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Ed Parkinson is delighted Hartlepool's stars are no longer thought worth a transfer to Chelsea as Stamford Bridge seems worlds apart from Victoria Park

As a follower of a newly promoted club who just achieved their highest league placing in 94 years of grim struggle, it’s tempting to view the Second Division through heavily rose-tinted specs. To me it seems a delightful, cheerful and friendly division which all clubs should visit regularly. A survey of the changes in the division since Hartlepool’s last visit in 1991 shows that rigorous asset-stripping of promoted teams seems to have fallen out of fashion. In 1991 the winners of the old Fourth Division were gleefully dismantled by middle-aged men in sheepskin coats – any promoted side would lose three or four key players to big clubs (defined as anyone who was in the First Division, had ever won a major trophy, or just had a big ground). This year all three upwardly mobile arrivals retained nine or ten of their first-choice promotion team.

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Saturday 1 “We will make sure it is exciting until the end of the title race,” says Arsène, as Arsenal scrape a 2-1 win over Fulham with a Robert Pires goal in the last minute. Man Utd are six points behind in second after winning 2-0 at Southampton. “We are capable of getting out of our mess,” says Gary Megson as West Brom move off the bottom after a 2-1 win at Man City. Sunderland score three goals in eight first-half minutes, but all are for Charlton, who win 3-1. “I have never been in or watched a game like it,” sighs Howard, whose team now prop up the table. Bolton put a four-point gap between themselves and the bottom three after beating Birmingham 4-2. Peter Ridsdale is barracked by Leeds fans during their 2-0 defeat at Everton but there are cheers for El Tel, who doesn’t know whether he is staying or going: “I don’t see my position clearly at the moment.” In the First, Sheffield Utd’s chances of catching Portsmouth and Leicester subside with a 1-0 defeat at Millwall, while their rivals both win. Brighton, with 43-year-old debutant Dave Beasant in goal, stay bottom with a 1-0 defeat at Walsall. Wigan are held to a goalless draw at home by bottom-place Cheltenham but still lead the Second by eight points. Boston slip back into the drop zone in the Third after conceding two goals in injury time to lose 2-1 at Bournemouth.

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Dear WSC
In the article about hooliganism in WSC 181 the usual catchphrase “every club has their trouble makers” was once again wheeled out. Can I just point out that Macclesfield Town have had no arrests in at least the last two years and possibly further. I know for a fact that they are the only Football League club who can boast this for the 1999-2000 and 2000-01 season. To my knowledge they are currently running at zero for this season as well. Perhaps the phrase “every club (except for Macclesfield Town who are a friendly lot and would be an ideal day out for yourself and the kids) have their trouble makers” would be more appropriate.
Tom Rance, Macclesfield

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Dear WSC
I’ve heard some daft excuses for losing matches but Trevor Francis has surpassed even Manchester United’s grey shirts fiasco at Southampton with his moaning over Birmingham’s play-off penalty shoot-out at Preston. Perhaps the poor dear would like to consider the following points. At any ground other than Deepdale there would have been spectators behind both goals, and if the penalties hadn’t been at the Preston end they would have been at the Birmingham end.  Therefore, by his logic, that would be unfair on the Preston players. If Birmingham were a better team than Preston they would have finished above them in the league table, therefore the second leg of their play-off and the penalty shoot-out would have taken place at their own ground. They only finished fifth over 46 league games so they were lucky to have any chance of promotion in the first place. If his players are unnerved by taking penalties in front of opposition fans what chance would they stand of surviving in the Premiership? In a ground filled with paying spectators it makes sense for the deciding moments to take place at the end where most of them will have the best view. Who cares whether the referee or police changed their mind about which end the penalties should be taken? The notion that the whole match should be replayed because of that is absolutely ludicrous. If I was a Birmingham fan I would be embarrassed that the manager could come out with such a lame excuse for defeat instead of accepting that his team was simply not good enough.
Richard Watts, Sydenham 

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Dear WSC
Well, I’m really sorry to moan, especially as it was your 150th issue. But your Nick House (Football League Review, WSC 150) was watching a different Division Three to me last season. I’ll just say five things. Firstly, it was a tremendously exciting season. You wouldn’t think so to read this review. It culminated on the last day with first playing second for the championship. And it’s not often that happens. Secondly, how can Peterborough pos­­sibly be described as an enigma? One of the great certainties of Division Three football, and one of its great entertainments, is that Peterborough United consistently underachieve. It’s called the Barry Fry effect. Thirdly, there are some tremendous young players in this division, but you would need to be very blinkered indeed to name messrs Thomas, Breslan and Bastow among them. What about Martin Butler at Cambridge United, for good­ness sake! Fourthly, he must be a really cautious punter if he wouldn’t have bet on any of the top v bottom games. If he had done, he would have made himself a tidy profit. Finally, eventual champions Brentford merited just one mention in the entire article. This despite one of their most eventful seasons ever, with the Ron Noades saga, a host of talented youngsters and that exciting final game. By contrast, Exeter City were mentioned five times, Devon clubs in general 11 times. Hey – that Nick House couldn’t be a Torquay fan, could he? Simon Knott, via email

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