The Archive

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.

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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.                  

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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

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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.

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In its third full season the Bundesliga produced another different champion, Paul Joyce reports

The long-term significance
This season, the third of the Bundesliga, continued the trend that lasted till 1968 of different clubs being champions. TSV 1860 Munich and Eintracht Braunschweig claimed their only league titles in this era and 1.FC Nuremberg won in 1968 – only to be relegated the next year. But the next nine titles were shared by two sides promoted in 1965 – Bayern Munich and Borussia Mönchengladbach. The fluent possession football espoused by Bayern coach Zlatko Cajkovski and Gladbach’s Hennes Weisweiler would also bring success to the West Germany team.

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