Dear WSC
I have no time at all for deposed Rangers vice-chairman Donald Findlay, but Gary Oliver’s article about him (WSC 149) was unfair in two respects. Findlay is Scotland’s pre-eminent defence counsel. He has defended scores of people accused of rape, murder, etc – including many Catholics. To extract from his long career two cases where the victims were Celtic fans is a distortion. And Findlay’s admittedly ill-judged joke that his birthday should have been on July 12th rather than St Patrick’s Day was a mutual one he had with a Catholic friend whose birthday is on the former date. The good news is that Rangers chairman David Murray has, by getting rid of Findlay, again taken strong action against sectarianism.
Ian McLean, Glasgow
The Archive
Articles from When Saturday Comes. All 27 years of WSC are in the process of being added. This may take a while.
It was hasrd to pick a really good team in the basement but, as Nick House reports, it definately wasn't Torquay.
Win, lose or draw, the post-match ritual never changes. The Third Division manager shares his exclusive insights with the local press: “It’s such a tight division this year. Three wins and you’re up near the play-offs. We’re as good as anybody. We’ll be there at the death.” The hack looks unimpressed. “Or thereabouts.”
Having encouraged Man Utd to pull out of the Cup, the FA are only serving to undermine the very competition they created
God knows we’ve seen some nightmarish ideas over the course of the first 150 issues of WSC, but this one is in a class of its own. Of course matches will still be played in something that calls itself the FA Cup, but the Cup as we have known it is surely dead – killed by its own creators.
Tuesday 1 Joe Kinnear is to step down as Wimbledon manager, apparently because he wants to work at a bigger club. "I believe he will go like hot cakes," says Sam Hammam. He will be replaced by former Norway coach Egil Olsen. Sam again: "His way is the Wimbledon way. He is also the complete master both tactically and technically." Someone's been watching re-runs of Kung Fu.
Wednesday 2 Having missed out on Edwin van der Sar and Fabien Barthez, Man Utd finally sign Mark Bosnich, who seems to have turned into a character from a Barbara Cartland book: "I could have gone abroad and lived like a king, but I followed my heart." Ireland's Euro 2000 match with Yugoslavia is unlikely to go ahead after the Irish government withdraw entry visas for the Yugoslav squad. "The decision was taken by a government. We are not in a position to condone or condemn it," says an FAI spokesman. Dundee Utd supporters group United For Change are backing an attempt by a local businessman to buy out Jim McLean's controlling stake in the club. Steve Parkin resigns as manager of Mansfield.
Sandy Reid gives us a brief history of Stenhousemuir
1884 Stenhousemuir FC officially founded.