The First Division may be renamed The Football League Championship
Three years ago, we suggested that if a marketing company were ever presented with the task of revamping football they might suggest renaming it Krazy Kick, or Leggy Fun. In fact, 13 years ago we speculated that soon we would be reading about “the Hyper League or the Supreme Set-up or the Utter Division”. We’re horrified to discover that the Football League are entertaining similar thoughts, only they appear to be serious.
Friday 2 Martin O’Neill denies being approached by Liverpool – “I’m going to try and remain calm and say that story is totally and utterly untrue” – while Lazio coach Roberto Mancini is the latest to be linked with the Spurs job. The transfer window opens with a creak: Leicester sign Nikos Dabizas from Newcastle and turn down a Blackburn bid for Muzzy Izzet; Wolves sign Romania striker Ioan Ganea on a short-term deal; Eyal Berkovic may take a wage cut to leave Man City for Portsmouth.
Despite only recently joining England's elite in the Premier League, Birmingham City are a club with big ambitions. Blues supporter Kenneth Jones explains why their rivalry with Villa has been all the more intense recently and why the rapid increase in ticket prices has dissuaded some supporters
Could City’s crowds get much bigger than now?
Undoubtedly. City have big local support and, since promotion, more season-ticket holders than Villa. With the team on the up, the only problem might be the mystifying decision to increase standard ticket prices by £10, meaning tickets for games which would have been rapid sell-outs last year have been available on general sale leading up to the match. Any increase in crowd sizes is also constrained by the 30,000 capacity at St Andrew’s, but many would agree there is little point having a brand new £12 million main stand in Division One.
Dear WSC
I notice that Steve Ducker (WSC 203) believes that UEFA will be “100 per cent responsible” for any crowd trouble that occurs in Portugal as a result of the England v Croatia game being moved from Coimbra to Lisbon. Funny that, as I always thought xenophobia and heavy drinking had a role to play in these situations. UEFA’s decision seems to make sense on this occasion (as does the moving of the Germany v Holland game to Porto’s stadium). The Lisbon and Porto police forces are the only ones with any real experience of large crowds with a potential for trouble (the so-called classicos when Porto, Benfica and Sporting play each other) and those cities have had virtually all the dealings with foreign football fans in recent years. Furthermore, as Coimbra is only just over an hour from Lisbon and with limited accommodation, it would be safe to assume that many England fans will be basing themselves in Lisbon for the tournament. Incidentally, weren’t UEFA criticised for holding the Engand v Germany game in Charleroi in 2002, as the ground was too small and the size of the town ensured that it was easy for large groups of fans to congregate together? However, if there is trouble then there may be other people for us all to blame. How about the Portuguese bar and cafe owners for selling their beer too cheaply and for making their outside tables and chairs too easy to throw around?
Matthew Guest, Porto, Portugal
The team with most points winning the league? The teams with fewest going down? As Robert Shaw writes, that hasn’t been the way in Rio and São Paulo – until now
In the highly political world of Brazilian football, two developments received universal acclaim in 2003. First, Palmeiras and Botafogo, two traditional powers, were promoted back to the 24-team top flight a year after relegation. Earning a return on the field, rather than through negotiations in a smoke-filled room, won plaudits for both clubs, who had not been expected to tolerate the humiliation of second division football.