Stories | When Saturday Comes

Stoking the fires

Andy Thorley believes his club don’t get the credit they deserve and defends the Potters against popular stereotype

When Stoke City step out onto the turf at the new Wembley Stadium for the first time this month to face Bolton in the FA Cup semi-final, the club is under no illusions: the 32,000 fans who have snapped up tickets for the match might well be the only people who want the Potters to win.

Saturday, May 21st, 2011 - Book reviews

Moving Manchester

The last time City played United in an FA Cup semi-final was 1926. Gary James explains how some things have hardly changed

A match being promoted as the greatest ever is not a modern phenomenon. Eighty-five years ago one newspaper previewed the first all-Manchester FA Cup semi-final as “the greatest of the Cup ties that have ever been played”. Another claimed it was “an historic event – one that may never occur again”. That was close – it has taken 85 years for the feat to be repeated.

Saturday, May 21st, 2011 - The Archive

That empty feeling

Darlington’s white elephant has turned into a cautionary tale. Owen Amos explains plans to return to something more modest

When lower-league clubs discuss moving grounds, there’s one thing they know: whenever they go and wherever they go, they don’t want to “do a Darlington”. This means moving to a new ground, then barely filling one tenth of it. A quick Google search shows fans of Gillingham, Hartlepool and Rotherham, among others, have used it. But soon, the phrase might – just might – lose its meaning.

Saturday, May 21st, 2011 - The Archive

Track and field

Drew Whitworth has some good memories of a temporary home, but he’s not sentimental about leaving and never going back

Let’s get one thing straight first. It’s not The Withdean in the same way it’s not, say, The Hillsborough. But somehow it deserves the definite article. It’s a unique place to watch football, with its bank of “temporary” uncovered seating to the south, backed by the woods of a nature reserve, its poky North Stand with a suburban pub behind and its litter of athletics paraphernalia, like the hammer net. There is only one Withdean: thank God.

Saturday, May 21st, 2011 - The Archive

Losing pride

Phil Sharman reflects on the American takeover of Derby County and how promises of world establishment have been cruelly transformed into economic turmoil

It used to be that owning a football club was about prestige. Few of the butchers and haulage contractors who took control of their local team expected to be able to sell at a profit. Today, however, if a club is moved up a level and established there it is possible to sell on at a price which exceeds the original investment. But three years on from their takeover, Derby County fans still cannot see what the American company General Sports and Entertainment (GSE) expects to get out of owning the club.

Saturday, May 21st, 2011 - Book reviews