Book reviews

David Wangerin ponders John Gregory's departure from Villa Park – were Doug Ellis's tight purse strings to blame?

In February 1998 Aston Villa manager Brian Little was preparing to give a routine press con­ference about his plans and hopes for the rest of the season when he received an urgent phone call from chairman Doug Ellis. Little made his excuses to the reporters and disappeared, returning an hour or so later to say he had just resigned. Four years later, Aston Villa’s latest manager John Gregory is asked about relations with his notorious chairman. “Have I ever been tempted to walk away in frustration?” he is quoted as say­ing. “No, never. It’s a thing I’d never do.” Days later he walks away – apparently in frustration.

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York City chairman Douglas Craig has put the club up for sale after announcing losses of £1.2million. Paul Fenton looks into the situation at Bootham Crescent and the task any prospective buyers will be taking on

Douglas Craig, chairman of York City, has had little cause to bother fans outside the city dur­ing a decade in charge, apart from deciding that York were the only club above signing the anti-racism Kick It Out charter. City fans, how­ever, had tired of being told by the ex-councillor (Tory, since you ask) to stay away if they disagreed with his methods, and being threatened with the closure of the club if there were any more protests against him.

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After over 120 years East Stirlingshire FC could be no more if a proposed move goes through. Ken Gall reflects on a club with a rich history and their fight to survive

Even the kindest of souls would have to ack­nowledge that East Stirlingshire FC have not been one of the major players in Scottish foot­ball history. Winners of precisely no major honours and with a grand total of no cup final appearances, even their apparently geo­graph­ically specific name tends to leave fans scratching their heads as to the club’s location (“near Falkirk” is the best most can come up with).

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In the first month of 2002 the turnover of managers has shown no sign of slowing down. Andy Lyons meets Bruce Rioch, whose former clubs Derby and Aston Villa have both contributed to the upheaval this year, and he explains his philosophy and reflects on the growing pressure for quick results

When you first go into a club as a manager, do you generally have an idea of how long it will take to do what you think needs to be done?
One of the first things you talk about at a job interview is the length of the contract. Usually it’s two or three years. It’s rarely a five-year deal. If someone offers you two years and it’s a club in the south and you live in the north you might think twice about having to uproot. I’d like to say to a chairman: “What’s your ambition? Let’s look at what you want to achieve.” It might just be staying in Division One or the Premiership. You don't often go in and get the chance to build a club the way you’d want to.

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In the latest of our series on local rivalries, David Harrison attempts to convince the sceptics that Watford v Luton is as bitter and passionate as they come

Yeah, OK. It’s not exactly The Old Firm, but believe me, it all gets pretty agitated around these parts. It’s a rivalry with no name, which frustrates the hell out of the headline-besotted press. To such a degree that they tried dubbing it, pathetically, “The M1 Derby”.  Just like Arsenal v Leeds then.

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