Huddersfield Town have not had the best of times recently, but Steve Wade looks at their colourful history for comfort

To what extent is manager Mick Wadsworth being blamed for Huddersfield’s recent decline?
A very vocal section of the crowd regularly call for his blood. But despite a few questionable de­cis­ions, Wadsworth isn’t entirely responsible. The rot started to set in after the sacking of Peter Jack­son and responsibility must be accepted by a num­ber of players, too. The awful irony is the pain of that first home game this season against Brentford, when the PA voice announced the beginning of “the Wadsworth era”.

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Dear WSC
I’m glad Brian Gibbs can gain pleasure from hearing Ray Wilkins (Letters, WSC 192). Us QPR supporters can’t help remembering Ray Wilkins presiding over the start of the long decline we’ve had to endure at Loftus Road. Ned Zelic is the “ver­satile as an egg” player referred to. Wilkins wasted a big chunk of the money QPR got for Les Ferdinand on buy­ing him. What was Wilkins thinking of? Ferdinand was approaching his peak, you could guarantee 25 goals (and probably more) from him in a season. He was incredibly popular with QPR fans, even when he scored for Newcastle at Loftus Road a couple of months later in what turned out to be the first of the relegations QPR would suffer all too quickly. Zelic turned out to be a very bad egg, not versatile at all. We could forgive him for not being any use. It was the fact that he didn’t even try that annoyed us.
Pete Harris, via email

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The birthplace of Napoleon is enjoying a football revival. Dan Brierley reports on how Ajaccio and Bastia are getting on in the French first division

Football isn’t the first thing you associate with the island of Corsica, but this season, for the first time since 1972-73, SC Bastia were joined by AC Ajaccio in the French first division. Fifty-two thousand people took to the streets to celebrate.

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Corners leading to goals is a part of everyday football. But Cris Freddi looks at the rare occasions when a corner goes straight in

It’s known as a gol olimpico in Argentina. The first corner to go straight in during an international match was probably the one taken by Cesareo Onzari against Argentina’s rivals and Olympic champions Uruguay in 1924. It beat a goalkeeper as good as Andres Mazali, and others found their way past Lev Yashin, Peter Shilton and Vitor Baia – which should make David Seaman feel a bit better.

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In the first of a series on aspects of how the game is played today, Philip Cornwall considers how the improvement in defensive coaching has taken away much of the sting from corners – unless you're lucky enough to be playing West Ham

My earliest knowledge of the hazards of corners came playing for Maids Moreton C of E, back in the 1976-77 season. After a sound spanking by Pad­bury, Mrs Benson told her primary school charges that rather than pass across the face of our own goal, it would be better to put the ball out for a corner.

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