scott memorial trophy, highlight of Falkirk’s 125th anniversary celebrations. The travelling fans must have had a laugh as they surveyed the crumbling “stadium” that sums up the melancholy malaise of small Scottish clubs.

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Howard Pattison warns Exeter supporters against being fooled by Uri Geller's illusionary exploits

The media coverage was inescapable. Even Ra­dio 5 Live was running a competition to see who could suggest the most likely – or unlikely – headline in the next day’s newspapers. You wouldn’t think that Uri Geller, newly ap­poin­ted to the unusual position of co-chairman at Ex­eter City, could still attract that kind of pub­licity. And maybe he can’t, for no am­ount of spoon bending is going to obscure the fact that something far more peculiar is going on at St James’ Park.

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Paul Knott pays tribute to the pioneering life and times of Valery Lobanovsky

The image conjured up by Valery Lobanovsky, who died in May aged 63, was of a Slavic cousin of the Lanarkshire coalfields school of man­agers, glowering from the dugout. An astute and inspirational disciplinarian with a fear­some temper, he had plenty in common with Stein and Shankly. But there was also a great intellect behind the harsh exterior. Loban­ov­sky pio­neered the use of scientific methods in coaching. Unlike many of his cerebral peers, the out­come was neither mechanical nor neg­ative. The aim was al­ways to complement the artistry of his play­ers. His teams’ alliance of power with flair prod­uced a style that significantly raised the game’s technical standards.

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After securing promotion to Division One, Stoke City part company with manager Gudjon Thordarson. Penny Stanley asks why and finds an answer

“It’s typical of Stoke,” the man said. “Only they could sack their manager five days after win­ning the play-offs.”“Thordarson messed up,” came the reply. “Didn’t he realise a club like Stoke are meant to underachieve every year?”

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