Search: ' Grasshoppers'

Thursday 1 Chelsea go out of the UEFA Cup after a 1-1 draw with Hapoel Tel-Aviv. Claudio Ranieri keeps his sunny side up: “The result went against us but it was a brilliant performance.” Leeds survive a scare in Troyes, where they lose 3-2 but go through 6-5 on aggregate. Ipswich save their best till last again, winning 3-1 in Helsingborg. Stung by rejection, Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan refuses to accept Steve Bruce’s attempt to resign as manager: “At no time will Steve be allowed to talk to Birmingham.” Bruce will not, however, be taking charge of Palace’s team at the weekend.

Friday 2 The Bishop of Oxford blesses the pitch at Oxford United’s supposedly unlucky new ground. “There was talk among some players of a sense of evil – they interpreted it as a curse,” says a church spokesman.

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Everyone insists scrapping transfer fees would mean chaos. But, in the first of two articles, Pierre Lanfranchi and  Matthew Taylor argue it might finally bring the industry up to date

Imagine football without transfer fees. Journalists, financial analysts and sports lawyers – not to mention directors, managers and players – have apparently been doing little else since the European Commission’s “shock” announcement that the present system of clubs profiting from the movement of players must come to an end. In Britain at least, predictions have tended towards the catastrophic: take away transfer fees and small clubs would die, top players would earn even more and all manner of chaos would ensue.

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Economic problems for Norwegian clubs have meant they have looked for outside help in financing player wages and transfers. Ole P Pedersen reports

On the face of it, football in Norway is booming. The national team has qualified for Euro 2000, two clubs are in the Champions League and the Premiership remains a popular destination for Norwegian players. However, all is not as it seems.

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Dear WSC
Anyone with a soul who was at Pride Park to see Derby’s match against Mid­d­lesbrough must now be convinced that any efforts to “improve” refereeing should be firmly resisted. We had a wronged hero, Paulo Wanchope, sent off for showing the degree of commitment that would have earned him a red card in a kick-boxing match. We had a villain, that’s you Andy Town­send, who matched the provoked Paulo kick for kick but was only shown a yellow card. We had the biggest attendance at Pride Park incandescent with righteous indignation. We had a goal from prodigal son No 1, Dean Sturridge, who had excused himself from our previous match. He was booed when he took the pitch and left to a standing ovation. For most of the match our ten men were hanging on heroically against their 11. We had our hopes dashed when Middlesbrough equalised. But injustice was righted in the nick of time by prodigal son No 2, Jonathan Hunt, whom we thought would never be seen again after lengthy loans to lowly First Division clubs. Yet he turned up in the six-yard box to sweep the ball past Schwarzer. And finally we had the scapegoat, referee Mr Harris from Oxford, whose random decisions and wayward card waving wove a plot worthy of a Walt Disney film. Consistency from referees? Who needs it?
Peter Gutteridge, Derby

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Richard Mason reflects on Fiorentina's explusion from the UEFA Cup and what it means for media objectivity

The exclusion of Fiorentina from the UEFA Cup has naturally provoked a lot of comment in Italy, but one aspect of the affair has been entirely ignored: its implications for media companies such as Sky and Carlton seeking to buy into football clubs.

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