The Archive

Two men, one backside and a whole lot of controversy

Such is the intense spotlight trained on Premiership football these days, we are told, that nothing escapes the attention of the action replay cameras and the press provocateurs who feed on their evidence. In a limited way, the theory is perfectly true. Yet for all the microscopic detail now available to the media and the authorities alike, football still has blind spots about certain subjects, which go unmentioned even when they are shouting to be heard. One such came up, but only very slowly, after the Chelsea v Liverpool match on February 27th. The repeated clashes between Ro­bbie Fowler and Graeme Le Saux were highlighted on Match of the Day and splashed all over the Monday papers, but the issue at the heart of the matter was not made plain until the Tuesday.

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Zimbabwe's failed  love affair with the African Nations Cup has opened the doors for others. Alan Duncan finds out what went wrong  

On March 14th, the Executive Committee of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) meet to decide whether Zimbabwe will be allowed to stage the African Cup of Nations in 2000. Their decision may have a major impact on the direction of world football politics for years to come. 

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Paul Mullen looks at man, but not just any man, a Hartlepool man 

Distinguishing features Somewhat vertically-challenged, but still manages to tower over our typically minute forward line. Always dapper in business suits and overcoats, although he has been known to loosen his top shirt button occasionally for that casual look.

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Rather then follow the general consesus of an uphappy team, Argentina's national squad have taken a different approach. Peter Hudson investigates

Any strike is a rarity in Argentina these days, given the weakness of the local labour movement. But the latest is doubly unusual in being led by professional footballers, hardly noted for their revolutionary fervour. What’s more, the players are not looking for higher wages or better conditions. Rather, they are withdrawing their labour in defence of their poorer colleagues, who have been prevented from plying their trade by a court order late last year suspending all matches outside the First Division.

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“I’m hoping to be shown where I am meant to be going, and what I’m meant to be doing. Perhaps it won’t be what I want. But it will be what I need.” Glenn Hoddle in The 1998 World Cup Story

So, off he goes to no one's surprise. Some of the most successful managers in British football, including Bill Shan­kly, Don Revie and Brian Clough, might be politely described as eccen­trics, so the fact that the man who picked the England team holds opinions seemingly derived from the witchhunts of the middle ages need not necessarily have made his position untenable. 

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