The Archive

Leeds' battle against losing 15 points has failed to attract sympathy, but the history of deductions is a murky one, writes Neil Rose

Nothing illustrates the arbitrary nature of points deduction more clearly than the fact that you are better off going into administration in the Premier League (nine points docked) than in the Football League (ten). But it is Leeds’ case that puts deductions in the news and there are more mysteries here, with speculation that 15 points would be reduced to five. Why 15? Why five?

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It's more than 20 years since either side was in the top flight, but now both are threatening an unlikely promotion, writes Pete Green

When you see a 65-year-old man at the football wearing face paint, and you’re not even at Wembley, you know it’s not an ordinary day. On an ordinary day, the city of Stoke-on-Trent translates its motto Vis Unita Fortior as “united strength is stronger”. Today, however, Stoke City are closing in on promotion to the Premier League and it translates as half an hour on hold phoning up for a ticket, 20-minute queues at the bar, a pre-match MC bawling even more dementedly than usual, and a giddy sexagenarian with red-and-white stripes daubed on to his wrinkled cheeks.

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Ian Wright has quit the BBC to present Gladiators on Sky. Some are delighted, but his unique style will be lost, writes Cameron Carter

It hasn’t been the most resonant resignation. Ian Wright has severed his links with the BBC’s football coverage, complaining that the corporation had lost touch with real fans and that he had been cast in the role of “comedy jester” in his appearances as a pundit. For the sake of accuracy, Wright is not so much resigning as making himself unavailable, as his role was always a freelance one and, with the BBC losing the rights to live England games and FA Cup games from August, his future appearances would have been irregular at best. Patrick Mower declining to appear on any further editions of Give Us A Clue because Una Stubbs and Lionel Blair didn’t understand how the kids related to mime would be a workable comparison.

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Liam Brady recently caused a stir on Irish TV, jumping to the defence of Arsène Wenger, but ultimately creating a rift in the studio, writes Paul Doyle

An amusing side-effect of Arsenal’s devotion to playing football “the right way” is that they tend to equate defeats with defacing the Mona Lisa. There is something in the righteous grieving of Arsène Wenger that implies we should all mourn with him when the Gunners are downed – as if sport itself, not just his team, has come up short. The last thing anyone associated with Arsenal wants at such sombre moments is for some mischievous boor to break his arse laughing. Last month on RTE, then, Liam Brady was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

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What are the expectations for the team?
Thanks to the apparently golden touch of Guus Hiddink, probably greater than ever before. Russia teams of the past have generally managed to be less than the sum of their parts; Hiddink has managed to reverse that. The general feeling is that reaching the knockout stages would be a success. With a relatively tough group, Hiddink himself has tried to dampen any false hopes and said that his main target is the 2010 World Cup.

Is the coach popular?
He is now, although he has had to overcome the initial mistrust of those who said a foreigner would never get his head round the enigma that is Russian football. Along with his fellow Dutchman Dick Advocaat at Zenit St Petersburg, he seems to have cracked it.

Which players are good interviewees and who are the worst?
Andrei Arshavin and Vladislav Radimov, two of Advocaat’s players at Zenit, are always good value – friendly and open. At the other extreme, the grumpy and monosyllabic Sergei Ignashevich of CSKA Moscow is generally best avoided.

Are then any players with unusual hobbies or business interests?
Arshavin has a degree in fashion design, which included a thesis on “The development of sportswear manufacturing”. Alexei Smertin collects wine, and runs his own football academy in his native Barnaul in Siberia. He’s also obsessed with the works of John Fowles (author of The French Lieutenant’s Woman, among others), turning up at the novelist’s house in Dorset to introduce himself.

Do any of the players have famous girlfriends or wives?
There are no A-List celebrities, but plenty of wannabes. Four years ago, ahead of Euro 2004 a group of the players’ wives posed nude for a calendar. No word of a reprise this year though.

Will there be any rehearsed goal celebrations?
Unlikely. The Russians don’t go in for this kind of flamboyance. Don’t expect anything more exciting than some fist‑pumping.

Are there any players involved in politics?
Arshavin capitalised on his popularity as Russian football’s golden boy to gain election to the St Petersburg legislative assembly in 2006, campaigning on Vladimir Putin’s United Russia ticket.

What will the media coverage be like?
Sovietsky Sport and the estimable Sport Express will battle it out for the heavyweight coverage in print. The garrulous Andrei Kanchelskis, now general director at first division club FC Nosta (owned by Alisher Usmanov, who also owns just under 25 per cent of Arsenal), may pop up as a TV pundit.

Will there be many fans travelling to the tournament?
Not really. With the costs of getting and staying there beyond the average Russian, the travelling support tends to be restricted to the caviar sandwich eaters of the burgeoning business class, who can doubtless take the chance to check up on their Swiss bank accounts. Russian football song culture remains primitive and unimaginative, not least where the national team is concerned.

Dan Brennan