Tom Davies describes the financial predicaments of Dundee, Mansfield Town and Kidderminster HarriersA glimmer of light is flickering at the end of a dark tunnel at Dundee, whose supporters’ trust, Dee4Life, has co-ordinated a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) to pull the Scottish First Division club out of administration – though a 25-point penalty still threatens their footballing status.
Kevin Borras recounts the moment that AFC Wimbledon were drawn against MK Dons in the FA Cup second round
I’m a season-ticket holder and a shareholder at AFC Wimbledon. Day zero for us was May 28, 2002, when the FA, in their infinite wisdom, declared that to deny Wimbledon FC the opportunity to move to Milton Keynes and “keep the club alive” would not have been in the wider interests of football. So, the potential of playing the club that we all refer to as Franchise FC in the second round of the FA Cup was the very embodiment of mixed emotions.
Dear WSC
I would like to ask my fellow readers if their clubs have something called “The Nardiello Factor”. The Nardiello Factor is a phenomenon where a striker’s popularity is based in a large part on the exotic nature of his name. At Barnsley we have seen no finer example of this than in recent months with the arrival of Jerónimo Morales Neumann. My fellow Tykes have been beside themselves at the thought of this player, and have wondered how Mark Robins can possibly limit him to just warming the bench. This opinion seems based on nothing more than the fact that he has a name that would be good to shout out when (if) he scores. Our Jerónimo accordingly scores a Nardiello Factor rating of nine (the maximum score is ten). Contrast this with Chris Woods, our loanee from West Brom. He scores a paltry NarFac rating of four. Were he to slightly change his name to Christiano Woodaldo he would up his NarFac rating to eight but, alas, this is not to my knowledge due for consideration. As a consequence the support from the terraces has been a little limited to date. Liam Dickinson scores a NarFac rating of one, though I am willing to concede that, even if he changed his name to Galileo Figaro Magnifico, he’d do well to register a NarFac rating of five. His yellow boots have had a negative impact.
Ian Marsden, Belper
Recent times have taken a drastic toll on football in Luton and south-west London, but things are looking up. After an 18-year gap Andy Brassell returns to Kenilworth Road with AFC Wimbledon
How did we end up here? The last time many of the 1,000-odd Wimbledon fans who made the trip to Luton on February 20 visited was back in April 1992. The home side that day won 2-1 but failed to stave off relegation from Division One, while the visitors went onto become founder members of the Premier League a few months later.
Ian Plenderleith clicks around the web to try to decide whether the football writing on there is worth his money, or if it should remain free to all
How much would you pay to read football journalism online? It’s a question that’s taxed the media ever since the internet quickly metamorphosed from a content free-for-all to a platform with endless commercial opportunities. Several cases illustrate the way that online content could go over the next few years.