David Harrison gives us a brief history of Watford
1885 “Nearly 200” turn up for Watford Rovers’ first game, a 1-0 home win over Luton. Ha!
Following the sacking of Graeme Souness as Benfica boss, Phil Town explains why the Scotsman was doomed from the start
Graeme Souness, sacked last month by Benfica, had a rocky ride at the end of his season and a half with the club, but it was not always so. He had been a trump card in candidate João Vale e Azevedo’s campaign for election to the club presidency, and his name helped the Lisbon lawyer sweep to power in late 1997.
Having been caught on camera leading a chorus of sectarian songs, the former Rangers vice-chairman Donald Findlay had no choice but to resign, Gary Oliver explains
A peculiarity of Scottish law is that a jury may find a charge “not proven”, a verdict widely interpreted as meaning: we think the defendant is guilty, but cannot prove it. One who argues passionately that this controversial option be preserved is leading defence lawyer, and erstwhile vice-chairman of Rangers, Donald Findlay QC – a man against whom the accusation of sectarianism has for some years been, well, not proven.
Stephanie Pride recalls the scenes of despair at Scarborough as Carlisle deliver a killer blow on the final day of the season
Sometimes the greatest crowds invite the greatest disasters. Take Scarborough’s baptism of fire in the Football League in 1987, when £25,000 worth of damage was done by rioting Wolves supporters – the attendance was 7,314, our highest in the league. So the omens were not good for what was billed as “the biggest game in the club’s history”.
European qualification rules are increasingly becoming a scandalous affair thanks to an unfair points system
No one remembers the losing semi-finalists, so they say. UEFA, however, remember everyone, not only the unlucky losers in the semis, but even the hapless minnows from Azerbaijan, whose representatives bowed out of all three European club competitions in the first round in 1997-98 without so much as mustering a goal between them.