The Archive

Brian Homewood explains why the Brazilian authorities continue to be world leaders when it comes to bizarre decision making

During the FIFA International Board’s jaunt down to Rio de Janeiro for their annual meeting (it had originally been scheduled for Belfast but was moved to Rio “as a tribute to Dr João Havelange”), general secretary Sepp Blatter launched into a spiel in which he described his determination to stamp out violence on the field. He could not have chosen a more inappropriate venue for his speech.

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Having travelled the length of Britain taking photos for a revied edition of Simon Inglis's acclaimed book The Football Grounds of Great Britain, Tony Davis explains why he often had mixed feelings about what he saw

I’m on the phone to the secretary of a First Division club. I ask if I can photograph the stadium. She says no. I tell her it’s for a book about football grounds. She tells me she’s never heard of it. We bat the question about for a few minutes. She keeps asking me who else I’ve spoken to at the club about coming to take pictures. I tell her I’m asking her now. Finally we come to an arrangement – I’ll fax a request in writing before turning up. Finally, she’s happy – although she still takes the precaution of phoning the next club I was due to visit that day to check that I’m going there too.

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Mike Ticher has been leafing through revised edition of Simon Inglis's Football Grounds of Great Britain

Between 1975 and 1985, there was perhaps only a single football book published in Britain that could genuinely be called a classic. Simon Inglis’s The Football Grounds of England and Wales (1983) was a revelation for two reasons. First, because it appeared at a time when football was grossly unfashionable. Second, because it differed utterly in form and content from the landmarks in football publishing which both preceded and followed it.

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Dear WSC
During his career Bobby Charlton did get a proper booking as opposed to one meted out by a FIFA official in the stand (Six of the Best,WSC No 112). It happened during the FA Cup Quarter-Final against Stoke City at Old Trafford in March 1972. As I recall, he hammered a direct free kick into the net but had the ‘goal’ disallowed because the kick had been taken too quickly. Charlton refused to retake the kick and was booked for dissent. The match ended 1-1 and Stoke won the replay 2-1. If you print this letter I might write again to tell you about the time I pinched Nobby Stiles’ backside after the Man Utd v Middlesbrough Third Round Cup tie in 1971. He played only five more games for United after this and I’ve been feeling guilty about a possible connection for more than 25 years…
Gareth Davies

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Tuesday 7 Barry Fry is sacked as manager of Birmingham City. "After three years and 61 players we think someone else is entitled to have a go," says the club's owner David Sullivan, adding: "Barry is a very attractive prospect for a club like Notts County or Luton" (who will both now be desperate to draw Birmingham in a cup next season). "I'd like to think I have woken up the sleeping giant," says Barry. The FA will be looking for a new commercial director after Trevor Phillips resigns due to "differences over overall strategy in relation to commercial policy". Hmmm.

Wednesday 8 It's getting murky. Trevor Phillips' resignation is being linked to police investigations into the sale of Euro '96 tickets to unlicensed agencies, many of which were raided last week by police who made eighteen arrests. The FA had authorised corporate packages to be sold through two companies but Phillips seems to have encouraged others to apply. As many as 50,000 tickets may be involved. lvano Bonetti is to sue Grimsby manager Brian Laws over the dressing room fight that led to Bonetti having a steel plate inserted in his face. The FA haven't yet found a date for their inquiry into the incident. Paris St Germain win the Cup Winners' Cup, beating Rapid Vienna 1-0 at the new Heysel Stadium.

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