Joyce Woolridge offers a view of the 1996 Championship race from an Old Trafford perspective
In 1994 there was a general expectation that the Premiership would go to Old Trafford. This year Manchester United fans with any sense have been asking themselves how on earth the team has ended up with one major trophy, let alone two.
The 1995-96 season was the first time that Welsh Clubs playing in England were excluded from the Welsh Cup, resulting in the final being an all-League of Wales affair. Thomas Crockett explains why the occasion didn't get the publicity it deserved
Many supporters felt that the absence of the holy trinity (Cardiff, Swansea, Wrexham) devalued the Welsh Cup, one of the world’s oldest football tournaments. Pre-match prognoses in the press were pessimistic, Wales on Sunday dishing the dirt by predicting the FA of Wales would lose £30,000 by holding the final at the National Stadium in front of a low crowd – a self-fulfilling prophesy if ever there was one.
Everyone's got an opinion about how England should play in Euro '96. Not wanting to feel left out, we've chipped in too
A dilemma for all English managers but particularly for Terry Venables, as he’s the only one at work over the next few weeks. Should they heed the advice of those who believe that England can only succeed by playing to their strengths – running and gung ho spirit and lots of headers – or should they be encouraging their teams to play a more patient passing game, with defenders carrying the ball from one area to the other, and then back again if the mood takes them?
Why footballers are targeted by the media
Can you remember what you were doing on 28th May? If not, it’s no surprise because that must have been one of the most boring days in world history. How else to explain the fact that a report about the damage to an aeroplane carrying the England team back from their Far East tour should have made the second item on News at Ten that evening?
Tuesday 7 Barry Fry is sacked as manager of Birmingham City. "After three years and 61 players we think someone else is entitled to have a go," says the club's owner David Sullivan, adding: "Barry is a very attractive prospect for a club like Notts County or Luton" (who will both now be desperate to draw Birmingham in a cup next season). "I'd like to think I have woken up the sleeping giant," says Barry. The FA will be looking for a new commercial director after Trevor Phillips resigns due to "differences over overall strategy in relation to commercial policy". Hmmm.
Wednesday 8 It's getting murky. Trevor Phillips' resignation is being linked to police investigations into the sale of Euro '96 tickets to unlicensed agencies, many of which were raided last week by police who made eighteen arrests. The FA had authorised corporate packages to be sold through two companies but Phillips seems to have encouraged others to apply. As many as 50,000 tickets may be involved. lvano Bonetti is to sue Grimsby manager Brian Laws over the dressing room fight that led to Bonetti having a steel plate inserted in his face. The FA haven't yet found a date for their inquiry into the incident. Paris St Germain win the Cup Winners' Cup, beating Rapid Vienna 1-0 at the new Heysel Stadium.