The Archive

Wolves ended a disastrous run of three successive relegations by taking the Division Four crown, as Hugh Larkin recalls

The long-term significance
In May, Scarborough had become the first team to join the League after automatic promotion from the Conference, while this was also the second year of the play‑offs, for the last time involving a team from the higher division. Newport County had a disastrous campaign, departing the League never to return, but there was double success for Wales with Cardiff and, more controversially, Swansea winning promotion.

Read more…

Saturday 2 Madness at St James’ Park, where Kieron Dyer and Lee Bowyer are sent off for fighting each other. Newcastle also have Steve Taylor dismissed for handball during a 3‑0 defeat by Villa. Chelsea need three more wins for the title after a 3‑1 stroll at Southampton (yet José is supposedly ready to quit over the club not having contested the UEFA charge against him). Arsenal return to second place with Thierry Henry now only four goals short of Ian Wright’s club record after a hat-trick in a 4‑1 win over Norwich; Man Utd are held to a goalless draw by Blackburn. A late Igor Biscan goal beats Bolton and takes Liverpool to within a point of That All Important™ fourth place. Sunderland’s 3‑1 win at QPR takes them five points clear as Championship leaders. Ipswich go joint second by beating Derby 3‑2 while Wigan lose 2‑1 at home to West Ham. Victory over Brighton takes Coventry out of the bottom three at the expense of Gillingham. Stockport are the first team to be relegated this season after a 2‑1 League One defeat by Brentford. Southend, unbeaten in 14 games, lead League Two after Yeovil continue to falter with a defeat at Rushden. Martin O’Neill blames Celtic’s shock 2‑0 home defeat by Hearts on players being fagged out from international call-ups.

Read more…

The 2004-05 season has just been more of the same old, same old. It wasn't like this years ago

We are nearly at the end of another season and, as ever, for many fans it will feel like 2004-05 has been one big letdown, a year that will hard to distinguish in the memory from ten others. There may have been good moments, but they’re more than balanced by the bad. And there’s nothing wrong with that. A constant diet of unrelenting success, like a constant diet of Big Macs or a succession of evening meals spent in the company of Peter Kenyon, is no good for anyone.

Read more…

Racism, just an unsavoury "circumstance of the game" in Argentina, writes Martin Gambaratta

All continental trophies are hotly contested. But the Copa Libertadores, Latin America’s most coveted piece of football silverware, is like no other because of this unsavoury fact: on-the-field violence can happen in practically any game. Police in riot gear often pour onto the pitch to stop a fight and many times make things worse by siding with the home team. So, if you happened to be watching São Paulo play hard-tackling Quilmes (a smallish club from impoverished Greater Buenos Aires) on April 13, the scrap just before half-time would not have looked like something extraordinary. Two Quilmes defenders scuffled with Grafite, São Paulo’s towering centre-forward. One of the Quilmes players and Grafite, who retaliated, were sent off.

Read more…

Europe's minnows can sleep easy for now as Leinart Johannsson saw his UEFA presidential term extended. But according to Steve Menary, it's only delaying the inevitable

Europe’s minor nations can breathe a sigh of relief as doomsday has been temporarily averted. At last month’s congress in Tallinn, UEFA changed procedures for replacing Lennart Johansson as president and delayed Franz Beckenbauer’s seemingly inevitable advance to European football’s top job.

Read more…