The Archive

Matthew Brown doesn't think the latest anti-racism campaign it is aimed at enough people

“We must act to prevent the return of this racist menace” screamed the Express after the “appalling scenes” of racist chanting at Leeds v Leicester the other week. Amid “furious responses from both clubs”, the newspaper launched its own ‘Kick Out The Scum’ campaign, where you the reader can help to “cut out the cancer which afflicts OUR game”. Ho hum. Another season, another campaign against racism. There’s no Cantona antics this time, nor seig heiling England fans, but another high profile incident helps to keep up press interest in a topic that’s been covered from more angles than a game on Sky TV over the last few years.

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John Williams looks at the explosion of books nostalgic for the days of mass hooliganism

At West Ham in late September, a few away travel truths struck home a little more sharply than I can remember before. The District Line train eastbound at 2.30 was thinly populated. A number of passengers were Europeans, picking up a Premier League game between the Hammers and Liverpool while on holiday in London. Other Liverpool fans (and their kids) were openly wearing dispiritingly new team shirts.

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Football Focus was once Cameron Carter's highlight of the week, but not anymore

I used to look forward to Football Focus. Probably because it used to be good. Ten years ago, during its golden Arthurian period, you got crumply old Bob Wilson with a pen in his jacket pocket (which sometimes crept into his hand during those traumatic live link-ups with experienced managers), lots of football clips and a special focus on Crewe Alexandra at the end. Now, you get last weekend’s goals you’ve already seen on Match of the Day with a satiny Britpop underlay. It’s not right, and deep down everyone knows it.

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Non-league clubs are being taken over by new, rich chairmen. Simon Bell looks at their attempt to buy success

One of the most irritating things about the Vauxhall Conference is the way it wants to be – really wants to be – the Football League. It’s a bit embarrassing. The Football League bars a club from entering because its facilities aren’t up-to-scratch (Kidderminster); bless my soul if the Conference doesn’t follow suit abjectly (St Albans and their now infamous trees). The Football League applies a raft of strict financial criteria for would-be entrants, ignoring the fact that most of its members are perennially skint. As does the Conference, consigning Enfield and Boston Utd to the never-never for a few more years.

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The reunification of Germany had big implications for football in the new country. Karsten Blaas explores how the game has developed since the Berlin Wall fell

At the end of last season, German football commentators were able to announce some rare good news from the east: all professional club teams from the formerly communist part of the country had avoided relegation. Hansa Rostock had successfully completed their Bundesliga campaign while Leipzig, Jena and Zwickau secured their places in division two. Energie Cottbus added some icing to the cake by winning promotion to the Second and reaching the cup final (which they lost).

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