Dear WSC
Surely the insouciant arrogance with which David Elleray slithers to cover up his mistakes cannot be unconnected with his day job? Who remembers a school teacher who ever admitted to getting something wrong? Of course, as a servant of the privileged classes, Elleray performs his role with a polished charm, his eyes glinting like a demented pterodactyl. But beyond this saurian resemblance, I can’t be the only person to notice that the penalty he gave against Sean Dyche, for obstruction outside the area, was a carbon copy of the dreadful decision he gave against Frank Sinclair when he came shoulder to shoulder outside the box with the dying swan of the Ukrainian ballet, Andrei Kanchelskis, in the 1994 Cup Final. It’s time this man was confined to the playing fields of Harrow.
Martin Humphrey, London SW4
The Archive
Articles from When Saturday Comes. All 27 years of WSC are in the process of being added. This may take a while.
Tuesday 1 Bournemouth seem set to survive after being taken over by a community-run trust fund which will use money raised from a public appeal to acquire a controlling interest in the club. The rescue package has to be ratified by the League and the Inland Revenue, who have postponed a winding up order on the club. Nathan Blake says he withdrew from Wales' squad for their World Cup match at the weekend after being racially abused by manager Bobby Gould. "I have a total lack of respect for him," says Blake. "Perhaps we are of a different era. You learn, one becomes a little wiser," says Gould, unwisely.
Thursday 3 Scotland fans will be booking seats on Eurostar for Summer 1998 after two Kevin Gallagher goals secure a comfy win over Austria. Not so good for the Irelands, though, with the North losing 2-1 away to Ukraine and the Republic going down 3-2 in Macedonia, where nice, mild-mannered Jason McAteer is sent off after a last-minute dust-up. In England's group Poland and Italy share a goalless draw in Chorzow.
For good and bad reasons, football is becoming a bigger part of the political world
A week that began with the death of Lord Justice Taylor, ended with the demise of the Conservatives, whose assault on football was stopped in its tracks by the Taylor Report.
Professional clubs are getting more and more out of reach for their non-League counterparts, but Mark Winter argues that the Vauxhall Conference is still worth a watch
You could be excused for thinking that life in the Vauxhall Conference has never been better. A glance at the Sunday paper would tell you of a three horse race for the Championship, that most end of season games have a bearing on the promotion/relegation issues, and that attendances of four, five and even six thousand are becoming more and more commonplace.
It may not be in the public eye, but Tim Springett believes that away supporters are treated badly by the powers that be
The experiences of Manchester United supporters in Portugal recently were probably the most shocking and extreme examples of a phenomenon which remains unacceptably widespread in football even at home; the view, held by clubs, the police and the FA, of visiting team supporters as second-class citizens.