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022
THE FOOTBALL
S U P P O R T E R S’
FEDERATION
The official magazine of the
Football Supporters’ Federation
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David Peace exclusive
August 2010
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The Damned United author
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Football’s
Greatest
Moments...
in Microsoft
ft
Paint
THE FOOTBALL
S U P P O R T E R S’
FEDERATION
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About the FSF
The Football Supporter (tfs) is the official
magazine of the Football Supporters’
Federation (FSF), the democratic national
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has more than 180,000 individual fans as
well as members of supporters’ groups and
associations from every club in the professional
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The Football Supporter 022 – August 2010
Contents
04.
06.
Editorial
Jonathan Wilson’s Stolen
thoughts of a football robot
10.
Football’s Greatest Moments…in Microsoft Paint
12.
UEFA’s financial fair play
regulations: friend or foe?
16.
tfs interview: football agent
Barry Silkman
18.
20.
Give and go
Re-writing the rule book
22.
24.
26.
29.
30.
34.
40.
42.
46.
Don’t mention the football
The homes of football
Nigglz with altitude
Ins and outs
tfs interview: The Damned
Untied author David Peace
Feverbitch
From the Chair
Dear tfs
45 (plus one)
About tfs issue 21
ISSN number
1750-2594
Editor
Peter Daykin
Editorial team
Jez Robinson, Michael Brunskill & Dave Rose
The players
Jonathan “Trophy” Wilson, Stuart Roy Clarke,
Kev Miles, Malcolm Clarke, Nina Donkin,
Garreth Cummins, Chloe Corkhill, Barry
Silkman, Graham Kelly, Amy Cowles, David
Peace.
Images
Photographs: Mark Platt at Actionimages
Centre Spread: Stuart Roy Clarke
(www.homesoffootball.co.uk)
Gauleiter of grammar
Fi-Fi “the dog-sitter” McGee
Advertising
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George Young – 020 8543 4688
Design
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Kevin Gibson, Paul Palmer, Lawrence Canning
& Andy “Did Nothing” Wilkinson
Commercial partners:
Our favourite people this issue
Ben Rose, Eddie and Amelie Daykin, Danny
and Jake Rose, Sarah Bump-skill, Uncle Sock and
Auntie Nette, Tommy Bradshaw, Ciara McIvor,
the ever patient Sharon Gibson, Dahey Mahon
Smith, Nats and Pats, Mol Kelly, Joe Delaney, Irish
John, Bez Purvisio, The King’s Arms Naughty
Over 40s, The Man From Montrose, Geoffrey
Robinson, the Nationwide FSF Fans’ Embassy
team especially the legend that is Mocky, Bleanchy,
the Walmsleys, Jon Sams, Mart, Binless, Tom B,
Anth, Scotty, Ry’s Q and N, DD and Sean, Declan
Hill, Ernie the Donny fan, Davido, the hard
drinking Mark Platt, Lesley and Amy Monkhouse
& Garry Pepper.
All material is copyright © The Football
Supporters’ Federation 2010. Please feel free to
reproduce with appropriate acknowledgement
(but giz a bell, or there’ll be trouble!)
Contact the FSF
Address: The Cherry Red Records Fans’
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Kingston Upon Thames, KT1 3PB
Telephone: 0330 44 000 44
Email: [email protected]
Contact tfs
Email: [email protected]
Editorial
by Peter Daykin
An ending
What a summer! The World Cup
may not have been the romperstomper goal fest we were hoping
for but it certainly generated
excitement and controversy in
equal measure with its hand
balls, goal-line controversy and
the return of the old-fashioned
hard-man. It also threw up one
New beginnings
And now we’re back. Football’s back.
Already. Get in!
Yes, the beauty of a World Cup
summer is that there’s hardly any gap
at all between the full time whistle of
the biggest game on the planet and
the kick off of a shiny new season,
coddled, as it always is, in our as yet
unsullied hopes and dreams; this year
could just be our year.
And in some ways it is also a new
beginning for this magazine. The
eagle-eyed amongst you might have
noticed a slight redesign of the front
page masthead. Our trusty design team
have replaced the tfs branding with
the full title, The Football Supporter, in
4
informing supporting campaigning
or two interesting questions: are
we entering a new phase of more
defensive tactics? Why is a pundit
who was excellent on BBC all of
a sudden crap on ITV? Can FIFA
learn from the mistakes of South
Africa to make Brasil 2014 more
accessible for fans? The tournament
was pub-fodder galore from start to
finish and we reflect on much of it
in the pages of this issue.
recognition of the publication’s rapidly
expanding readership.
While some of us were swanning
around Cape Town, a bottle of
Windhoek in hand, tfs’s development
team has been hard at work looking at
ways to reach even more football fans
with our little comic. I’m delighted to
be able to report that their hard work
has paid off.
Regular readers might not be
shocked to hear that when we heard
tell of something by the name of
the Beer & Pub Association, we
thought we’d benefit from a little
light researching of their work. After
thoroughly quality checking some
of their members’ operations, we are
very grateful to the organisation for
introducing us to them, and have
been humbled by the enthusiasm for
tfs we have encountered, particularly
from some of the larger pub chains.
Those of us that thought Walkabout
bars were a manifestation of the
Australian embassy, built to provide
work for young Aussies on their
mandatory year out in Europe,
couldn’t have been more wrong. It
turns out British people drink there
too and we’re both delighted by and
grateful for their efforts to support
us by making The Football Supporter
available to their clientele. We are
also talking to a number of other
groups with the intention of making
the magazine available in pubs near
football grounds on matchdays.
At the start of last season tfs was
almost exclusively a members
only magazine for the Football
Supporters’ Federation, the by
fans, for fans volunteer-based
organisation that supports and
campaigns for the interests of
football fans throughout England
and Wales. Since then, a great deal
of work has gone into improving all
aspects of it, with a view to getting
it out there and read, promoting the
views and activities of supporters in
general and the FSF in particular;
with any luck informing and
amusing along the way.
If you are new to The Football
Supporter – welcome – we hope you
enjoy it and will consider supporting us
by subscribing; you can set up a simple
direct debit online for just £15 a year –
details are on page 35.
The 2010 Fans’
Parliament –
Wembley Stadium
Those of us involved in the
activities of the Football Supporters’
Federation also enjoyed our
yearly get-together, knees-up and
annual general meeting – the Fans’
Parliament – held this year at Wember-lee. As a democratic organisation
the opportunity for all fans to come
together once a year to discuss both
the way we work and the issues that
affect us is welcome and crucial.
Members were treated to a
fascinating and disturbing
presentation on match-fixing by
“The Fix” author Declan Hill – some
of us may never sleep again – as well
as a presentation from the England
2018 World Cup bid committee, to
whom we are grateful for supporting
the conference.
Like any room full of football
supporters, FSF members agree and
disagree on all sorts of subjects, but
the issues that unite us are many
and important. It was good to see
some familiar faces alongside many
new ones, and we were particularly
encouraged to see so many young
delegates attending. FSF Chair,
Malcolm Clarke, reports in more
detail on page 40.
The publication of football fixtures
– tfs scoffs humble pie
In issue 20 of tfs we carried a letter
from a Julian Griffiths and subsequent
editorial comment dealing with the
issue of not-for-profit fan-run websites
and the publication of Football and
Premier League fixtures.
The FSF’s understanding of the
situation, based on a meeting of
what used to be called the FSOs
(Football Supporters’ Organisations)
including the National Federation
of Football Supporters’ Clubs, the
Football Supporters’ Association, the
FA, the Football League, the Premier
League, the DCMS and the FLA,
at Soho Square in January 2001, is
that non-profit-making websites
and publications could publish these
fixtures without paying the license fee.
