The Archive

Howard Pattison ponders the etiquette involved in watching a Premier League football match and worries where it is all heading

A young man was invited by his employer to attend the fixture between Manchester United and Aston Villa. Their seats were in a home section of the ground, even though the young man supported the visiting team. Aware of his predicament, he watched the game in near-silence, careful to make only comments that were either objective or altogether non-committal. When the time came for Villa to score, he showed a foresight that was not evident in the United defence, recognised the imminent danger and took decisive action by sitting on his hands. Another Villa fan sitting nearby, less aware of the situation, instinctively threw his unrestrained arms joyously into the air and was immediately ejected from the ground.

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Itay Goder reports on John Gregory’s move to manage Maccabi Nazareth

“I don’t drink whisky. Never. Ever. Under no circumstance. I’ve been in Nazareth three weeks now and I drink whisky every day.” So said John Gregory reflecting on the pressure of his new job as coach of Maccabi Nazareth in the Israeli Premier League.

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Matt Withers looks at a fierce neighbourhood feud between the clubs of a Cheshire market town

In November, a week prior to Northwich Victoria’s home FA Cup second round victory over Charlton, Graham Shuttleworth, enterprising secretary of town rivals Witton Albion, took to Addicks message boards. Albion offered travelling Charlton supporters parking at their ground for £2 on the day, along with opening the social club early to offer them “a comfort break, a drink or something hot to eat”, while “no doubt enjoying the build-up to your game on the large screen”.

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In an effort to control crowd trouble the Argentine authorities have embarked on a unique experiment. Sam Kelly explains

At this summer’s World Cup, police forces in Johannesburg and Polokwane will be more sorely tested than most should Argentine plans to mobilise supporters behind the national team go ahead. In other countries, fan groups find out which tickets they’ve secured and governments sift databases to ensure those with records of violence can’t travel. In Argentina, meanwhile, a non-governmental organisation has been talking to some of the country’s most prominent barra bravas in a bid to eliminate violence from domestic football. Their masterplan? In essence, to help the best-behaved hooligans secure funding to travel to South Africa.

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Rob Bradley recently made an alarming discovery – he no longer hates referees and even admires one in particular

Life is all about change. You go to school, then you work, you have kids, you get old. You have different hair styles and then you go bald. As the years go by you lose enthusiasm for things that you used to enjoy. Like Frank Skinner or keeping fit. But some things never ever change. At least you think they don’t. I’ve always hated referees. When I played Sunday League football I got sent off by them. I even got sent off for ranting at one and I was running the line. You hate them when you go to watch the club you support. It’s traditional.

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