Search: ' Joe Kinnear'

There are set to be some big moves and unhappy clubs in the January transfer window

With the transfer window flung open, some confident predictions have been made about likely January moves. Everton will fail to buy a striker from the Russian league and may have to settle for an ageing loanee from MLS, Sam Allardyce could be reacquainted with at least a couple of the overseas players he signed for Bolton and Shay Given will leave Newcastle, probably for north London. Given even took the unusual step of issuing a statement through his lawyer indicating that “turmoil on and off the pitch” had compelled him to seek a new club. Newcastle’s dismayed response to this was reported with some glee, with the Mirror claiming that Joe Kinnear had “hurled insults” when questioned about his keeper’s announcement, as if that were possible. 

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Dear WSC
The theme of recent letters regarding the playing of ironic music after games reminds me of when Brentford started playing Suicide is Painless at the end of home defeats a couple of years ago. I can’t remember if it was the original Mandel/Altman version or the Manics’ cover, but the experiment ended as the team set about achieving a humiliating relegation to the bottom division.
Alan Housden

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Is it possible for Jamie to comment fairly on Harry?

It was no surprise that Harry Redknapp’s appointment as Spurs boss a few days later met with almost universal approval in the press. Most football journalists seem to love Redknapp – while many managers treat reporters with varying degrees of suspicion, he’s affable, talkative and funny, a constant source of good copy. In among the many phone calls he apparently made in the hours after his departure from Portsmouth around midnight on Saturday was a characteristic quip, reflecting on the £5 million compensation agreed with his ex-employers: “Pompey couldn’t sell a player in the window so we sell the manager.”

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Relegation to League One, administration, Kevin Blackwell – Luton and Leeds share quite a lot. So why not add the points, too, when the teams meet at a packed-out if still fairly charmless Kenilworth Road, asks Neil Rose

There is something exciting about having Leeds United in town. Irritating though the whole concept of clubs being “big” or “small” is, there is no denying that Leeds have an aura about them. It’s an aura that attracts by far the largest league crowd of the season to Luton, as well as more police than every other home game combined. It generates an edgy atmosphere at times, punctuated by the odd, quickly subdued fight at both ends.

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Ed Upright looks back on the season Hereford were promoted and Palace weren't thanks to Cup distractions

The long-term significance
At the end of this season goal difference replaced goal average, under which system teams level on points were separated by goals scored divided by goals conceded. Goal difference made standings much easier to calculate, but the rival systems could also reach different conclusions. Huddersfield won the 1923-24 title on account of their 1.818 goal average, fractionally better than Cardiff’s 1.794. Had goal difference been in place the title would have gone to Wales for the only time – equal on a goal difference of 27, Cardiff had scored 61 goals to Huddersfield’s 60.
The 1975 Safety of Sports Grounds Act set new standards on crush barriers, access routes, lighting and surfacing. In an era of dilapidated stadiums, rising costs and no thought of ground relocation, this meant huge expenditure. The League created a mutually beneficial deal with the pools promoters – spot-the-ball competitions would remain untaxed in return for a percentage of profits going to a new body to help clubs, the Football Grounds Improvement Trust.

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