Roger Titford on the proposal to Oxford United and Reading in the early 1908s
If megalomaniac tycoon and serial football chairman Robert Maxwell had not made two monstrous errors, there could well have been a Thames Valley United in Division Three in 1983-84 in place of Reading and his Oxford United. And, as David Lacey wrote in the Guardian at the time, “as a method of killing off two Football League clubs at a stroke the scheme surely has few rivals”.
Read more…
Tuesday, November 1st, 2011 - Book reviews
Pm Doutreligne is proud to support a Brussels club with a singular history, and opposes a merger with local rivals
In August my team, Union Saint-Gilloise, played a pre-season friendly, five miles away at FC Brussels. Although both based in the Belgian capital, the two clubs could hardly be any more different.
Read more…
Tuesday, November 1st, 2011 - The Archive
An unlikely agreement in South Yorkshire may benefit both Sheffield clubs, reports Tom Hocking
As the Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday players run out at Bramall Lane this month the rivalry in the stands will be as volatile as ever. United’s directors and executives, however, will be welcoming some familiar faces from across the city, having spent their summers locked in negotiations.
Read more…
Tuesday, November 1st, 2011 - The Archive
Ed Parkinson on how Darlington’s demise means Hartlepool need a new local rival
For the best part of a century Hartlepool and Darlington were bound together through shared derbies that added a couple of high points to what were, more often than not, long and dreary seasons. Holding little hope of any more substantial achievement, fans of both clubs focused intensely on beating “them” once or twice a year. There was the occasional season apart but the breaks never lasted long as both clubs quickly returned to their natural habitat of the fourth division.
Read more…
Tuesday, November 1st, 2011 - The Archive
Thom Gibbs on footballers’ love affair with video games
On Manchester United’s impeccably marketed, sickeningly luxurious and unimaginably profitable summer tour of the US the squad were kept busy. Rafael da Silva caught salmon at Seattle’s Pike Place fish market, Patrice Evra and Park Ji-sung were taught how to make deep dish pizza in Chicago and the squad visited the floor of a glass-blowing factory, with Alex Ferguson the only visitor who looked remotely interested in being there.
Read more…
Tuesday, November 1st, 2011 - The Archive