Articles from When Saturday Comes. All 27 years of WSC are in the process of being added. This may take a while.
In this adaptation of his introduction to The Best of Charles Buchan's Football Monthly, Simon Inglis traces the life of the first half-decent football magazine and the player and broadcaster who brought it into existence
Truly, the monthly magazine is the prince of periodicals. A friend, a fashion statement, an always invited guest, the monthly mag need never fade before reaching its final resting place, be it the doctor’s waiting room, the loft, or that pile in the downstairs loo.
Away from the rants of the message board maniacs, there are plenty of people trying to use the internet to stage more reasoned debates about the game. Ian Plenderleith picks a few arguments
It’s six years since this column took a critical look at a site called Voice of Football , a pomposity-packed home page for all kinds of blustering, big-name opinion-mongers such as Alan Green, Uri Geller and the late Tony Banks. Thereafter the site was cursed and soon disappeared into oblivion, celebrity sheen proving no compensation for words of genuine substance.
Panorama's report into corruption and the impact it is having on the game
Is football full of corrupt people? We have no idea. Or at least we have no proof. But with plenty of agents and managers saying that bungs – that is, bribes – are rife, we do know that the alternative is that the game is full of liars.
Dear WSC
May I request that Derby fans who wish to profess their hatred for Nottingham Forest do so in a manner that doesn’t obstruct my view of the game? Perhaps a chant of “Sit down and fold your arms if you hate Forest” could be introduced. A new tune might be required to go along with these catchy lyrics, but I believe fellow Rams supporters would respond to this battle cry in overwhelming numbers. I know I would definitely join in, as I already spend most matches sitting down with my arms folded, conveniently enough.
Gavin Duenas, via email
Simon Tyers discovers the new weapons that Sky's Andy Gray has added to his artillery
As seasons change and Alan Shearer’s hair recedes at a rate unseen since Ray Wilkins, we can at least rest safe in the knowledge that from year to year some things never change. David Beckham will make a fleeting visit to his coaching school and be interviewed on every single TV outlet, the Football Focus panel will attempt to grapple with a big concept underpinning a major news story and completely fail, and Sky will have a big conceptual technological idea that only they think works.