Reviews from When Saturday Comes. Follow the link to buy the book from Amazon.
Nick House doesn’t mind that little has changed at Torquay Utd’s home ground and thinks plenty has improved in the last 25 yearsIf 1986 was one of English football’s low points, it’s even more starkly remembered at Plainmoor where Torquay United were in the process of finishing bottom of the pile for the second year running.
Gary Andrews bids farewell to some contentious champions and their suitably controversial managerEven after cantering to the Conference title, Crawley’s manager Steve Evans was still taking potshots at his nearest rivals. “I did expect the players of Luton Town to give my players a guard of honour onto the pitch at the start of a wonderful night, but obviously they were told not to do that,” he complained following their first game after securing the title. This minor spat over a bigger occasion sums up Crawley’s championship triumph neatly.
Dong Fangzhuo became an Asian sensation when he joined Manchester United from Chinese side Dalian Shide in 2004. Jonathan Fadugba explores the striker’s drastic decline from Europe’s top stageJust days after wrestling the title away from defending champions Chelsea, Manchester United travelled to Stamford Bridge for a League fixture on May 9, 2007. All the pre-match talk was of a guard of honour. Would José Mourinho be magnanimous enough in defeat to indulge the newly crowned Champions? He was – but Alex Ferguson sent out a reserve team. What followed was an almost farcical scene as John Terry and co lined up to salute the likes of Chris Eagles, Kieran Richardson and Kieran Lee.
Phil Sharman reflects on the American takeover of Derby County and how promises of world establishment have been cruelly transformed into economic turmoilIt used to be that owning a football club was about prestige. Few of the butchers and haulage contractors who took control of their local team expected to be able to sell at a profit. Today, however, if a club is moved up a level and established there it is possible to sell on at a price which exceeds the original investment. But three years on from their takeover, Derby County fans still cannot see what the American company General Sports and Entertainment (GSE) expects to get out of owning the club.
Andy Thorley believes his club don’t get the credit they deserve and defends the Potters against popular stereotypeWhen Stoke City step out onto the turf at the new Wembley Stadium for the first time this month to face Bolton in the FA Cup semi-final, the club is under no illusions: the 32,000 fans who have snapped up tickets for the match might well be the only people who want the Potters to win.