Shortly after the end of last season,
however, we received a very direct
communication from an organisation
called Football DataCo Ltd., the
company that police the licensing
of football fixtures on behalf of
the leagues. The letter informed us
that our advice was inaccurate and
threatened legal action. According to
DataCo, the advice we outlined has
been superceded by new regulation,
under which each club can authorise
one non-commercial site to publish
fixtures for a nominal payment of
£1. It goes without saying that we
were completely unaware of this rule,
and we apologise unreservedly to
anyone who read and acted on our
duff information, given, as it was, in
good faith.
Whatever the legal position, many
supporters are baffled by the ban on
publication of fixtures by fanzines and
fansites, largely on the grounds that
they serve as a practical impediment
to the process of supporting a team
- it is difficult to organise transport
to games, discuss the vagaries of the
football calendar and to speculate
on your team’s future performances
if you aren’t permitted to say who
and where teams will be playing.
We are surprised that part of the
entertainment industry has a problem
about sites like this giving free
advertising to their product, but then
again, we continue to be surprised
by many things in “planet football”.
Needless to say, we will be raising the
issue in our regular meetings with the
football authorities and if there’s any
progress, you’ll be the first to know.
www.fsf.org.uk
5
© Actionimages
Stolen thoughts of a
football robot
Jonathan Wilson on the metanarrative of
African progress. Ooooh, get him
Guardian journalist, Football Weekly
podcast supremo and author of Inverting the
Pyramid: The History of Football Tactics,
and The Anatomy of England: A History in Ten Matches,
Jonathan “Trophy” Wilson has been credited as the
greatest football writer of his generation. But it isn’t just
his mum that enjoys his stuff. The Football Supporter is
giddy at the prospect of signing Trophy up for another
season. So much so, in fact, that we’ve finally decided to
give him a column all of his very own...
It was a Swiss clown who made me see the light. Or, more
accurately, a former clown, if clowning is a career you
can ever leave. We were sitting under a mango tree in the
courtyard of the guest-house where we were both staying in
Benguela, smoking cigars to keep the mosquitos away, when
he put down his beer and said, “you have realised the whole
thing’s fucked?”
I nodded, although I didn’t know what he was talking
about. “When I first started coming to the Cup of
Nations,” he said, “I thought I was watching the age of
the emergence of African football. But it’s not getting
better. In fact, if anything it’s getting worse. It’s fucked and
nobody even notices.”
The clown had been touring Nigeria with his circus in
the early nineties when he’d seen a young woman in the
front row of the audience. As the performers took their
applause at the end of the show he introduced himself;
they married a short while after. So began the clown’s
love affair with Africa. The clown is a grumpy man, and
I suspect this wasn’t the first time he’d made his threat
never to come back to a Cup of Nations. In fact, I’d be
amazed if I don’t meet him on the train from Libreville
to Franceville in Gabon in 2012, something he more or
less admitted when I bumped into him in Rustenburg
this summer. At first I dismissed his complaint as just
more of his moaning, but the more I thought about it,
the more I realised he was right.
One of the problems of the media is that it writes large
society’s wider prejudices. Essentially all newspapers and
television programmes spend most of their time confirming
what we think we already know; they pander to mainstream
tastes because that’s the best way to attract the biggest
possible audience. The problem is that by reflecting back
innate prejudice, the prejudice grows and becomes even
harder to shift. This is what Friedrich Engels referred
to as “false consciousness”. For he and Karl Marx, false
consciousness was the oppressed class’s unwitting adoption
of the views of the oppressor class. To take a practical
example, a slave who has grown up a slave may simply think
slavery is his lot.
6
That is an extreme form of false consciousness, but the
process happens in all aspects of life. During the Cup of
Nations, I wanted to write a piece about the poverty of the
football, about the atrocious goalkeeping (which I now
recognise may have been in part down to the Jabulani ball
that was used in Angola), and about the limited appeal
the tournament seemed to have to locals. “I’m not giving
a page to a negative story,” my editor said. He wanted flags
and drums and colour: happy chaos. This is the image of
African football, and newspapers seem to feel a need to
perpetuate it.
“My editor wanted flags and drums and
colour: happy chaos. This is the image of
African football, and newspapers seem
to feel a need to perpetuate“
But the process works in subtler ways. Even then, even as I
was saying in Angola “this is rubbish”, I wasn’t quite drawing
the full conclusions I should have been. It took the clown to
bring it home to me. After 1990, when Cameroon reached
a quarter-final in which they outplayed England for long
periods, the assumption was that this marked a watershed for
African football and that African sides would become regular
challengers from then on. Pele had famously predicted an
African victory by the end of the century and Cameroon’s
performances leant his words credibility.
Since then, each African failure has been subordinated to
the metanarrative of African progress. This is something
that exists not only in football, put in politics and
economics as well, and it is one that is particularly attractive
to western Europeans, because it helps assuage any
lingering guilt about the mess left by colonialism.
The Nigeria side of the mid-nineties was probably the
greatest the continent has ever produced, but its World Cup
record was two second-round exits: in 1994 to a Roberto
Baggio-inspired Italy (in the only World Cup match in which
a team that has had a man sent off has come from behind to
win short-handed) and in 1998 to Denmark when, as Jay-Jay
www.fsf.org.uk
7
»
8
Egypt lift the African Cup of Nations in 2009
Those political attachments, as Otto Pfister, the former Togo
and Cameroon coach pointed out, lead to an unrealistic
utopianism, so that it has become standard practice to
change coach after a tournament even if that coach, as for
instance Nigeria’s Shaibu Amodu did in the Cup of Nations,
leads a clique-riddled squad of ordinary players to third
place. All five South American nations at the World Cup
reached the second round; between them they had once
change of coach from the beginning of 2008. The five subSaharan African sides had 12 between them: stability helps.
The metanarrative is false. For all the African players
playing at the highest level in Europe, we are no closer to
an African World Cup winner than we were 20 years ago.
There is no progress in Africa. Worse, there is not even
progress towards progress. In his lugubrious way, the clown
was right.
African performances at the World Cup
Quarter Finals
Second Round
Algeria
Nigeria
South Africa
Ghana
2010
Ivory Coast
Tunisia
Togo
Angola
2006 Ghana
Ivory Coast
Tunisia
Nigeria
Cameroon
2002
South Africa
Senegal
Tunisia
Nigeria
South Africa
Cameroon
1998
Morocco
Nigeria
Cameroon
Morocco
1994
Egypt
Cameroon
1990
Morocco
Algeria
1986
Algeria
Cameroon
Tunisia
1982
Zaire
First Round
1978
Except that there is no curve. There is just a mess. Every
British newspaper included at least one preview piece
talking about how African sides would benefit from an
African World Cup. Almost invariably there was a sneery
post underneath the online version pointing out that no
England fan, once their side had gone out, would support
the Germans just because they were European. No, but then
there’s never been a major political movement called panEuropeanism with the professed goal of helping unite the
continent to recover from decades of imperial abuse. Not
that the point the sneer was rubbishing was much better.
Home support can only go so far, and the problems of
African football go too deep to be solved by having the few
thousand local fans who can afford tickets cheering you on.
