The Archive

David Murphy looks at the problems facing Africa's most successful World Cup performer as it tries to build on the achievement of the national team

Beating their former colonial masters, France, on the way to the quarter-finals at their first World Cup produced a wave of public euphoria in Senegal that has still not fully died down. Football has a major ally in the country’s president Abdoulaye Wade, who was el­ected in March 2000, bringing an end to 40 years of Soc­ialist party rule. A wily 76-year-old with a populist touch, Wade associates himself with the success of the team on every possible occasion, having made a big show of funding their trip to the World Cup and guar­anteeing win bonuses.

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Tom Davies's update on clubs with pocket problems

Bournemouth fans have been trying to prevent the club embarking on a “sale and leaseback” of their ground, similar to that at Wat­ford (see page 19). The chairman Tony Swaisland, who dreamt up the plan, resigned at the end of July after vociferous protests, in­cluding a walk-out at one pre-season friendly. His replacement Peter Phillips is reluctant to go through with the deal, but has the backing of the AFCB Trust Fund (which controls a majority of shares in the club) to do so unless the club can raise £2 million by the end of September.

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Dear WSC
I must respond to Simon Bell’s assertion (Letters, WSC 187) that Hugh Dallas gave an “incomprehensible display” in the Germany v US World Cup quarter-final. He is probably referring to two incidents, the first one involving Frings’ hand­ball on the line. Dallas explained his decision in the Scottish press, stating that in his opinion Frings’ handball was completely accidental – in other words the ball played him – and referees could not give a penalty or send a man off in these circumstances. I watched the incident again at normal speed and I completely agree with him, Frings could not have done anything other than handle the ball, or arm it if we’re being pedantic. Just because a goal would have undoubtedly resulted had Frings not been positioned where he was does not mean that a penalty and a sending off should have been automatic. Hugh got it right. The second incident was the mistaken identity booking of Oliver Neuville. Dallas admitted he got this one wrong but he was not the only guilty party as he had firstly run over to consult his linesman, an Englishman incidentally, before booking Neuville instead of Jeremies. Personally, I thought Dallas was one of the best refs at the World Cup and was on a par with Collina and Anders Frisk, a view obviously shared by FIFA when they appointed him fourth official in the final.
Scott Harrison, Hamilton

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From the Stade Louis II to Alloa and Queen of the South in three years, St Johnstone fan Gary Panton charts his club's sharp demise

Why did the team collapse so emphatically last season?
Sandy Clark’s inability to find suitable replacements for the players that achieved third place in the SPL, a League Cup final and a UEFA Cup run earn­ed him the sack back in October. His replacement Billy Stark – whose perennially folded arms and monotone drawl must make him one of the least animated managers in Scottish football hist­ory – struggled to prove he could do much better.

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Should there be a winter break for the Premiership? Two writers air their conflicting views

Yes ~
In the past few years, English football has acquired some continental habits. The ability to pass the ball to someone wearing the same coloured shirt is now quite highly valued. The replacement of beer by pasta in the diet continues apace. Mainland European coaching is taking hold at the highest level. And now the momentum is at last building to­wards the implementation of a winter break. The Prem­iership should follow its counterparts in Italy, Ger­many and France and give the players three weeks off.

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