Wednesday 2 England surprise many by playing Wayne Rooney from the start and go on to beat Turkey 2-0 at the Stadium of Light, with late goals from Darius Vassell and a penalty by David Beckham, who says: “It wasn’t a bad display for a team of no-hopers, was it?” Around 100 England supporters are arrested before the match after trouble in Sunderland city centre and at the ground and there is a pitch invasion after the second goal during which a spectator appears to strike Turkey defender Alpay. There is also allegedly a punch-up in the players’ tunnel. UEFA are to investigate. Scotland concede a dubious penalty to lose 1-0 in Lithuania. Northern Ireland have two sent off in a 2-0 home defeat by Greece (“There is not a thought in my head about not carrying on,” says Sammy McIlroy), while the Republic draw 0-0 in Albania. Fulham announce that they are considering a “revised plan” to move back to Craven Cottage.
The Archive
Articles from When Saturday Comes. All 27 years of WSC are in the process of being added. This may take a while.
In an era of spiralling debts, clubs teetering on the edge of administration will feel the full force of football's anger
As you know, Neil Warnock enjoys a rant. Many football supporters would, however, agree with the content of his recent tirade against Leicester City in the Sheffield United programme when the clubs’ met recently. “I find it quite immoral that they have been allowed to do what they have done off the field.” Warnock’s complaint was that Leicester could write off 90 per cent of their £50 million debt after calling in the administrators last October. Warnock called for punitive action, adding: “Otherwise, everyone who has huge debts will do exactly the same and it leaves clubs like ourselves – who run a tight financial ship – at a huge disadvantage.”
Uli Hesse-Lichtenberger investgates the scandal engulfing the Bundesliga
A week after All Fools’ Day, Franz Beckenbauer made international headlines. He said Bayern Munich would apply for membership of Serie A should the Bundesliga penalise the club for a clandestine contract with the Kirch Media Group. That, of course, was a typical Kaiserism, the kind of irreverent remark Beckenbauer is known for, but it reflects a serious dispute that began four years ago.
As Iraq gets used to life after Saddam, Hassanin Mubarak recounts what his rule meant for football – and hopes all Iraqis can now enjoy the game in peace
When Saddam Hussein took over as president in 1979, Iraq had one of the most successful national teams in Asia and some of the continent’s strongest clubs. The regime quickly asserted its authority over the nation’s favourite sport, appointing Saddam’s personal bodyguard, Sabah Mirza Mahmoud, as head of the Iraq Football Association (IFA). His predecessor, Faleh Akram, was later executed on charges of opposing the regime.
Goalkeeping fans, budding writers and followers of non-league football in Sussex all have their concerns addressed in Ian Plenderleith's website round-up
The cyber-slimming of the past few years has seen the crash of numerous financially and conceptually flimsy football internet ventures, but lately some interesting indepen- dent websites have emerged from the digital carnage. While highly financed schemes have been bounced into the Deleted Items box, a trend for small-scale, hobbyist homepages has slowly returned and yielded a few pleasant surprises.