Book reviews

A goalkeeping blunder can be remebered more by fans then a 40-yard screamer. Cris Freddi takes us through some of the more memorable howlers

Let’s start with goalkeeping errors that decided FA Cup finals, shall we? There are enough for an article of their own. The most famous of all was perpetrated by a Welshman playing against a Welsh team, back in 1927. When Cardiff’s Scottish centre-forward Hugh Ferguson hit an ordinary ground shot from the edge of the area, Arsenal’s Dan Lewis had time to go down on one knee and scoop the ball into his midriff.

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Dave Espley remembers a time when his beloved Stockport County players would arrive at the ground using much simpler methods

It was my dad who first disillusioned me. It was teatime in the mid-Seventies, and I was watching The Tomorrow People. He arrived home from work and dropped the bombshell. “I’ve just seen Johnny Griffiths in Mersey Square.” Johnny Griffiths? Scorer of a fantastic 13 goals in 1972-73? The man who personified all that was glamorous about Seventies football to my prepubescent eyes? Wow! Must affect nonchalance. “Yeah? What was he doing?” Casing the centre of Stockport for a site for his new boutique? Cutting the ribbon of the new Tesco? 

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Chaos ensued at White Hart Lane when not all season ticket books were recieved by fans. Adam Powley reports

Tottenham’s recent foray into the giddy heights of the table might have surprised their sup­porters but, when it comes to how they are treated by the club, it appears to be business as usual. Spurs fans are wearily used to shoddy treatment from a plc for whom customer ser­vice is an alien concept, but this season the club has surpassed itself with what has come to be known as the great season ticket fiasco.

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Sky's money has not had a good effect on Rangers' crowds as Ronnie Esplin discovered

Success may breed success, but in the case of Glasgow Rangers it appears it has ultimately bred apathy. Anything less than winning the three domestic trophies this season will be a failure. When you add to that a massive in­crease in season ticket prices (for fewer games than usual, since Scottish Cup ties are not in­cluded this season), saturation television cov­erage and the moving of games to anti-social times, then you have a bubble on the verge of bursting. 

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Alex Ferguson has always let his political views be known, which is why Michael Crick is confused about the lack of it in  his book

It’s an interesting test. Just who in public life today could ring Downing Street at 7.30am and be put straight through to Tony Blair? Gordon Brown, Robin Cook or Jack Straw? Certainly. Rupert Murdoch? Un­doubtedly. Middle-ranking cabinet members like Ste­phen Byers and David Blunkett? Pretty marginal, I’d say. As for ministers like Chris Smith or Clare Short, they’d probably be fobbed off by the switchboard what­ever time of day it was.

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