The Archive | When Saturday Comes

Pause control

Piers Pennington wants half-time to be less refreshing, less entertaining and less of a drag

Of all the rule changes that FIFA have made over the years in their attempts to brighten up the game, their decision in 1995 to increase the length of half-time to 15 minutes must count as the worst. On the face of it, an extra five minutes might seem neither here nor there, but it has transformed what used to be a brief interlude in proceedings into an event in its own right. You are no longer allowed just to wait for the second half to begin. You are expected, if not obliged, to make your choice between Refreshment and Entertainment.

Wednesday, February 1st, 2012 - The Archive

Awards in absentia

John Duerden looks ahead to the Asian Player of the Year award ceremony and the controversial selection process involved to determine the winner

The annual Asian Player of the Year award ceremony held every November should be one of the highlights of the continental football calendar. While even close followers of football in the East would struggle to name the past five recipients, all know the controversial criteria that determine who can, or rather who cannot, win.

Wednesday, February 1st, 2012 - The Archive

Melting pot

Hayes and Yeading’s controversial merge has yet to have the desired affect off the pitch with fresh doubts over the financial future of the club. John van Laer looks at where it all went wrong in West London

The official statement to announce the formation of Hayes & Yeading United FC in 2007 asserted that the two major clubs in the west London suburb of Hayes would “join forces, integrate resources and bring together a community, creating a new super-club on the non-League scene”. A key part of this ambitious plan was to sell Hayes FC’s stadium and land on Church Road, and use the funds raised to redevelop Yeading’s council-owned ground to create a multi-purpose facility that meets Conference grading regulations, while also generating extra income from renting out all-weather, floodlit pitches to the local community.

Wednesday, February 1st, 2012 - The Archive

National disservice

Playing for your country is the peak for most footballers but, as Steve Menary points out, it can come at a cost for lower-league players

For players in the lower leagues, pursuing an international career is a real gamble. The latest international calendar allows for 19 matches over a two-year period ending in 2012. With no automatic suspension of games in the lower divisions, players going on international duty risk losing their place at their clubs.

Sunday, January 1st, 2012 - The Archive

Everton 2 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1

Goodison Park was once a place ahead of its time but, as Simon Hart reports, the rebranded “Old Lady” is now a meeting place for disgruntled supporters frustrated by their club’s decline

Step into the parish hall of St Luke the Evangelist church on the corner of Goodison Road and Gwladys Street, and you enter a world that could not be any further removed from the ad-man’s fantasy of the face-painted, replica-shirted modern “footy” fan and their agony-and-ecstasy matchday experience.

Sunday, January 1st, 2012 - The Archive