The Archive

Anthony Hobbs talks QPR – what's gone wrong in recent years, bad signings and mergers

What has been the main reason for the club’s steady decline over the past few seasons?
The then chairman Richard Thompson failed to invest in the squad six or seven years ago, at a time when a moderate outlay might have paid dividends through revenue generators such as UEFA Cup qualification (don’t laugh, we weren’t that far away). His successor, Chris Wright, was much more willing to invest at first. Sadly, he and his managers almost seemed a bit too desperate to buy players and show­ed all the judgement of the bloke who bought £70,000 worth of Rail­track shares the day before they went belly-up.

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The "referee crisis" fuelled by television exposure that should just be ignored

As in so many other respects, people often look back on the 1970 World Cup as a golden age of refereeing. Do you know, not a single player was sent off, they will tell you. Not like now, when games are persistently ruined by referees des­perate to get into the limelight, imposing absurdly over-fussy regulations.

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David Stubbs reviews Mike Bassett: England manager as Ricky Tomlinson takes England to the World Cup

So, England’s manager has had a heart attack during the qualifying stages of the World Cup, to be held in Brazil. In a smoke-filled room at FA headquarters, the powers-that-be realise that for want of better applicants, they must approach Norwich City man­ager Mike Bassett (Ricky Tomlinson) for the England job. They need one win from their last three games to qualify. However Bassett, whose tactical nous doesn’t appear to extend beyond blustering about pressure, com­mit­ment and 4-4-2, very nearly makes a balls-up of it.

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How is the League of Wales losing out on television coverage to Welsh rugby? Paul Ashley-Jones finds out

If you were to believe all you hear, there is far too much football on TV. Even the most dedicated of fans is in danger of overexposure, apparently. But not in Wales. Yes, we get ITV’s Premiership and Champions League coverage and, if you’re prepared to subscribe, you can access the football overload weighing down most of the rest of the country.

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October's friendly between France and Algeria ended up providing the opposite of the symbolism its organisers had hoped for, writes Alan Duncan

October 6 was supposed to herald a new era in the complex world of Franco-Algerian relations with the first ever football friendly between the two nations. Yet it may now be  better remembered as the day France was confronted with a deeper social unease that will not simply disappear with the blow of a whistle.

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