Neil Rose recounts a rare Des Walker goal on 1st January 1992
Des Walker has played over 500 games in his League career. He has scored just one goal. I saw it. I hate him for it.
The Archive
Articles from When Saturday Comes. All 27 years of WSC are in the process of being added. This may take a while.
Matt Nation talks about the modern day 'heroics' of footballers and a debut from an unlikely source
Come the revolution, come the incarceration of any journalist found guilty of using the irritating truism ‘heroics’ in their match report. Heroes perform acts of martyrdom, self-immolation and general utilitarianism. They do not merely do diving headers in the six-yard box.
Dear WSC
I recently attended the Blackburn Rovers v Coventry City delayed Fourth Round FA Cup tie. During the game the referee approached Gordon Strachan to warn him against coaching from the sidelines only to receive the reply that he was allowed to run up and down the touchline because he was sub. Aside from whether or not this is a valid defence, it occurred to me that the ban on coaches and managers issuing instructions from the side of the pitch is rather bizarre. Can explain why it shouldn’t be allowed? It seems to me that thousands of people in the ground are allowed to shout (often conflicting) instructions to the team, and to ban the coaching staff from doing so is unfair. In any case the chance of the manager’s voice being heard above the noise is slim, the chance of the instructions being understood by the players is very remote, and there is an ice cube in hell’s chance of them actually acting on the instructions and making a difference to the game. It may even add to the entertainment if, say, some of the more vocal managers were allowed to run up and down the touchline shrieking instructions. Imagine it’s the last five minutes of Manchester United losing to Wimbledon in the FA Cup – you’d have Alex Ferguson, Brian Kidd, Joe Kinnear and Sam Hammam vying for positions on the wing and shouting simultaneously, “Get it in the box!” and “Hoof it in the crowd!” You might even get the odd player losing concentration at a crucial time and missing the ball because, for example, he was trying to understand what Arsène Wenger had just yelled at him. Surely everyone would like to see Arsenal lose like this?
Jeremy Barker, Tonbridge
Saturday 1 Man Utd stay a point clear after a late Eric Cantona goal brings victory over Southampton. Stan Collymore keeps Liverpool in second place with the only goal at Derby, who play for most of the second half with ten men after Darryl Powell is sent off. Arsenal are still third but three points adrift after a goalless snoozeathon at Leeds – for whom it is a tenth clean sheet in 15 games since George Graham took over. A godsend for the tabloids as UEFA announce that they will be backing Germany's bid for the 2006 World Cup. World At War! says the Mirror; Kraut of Order! – says the Sun. "Unannounced pacts behind closed doors are no substitute for democracy and fairness," says the FA's David Davies. The final decision will be taken in three years' time. FIFA are said to favour South Africa as hosts but that may change if Joao Havelange fulfils his promise to step down as President in 1998. Meantime it will go on, and on, and on.
Sunday 2 Business as usual at St James' Park where Newcastle come back from 3-1 down against Leicester with 13 minutes left to win 4-3, Alan Shearer completing a hat trick with the winner in injury time. "You know what Newcastle are like. You never know what is going to happen," says their new manager, after a long lie down.
Following a poor refereeing performance, the debate on video replays begins
Televised football, it is often said, is nothing like the real thing. Yet, despite a setback for the advocates of the use of video replays in refereeing, we may still see it become part of the matchday experience for everyone. FIFA recently decided against sanctioning a first trial of a replay screen in next month’s friendly between Sweden and France, with general secretary Sepp Blatter saying, “We are anxious television doesn’t take over the game.” Sepp must have dozed off a few years ago because the takeover has long since been completed.