Search: ' Montrose'

David Montrose asks the question: are grounds really where they say they are?

Let’s get it straight right now: West Ham do not play at Upton Park. Yes, yes, commentators and journalists may say different; yes, even the players and the manager, going by their public remarks, believe they play there. They don’t. It’s easy, of course, to see how the misconception arose. The team is called West Ham. Obviously, then, West Ham must be where they do their stuff. And this Upton Park you hear about – just has to be the stadium, hasn’t it?

Read more…

England peaked in 1966, not four years later, as is often believed, says David Montrose

It’s the view put forward in the official history of the England team. It’s what Geoff Hurst thinks. Sir Alf himself supposedly believed it, though I’ve never discovered when and where he said so. And, of course, it’s been the opinion of assorted scribblers. Joe Lovejoy of the Sunday Times, for one, whose contribution to the pre-millennial surfeit of list-making was his assessment of the Greatest Football Teams. Occupying the top five slots, a genuine celebrity parade: Brazil 1970; Real Madrid 1960; Ajax 1972; Brazil 1958; Hungary 1953. Then, England 1970 – outranking the boys of ’66 as well as every team produced by Germany, the Netherlands, Argentina, Italy and France. Praise indeed for a side that lost two out of four.

Read more…

Hampden Park's refurbishment has been expensive, unwanted and left Queens Park struggling for survival. Gary Oliver reports

Critics deride the project as having been profligate, ostentatious and a monument to vanity – not the Millennium Dome, but refurbished Hampden Park, which has begun the new century facing another financial crisis. The transformed 52,000-capacity ground continues to be owned by Third Division Queen’s Park and its rebuilding was administered by a subsidiary of the club, National Stadium plc. However, a three-year £65 million makeover has left the amateur club crippled by debt.

Read more…

Doug Stenhouse offers his predictions for the forthcoming season

Imagine a club in your league makes up a new rule to dissolve the competition as it stands and form a new league expelling five clubs. Imagine all the clubs are circulated with the proposal except the five to be expelled. Couldn’t happen? It has happened before: this is exactly what Glasgow Rangers tried to do in Scotland at the end of 1965-66. The five were Stranraer, Albion Rovers, Berwick Rangers, Stenhousemuir and Brechin. Only a last ditch court room battle and intense lobbying by Berwick chairman George Shiel won the day. A costly result for Rangers as two years later they lost to lowly Berwick in the Scottish Cup.

Read more…

Dear WSC
I don’t know what the rest of you think but all the recent media coverage of the Italian national team had led me to one major conclusion: Paolo Maldini gets his good looks from his Mum’s side of the family.
Alex Anderson, Ardrossan

Read more…