Search: 'Terry Paine'

Cris Freddi pays tribute to the inscrutable Sir Alf Ramsey, who died on April 28, 1999

There is no reason to doubt the sincerity of the reaction to Sir Alf Ramsey’s death, but it raises a point or two. Some of the football writers praising him today tried to bury him when he was England manager (“Ramsey’s Robots” they called his teams). The change wouldn’t have surprised Alf, who was always suspicious of them. He probably knew the passage of time would provide a sense of perspective. He was just piss­ed off it took so long.

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Saturday 2 FA Cup headlines are made at Rushden, where Leeds are held to a goalless draw, Forest, who lose 1-0 to Portsmouth – Dave Bassett’s non-attendance at a post-match press conference fuelling speculation that he may be about to quit – Upton Park where Swansea are minutes away from beating West Ham before a Julian Dicks goal forces a replay, and at the Dell, where metropolitan fat cats Fulham are denied victory by a last-minute equaliser from Southampton’s Egil Ostenstad. Yeovil also concede a late goal in a draw at Cardiff but the other non-League team, Southport, are beaten 2-0 at home by Leyton Orient. This week’s FA inquiry will look into an incident during Chelsea’s 2-0 win at Oldham when referee Paul Durkin was struck by a hot dog (tomato sauce, no onions) though stewards claim it was only a sausage roll.

Sunday 3 Man Utd recover from a goal down to beat Middlesbrough 3-1 with the help of a penalty decision, given for Neil Maddison’s “trip” on Nicky Butt, that Alex is happy with for once: “If Graham Barber gave it must have been a penalty.” Another questionable spotkick, acquired and scored by Michael Owen, sets Liverpool on the way to a 3-0 win over Port Vale. In Scotland Rangers go four points clear at the top, and ten points ahead of Celtic, after the Old Firm “New Year’s Day” match ends 2-2. There are 50,000 Scots in the crowd and eight on the pitch.

Monday 4 A Cup shock looks on the cards for half an hour at Preston, where the home team race into a two-goal lead against Arsenal, before eventually going down 4-2. Controversy surrounds Arsenal's third goal, which is preceded by Preston defender Ryan Kidd being laid out by an elbow from substitute striker Fabian Caballero (don't ask). "I think there was an elbow incident and that was disappointing," says home manager David Moyes. "We don't need to start fights to win matches," snaps Arsene.

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Robbie James passed away last month. Huw Richards pays tribute to the man that starred for Swansea

In football, sudden death isn’t supposed to mean anything much more serious than cup-ties. But the death at 40 of Robbie James reminds Swansea fans for the third time in 20 years of what it really means.

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Dave Hill, the author of England's Glory: 1966 And All That, addresses some of the misconceptions that have developed around England's finest hour

Anyone with a healthy suspicion of nostalgia and a wholesome dislike for chest-beating patriots can be forgiven for feeling cynical about England’s triumph in the 1966 World Cup. After all, if you delve beneath the standard memories of the final against West Germany, of Kenneth Wolstenholme saying what Kenneth Wolstenholme said as Geoff Hurst completed his hat-trick, of Bobby Moore wiping his hands on his shorts before shaking hands with a laughing Liz Windsor, and of Nobby Stiles’ woodentops war dance during the lap of honour, what are the unvarnished facts?

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