1974
When Angola and Togo qualified in 2006, we all trotted
out the line that it showed that Africa’s base was growing;
that there were now ten or a dozen African sides who could
realistically hope to compete at a World Cup. In Angola’s
case that might perhaps be true – although they wouldn’t
have qualified for this year’s Cup of Nations had they not
been hosting it – but those of us who’d been in Egypt for
the Cup of Nations earlier that year had seen Emmanuel
Adebayor, by far their highest profile player, brawling on
“He lay awake in his hotel in France
awaiting the call, but when it came the
next morning it was to tell him Abacha
had died from a heart attack during an
orgy the night before”
Morocco
Which was partly true; but what was ignored was that
Nigeria, having won the Cup of Nations in 1994, withdrew
from the 1996 tournament in South Africa because its
dictator, Sani Abacha objected to the South African
government’s condemnation of the execution of the
dissident novelist Ken Saro-Wiwa, and were suspended
from the 1998 tournament as a consequence. Such was the
level of political interference that Bora Milutinovic expected
to be sacked on the eve of the tournament because he
wouldn’t allow Abacha to pick the team. He lay awake in his
hotel in France awaiting the call, but when it came the next
morning it was to tell him Abacha had died from a heart
attack during an orgy the night before. Experience may
conquer naivety, but it won’t conquer political interference
on that sort of scale.
the bus with their coach, Steve Keshi. We should have
known things were seriously amiss behind the scenes. Sure
enough, come the finals, there were threats of strike action
over unpaid bonuses and Togo lost all three of their group
games. And still we persisted in the belief that this was all
part of the learning curve.
Egypt
Okocha admitted, their minds were already on a quarter-final
meeting with Brazil. The problem, most agreed, was a lack of
tournament-craft, an unfortunate naivety.
© Actionimages
What’s unfair, what his organisation should be dealing with,
is the corruption and disorganisation that has destroyed the
hopes of national teams on the continent. Agents compete
to bribe their players into national teams to raise their value,
and even the most honourable coaches end up being worn
down, often because it’s the only way they can secure basic
equipment or travel. CAF should be trying to raise the
standard of domestic leagues so every player’s primary aim is
not to secure a contract abroad. It should be trying to raise the
level of domestic coaches so that high-earning players don’t
come back from Europe and laugh in the faces of the poor saps
supposed to be running the team. It should be trying to stamp
out political interference that leads presidents to attach their
fortunes to those of football teams and then throw almighty
strops when things go wrong (yes, Nigeria, that means you).
1970
Nigeria’s 1994 World Cup defeat to Italy
The fact Ghana got to within a missed last-minute penalty
of becoming Africa’s first semi-finalist will be taken by
many to assume progress is doing its work, but if Serbia
had been awarded the last-minute penalty they should
have been in their final group game against Australia – and
converted it – no African side would have made it through
the group stage for the first time since 1982. For African
sides, this was a World Cup like pretty much every other
for the past 20 years: one side impressing and disguising
the poverty of the others. And still Issa Hayatou, president
of the increasingly contemptible Confederation of African
Football, bleats that it’s unfair that five of the South
American confederation (Conmebol)’s 10 members qualify
for the World Cup.
1934
© Actionimages
www.fsf.org.uk
9
Football’s Greatest Moments…
in Microsoft Paint
Not since Salvador Dali started painting elephants with the legs
of Peter Crouch has an art movement been so inspired. If the
flamboyantly moustachioed Catalan was the engine room of
late 1920s surrealism it is football fans who are spearheading the internet’s
first great artistic movement. A couple of footy fans dicking around with the
crude – but oh so user-friendly – MS Paint has inspired a generation to get
creative with their electronic crayons.
The results are just too good to be ignored and so The Football Supporter
has plucked some of our favourites from the art galleries of cyberspace (that’s
internet message boards readytogo.net and redandwhitekop.com to you and
me). You’ll notice our choices are, in the main, not based on artistic merit but
rather on how much coffee sprayed from our nostrils when we first saw them.
10
1.Spitting Image
Frank Rijkaard spits in Rudi Völler’s hair
as they leave the pitch having both been
sent off when West Germany played the
Netherlands in the 1990 World Cup
Image © Billy The Kid
2.Looking for Eric
Eric Cantona is fined £20,000 and
banned for nine months over his kung
fu attack on a fan. To be fair, he was
only a Palace fan. Image © Steeeed
3.Have it
Zaire’s Mwepu Ilunga inexplicably
runs from his team’s wall to hoof a
Brazil free kick out of site. Image ©
djs_298
4.Hand of God
Renowned cheat Diego Maradona
cheatingly cheats Peter Shilton out of
the 1986 World Cup quarter-final. The
cheat. Image © The Mighty Mackem
5.I am a Robot
Bender from Futurama scores a goal
for England against Hungary in May
2006, and then proceeds to dance like
Peter Crouch. Hilarious. Image ©
durhamlad212
6.Hand of Sod
Former Big Brother housemate Vincent
Peter Jones extends the hand of inimate
friendship to former Raoul Moat
fishing buddy Paul John Gascoigne.
Image © Smiler
7.Scorpion Kick
René Higuita shows a safe pair of
heels to Jamie Redknapp’s misplaced
cross in the 1995 England v Columbia
friendly. Image © seedysafc
8.Oh get up you ponce
Rivaldo clutches his face in agony after
Turkey defender Hakan Unsal blows
him a kiss at the 2002 World Cup
Image © sfcmadscott
www.fsf.org.uk
11
The case for UEFA’s financial fair play
regulations – clubs have been writing
accounts in red ink for too long
By Garreth “Giant Haystacks” Cummins
will get a few splinters in his arse once Shay Given returns
from injury. Micah Richards will do well to be anything
more than a utility player too. It’s a hefty fall from grace
for a man who once made the England #2 shirt his own.
Stop this waste of young talent and the national team might
stand a chance.
© Actionimages
Football clubs keep telling us they’re businesses, so why, like
any other business, should they not have to balance their
books? It’s arrogance on a scale that makes Cristiano Ronaldo
look truly humble by comparison. Look what happened to the
banks when they thought trivial things like remaining in the
black were above them. And who picked up the pieces there?
Wasted years on the bench for Johnson and Parker?
It’s the same, albeit on a far smaller scale, with football
clubs. When Leeds United reached for the stars, fell short
and entered administration who took the hit? Not the
players, who were still guaranteed their full pay packets,
but the likes of St John Ambulance and the local tradesmen
who received only a few pennies in the pound.
Fight your corner
UEFA’s financial fair play regulations: friend or foe?
Thursday, June 24th, 2010. England fans wake
up with a smile and a hangover safe in the
knowledge the Three Lions’ victory against
Slovenia has taken them through to the last 16 of the World
Cup. And what could possibly go wrong there? Meanwhile,
in Group F, Italy crash out of the competition following
a shock defeat to Slovakia. But amidst the hype and
razzmatazz of the world’s greatest sporting event the day’s
biggest piece of football news is largely ignored.
So what was this Earth-shattering news? UEFA officially
published their much trailed Club Licensing and Financial
Fair Play Regulations. OK, I know what you’re thinking.
Not the most exciting title, but stick with us. As with
politics, where people claim not to be interested then spend
hours arguing down the pub about taxes and immigration,
so some fans think football’s financial regulations an
irrelevance – until their team misses out on that trophy or
£10m signing because of them.
12
UEFA’s new rules aren’t especially complicated. They’re
blindingly simple, in fact. From 2012-13, if you wish to
compete in European competition you mustn’t spend more
than you earn. That’s it really.
Complex they may not be, controversial they certainly
are. Start messing about with the financial rules of
any multi-billion pound industry, especially one with
obsessive “consumers”, and you’re going to stir up a
hornet’s nest of vested interest from owners, supporters,
sponsors and media.
The punishment is hefty too, spend more than you’re
allowed to and UEFA will withdraw the club license which
allows you to compete in Europe; bye, bye Champions
League millions. So are UEFA’s Club Licensing and
Financial Fair Play Regulations football’s saviour from
bankruptcy and collapse or a sinister ploy to ensure that fatcat clubs forever feast at football’s top table?
