If England managers have a hard time, they still get off lightly compared to their counterparts in Colombia, as Richard Sanders reports
As the new manager of Colombia, 40-year-old Javier Alvarez, steps gingerly into the post, he could be forgiven a little trepidation, and perhaps the odd glance over his shoulder. His two predecessors received repeated death threats and one saw his centre-half murdered by disgruntled gamblers.
Some people were just born to manage England, albeit with the right name and at the right time, says Harry Pearson
Walter, Alf, Don, Joe, Ron, Bobby, Graham, Terry, Glenn, Howard, Kevin.When studying this list of of the forenames of England’s managers it quickly becomes apparent that since the mid-Seventies the FA have got things hopelessly wrong. The departure of Don Revie and the brief interregnum of Joe Mercer should clearly have been followed by a more modern sounding manager, one whose name reeked not of linament and toad-in-the-hole, but of frothy coffee and formica, a Tony, perhaps, an Alan or even a Brian. Instead the FA went backwards and opted for Ron Greenwood.
Alan Tomlinson explains how the seemingly insubstantial David Davies managed to blunder his way to a dominant position in England’s governing body
David Davies is the man some tip to succeed Graham Kelly as the top man at the Football Association. He has emerged from the inside and as the FA has stumbled from one crisis to another, he has been seen as the man most likely to restore some sense of order to the chaotic proceedings at Lancaster Gate.
Ken Gall explains why fans are fuming at the press response to the recently proposed merger of the two Dundee clubs
When Peter Marr – nightclub owner and chairman of Dundee FC – raised the possibility of his club merging with neighbours Dundee United, there was, unsurprisingly, uproar among the fans of both clubs. Slightly more surprisingly, there was also a flurry of favourable comment in the Scottish press.
For those who aren’t interested in the diet or the University Steve Jillings gives us a brief look at Cambridge football
1912 Formed as Abbey United, gaining admittance to the Cambs FA League in 1921. Early chances of silverware dashed by Great Eastern Railwaymen.