Articles from When Saturday Comes. All 27 years of WSC are in the process of being added. This may take a while.
Davy Millar remembers a welcome disraction from the troubled times that haunted Belfast in the Seventies
Back in 1975 I rarely needed an excuse to leave school as quickly as possible but on April 16 there was a very good reason for making an even quicker departure than usual.
Dear WSC
In WSC 157 there appeared an advertisement for a new book about Reading FC entitled Rusting Tin & Shiny Plastic. I feel obliged to point out that, although tin can certainly corrode, the only metal that actually rusts is iron. Clearly the “football cultural revolution” in Berkshire has failed to bring a knowledge of basic chemistry to the area. Tsk.
Eddie Edwards, via email
A peculiarly British arrogance is at play over the release of players for the African Nations Cup
The African Nations Cup has been in existence for over 40 years, making it slightly older than the European Championship. Until very recently, this biennial competition has received almost no media coverage here. Now, however, virtually every column on the sports pages has something to say about the effect it is having on the English season.
Hampden Park's refurbishment has been expensive, unwanted and left Queens Park struggling for survival. Gary Oliver reports
Critics deride the project as having been profligate, ostentatious and a monument to vanity – not the Millennium Dome, but refurbished Hampden Park, which has begun the new century facing another financial crisis. The transformed 52,000-capacity ground continues to be owned by Third Division Queen’s Park and its rebuilding was administered by a subsidiary of the club, National Stadium plc. However, a three-year £65 million makeover has left the amateur club crippled by debt.
The last thing clubs in crisis need is squabbling, whether within their bored or with their own supporters. We investigate the plunging finances and legal fees
Of all the things football clubs should be spending money on, lawyers would have to be near the bottom of anyone’s list. The case of Newcastle United, however, in which they are being sued by their own fans, may prove to have lasting significance. As has been widely publicised, the club sold bonds for £500 which appeared to guarantee fans the right to a seat for ten years (“your name will be fixed permanently to your seat” promised Kevin Keegan ). With the expansion of the ground, however, the club are now proposing to move 4,000 season ticket holders in the Milburn and Leazes stands, including some bond holders, to less attractive positions, so that their current seats can be used for corporate hospitality.