The rewards for success are so great that clubs will gamble
their future on it; they need to be protected from themselves.
Fair play to UEFA for drawing a line in the sand – what
they’re asking isn’t exactly rocket science is it? Balance the
books and don’t bankrupt yourself. What’s wrong with that?
At a time when the England national team seems to have
hit an all time low these new rules can’t be bad either.
Manchester City and Chelsea might have scooped football’s
equivalent of Willy Wonka’s Golden Ticket but their obscene
expenditure isn’t good for the game’s national team at all –
how many young players’ careers are ruined by the lure of
filthy lucre and the reality of sitting in the reserves?
When Abramovich first waltzed into Chelsea and the club
stockpiled a whole host of English players, did it really
work out there for any of them? Glen Johnson, Scott Parker,
Shaun Wright-Phillips and Wayne Bridge all wasted years
sitting on the bench and history is repeating itself, with the
likes of Daniel Sturridge, Michael Mancienne and Scott
Sinclair stagnating at Stamford Bridge nowadays.
Over at Eastlands the picture is arguably even worse. Adam
Johnson better like the bench now City have signed his
Spanish clone David Silva for a reported £30m and Joe Hart
»
UEFA’s financial fair play
regulations at a glance
• New rules will be phased in over two stages between
2012-15 and 2016-18.
• During these years clubs must not return total
losses of more than €45m (£37m) for the earlier
window and €30m (£25m) for the latter. Post-2018
new regulations will be outlined with an eventual
target of zero.
• Long-term investment in community schemes,
youth development, stadium and training facilities is
still allowed even if it means a club is temporarily
run at a loss.
• Losses incurred during the aforementioned
timeframes, or by long-term investment, are
only allowed so long as the money is put directly
into the club in return for shares rather than
lending at commercial rates.
• Clubs must provide financial forecasts to ensure
future obligations can be met.
• Clubs that breach the rules will not be granted a UEFA
club licence to take part in European competitions.
www.fsf.org.uk
13
There do seem to be misconceptions out there too about
these new regulations. Some think dastardly owners
can somehow circumnavigate the rules by, for example,
“sponsoring” a stand or blade of grass for £50m. Nope, not
allowed. Sponsors will be scrutinised by UEFA’s financial
fair play panel and must represent “fair value”.
It has also been argued that clubs will simply write off debt
by passing it on to a holding company; again, this isn’t true.
UEFA’s guidelines make clear that debt repayments of any
form must be included on the club’s profit and loss sheet. It
can’t just be swallowed up by a holding company which is in
turn funded by the very same club’s billionaire backer.
Clearly, football club owners are a highly moral and honest
bunch and we can effectively rule out the threat of creative
accounting. Just in case, though, it might well be prudent
for UEFA to step up to the plate in this area. Ask clubs the
right questions and make sure that the first time one of
the big hitters tries to dodge or cheat the regulations they
are absolutely hammered. If a Real Madrid, AC Milan,
or a Bayern Munich are forced to miss a season or two
of European competition for breaking the rules you can
guarantee it’ll make the rest take notice.
“It’s absolutely essential for the game to grasp this or I can
see a battle of the accountants seeking to circumvent the
regulations,” reasons Dr John Beech, Pompey fan and head
of sport at Coventry University. “It’s a sound principle by
Platini and should shake one or two people up. The Premier
League has never understood why the ‘my benefactor is
richer than your benefactor’ model is wrong. Financial
doping is a phrase that should be on everyone’s lips – the
Premier League is addicted to money.”
UEFA has really tried to lead the way on this and there’s
no reason to think they’ll lose it now. 83 per cent of fans
recently backed the financial fair play regulations in an
online FSF poll and as supporters we’re happy to criticise
the authorities when they get it wrong, so let’s give a
qualified congratulations to Platini and co. There’s still a
long way to go but they might have just saved your club.
© Actionimages
The case against UEFA’s financial fair
play regulations – these rules will do
nothing to challenge the status quo
By Michael “Big Daddy-to-be” Brunskill
Imagine what it must have been like following Fulham over
the past decade? As late as 1997 the club were languishing
in the Third Division (or League Two as it’s called these
days, things were worth more before the credit crunch)
before Mohamed Al-Fayed’s millions launched the
Cottagers to their highest-ever top flight finish and first
European final in back-to-back seasons. Amazing.
“For the new UEFA regulations to be
fair, they would have to be brought in
at a time when clubs are starting from
a level playing field. The big clubs must
be laughing, the drawbridge has been
drawn up and they can flick the Vs at
their domestic “rivals”. How are they ever
going to bridge the gap? “
© Actionimages
Under UEFA’s new rules, the rise of Fulham Football Club
simply would not have been allowed – Al Fayed’s backing
allowed them to buy players that their (relatively) meagre
income would never have afforded. Any meteoric rise would
have had to have been done the hard way, like Blackpool’s.
Micah Richards looks into the abyss
14
Of course for every fairytale like Fulham you could argue
there’s been a nightmare like Portsmouth. Speak to any
Pompey fan though and ask whether they’d have sacrificed
FA Cup wins and European nights against AC Milan on the
altar of “financial security”. They lived the dream and loved
it. Ditto Blackburn Rovers – would another Jack Walker
ever spend that much cash if he knew his team couldn’t
then compete in Europe? Football’s bureaucrats are going to
kill our game if we’re not careful.
All these new regulations do is ensure the survival of the
fattest. If you already turn over three times as much as your
rivals and occupy a Champions League spot you’re sitting
pretty, that’s for sure. Aside from already owning better players,
bigger stadiums and having a bigger transfer budget, your
greater turnover will afford you larger marketing budgets,
better training facilities and superior scouting networks.
For the new UEFA regulations to be fair, they would have to
be brought in at a time when clubs are starting from a level
playing field. The big clubs must be laughing, the drawbridge
has been drawn up and they can flick the Vs at their domestic
“rivals”. How are they ever going to bridge the gap?
UEFA has a track record of implementing rules to placate
Europe’s big boys. Seedings based over five years mean one
or two year blips can be overcome, giving the top leagues
four Champions League places.
Does anyone actually believe the big clubs would have let this
pass without comment if it wasn’t to their benefit? “According
to Platini, the owners themselves, including Abramovich,
Silvio Berlusconi of Milan and Massimo Moratti at the newly
crowned European champions Internazionale, asked him
to introduce regulations, so that they themselves are not
endlessly drawn into subsidising their clubs,” writes David
Conn. Can you imagine any of these owners acquiescing to
rules which threaten their own clubs’ dominance because it’s
good for the sport? Yeah, right.
Over at Manchester United chief executive David Gill
certainly seems happy enough, telling The Independent,
“I think there is enough money coming into the Premier
League that there should not be any issue for the clubs, and
if they are not complying now then there is time for them to
get their house in order.” Quite how Gill expects to explain
away United’s Glazer-gazillions of debt is anyone’s guess, but
no doubt they will and football’s order will be forever set.
The discrepancy in turnover between the elite Champions
League clubs and their domestic top-flight counterparts
(not to mention lower-league clubs) is now so extreme that
something needs to be done to maintain competitiveness at
the top. Very few want to see Europe dominated forever by
the same ten clubs or so.
While every fan would like their team to clean up we know
realistically that’s not going to happen often, if ever, but let’s
not pretend UEFA’s rules will do anything but reinforce the
very status quo they’re meant to challenge. Hope your club
manages to persuade someone to spend hundreds of millions
next season or forget about ever competing in Europe’s top
competition. Unless you’re already in there, of course.
