The Archive

Like it or not, the Bosman law is now always with us. And the European Commissioner responsible for enforcing the judgement foresees more upheaval just around the corner, as Philip Cornwall investigates

There are two problems with covering the Bosman ruling. Firstly, like the Venables saga it is endlessly technical, has nothing to do with anything which is remotely attractive about following football and has no end in sight. Secondly – like the Venables saga – it requires acceptance of the world as it is, not as one would like it to be.

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Some people think all-seat stadiums are a good thing. Try as he might, Matt Stone is not inclined to agree with them

The pieces fell into place after a chance meeting. I happened to be standing next to a friend’s brother in the Gents, complaining, as I had all season to anyone who’d listen, about the people who sit behind me. As I got into my stride, a look of awful realization came over his face.

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Tim Springett looks at the implications of the Bosman case for clubs' youth football policies, and comes up with a novel idea

One of the more apocalyptic consequences of the Bosman judgment is the very real fear that clubs, particularly those outside of the Premiership, will cut back their youth development programmes as a consequence of no longer obtaining transfer fees for players they produce. ‘Sell to survive’ will no longer be possible. Clubs have, traditionally, relied upon transfer income to finance their youth policies; Lincoln City commented recently that the £500,000 they received from Newcastle United for Darren Huckerby will pay for heir youth scheme for four years. If the players these clubs train will simply be poached by richer rivals with no recompense available, what incentive will there be to recruit and train youngsters?

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Dear WSC
I think it was William Shakespeare who once said “Don’t believe everything you read in newspapers. Or fanzines.” At any rate, unless someone corrects a few of the fallacies in Ulrich Hesse-Lichtenberger’s article about German football (WSC No 110), WSC readers will be suffering from some pretty serious misconceptions. How on earth can Ulrich claim “Matthäus, Klinsmann, Völler – they all come from the Ruhr”? Oh yeah, and Kenny Dalglish is a Cockney, I suppose? According to my copy of the 1996 edition of ‘The Sad Person’s Guide to the Date and Place of Birth of Every Famous German Footballer’, Rudi Völler was born in Hanau near Frankfurt and began his career with local team Offenbach Kickers. Lothar Matthäus comes from Herzogenaurach, a little place near Nuremberg whose other claim to fame is that it is the home of the Adidas empire. Jürgen Klinsmann is proud to be a Swabian and played for both major Stuttgart clubs before experiencing such huge success with Inter Cardiff and Scarborough. His career was resurrected by David Dein of Arsenal, but he later returned to Germany to play for Borussia 1898 Dudeldorf. Surely everyone ought to check his facts carefully before submitting anything to you for publication?
Derek Megginson, Scarborough
(birthplace of Bobby Charlton, Savo Milosevic and Pelé)

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In a few weeks' time FIFA will decide whether the 2002 World Cup will go to South Korea or Japan. Jon Watts thinks that the outsiders may yet pull off a surprise

Pedigree underdogs, South Korea are at it again. The country which has almost-but-not-quite pulled off shock victories against Germany and Spain in recent World Cup finals is threatening once again to upset the odds. Competing with those economic and political heavyweights, Japan, to host 2002, South Korea started as rank outsiders, but, true to form, the contest, now entering its closing stages, is proving a lot closer than was billed.

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