Reviews from When Saturday Comes. Follow the link to buy the book from Amazon.
Helenio Herrera passed away recently leaving a legacy of defensive football behind, but Cris Freddi argues that the iconic manager was schooled in Total Football too
According to Channel 4, some of the Italian press have been calling him ‘the first real football coach’, which is bollocks but shows the right respect. If you’re an Inter fan, and aren’t we all, HH was the only coach.
Terry Venables still doesn't have full control of Portsmouth, but Sarah Gilmore explains why his popularity is soaring
Late night shopping has never thrilled me. So you can imagine how I felt to be faced with a mass of families packed into Portsmouth city centre, eagerly responding to the local radio DJ’s attempts to whip up some enthusiasm for the Christmas lights’ switch-on. Expectation was in the air as I shoved my way through the throng of three thousand people. The DJ squawked his way to an hysterical climax interrupted by huge roar for the celebrity switcher: “Ladies and gentlemen… Mr Terry Venables!” The only sound of dissent amidst the cheering, and stamping came from the man squashed next to me. “Bloody second from bottom,” he said – as he clapped enthusiastically.
Brentford are being destroyed by their own chief executive. Dave Lane profiles the man responsible
At the start of the season the new Brentford chairman, Tony Swaisland, confessed in an interview with Bees fanzine Beesotted that David Webb had forgotten more about football than he will ever know. This football naivety is obviously shared by the rest of the club’s officials, as Webb has proceeded to fool the lot of them by becoming the major shareholder in a club he is now, skilfully, holding to ransom.
“I was having a lunchtime beer in Terry Neil’s bar in Holborn when in walked George Best. He went downstairs where he was waiting to be interviewed by Sky TV. Twenty minutes later, in strolled Rodney Marsh ‘Can anybody move my car for me, I’m parked on a double yellow line?’Several people pretended to be in deep conversation, others were gazing into their beer glasses but nobody offered to help. ‘Can somebody park it for me I’m late for an interview’ said Rod in a pleading voice. This time there was almost complete silence. ‘Please’ said Rod beginning to sound desperate. The tension was unbearable, somebody had to crack. They did – it was me. ‘Give us the keys I’ll park it round the back,’ I said.
Jozef Venglos was expected to bring glory to Villa on the basis that he was continental, but David Wangerin remembers how it never quite worked out for him
Jozef Venglos was manager of the best Villa side I’ve ever seen. For ninety minutes, anyway. That delightful October evening in 1990 when we inexplicably smashed Inter Milan into little pieces and scattered them across our pitch remains the most captivating game of football I’ve witnessed. It still seems inconceivable – trouncing a collection of Europe’s finest with a team captained by Stuart Gray. Surely no run-of-the-mill manager could ever have orchestrated it.