From the papers – what do football writers think?
“Platini and his team have shown true leadership…
achieving Europe-wide agreement for an actual rule
to help restore football to balance.” David Conn, The
Guardian
“Take a running jump, Michel Platini... we can see right
through your plan.” Martin Samuel, Daily Mail
“Michel Platini and his sidekicks deserve a round of
applause.” Patrick Barclay, The Times
“UEFA’s new rules have garnered barbs from the usual
mix of free-marketeers, journalistic free-loaders,
xenophobes, Francophobes and people who just hate
Michel Platini.” Mark Murphy, twohundredpercent.net
www.fsf.org.uk
15
6+5 doesn’t make 11
Play acting from Maicon
FIFA has announced it will scrap
plans to implement the so-called
6+5 rule which would have forced
clubs to field at least six home-grown
players in their starting line-ups.
Anyone who watched England play
in South Africa will know this is
never a good idea! According to BBC
Sport the European Commission
warned the proposal would break
EU law so FIFA scrapped it. Never
an organisation to back down from
a fight, though, the Premier League
have promised their own plan to
compel clubs in England to include
eight home-grown players in their
squad of 25 will not be scrapped.
While Brazil stumbled pitifully out
of the World Cup to a free header
from that giant of the world game,
Wesley Sneijder, along the way they
looked pretty imperious at times. Of
all their superstars full-back Maicon
Douglas Sisenando looked the pick,
rampaging from right-back at will,
but did you know how he got the
distinctly un-Brazilian middle name
Douglas? His dad is a massive fan
of Hollywood sex-addict Michael
Douglas and meant to name his
son after him, only for an official to
misunderstand and spell Michael as
Maicon. We know where not to look
if we ever change proof-readers then.
Stirling work
Across to Stirling Albion where
fans now own the club thanks
to a £300,000 deal arranged by
Stirling Albion Supporters’ Trust.
The money will go towards
clearing debts and buying out the
previous chairman. Thanks to the
good work of Supporters Direct
the trust movement is gathering
momentum but Stirling’s story is
notable for other reasons too. Aside
from counting Andy Murray and
Cristiano Ronaldo as members, the
trust also requires current players to
register as members - the idea being
players then buy into the entire ethos
of supporter-ownership. We likey!
Attacker Speight makes Bantams wait
It’s not unheard of for footballers to be jailed – think Tony Adams, Duncan Ferguson, and
Jermaine Pennant – but most of them tend to let their manager know they won’t be available
for the starting XI during their stretch. Bradford City boss Peter Taylor received no such
warning from new striker Jack Speight after his £25,000 close-season move from Mansfield
Town. Speight has been up on an assault charge and jailed for 12 weeks, meaning he’ll miss
Bradford’s first few games, including their season-opener against Shrewsbury. Now that is a
good stretch before kick-off.
18
informing
supporting
campaigning
No Commentary
Virgin on the ridiculous
The world of sport rarely fails to
deliver comedy gold through the
lips of the hapless commentator.
From weightlifting – “And this is
Gregoriava from Bulgaria. I saw
her snatch this morning and it was
amazing” (Pat Glenn) – to motor
racing – “The lead car is absolutely
unique, except for the one behind it
which is identical” (Murray Walker),
the internet is littered with hilarious
commentary capers. In South Africa
it was a veteran of radio commentary
who came up with tfs’s favourite.
Stand up BBC Radio Five Live’s
David Pleat: “For sure Italy can say –
au revoir!”
It’s a near impossible task to work
out the mythical “average” ticket
price that the media hanker after.
Differing prices from club to
club, stand to stand, special offers,
concessions, categorisation, freebies
and discounts for season tickets make
the permutations almost endless.
Nevertheless Virgin Money have
given it a go and argue the “match
basket” – ticket, pint, sarnie, transport
and so on – is cheaper than it’s been
for four years: £84.89, down from
£106.21 in October 2008. That might
be the case, and it’s welcome, but a
few quid saved here and there doesn’t
make up for 20 years of inflation.
England’s bum deal
‘Cos I’m the taxman
In tfs 021’s Give & Go you may
recall we looked at Spurs’ “Return
to glory” collectable plate, yours
for only £38, and asked if this was
a club-tat low? While many of you
did think that really was the bottom
of the memorabilia market, you’d
be wrong. Step forward Footy
Pants – personalised underwear
emblazoned with the names of
all-conquering England stars
such as Beckham, Gerrard and
Lampard – all yours for a bargain
£9.99. Rumours that Footy Pants’
share price plummeted following
poor sales in its Danny Shittu range
remain unconfirmed.
Bradford Park Avenue are the latest
club to receive a winding-up order
from HMRC. The club, who emerged
phoenix-like after the demise of the
original BPA in 1974, owe a fourfigure sum according to the Bradford
Telegraph and Argus. The taxman
is now on the case of football big
time and is turning to the courts to
overturn the Football Creditors Rule
which ensures when a club goes into
administration football debts are paid
off first. In effect this means a debt to,
say, Manchester City has to be settled
ahead of the taxman, charities or a
small, local business. It’s going to be a
tough case for the clubs to justify.
Ban doesn’t stand up
Nine out of every ten fans would
like safe standing areas introduced
into top-flight British football but
the authorities have never entered
into a serious evidence-based debate.
The data shows standing is not
inherently unsafe yet they’ve even
taken to claiming that German clubs
are backing away from safe standing
areas. Not true. Fortuna Düsseldorf
have recently announced a standing
extension as did Hamburg SV, St.
Pauli and Achen last year. Germans
can watch the Bundesliga while
standing in safety on specially
designed terraces supping a pint.
We’ll have some of that please.
Old style hooliganism
Oh no! The Daily Mail reports a
return to the dark days: “Old-style
hooliganism: violence flares in
Leicester Square after England’s
shocking defeat.” Delve into the
horrible detail and discover, err, a
German was elbowed in the back, a
bin was thrown, and a few numpties
burned a German flag. None of
this is at all pleasant, but it hardly
qualifies as “old style hooliganism”.
Best of all is the paper’s comment
section, always good for a laugh:
“I’d like to think we were better
than mobs like the Taliban when it
comes to such things,” argues one
punter. “But it seems not.” Really?!
www.fsf.org.uk
19
© Actionimages
Barry Silkman
The role agents like Barry Silkman
actually play in transfer deals getting
done has always been something of a
mystery to football supporters. And
Silkman says he can understand that
to a degree:
“It’s affected everyone in every
business hasn’t it?” he says. “Bringing
players in from abroad, it’s very much
harder now. Three or four years back,
if a club were paying €10 million for
a player then that worked out at £7
million. Now, look at the exchange
rates and do the maths. Nowadays
they’re paying €10 million euro and
it’s over £9 million, that’s a difference
of a couple of million. The same thing
applies to a player’s wages, too.
“There’s no such thing as a typical
transfer deal, just like there isn’t a
standard process for people running.
You don’t think about it, you just
start running! There are many, many
different ways a transfer deal can get
done – as many as there are different
styles of running.
“Tax has made it more complicated,
too. A player going to Spain is going to
pay less tax and therefore make more
money, so the very top players think
twice about coming to England. Only
a very few clubs can afford to bring
that type of player in, and things are
complicated by the transfer window, too.
But agents are effectively like brokers
and they’re either working for a player
or working for a football club, whether
the club is buying or selling a footballer.”
“I spend my life talking to football
people and I have yet to find one single
person who thinks the transfer window
is a good thing – everyone within the
game would vote to scrap it tomorrow.
