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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Bayern Munich club president Franz Beckenbauer has one of the most enviable CVs in the game, and Uli Hesse-Lichtenberger tells us how the man can do no wrong in his native Germany

Distinguishing features Awesome, really. He looks like the royalty he is and doesn’t even need the normally imperative elephant’s ears and protruding noses the less noble employ to stress their status. Actually, he may very well be the first person to rule Germany who’s not an ugly gnome, a shrivelled old fogey or a walking glandular disorder. Has the healthy tan that betrays the good golfer, sports the receding hairline which proves he’s been there and seen it all, and took up wearing understated glasses to suggest he might even be a bit of a thinker.

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Doug Stenhouse reveals how Berwick Rangers midfielder Martin Neil's recent admission of drug binges has highlighted a worrying statistic in regard to the SFA's random drug testing policy

The headlines were all too sadly familiar. Once more a professional footballer had gone off the rails and was seeking help for his addiction. This time, the situation is different however, in that this is no superstar with plenty of money and free time. This is the story of Martin Neil, a part-time player in the Scottish Third Division who has admitted to taking a variety of illegal drugs for the past 12 years of his playing career.

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