Al Needham bravely takes on Reds in the Hood by Terry Christian and If the Kids are United by Tony Hill, two reflections on Man Utd-obsessed childhoods

With Manchester United finally confirming their status as the team of the Nineties with probably their best season ever, it’s no surprise that large chunks of Brazil are being cut down as we speak for scores of officially endorsed ghostwritten McUnited product. Much of it will be as incisive as a plastic knife on a rhino, so perhaps we ought to play like Da­v­id Mellor and let the fans have their say.

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Rupert Murdoch may have been rejected but Manchester United fans are expecting another takeover bid, as Michael Crick explains

When Stephen Byers’s announcement came, it didn’t actually surprise us. It had been clear since late Jan­uary, when six members of Shareholders United Ag­ainst Murdoch (SUAM) attended a hearing with the Monopolies and Mergers Commission (MMC), that they were taking the competition arguments against BSkyB much more seriously than we’d realised.

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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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Steven Heath gives us a brief history of Southend

1906 A group of local worthies gather in the Blue Boar in Prittlewell (of which Southend was once the south end) to establish a rival to local amateur side Southend Athletic. In a fit of optimism, the proposed name, Prittlewell United, is dropped.The team turn professional and gain entry  to the Southern League Second Division.

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Suggestions of selling their promotion place and moving to Dublin are just two of a number of outrageous plans outlined by the current Clydebank owners writes David Munro

In WSC No 134, the proposed move of Clydebank to Dublin was described as “one piece of franchising too far”. Little did we know then that the next 12 months would see the club’s fate take even stranger twists, leaving its board hopelessly divided, its future home no clearer and its fans consumed with rage.

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