And if they had scrapped it, many clubs
wouldn’t be in the financial situation
they are in now because the time limits
mean clubs can end up paying too
much – you can’t deal all year round,
like you can in every other industry, so
how on earth are you supposed to get
value for money?”
commission to be more than 10% in a
football deal. Normally nowhere near
that, I mean nowhere near it – not even
close. But we still get slaughtered all the
time in the papers.”
tfs interview
Barry Silkman
“Firstly, let’s be clear, I’m not speaking for all agents, here. In
any walk of life you will always get people operating with no
standards. But people shouldn’t tar us all with the same brush.
It’s like the press – some journalists are great and some, well,
less so”, Silkman told tfs.
“Football agents are no different to any other agents. But
do people go round saying travel agents and estate agents
shouldn’t be allowed to do business? No. You have to laugh.
I mean, if you are going to buy a car, you don’t buy it direct
from the manufacturer, do you? You are buying it from an
agent, a show room – but people don’t stand and ask the
agent about how much he is earning. Same with travel agents,
people don’t ring them up and say could you tell me how
much you are earning out of this? When they buy a house
they don’t go to an estate agent, questioning them about how
16
£70.7m
– the amount
paid to agents as reported last year
£12.8m – the amount
Man City alone forked out in
agents’ fees
5431 – the number of agents
registered with FIFA
by Jez Robinson
More maligned than managers, players and match
officials put together, football agents are widely
perceived to be football’s public enemy number
one. In an age when most football clubs’ media offices manage
information like the former USSR’s Pravda, many journalists
simply couldn’t do their jobs without them – yet somehow
agents still get pretty much the worst press possible. But do they
really deserve it? tfs’s Jez Robinson asked top football agent and
former Crystal Palace star Barry Silkman to make the case that
agents actually offer clubs and players value for their money...
Fat Stats
much money they’ve earned. When they need insurance,
they go to an agent – the list is endless.”
One of the biggest agents in the business, Silkman has
many Premiership players in his stable, and also works
closely with several of this country’s leading football clubs.
When it comes to his personal opinion on why agents are
depicted as the devils incarnate of the modern day game,
he’s nothing if not frank.
“If you are going to buy a car, you don’t
buy it direct from the manufacturer, do
you? You are buying it from an agent, a
show room.”
“Personally, I think a lot of the bad press agents get stems from
jealousy. It’s as if the people behind them want to see us go
back to the bad old days when players spoke when they were
spoken to and had no rights. You don’t see people writing
‘Scandalous – Brad Pitt’s agent just got 25% of his last film deal’.
“Football is like show business these days, and the players
today are like David Cassidy back when I was a kid. They’re
the new idols, now. In show business, an agent will earn
between 20%-25% commission – in football, agents don’t
get anywhere near that, believe me! I’ve never known
Of course, being a broker isn’t the
business it once was, thanks to the
recent collapse of the global economy.
Silkman says football as an industry
has been far from immune to the fallout from the credit crunch – and is
still suffering from the introduction of
the transfer window, too.
Number of FIFA
registered agents
by Country
1
Italy
598
2
Spain
583
3
England
415
4
Brazil
327
5
Germany
306
6
France
257
7
Argentina
187
8
Bosnia
121
9
Nigeria
119
10
Netherlands
113
Agent Provocateur
“I sometimes say to footballers’ agents, ‘The difference
between you and me is that, if tomorrow there was no
more money in football, I’d still be here, but not you.’”
Arsène Wenger
“Monster Monster” Eric Hall
“People say the wages are too high, but it’s a short career.”
Sir Stanley Matthews
“A successful career used to be about winning things,
now it’s about how much money you end up with.”
Graeme Souness
www.fsf.org.uk
17
Original image © Actionimages
reopen the file of technology”, was as
sharp a volte-face as he could have
imagined ever having to make.
Re-writing the rule book
Garreth Cummins on how to change the laws
of football and why we might want to
As regular readers of
The Football Supporter
will know, your humble
tfs team is usually at least a stepand-a-half ahead of the game at any
given time; how else could we hope
to bumble our way through the ins
and outs? You won’t be surprised
to hear, then, that we had already
planned a feature on re-writing the
rulebook before the World Cup had
even started. We’d done our research
and everything. It was almost as if our
footy senses were tingling, knowing
that a calamitous officiating howler,
and the resultant frothing-at-themouth debate, awaited us. Even we
were surprised, though, to find three
such perfect examples to encapsulate
the arguments that have long-raged
20
in the game, all of which came in the
knock-out stages of the tournament.
The World Cup – what’s the
worst that can happen?
27th June was a red-letter day for
officiating, wrenching open the dusty
old file on technology in football that
Sepp Blatter had tried so hard to close
permanently back in 2008. The halftime chatter around the nation on the
now blindingly obvious need for goal
line technology became a full-blown
clarion call for video replays, pitchside monitors, third umpires, fifth
officials and the Duckworth-Lewis
method. Frank Lampard’s “goal”
against Germany, followed by Carlos
Tevez’s opener for Argentina against
Mexico, brought into stark reality
Sepp Blatter’s cliché that “fans love to
debate any given incident in a game”.
His acute embarrassment at
witnessing Espinosa going down in
World Cup history alongside Tofik
Bakhramov (“the Russian Linesman”
to you and me) – as guest of honour
– and at two such high-profile gaffes
occurring within five hours of each
other on FIFA’s biggest stage forced
a climb-down in his position on
technology. His assertions that the
universality of football couldn’t be
challenged and that “men, women,
children, amateurs and professionals
all play the same game all over the
world” (a statement whose manifest
untruth we’ll ignore for the moment)
to “it would be a nonsense not to
By the time Uruguay striker Luis
Suárez managed his classic poacherturned-goalkeeper trick in the quarter
finals and denied Africa their first
semi-finalist in World Cup history
(well, that and Asamoah Gyan’s
inability to convert a penalty when
the chance presented itself), it seemed
the laws of the game that had lasted
for more than a century needed to be
torn up and completely re-written.
Calls for penalty goals and extralength suspensions echoed into the
Johannesburg night air, as obloquy
rained down on the Uruguayan for
his dastardly act. “Sending off ’s too
good for ‘im”, they cried; perhaps
not realising that it wasn’t until 1990
that a red card was deemed suitable
punishment by FIFA for this most
professional of fouls (or that they
made no such calls after Harry
Kewell’s goal-line handball in the
group stages). But then Gyan scored
that subsequent penalty.
But forgiving all the tabloid hyperbole
and realising there’s no need for a
radical revolution, supporters’ minds
were inexorably drawn to how exactly
one goes about changing the laws of
the game. We’ve decided to shed some
light on the whole process for you.
of the game as we know them. In 1913
the IFAB expanded to include FIFA,
representing the rest of the world.
Nowadays, each of the home nations
carries one vote, while FIFA carries
four and a minimum of six votes is
required to pass an amendment to the
laws of the game.
So how do you go about
changing one of the laws of
the game?
First of all you need to convince one
of the five committee members to
propose an amendment at the IFAB’s
annual meeting, which typically
takes place in February or March.
Ever the democratic sorts, the venue
for the meeting rotates among the
membership of the committee, with
FIFA hosting the meeting in World
Cup years. 2011’s meeting will take
place in Wales, for instance.
By the same token, though, we’re also
safe from the litany of nonsense spewed
forth from the mouth of Sepp Blatter
– FIFA can’t railroad any changes to the
laws of the game without the agreement
of at least two of the four domestic FAs.
And so we’re left, ultimately, with a
classic impasse. The irresistible force (of
change) meeting the immovable object
(of Sepp). Is it any wonder technology in
football hasn’t been adopted?
