Dear WSC
Have any other readers noticed that clubs and players seem to be under increasing pressure to pay money for successful outcomes to fixtures? On The Premiership, September 28, Jon Champion at Man City v Liverpool observed that “Michael Owen can’t buy a goal from open play at the moment”. A bit later, during Charlton v Man Utd, Clive Tyldesley told us: “Charlton can’t buy a home win this season.” I know football is a money-dominated sport, but this is ridiculous. However, what I really want to know is how does the system work? Is there a sliding scale of charges, so that Owen could afford to buy a goal against the generous Man City defence, but not against West Brom’s tight back four the previous week? Are “six-pointers” decided by bids in a sealed envelope, which may explain why Sunderland beat Villa, but Bolton v Southampton was a draw? And do teams expected to win easily not bother buying that week? This would certainly account for Chelsea’s home crash to West Ham. To take it further, do supermarket-style special offers and other assorted gimmickry apply? For instance, was Owen’s hat-trick part of a “buy two, get one free” arrangement? Did Charlton, who led at half-time but eventually lost, buy a past-its-sell-by-date home win for half price? And is there a loyalty card system for frequent win buying? Arsenal must be well sorted if there is. It would be bad enough if this was limited to the top flight, but it’s even happening in the Nationwide. Ronnie Moore, explaining my team Rotherham’s unexpectedly good start, cautioned that: “This time last season Grimsby were top of the league, but their manager couldn’t buy a win after that.” So, as a Miller, can I please urge whoever is in charge of our points purchasing department to keep up the good work and carrying on signing the cheques.
Steve Ducker, via email
The Archive
Articles from When Saturday Comes. All 27 years of WSC are in the process of being added. This may take a while.
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With China beckoning, Paula Cocozza checks on the development of England's feminine side
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The North Korea team that took the 1966 World Cup by storm are returning to England, as a new film documents their triumph. Harry Pearson has a preview
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Alan Wilkie, the man who sent off Eric Cantona at Selhurst Park, has just written the story of his career. He says referees are getting better, whatever the TV pundits may have you believe. Andy Lyons digs deeper
Do you believe that relations between referees and players have got worse in recent times?
I think the greater number of dismissals in the modern game is due to the emphasis on applying the laws correctly, without recourse to, and I’ll use a media term, “common sense”. Personally, I don’t think the relationship has deteriorated, or certainly not to a point where it can’t be reinvigorated, but there are so many ancillary problems surrounding referees and players at the moment. Some overseas players, for example, have a different approach to the officials. I’m not saying that it’s a worse approach, but it can be different.