Dear WSC
I am curious to know why you didn’t ask Howard Wilkinson (WSC 154) how he justified selling Cantona to Manchester Utd for £1 million. Great technical expertise there. If it came down to a spat between our Eric and the legendary Lee Chapman, I know who your readership would choose. Perhaps he’s a closet Man Utd fan. And Wilkinson is not the only one upset at his not getting the job at Arsenal. I am sure all my fellow Spurs fans are gutted too. Could he please apply if Arsène goes back to France?
Christopher Brandt, Tonbridge
The Archive
Articles from When Saturday Comes. All 27 years of WSC are in the process of being added. This may take a while.
Once again the matter of abuse from fans has been brought to the media's attention, but has it ever gone away?
It’s no reflection on Bobby Robson’s age to suggest that perhaps his memory is failing him in certain respects. The Newcastle Utd manager was apoplectic about the treatment meted out to Alan Shearer by Watford fans at Vicarage Road in November. “Think about what he has done for club and country,” Robson entreated us. “Whatever has happened to our so-called sporting public?”
Liverpool's decline in the 1990s is often blamed on one man, but John Tandy sees it differently
The myth goes something like this: Liverpool’s astonishing success was based on blending continuity and evolution. Graeme Souness smashed the club’s traditions and left it in a tattered state from which it has never recovered.
Troubles at Hull City and confusion at Hasting Town and St Leonards
When clubs get rid of an unpopular owner, fans are naturally tempted to greet his successors with a relatively uncritical eye. Few at Hull City were sorry to see the back of David Lloyd and the new regime of chairman Nick Buchanan appears to have restored a measure of stability. However, there may still be trouble ahead.
Some of WSC's regular contributors give their views on 1999 and their hopes for football in the new millennium
Harry Pearson
Ups
The return of Juninho.
Des Lynam’s move to ITV. The adverts mean we get less of his banter.
Alan Shearer’s public persona. A comedic tour de force combining the best of Victor Meldrew and Harry Enfield’s teenager. Every time I see his face I just crease up.
Downs
Paul Gascoigne’s appearance as a sub v Chelsea. Sad and irritating in equal measure. And that was just his hairstyle. Continued ranting about foreign players and the pernicious effect their presence is having on our national team. As if England have never been useless before now. The media’s barrel-scraping attempts to fill hours of airtime and acres of newsprint with England v Scotland build-up. Sending a reporter to Hampden Park, Eastbourne.
Hope for 2000
Someone high up at the FA to slap his forehead one morning and say, “I’ve got it! Why don’t we stop the Premiership wages spiral by putting a cap on admission prices!”