Titan Books, £12.99
Reviewed by Harry Pearson
From WSC 266 April 2009
As a boy I always resented those bits of the comic annual that were given over not to the strips but to solid blocks of text, what my mother would term “proper stories”. It struck me that, like the bizarre habit of putting hard centres in boxes of chocolates, this was just another adult way of limiting a child’s enjoyment of life.
Wednesday 1 “You cannot coach a player to score from five yards,” says Arsène as Arsenal squander a sackload of chances in a 0‑0 draw with CSKA Moscow. Man Utd lose to a late Marcus Allback goal in Copenhagen. Celtic crash 3‑0 at Benfica. Former Portsmouth owner Milan Mandaric makes a bid for Leicester City.
There's added optimism at Villa Park as the club finally get rid of Deadly Doug and have a manager worthy of the Champions League. Dave Woodhall reports on the American revolution about to take place in the Midlands
Just a few weeks ago, Villa fans were looking forward to the forthcoming season with unremitting gloom. David O’Leary’s appalling football had led to the club’s worst Premiership season, his constant talking-down of the club had destroyed morale and Doug Ellis was seemingly as immovable as ever. Now we’ve got the best British manager, billionaires are vying to throw money at us and the only real problem is that we might not have anything to moan about between now and May.
The power truly is with the people according to Tom Davies
It’s a new season, hopes spring eternal (for a while anyway) and it’s time to dwell on some positive developments at embattled clubs. The fan takeovers at Stockport and Rushden over the summer bring the number of British clubs now owned and operated by supporters’ trusts to 12, with another, Brentford, run if not yet owned by fans.
Wolves ended a disastrous run of three successive relegations by taking the Division Four crown, as Hugh Larkin recalls
The long-term significance
In May, Scarborough had become the first team to join the League after automatic promotion from the Conference, while this was also the second year of the play‑offs, for the last time involving a team from the higher division. Newport County had a disastrous campaign, departing the League never to return, but there was double success for Wales with Cardiff and, more controversially, Swansea winning promotion.