The Archive

Part -time TV soap star look alike, part-time adventure explorer – Craig Gurney looks at Swindon Town's chariman

Distinguishing Features He used to look a bit like Coronation Street’s Les Battersby in a sharp suit. But not even Tricky Rikki can cheat the ageing process and he is now starting to look like the middle-aged businessman he surely is; more bloke down the golf club than bloke down the pub. The Battersby motif still has some mileage though. Les, you may recall, has made a fool of himself over professional blonde scouser, Margi Clarke. Hunt has a love of all things scouse; himself for a start. He stood by another blond (if receding) scouser, Steve McMahon, much longer than he should have. Even now, Hunt will not hear a bad word spoken against the manager who brought us two years of disastrous mid-season slumps. 

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A tale of football, betrayal and a kangaroo. Sam Beckwith reports on the peculiar case of Bohemians Prague

British fans looking for a second home in Prague could do much worse than visit Bohemians’ D’olnicka stadium. The stadium – Bohemians’ home since 1932 – fits your image of a classic football ground – the crowd is squeezed right up against the pitch, creating a good atmosphere even if the attendance doesn’t often top 4,000. There’s a large grandstand to one side, and vociferous support from the terrace behind the goal. But the chance to see a game there could already be gone, as Bohemians fans face some unattractive, but familiar, aspects of the modern game – cold-blooded redevelopers, and an enforced move from their home.

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Call us negative if you must (no, go on), but we feel obliged to record the worst football feats of the century before it’s over. Cris Freddi opens the series with an assessment of its most heinous fouls

No shortage of material in this category. We've all got our nominations and it becomes a question of which to leave out. One that gets in without much argument was perpetrated in Manchester United’s Champions League match against Feyenoord in 1997, when Paul Bosvelt crashed his studs into Denis Irwin’s calf, a really dangerous foul. Sándor Puhl, who didn’t even show a yellow card, was dropped from the rest of the competition as well as France 98, missing the chance of becoming the first referee to take charge of two World Cup Finals.

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The Scottish Premier League faces reorganisation again, but this time its leaders are determined to make a more permanent mess. Gary Oliver is unimpressed

Saturday afternoon football coverage on BBC Radio Scotland concludes with Off The Ball, a generally frivolous phone-in. Far from jovial, though, was a recent guest appearance by Roger Mitchell, chief executive of the Scottish Premier League.

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Contrary to past belief, it seems these days you never win anything without kids. Matthew Hall questions Leeds’ intentions in Australia

It's usually after about three or four pints down the pub: “With the influx of all these foreigners,” grumbles some old sop, “there’s no future for homegrown talent in the English game any more.” A complete load of crock, of course, as readily demonstrated by most of the big clubs introducing outstanding young players more than capable of holding their own alongside big-money international signings.

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