Articles from When Saturday Comes. All 27 years of WSC are in the process of being added. This may take a while.
Constantly changing the rules makes things difficult for everybody, not least the referees
Watching Nigel Martyn take an eternity over a goalkick the other day prompted thoughts about the Law of Unintended Consequences. Some years ago the tidy-minded people on FIFA’s rule-making committee decided that one of their minor rules was unnecessarily holding up play. It was the one that said a goalkick must be taken from whichever side of the goal the ball went out of play.
Things could be about to change in Scottish football, as Gary Oliver analyses what the future holds for the SPL
Tony Blair may have no intention of repealing trade union legislation, but that has not prevented ten Scots hankering for a closed shop. And far from being Old Labour dinosaurs, these protectionists are the thrusting ‘entrepreneurs’ who chair Scotland’s Premier Division clubs: in the crusade to create an autonomous Premiership, their latest threat is to sever all links with the Scottish Football League and dispense with promotion and relegation.
Owen Oyston saved Blackpool from the brink of bankruptcy. David Blundell looks at the controversial businessman
Distinguishing Features Take the Emperor Ming, dress him in the archetypal football manager sheepskin and stick a six gallon hat on his head. You now have Owen Oyston. At least, that was Owen a year ago. Now, denim shirt and trousers with arrows are more his line (he is now in Pentonville prison for the unusual crime of using undue influence to talk a girl into sexual congress).
A new report has been published that analyses the impact of black footballers. Ashley Shaw studies the results
While racism may have largely disappeared from our football grounds, as a recent survey demonstrates the English game is not quite the prejudice-free utopia the FA would have us believe. According to Steven Szymanski, author of Beaten in the Race for the Bell, an economic divide still exists between white and black players in English football.
Football is changing due to a new breed of chairmen. David Conn, author of The Football Business, outlines how the game is being affected by those who own the clubs
Beneath the high-pitched hype, English football presents some stark realities. Sir John Hall, former tireless warrior of the ‘Geordie nation’, made £100m for himself and his family out of Newcastle United when it floated on the Stock Market in April. He is now living mostly in Spain. Martin Edwards, chief executive of Manchester United plc, bought into United for £600,000 in 1978. He has recently made £33m cash from selling some of his shares, and retains a 15 per cent stake in United, worth around £60m.