When Saturday Comes | The half decent football magazine

Brought to account

Rangers are more worried about losing their previous titles than winning this season’s SPL, writes Alex Anderson

First Minister Alex Salmond spoke to Sir David Frost on Al Jazeera on the need to keep Rangers going. While visiting Scotland, prime minister David Cameron made a painfully opportunistic plea that the club should not disappear. By the time Sir Alex of Govan demanded the club be saved, the sponsors pledged their continued support and the next fixture became a 50,000 Ibrox sell-out, it was difficult to imagine why Rangers had lurched into administration at all.

Sunday, April 1st, 2012 - Book reviews

Heart problem

Mark Poole explains that even though their club is owned by a millionaire, one group of SPL players are not having their wages paid regularly

Last month the Scottish Sun reported that Hearts midfielder Ian Black had taken on casual work as a painter and decorator to pay for his children’s Christmas presents. It was perhaps the most evocative example so far of the current turmoil at Scotland’s third biggest club. For three consecutive months, the players’ wages have not been paid on time. Their October wages weren’t paid until weeks after they were due, and their November pay arrived in their accounts a month late. At the time of writing they are still waiting for their December pay.

Wednesday, February 1st, 2012 - Book reviews

New studio, no difference

Simon Tyers reviews the BBC’s change of studio and whether it has made any difference to Match of the Day

Whisper it, for fear of TV columnists suddenly finding themselves surplus to requirements in these financially straitened times, but viewers of highlights shows don’t really care about what happens for much of each programme. As long as the action is plentiful and well edited – and the bits in between don’t inspire mass acts of seppuku – you can by and large get away with it.

Sunday, January 1st, 2012 - The Archive

Running on empty

Rangers face a real danger of being shut down, reports Alex Anderson

In Scotland it seems even the legal system must be Old Firm-centric. Celtic decried an Edinburgh Sheriff Court jury when the case of a Hearts fan assaulting their manager, witnessed live on TV across the country, was found not proven. Two weeks later, however, the Court of Session, Scotland’s supreme civil court, redressed the balance by exposing the threat of Rangers going bankrupt in the very near future.

Tuesday, November 1st, 2011 - The Archive

Thematic dramatisation

Cameron Carter reviews BBC2’s programmes on the Munich air disaster and questions the use of thematic dramatisation in the build-up to football matches

United (BBC2, April 24) was a dramatisation of the Man Utd story from Bobby Charlton’s breakthrough into the first team to the frantic rebuilding after the Munich air crash.

Tuesday, June 21st, 2011 - The Archive

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Brought to account

Rangers are more worried about losing their previous titles than winning this season’s SPL, writes Alex Anderson

Heart problem

Mark Poole explains that even though their club is owned by a millionaire, one group of SPL players are not having their wages paid regularly

New studio, no difference

Simon Tyers reviews the BBC’s change of studio and whether it has made any difference to Match of the Day

Running on empty

Rangers face a real danger of being shut down, reports Alex Anderson

Thematic dramatisation

Cameron Carter reviews BBC2’s programmes on the Munich air disaster and questions the use of thematic dramatisation in the build-up to football matches