Book reviews

Martin O’Neill has worked wonders at Leicester but, as John Williams explains, his mentor’s title-winning achievements are out of reach 

Earlier this season Leicester City, playing at home in the Worthington Cup and stinking out even Filbert Street’s Shanks and McEwan Stand (sponsor’s motto: “For all your waste needs”), found themselves two goals down to a Fulham side late in the match. The visitors had run the game and at most clubs this might already have been given up and put down as just a bad night. Not here. A whirling Martin O’Neill signalled a final throw, a new City partnership up front.

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There is not ingrained reason to pick one team or the other in Nottingham, says Al Needham. And now it's County's turn again

As anyone from Derby or Leicester will tell you, Nottingham is not a “football hotbed”. The relationship between the city’s two clubs is more like a resentful older brother (County) and his more successful, patronising sibling (Forest). When the half- time results are announced at the City Ground, a County lead is cheered – Forest really want to see County rise to their level. If Forest are behind at half-time, the fans at Meadow Lane laugh and jeer – they really, really want Forest to fall to theirs.

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Dundee United's manager has blamed recent poor results on the disruptive behaviour of the club's fans. Ken Gall reports

“A sinking ship” is a familiar term to fans of atrophying clubs everywhere. For the rapidly dwindling ranks of Dundee United followers, however,a more appropriate an­alogy is that of a sinking ship opening fire on its rescuers.

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Despite Sheffield Wednesday's atrocious season, Danny Wilson's job seemsed safe until last month. Grahan Lightfoot examines how it all went wrong for him

The post mortem at the end of the 1999-2000 season will reveal that the cause of Sheffield Wednesday’s Premiership death was obvious. Nothing ever lasts long without a heart. All the more strange that the man who presided over this long and painful downfall was a player who wore the blue and white stripes with such pride. When Danny Wilson was appointed as manager at Hillsborough in July 1998 there weren’t too many Owls fans who were disappointed. After less than two years in charge, however, his dismissal by the club’s new chairman Howard Culley has been met with mixed feelings.

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Ken Gall talks to the MPs whose intervention over Danny Wilson's management of Sheffield Wednesday drew so much flak

Managers at struggling clubs quickly become inured to criticism from the media, fans and directors. Few, however, will experience a public call for their removal from a cabinet minister – the fate which befell Danny Wilson as Sheffield Wednesday’s season made the dreadful journey from bad to worse.

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