One of Britain's best-ever goalkeepers is now a striker for a pub side. Mark Winter relates the latest unlikely chapter in the Neville Southall story
If a pin could make a noise when it drops on mud, you would have heard it. Even the pied wagtail that was hopping up and down the touchline seemed to stop to watch the penalty being taken. The score was 1-1 midway through the second half and the outcome of the Second Division championship race could have depended on a successful conversion.
Cardiff City manager Lennie Lawrence has just been honoured after taking charge of his 1,000th English domestic game, as Charles Morris reports
Jim Smith once said that the only requirement for being a football manager was “a degree in insanity”. To pursue his theme, it could be said that Smith has a professorship in the subject, being one of only eight men known to have reached the remarkable total of overseeing teams in 1,000 English league, FA Cup and League Cup matches.
Should Northern Ireland once again pick some players from domestic football? Davy Millar thinks so and fondly remembers the few given a chance
Even while the domestic scene has struggled and the best school-age players have been hoovered up by English clubs, there is an underlying belief among Northern Ireland supporters that things would be better if only there were a few Irish League names in the national squad. To the outsider, handing out international jerseys to players who have failed to attract the interest of even the lowliest Third Division club might seem a rash move but at least the local players can be guaranteed to bring a more robust attitude than is usual at this level. After all, none of us watching Spain string 87 passes together could help being thrilled by the idea of the move breaking down courtesy of an Irish League boot coming into contact with Gaizka Mendieta’s genitalia.
Brian Kerr may not be the household name some were expecting to be the new manager of the Republic of Ireland, but Paul Doyle is delighted at the choice
“O shite and onions!” James Joyce once bawled when asked about the ongoing troubles in his homeland. “When is this bloody state of affairs going to an end?” That was in 1920 and the irritant was war; but you can be sure that in recent weeks, were he not worm-fodder, the writer would have lent his haughty voice to those of his many compatriots who were expressing similar sentiments. Because the Roy Keane Affair, regardless of the profundity of its principles, eventually became horribly tedious. And who would have believed it would be the Football Association of Ireland, in a deeply uncharacteristic moment of lucidity, who would consign the whole sorry saga to history and finally refocus Irish football on the future? But that’s just what they did when they named Brian Kerr as the new manager of the Republic of Ireland.
With ground criteria set too high for Falkirk and rivals Inverness, the Scottish First Division champions could be going nowhere this summer, reports Neil White
As soon as the Scottish Cup third-round draw handed Hearts a trip to Falkirk’s dilapidated Brockville Park, the tie was flagged up as a possible shock. The Edinburgh side sat third in the Scottish Premier League, but this was their first game back after the winter break. Falkirk were leading the First Division and in fine form. More importantly, the tie was at Brockville, the symbol of their ongoing struggle against the footballing elite.