The rules they are
a-changin’
1872 Corner kicks introduced
1883 Two handed throw-ins
introduced
So if you want goal-line technology
(or extra linesmen, bigger goals, or
for an extra ball to be thrown on to
the pitch if the game’s 0-0 after an
hour) all you have to do is lobby one
of the member FAs, or FIFA, and
convince them of the merits of your
argument and get them to propose the
amendment. The representatives then
discuss the amendments and vote
on whether or not to accept them,
or whether they are worthy of an
experimental trial. Simple?
Who makes the laws?
The laws of the game are set by the
International Football Association
Board (IFAB), which first met in 1886.
IFAB then consisted of representatives
of the English, Welsh, Scottish and
Irish FAs, and they codified the laws
the laws of the game for as long as
they like.
1891 Penalty kicks introduced
1912 Goalies stopped from
handling outside the box
1965 Substitutes allowed for
injured players
1981 Three points for a win
introduced
1990 Professional foul
punishable by red card
The quick on the draw amongst you,
however, will already have realised
that the composition of the IFAB
means that no matter how spectacular
your idea, if FIFA aren’t in favour
of it then you can forget it; they can
technically block any amendment to
1992 Back passes to goalies
banned
1997 Goalies can’t handle a
throw in
www.fsf.org.uk
21
I had made one or two idealistic attempts at reform early
in my time as chief executive at Lancaster Gate. I proposed
changes to the system of coaching young players, whereby
increased emphasis would be placed on small-sided games
and less on competition. This failed because of a longestablished partnership between the Football League and
The English Schools’ FA; I suggested the FA’s decisionmaking be implemented by a small board of directors
comprising twelve councillors instead of the existing
ninety-two. This went down like a lead balloon, although
it had been the subject of an independent review (costing
£65,000) before my appointment in 1988. So you see, when
the papers mention Lord Burns’ report into the governance
of the FA (2005), there is history to the subject.
© Actionimages
Don’t mention the football
Former FA Chief Exec and current FSF member Graham Kelly on
where the FA go from here and his thinking behind the set-up
of the Premier League
Shortly after England’s sorry exit from the
World Cup I bumped into an acquaintance I
used to play junior football with about forty
years ago. Before he could say anything I adopted a tactic
which I had hitherto found quite useful in wrong footing
aggressors in the immediate aftermath of the debacle:
“Don’t mention the football, I’m not talking about it.”
Interestingly, my erstwhile striking colleague totally threw
me in return by replying that he had not had the slightest
interest in matters South African as he had been unable to
get interested owing to Blackpool’s staggering promotion to
the Premier League; he had just come back from the club
shop, having bought the DVD of Blackpool 2009-10.
Here lies the rub. At the heart of our football culture do
we want our club to do well or our nation? Back in 1990
English football was in a strange state. (Nothing new about
that, you might mutter). Ireland had reached the quarter-
22
finals. England had ridden a rollercoaster to reach the Semifinals of Italia 90 only to be eliminated in the most dramatic
fashion after Gazza’s tears and those penalty misses against
West Germany. Euphoria was suddenly in the air.
But the chair I occupied was not a comfortable one,
despite the fact that Lord Taylor had sugared his critical
Hillborough Report with the welcome recommendation
that the much-despised and long-mooted membership card
scheme – the Sword of Damocles that consecutive ministers
for sport had held above football fans’ heads for a decade at
the behest of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher – was not a
panacea for hooliganism.
For far too many years I had sat as Secretary of the Football
League, or in the creaking corridors of power of the Football
Association unaware that not even disasters on the scale
of Hillsborough would compel football’s power brokers to
embrace structural change. The only motivator was money.
“As far as I could tell there had hitherto
been no wholesale attempt at strategic
planning for the game as a whole. The
FA just did not see itself as a leader and a
father, rather a somewhat distant uncle
of English football’s disparate family.“
Back to the schizophrenia of 1990. The Football League
challenged the authority of the FA by proposing a
joint board to run the game. But, in reality, the League
management committee did not have the major clubs
behind them in making this proposal. The League had
only recently passed a retrograde proposal, in my view,
by reverting from a 20-club Division One to twenty-two,
so when it became clear that the big clubs were about to
make yet another effort to form a super league, possibly
backed this time by satellite television, I decided to
include the proposal for an 18-club Premier League in my
rather grandly entitled blueprint for the future of football
early in 1991.
The FA Premier League was my latest attempt to bring the
FA kicking and screaming towards the new millennium and
it endeavoured to encompass all facets of the game that fell
within the governing body’s ambit, for as far as I could tell
there had hitherto been no wholesale attempt at strategic
planning for the game as a whole. The FA just did not see
itself as a leader and a father, rather a somewhat distant
© Actionimages
uncle of English football’s disparate family. Thus there
would be less burden on the top players and clubs, a closer
commercial partnership at the head of the game, better
development of young players and coaches and compulsory
qualifications for managers.
Sadly, both the Premier League and FA were suspicious
of each other as arguments arose over trivialities and the
hoped-for relationship never blossomed as it should have despite riches beyond the wildest dreams of even the most
avaricious owners and agents. New Labour were concerned
but football fell down their list of priorities and rightly so
once they had the country to govern.
Nearly twenty years on Lord Triesman identified the
self same problems I ran up against at the inception of
the Premier League. As a complete newcomer to the
organisation, however, he wasn’t the man to address them.
So here we are back in a mess again – defeated, dejected
and disconsolate. What the FA should do is appoint
their new independent chairman as soon as absolutely
possible and strengthen their 12-man board by adding
two additional independent directors: one each from the
PFA and the League Managers’ Association. Only then
will the organisation command the respect of the game
and the public.
Yes, defeated, dejected and disconsolate… unless you
support Blackpool, of course. Up the Pool!
www.fsf.org.uk
23
Blood-stained
Butcher
England, during South Africa
World Cup 2010, cat no.8681 by
Stuart Roy Clarke
So we are right up to date now. This is as far
as the journey has come. English football
in a siding, taking in a beach, a fancy dress,
a summer festival... before it gets set to go
again. Our boys have taken one hell of a
beating - not at the feet of the Dutch, but
ostensibly by their own hand.
Can the English league recover our sacred
position on the footballing World stage?
www.homesoffootball.co.uk
www.twitter.com/homesoffootball
www.fsf.org.uk
25
altitude and returning to sea level can be at a disadvantage
if the other team is acclimatised to sea level training, and
vice versa.
Nigglz with altitude
The Football Supporter’s resident science
boffin, Amy Cowles, puts the South African
World Cup under the microscope
Is all this science baffling your brain? Let’s break it down to
the football. Take for example England’s dire 0-0 draw with
Algeria – Algeria’s training camp was at sea level in Durban,
while England’s was in Rustenburg at altitude – the game
between them was played in Cape Town at sea level. So, if
the new research is correct, England were at a disadvantage
because they were used to training at altitude.
For England’s – ahem – stunning 1-0 victory over Slovenia,
Slovenia also had their training camp at altitude up in
Jo’burg, meaning that any possible disadvantages of playing
down in Port Elizabeth (sea level, the clue’s in the name)
were the same for both teams. So it’s not all doom and
gloom, England really were one goal better than Slovenia –
we like to look on the bright side!
Interestingly, this theory was put to the test in the latter
stages of the tournament – both semi-finals were played
at sea level and contested by one team who won their
quarter-final at altitude, and one team who won at sea
level. Holland won their quarter-final in Port Elizabeth
while Uruguay won their quarter-final at Soccer City in
Johannesburg, and following the theory Holland went
on to win the semi in Cape Town. Germany won their
Here comes the science
The World Cup in South Africa was the first
tournament for 24 years where games were
played at stadia significantly above sea level.
