Tony Morris gives us a brief history of Tranmere Rovers
1885 Belmont FC change their name to Tranmere Rovers. Fielding players from a Methodist chapel, the righteous Rovers win their first home game 10-0 against Liverpool North End.
In last month's issue we asked for your views on England's 2006 World Cup Bid and Manchester Utd's exemption from the FA Cup. Roger Titford digests the results
Here are some early views on the burning issues culled from our reader survey in WSC No 150. We looked at the first 500 questionnaires to come in and found plenty of disgruntlement with the FA. No change there, some might say.
A poor performance while on international duty could have a more worrying effect on a player's domestic club than meets the eye, writes Neil Wills
When Martin Palermo missed three penalties against Colombia he unwittingly wrote himself into the Copa America record books. What he probably did not realise at the time (hey, he probably had other things on his mind) was that his profligacy from 12 yards would have far-reaching repercussions for British football clubs in this age of the market.
With the attention of off-field matters increasingly turning towards the finances of the game, how long can football clubs survive working on unsustainable budgets?
It’s an unlikely feat, but the youngster seems to have pulled it off. Even in a summer when words such as “Office of Fair Trading” and “minister for sport” have been grappling for our attention, nothing has hit the high notes on the Yawnometer quite like a mention of Nicolas Anelka.
Thursday 1 The Department of Employment issue new rules on work permits. Players will be given permits for the length of their contracts rather than having their cases reviewed at the end of each season, and the rule stipulating that non-EU players must be among the top five wage earners at their clubs is scrapped. Forest's search for a manager ends with the appointment of the impressively tanned David Platt, who says: "The two months I had at Sampdoria were a massive learning curve." That's just what Sampdoria fans will have been thinking when they went down. The charges against Sol Camp≠bell for assaulting a steward after the Derby v Spurs match last autumn are dropped. Arsenal spend £3.5 million on a Brazilian full back, Silvinho, who says: "I have been following Arsenal ever since I knew they were watching me."
Friday 2 The PFA's Gordon Taylor criticises the changes to work permit rules. "We already have more foreign players than anywhere else in the world. Removing the wages criteria means you are opening the door to players who are not neccesarily top quality". Terry McDermott joins the Barnes-Dalglish dream team at Celtic as "social manager" – a highly specialised position which involves a lot of shouting and laughing plus the collecting of betting slips.