Simon Knott revels in Cambridge's revitalisation at The Den
In the late 1980s Cambridge United were a bottom division club, regularly put out of the FA Cup by non-League sides.
The signing of Martin O'Neill lit a fire for Norwich City's season, says Joe Ferrari
Some say every successful team needs at least one ‘battler’ in midfield, one leathery, hard bastard who elbows and nuts his way through the opposition defence before his hobnailed boot emerges from a pile of bodies and scuffs the ball home from two yards. And there are others who argue that this sort of player is all well and good, but you also need to have at least one ‘creative’ player some willowy slip of a lad who stifled a yawn before skipping past bonecrunching tackles and playing a devastating 40 yard pass with the outside of his boot.
How one moment changed an entire season for Burnley, as told by Simon Evans
A group of us had vowed we would never set foot inside Wembley Stadium until Burnley played there. The oath had caused much ridicule but on 12th March 1983, we had the twin towers in our sights. Turf Moor was packed for the FA Cup Quarter-Final with Sheffield Wednesday. The kick-off was delayed as the organizers struggled to segregate the supporters. After going a goal behind, we had fought back with tubby Northern Ireland international midfielder Tommy Cassidy equalizing. With barely seconds remaining we were awarded a penalty. All striker Steve Taylor had to do was put it away and Burnley, battling at the wrong end of the old Division Two, would be in the last four of the FA Cup with Brighton to come in the Semis.
Heavy handed policing can crop up at all levels, as Jonny Chapman reports
As an away fan at the Emley v Boston Utd FA Trophy tie in January I was as bemused as the rest of our support to hear a Tannoy message asking us to stop using bad language as “it is giving your club a bad name”. I hasten to add that there was nothing racist or intimidatory about the songs. Most clubs must have a comparably “bad name” since the refrain to ‘Can you hear the Emley sing?” is not the most original chant ever.
Paul Meacock outlines two incidents which tarred the image of a team and their supporters
I’m sitting in the corner of The Loft, early in the second half of a match that QPR are losing 1-0 at home to Portsmouth when I notice a commotion beginning at the opposite end of the ground. A couple of dozen Portsmouth fans are clambering up the walls of the away end and trying to get into the adjacent Ellerslie Road stand, mainly populated by parents with children. It takes them about ten minutes to scale the walls, after which they set about anyone in a QPR shirt.