Dear WSC
I enjoyed Roger Titford’s nostalgic piece about half-time scoreboards (WSC 202). Many people will remember Huddersfield Town’s big scorebox at the old Leeds Road ground. It was manned from within and, although it couldn’t boast Fulham-style coloured lights, it was still a complicated business to fathom its information. Scores were displayed in three groups (A, B & C) of eight and unless you watched it constantly, you couldn’t be sure whether the scores shown were from Group A or Group B. I missed many a goal and other dramatic incidents early in second halves through over-attentiveness to my programme to see how (for example) Plymouth and Blackburn were getting on. It was usually 0-0.
Stuart Barker, Carlisle
Search: ' Kenneth Wolstenholme'
Stories
The Miracle of Bern was a massive commercial success in Germany, and its London viewing was a sell-out. Errol Lawrence, who despises many other samples of sport on the big screen, believes it could be the best film ever of its kind
Soenke Wortmann’s The Miracle of Bern stopped over in London at the end of November to open the annual German Film Festival. The film has become a huge commercial success in Germany and won praise across Europe and such is its reputation that the film’s single screening in London was a sell-out, attracting a polyglot audience of native Germans, students, film buffs and even the odd football fan.
Dear WSC
It’s hard not to be impressed by the awful judgment displayed by the Football League. First the ITV Digital fiasco and now the appointment of a failed politician as their new chairman. Apparently Brian Mawhinney’s credentials are that he “has been an MP for 23 years and has served as Secretary of State for Transport and as Northern Ireland Sports Minister”. Also that he has “contacts in the corridors of power”. Oh, and he’s been a keen supporter of Peterborough United for 25 years! Let’s look at a few facts. He is an MP for buggery’s sake! The new “family friendly” working hours introduced in Westminster in January are shifting an MP’s work to the daytime. Are all Football League board meetings going to be shifted to the evening to accommodate Mr Mawhinney’s day job? In the register of members’ interests, he already has four other part-time jobs. Plus, he is a trustee of Boston University (that’s Boston Massachussetts, not Boston Lincs, by the way). Is he going to carry on with them while providing “strategic planning” for the Football League? A keen supporter of Peterborough United? Indeed, so keen a supporter, that when it looked like he was sure to lose the Peterborough constituency at the 1997 General Election, he joined the Tory “chicken-run” and legged it to north-west Cambridgeshire in search of a safe seat. What’s more, on the Peterborough fans’ website, it was claimed that, yes, he had a season ticket – but sadly it was at Arsenal. Good news for lower league clubs, then. He wasn’t specifically the “sports minister” for Northern Ireland. He was a Northern Ireland minister and, because at that time there was no devolution, he as a minister would have had hundreds of areas of responsibilities, only one of which would have been sport. The biggest joke is about him having contacts within government. Picture the scene: Mawhinney asks a Labour minister for a meeting to discuss football. Labour minister thinks: “Hmm, it’s the man whose greatest achievement was to come up with the idea of rail privatisation and he is still a Tory MP to boot.” Says to secretary: “See if you can squeeze Mr Mawhinney into the diary for July 2009.” I don’t live in north-west Cambs and its not my business to slag off their MP, but as a football fan, I simply cannot believe this is a good appointment.
Niall Duffy, Worthing
John Bourn looks back at ITV's neglected trump card, its regional coverage
When ITV’s outgoing director of programmes, David Liddiment, criticised the BBC in a newspaper interview on August 19, their response was cutting: Liddiment was accused of “having presided over the most disastrous period in ITV’s history”.
Haydn Parry looks back on the life of Britain's first regular TV football commentator, who will inevitably be best remembered for just two sentences
The first time I met Kenneth Wolstenholme, I immediately got into his good books by not mentioning “you know what”. As luck would have it, I wanted him to talk specifically about the World Cup of four years later, Mexico 1970, which he went on to admit was his favourite tournament for the quality of the football, if not for England’s fate. He managed to get through a whole interview without any mention of Geoff Hurst, 4-2 or “people on the pitch” which, understandably, was something of a rarity for him – actually, I got the distinct impression he was rather relieved.