Articles from When Saturday Comes. All 27 years of WSC are in the process of being added. This may take a while.
Ian Plenderleith assesses the ability of players to take media criticism
Students of both football players and the internet might be inclined to reach an unscientific conclusion about the utterances of one and the content of the other. Namely, 98 per cent of what you hear from footballers, or read on the internet, is utterly forgettable. Imagine, then, the challenge of searching the internet for something of genuine insight and interest from an active professional.
Jon McLeod looks back on the season Liverpool were last crowned champions of England.
The long-term significance
Tremors that would come to shape the landscape of English football were felt in 1989-90. UEFA announced that clubs would be readmitted to European competition following a five-year ban due to the Heysel disaster, while Aston Villa appointed the first foreign manager in the English top flight when Jozef Venglos replaced England-bound Graham Taylor at the end of the season. Liverpool claimed their last title to date and Alex Ferguson dodged the bullet at Man Utd.
Scotland's 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign was a painful experience both on and off the pitch. But Neil Forsyth refuses to be downhearted
Onwards Scotland march. Another major tournament without involvement, despite being in arguably the easiest qualifying group, with senior players picking up a sine die ban for an all-night bender, a manager still trying to convince the public of his suitability and an SFA leadership who increasingly resemble the committee of a provincial bowling club.
The hosts are coming to terms with new realities of the bottom division, financial hardship and predatory bigger clubs, while the visitors are happy to be playing their second season in the League. Charles Morris reports
I first went to Crewe Alexandra’s ground in early, wide-eyed childhood. Ever since it has been a place capable of conjuring up some much-needed magic amid the industrial surroundings of Coronation Street-style houses to the west and the town’s railway station and sidings to the east.
Attending Tottenham's match at Portsmouth last year led to a traumatic experience for Ian Trow, who has just been cleared of abusive chanting charges. Adam Powley takes up the case
The new football season had barely got underway before a handful of incidents involving supporters stirred old prejudices about fans being trouble makers. But while fighting at West Ham and trouble surrounding Emmanuel Adebayor’s goal celebration for Manchester City against Arsenal sparked predictable alarm, the experience of one supporter shows what can happen when innocent bystanders are tarnished by association.