Sunday 1 A Jerzy Dudek howler allows goal-machine Diego Forlan to score the first of his two as Man Utd win 2-1 at Anfield. “It seems that every time we make a mistake, we pay for it,” says a disgruntled Gérard. Yet more trouble for Tel as Leeds crash to their fifth successive league defeat at home, 2-1 against Charlton, who score twice in the last ten minutes. “When the players Terry has are fit, they should be too good to go down,” says Alan Curbishley encouragingly. David Batty is said to be considering legal action over comments allegedly made by Peter Ridsdale at the Leeds AGM to the effect that knee injuries have effectively ended his career. Everton’s run of wins comes to an end at Newcastle, who come from behind with two late goals, after Joseph Yobo is sent off early in the game. David Moyes has an unusual criticism to make of the officials: “Too many referees hide behind the laws
The Archive
Articles from When Saturday Comes. All 27 years of WSC are in the process of being added. This may take a while.
Jim Gwinnell takes a look at the best and worst moments in the long history of Bristol Rovers
What has been the biggest single factor in Rovers’ recent decline?
There hasn’t been one single cause; the slump has had a number of different stages, with a cause for each. Throughout, the board and the four managers utilised have shown poor judgement, although most if not all their decisions were made in good faith. However, we’ve used more players than David Lean used extras in an epic, and most have not performed.
Peter Kenyon's call to cut the number of professional teams to 40 is being met with fierce opposition
At the time of writing, York City could be less than a fortnight away from disappearing. The club is in administration, players aren’t being paid and property developers Persimmon, who hold shares in the company that owns the ground, Bootham Crescent Holdings, plan to build flats on the site.
Two of the biggest clubs in Brazilian football have been affected in different ways by the strange nature of the game there. Robert Shaw investigates
Back in the 1950s and 1960s, Botafogo v Santos games were titanic struggles involving the cream of Brazil’s talent, with Garrincha and Pelé taking top billing for their respective sides. In 2002 the two clubs had divergent fortunes. Santos won the championship, beating Corinthians 5-2 on aggregate in December’s play-off final. The team were coached by Emerson Leão, the former goalkeeper renowned more for modelling swimming trunks than for a less-than-successful spell as national coach during World Cup qualifying.
Prime Minister Robert has relatives in high places and, as Tom de Castella explains, nephew Leo has presided over a sharp decline in Zimbabwe's domestic football
Earlier this season Peter Ndlovu returned from a family funeral in Zimbabwe two hours before his club, Sheffield United, were due to take on Rotherham United in the First Division. Ndlovu came off the bench to score the game’s only goal. Whatever issues preoccupied him on the trip home to a country facing political meltdown and desperate food shortages, they were not enough to distract him in the midst of a south Yorkshire derby.