Articles from When Saturday Comes. All 27 years of WSC are in the process of being added. This may take a while.
Matthew Brown looks at what London clubs, particularly Arsenal and Chelsea, do for their local communities
As a lifelong Arsenal fan there’s a certain downside to Desmond McDonald’s job as a drugs and youth worker in Wandsworth, south-west London – he has to wear a Chelsea kit every day. But even he will admit it’s a small price to pay for the Blues’ involvement in his organisation’s work with young people on three of the most deprived wards in Battersea.
Dear WSC
There’s something that’s puzzling me about this year’s title race. In every previous season when Manchester United have been trailing by a stack of points Alex Ferguson has talked about the opposition “doing a Devon Loch”. This season he hasn’t mentioned that unfortunate horse once, though. It’s almost as if he’s lost all enthusiasm for racing.
Chris Front, Redcar
After the Cardiff DJ intruded on Middlesbrough's historic win with a series of pointless self-important interventions, Jon Driscoll is angry and he's not going to take it any more
“Ladies and Gentlemen: The Carling Cup!” Exactly what we were supposed to do at this point wasn’t entirely clear. Were we meant to cheer it or chant its name? Maybe they thought we had forgotten what it was. Or maybe this announcement at the Millennium Stadium after Boro had beaten Bolton was completely and utterly surplus to requirements.
Isobel Lee was on the Curva Sud at the Stadio Olimpico when the recent derby was abandoned. Here she describes the atmosphere that night as the rumours flew
I’m too young to remember the 1970s, but in the Curva Sud of Rome’s Stadio Olimpico I wonder if English football was like this 30 years ago. It is complete chaos. The curva holds about 10,000 fans but it seems like 20,000 have got in, climbing over from other sections, or persuading God-knows-who to let them into the ground. You had to get here two hours ago to have a hope of a seat. Now it’s standing room only on the steps and no one can move up or down because all the gangways are blocked. More are still trying to get in.
It's a blow to his wife but good news for his credit-card company: Ian Plenderleith has been able to use the internet to further his collection of desperately obscure, occasionally sweat-stained, football jerseys
Borussia Mönchengladbach home, 1997. China, 2002. Sparta Prague home, 2003. Italy, 1994. Glasgow Rangers away, 1992. Various Scotland horror kits with purple lightning flashes or in blinding orangey-pink. Too many Lincoln Citys to mention. Galatasaray home (Istanbul market bootleg), with “Revivo” and No 10 on the back. I wouldn’t say I’m proud of them, but the above are just a part of my undeniable replica-shirt collection.