Dear WSC
I attended the York v Colchester FA Cup second round replay. Ah, the magic of the FA Cup: went for a traditional pre-match pie and when the kiosk opened I was third in the queue. The first man ordered two meat pies. The second man ordered one meat pie. The response came back: “Sorry love, we’ve sold out.” I laughed so hard I lost my place in the queue. You don’t get that kind of comedy at Old Trafford.
Alex Gage, via email
Search: ' Charles Koppel'
Stories
Wednesday 1 Villa and Newcastle are both through to their respective “finals” in the Intertoto. John Gregory seems underwhelmed by his side’s away goals win over Rennes: “If we’ve got to play in the competition then qualifying for the UEFA Cup is what it’s all about.” Barry Town beat Porto 3-1 in the second leg of their Champions League tie. The Football League deny reports that Celtic and Rangers may be invited into this season’s Worthington Cup, although League chairman Keith Harris hopes to see them included next year: “They would help spice up the competition for our sponsors and improve its appeal to the television audience.” Celtic’s 4-3 win at Old Trafford in Ryan Giggs’s testimonial is enlivened by several near-fights, most featuring David Beckham. Dutch goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar is the subject of the first-ever transfer deal between Fulham and Juventus, moving for £7 million. Portsmouth sign 1998 World Cup star Robert Prosinecki from Dinamo Zagreb.
Wimbledon supporters are mad as hell and they're not going to take it any more, Kevin Rye tells how the Milton Keynes plans finally roused Dons fans into action
What is so unusual about calling for the chairman of your football club to resign? Criticising the board is almost part of the fabric of football, but when Wimbledon supporters recently turned on Charles Koppel for applying to the Football League to relocate the club to Milton Keynes, it was also the beginning of the end of years of apathy and denial by their fans.
Despite vocal opposition at the time, the merger in Inverness seems to have worked, says Mark Palmer
Fish and chips. Richard and Judy. Both perfect bedfellows. But try combining two football clubs with years of history and a mutual dislike on a similarly grand scale, and the path to true love is never likely to run smoothly. Such was the scenario for Caledonian and Inverness Thistle, two of the three clubs in Inverness until the early Nineties, who did the unthinkable in football circles – not only sleeping with the enemy, but going full steam ahead to marry them as well.
Tuesday 1 The FA pull out of financing the new Wembley, claiming that it could bankrupt them, and ask for government assistance. “It is not right for us to act as sole sponsor of the scheme,” says Adam Crozier. Plans for a new stadium in the midlands may now be revived. Gary McAllister’s fifth goal in as many games helps Liverpool to a 2-0 win at Bradford. Huddersfield move five points clear of the relegation zone in the First Division with a 1-1 draw at Wimbledon (whose fans probably wouldn’t have minded losing). Rushden (and, of course, Diamonds) are promoted to the League after rivals Yeovil lose to a last-minute goal at home to Hereford.