The Archive

Simon Cotterill wants only the best for his children – and that includes a choice of which country's football team to represent

So, I’ve reached that time of life. I’m starting to think about reproducing. And, already, I’ve started to live my own unfulfilled dreams through my as-yet-unconceived children. Those dreams are football dreams. Now, of course, if my future sons or daughters were to decide they didn’t want to become professional footballers I would still feed, clothe and even love them. But first I, and to a lesser extent my partner, am determined to provide them with every possible opportunity to fulfil my dreams.

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Following the demise of Setanta, there is a reluctance to spend big on matches that draw small viewing figures. So does the future involve sitting in front of a computer? Andy West reports

The subject of live online streaming rose to prominence with the internet-only showing of England’s World Cup qualifier in Ukraine, opening up the question of how strongly the internet’s presence will be established in the sports broadcasting market. In years to come, will international fixtures be exclusively shown by online media as a matter of routine? Or was the lack of TV coverage of the Ukraine clash a one-off occurrence borne out of a unique set of circumstances (Setanta’s demise, England’s early qualification and an unsociable 5.15pm kick-off)? Fans who missed out on the Ukraine game will be relieved to learn that the latter seems to be the case.

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Twitter has changed reporting and news analysis. Mark Segal looks at its footballing role

October was a good month for fans of microblogging site Twitter after they were credited with both protecting the integrity of Parliament and bringing Daily Mail columnist Jan Moir to book over her article on the death of Stephen Gately. And the site notched up a significant hat-trick when Rangers midfielder Maurice Edu used his feed to reveal he had been racially abused by fans after the club’s Champions League defeat to Unirea Urziceni.

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This month marks the 40th anniversary of League games being shown live in Scandinavia, as Lars Siversten reports

“We don’t train tomorrow, so tonight we’re going out to celebrate. But if Exeter had equalised Leeds’ 2-1 lead at the death I would have cancelled the whole thing.” Surprisingly not the words of some overzealous Yorkshireman but those of Kjetil Rekdal, manager of Norwegian club Aalesunds FK, talking to the press after his team had gone through to the semi-finals of the Norwegian cup. How could shoddy defending in League One possibly endanger a group of jubilant Norwegian footballers’ plans for the evening?

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In the light of a recently published celebrity battle of the sexes, Roger Titford defends football against the influence of its TV manifestation and consider the emotions the game stirs up

Way back in 1992, when the Premier League and Sky’s Super Sunday were but weeks old, Nick Hornby’s Fever Pitch came to symbolise a defence of supporting football in the face of a hostile media and uncomprehending middle-class women. For many commentators this was a tipping point in favour of the game. We now may be entering an era when the scales are tipping the other way. Alongside 50 People Who Fouled Up Football another fresh title you can find in the bookshops is A Matter Of Life And Death: Or How To Wean A Man Off Football by Ronni Ancona and Alistair McGowan, the impressionist comedy duo.

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