The Archive

Tuesday 1 Home wins in the Worthington for Sunderland, who score two in the last minute in beating Luton 3-0, and Wimbledon, where the holders Chelsea suffer their first defeat in 19 games. Gianluca becomes the 1,000th defeated manager to say: “We tried to play football, not long ball like Wimbledon,” while Joe Kinnear virtually writes his own invite to an FA disciplinary hearing by announcing that his players “had a nice few bob” on themselves to win the tournament at the start of the season.

Wednesday 2 In the Worthington Spurs beat a Man Utd team featuring nine changes from their last match. “Some clubs may treat this tournament lightly but we’re not in a position to do so,” says George. “Even the best teams can’t win all the time,” sniffs Alex. In the other tie, recent cup specialists Leicester plough on with a 1-0 win over Blackburn , who announce that they have been given permission to talk to Brian Kidd about their managerial vacancy. “I just hope he decides to stay,” whispers Alex, being brave for the sake of the kids.

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John Sugden and Alan Tomlinson trace the toots of England's international impotence and the shambles at the FA

December’s crisis within the FA, when chairman Keith Wiseman and chief executive Graham Kelly faced a vote of no confidence from the FA Council, can only be properly understood in relation to English football’s recent lack of standing in Europe and in FIFA politics. In the run-up to the 1998 World Cup and critical UEFA and FIFA congresses, Kelly was asked whether the British associations lacked inf­luence in UEFA.

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Phil Tanner grinds his teeth over the Welsh FA's hypocrisy and says they may have jeopardised the national team's status

Declaring interests has not been a central theme of Lancaster Gate-gate (or Westgate-gate as it might be termed on the other side of the Severn Bridge), but what the hell. I support a Welsh non-League club which in 1995 had to go to court to establish its right under restraint of trade law not to be forced into the League of Wales. The pillar of the Welsh FA’s defence was that national associations outside the UK were stepping up pressure over the so-called home nations’ independent status and that even minor anomalies such as three clubs, each with a few hundred supporters, playing on both sides of the border might ultimately threaten the existence of the Welsh national side. (For some reason the fact that three much larger clubs did likewise was discounted, but we’ll skip that.)

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Once again, FIFA president Sepp Blatter courts controversy in regards to his ambitious plan for world domination

Elswhere in this issue, WSC contributors offer their impressions of their favourite and least favourite moments of the year just past, with the 1998 World Cup featuring prominently among the positive memories. However much like a corporate jamboree it has become, it is still a momentous occasion enjoyed by millions of football fans around the world and there is absolutely no good reason to change it. Or so you might think.

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Responsible for solving the nation's dinner crisis with Pizza Express Bob Allen and Sean Ingham take a closer look at Peterborough's similar sounding chairman

Distinguishing Features Rotund and white-haired, a cross between Rumpole of the Bailey and Private Godfrey of Dad’s Army. Always wears a navy suit. 

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