This presented a few challenges for athletes, namely that
the air is less dense and contains less oxygen the higher
above sea level you go, resulting in increased heart rate,
breathlessness and reduced stamina.
This decrease in physiological performance can be quantified
by something called the VO2max – the maximum amount of
oxygen uptake per minute per kilogram of body weight. This
value falls by about six per cent per 1000m of elevation.
The standard way of minimising the effects of altitude
is through acclimatisation – it’s widely documented that
26
quarter-final in Cape Town while Spain won theirs at
Ellis Park in Johannesburg – and Spain went on to win in
Durban. I think you’ll agree that’s conclusive. Erm, ok,
maybe not.
Talking Balls
Now it’s not just player performance that can be affected by
altitude. We all know that strange feeling every four years
when your average man on the street suddenly becomes
unnaturally interested in physics. Most normal people
would rarely give the subject a second thought, but the
aerodynamics of the World Cup ball is always a hot topic.
Designed by a team of English scientists at Loughborough
University, the adidas Jabulani – this year’s World Cup
ball – has been slated from all angles – usually it’s just
the goalies complaining that the ball is too light or
moves too much in the air. Clearly, the art of goalkeeping
relies on attempting to predict the flight path of the ball,
positioning yourself accordingly to prevent a goal. In
doing so, a goalkeeper takes clues from players’ body
language and positions, as well as the beginning of the
ball’s trajectory.
All very simple in theory, but how many of us have
witnessed a keeper fishing the ball out of the net stupefied
by his inability to complete an apparently simple save?
training at altitude stimulates your body to produce more
red blood cells to carry the oxygen more efficiently around
your body, thus giving you an advantage when you return
to the oxygen-rich air of sea level, potentially for around
10 days.
Now, this is not new information and many teams including
England prepared for the World Cup with altitude in mind.
England had an altitude training camp in Austria and Fabio
Capello was insistent in his view that their World Cup
training base should be in Rustenburg, one of the highest
tournament venues.
There is, however, a spanner to be thrown into those
meticulously-planned works. According to a recentlypublished article in New Scientist (regular reading material
for the tfs team), new research shows that teams training at
www.fsf.org.uk
27
»
Ins and outs
Position of ball after
0.817s at Sea Level
Position of ball after
0.817s in Jo’berg
20.66 yd
20.44 yd
20.22 yd
» From the South African tournament alone we can think
of that Robert Green moment, Algerian keeper Faouzi
Chaouchi and his bizarre attempt to save Robert Koren’s
goal in Slovenia’s 1-0 win, Paraguay’s Justo Villar flapping
an Italy corner to Daniele De Rossi, and two goals
from Diego Forlan – the thirty yarder straight at Dutch
schtopper Maarten Stekelenburg, and the corkscrew free
kick against Ghana’s hapless Richard Kingston.
“To David James that would mean a
20-yard shot being around 40cm ahead
of where it should be in Jo’burg due to
the reduced drag force, around two ball
diameters if you prefer. “
A number of factors can affect the trajectory of a ball, but
few more than density of the air. Variations in temperature
and humidity can affect the air density, but the effect is
relatively small, around +/-5%. By far the most significant
effect on air density is caused by altitude; air becomes less
dense with altitude – the atmospheric pressure reduces by
around 11% per 1000m, meaning that the difference was
potentially up to 28% between the venues in South Africa.
The density of the air affects the “drag force” on the ball,
essentially the amount of friction on the ball from the air:
the less dense the air, the less drag.
So what does all this actually mean? Don’t worry, we’re
getting to the point. If we consider a non-spinning 20 yard
free kick hit at 60mph à la Ronaldo: at sea level it can be
calculated that the ball would take about 0.817 seconds to
reach the goal. In Jo’burg, that same shot would take about
0.801 seconds. Now that 0.016 seconds might not sound
like much to me and you, but to David James that would
28
20 yd
19.78 yd
19.56 yd
19.34 yd
mean a 20-yard shot being around 40cm ahead of where it
should be in Jo’burg due to the reduced drag force, around
two ball diameters if you prefer. With milliseconds to react
to a shot, that could mean the difference between a goal and
a fingertip save. Ask Robert Green. And, of course, the air
density also affects the bend of the trajectory of the ball.
You might think this is great news for strikers, who should
have been popping them in left right and centre in South
Africa, but it’s not all good news and the ball has received
almost equal criticism from outfield players struggling to
control it, which is evident in the relatively low 145 goals
scored during the tournament. The ball travelling faster
means less time until the ball reaches the goal, resulting
in less time to dip or bend, thus a shot bound for the top
corner at sea level might hit the bar at altitude.
Now we’re not ones for making excuses but England’s game
against Germany was played in Bloemfontein, which sits
1,395m above sea level. Theoretically, then, Lampard’s illfated “goal” would have been travelling slower at sea level
with more drag force being exerted on the ball, and thus
would have dipped under the bar, rather than hitting it and
bouncing in anyway.
This year, every team had to play at both altitude and sea
level, and theoretically those teams used to playing games
in both conditions should have been better prepared for
the variable effects of the ball. A good scientist might draw
the conclusion that this would favour the South American
teams, and they did do well to an extent, comprising four
of the eight quarter-finalists. However, three of them went
on to be beaten by Europeans and Spain defied the science
to become the first European team to win the World Cup
outside of their own continent. So hurrah for them, and
their theory-busting win.
Sometimes, your beloved Ins and Outs column used
to really, really stink – not any more, though! Oh
no. It was a garlic thing. An increased intake of this
renowned super-food forms an integral part of our pre-season
preparations, because it significantly lowers blood pressure and
cuts your chances of catching the common cold – just the ticket,
with another stressful and largely freezing cold football season
waiting just around the corner.
Outs
» Calling teams “well
organised”
» Time travel
» Teacup pigs
Like everything in life, the benefits of regular garlic ingestion
have to be balanced against its much-publicised drawbacks. Or,
at least, they did. Halitosis isn’t good at any kind of happening
– and having an array of empty seats around you at the match,
or a disproportionate circle of carpet space around you in a
packed pub, is never a good look– sadly, it has a tendency
to render one “minging” for hours or even days afterwards.
Awkward social situations can easily be avoided once, like us,
you have learned to conquer the odour inspiring attributes of
the treacherous beast that is the garlic clove.
Ins
» Olives
» Reading between the lines
» Wrangler “Blue Bell”
» Tables outside tea shops
» Making a bit on the side
» Beef tomatoes
Embarking on a recent weekend cookery course in one of
garlic’s spiritual homes, the south of France, a keen amateur
chef of our acquaintance was intrigued to note that the first
hour of the first day was to be devoted to the “dos and don’ts”
of garlic preparation. And what transpired was life changing –
well, it’s improved ours, anyway, and could well enhance yours.
» adidas Manchester
» Picnic hampers
» Nom De Guerre
» Saying “fail”!
» Mouldies
Removing the germ from the centre of each clove of garlic you
prepare prevents your breath announcing your arrival before
you’ve entered the room. Simply take your garlic clove, cut
the ends off and peel it, then slice it in half, lengthways. The
appearance of the germ will vary, depending on the type of
garlic, and its age – but you’ll be able to see it in the centre.
This baby is the culprit as far as garlic breath goes as, due to
its consistency, your stomach don’t digest it till the next day –
by lifting it out with the blade of your knife, you remove the
odour problem.
» Amusement arcades
» See through toasters
» Hammocks
» albam “hemmy pocket”
t-shirts
» Box sets
» The word “awesome”
» Screw in studs
» Pickled eggs in pubs
» Putting on a Dutch accent
» Telephone boxes
» Moths
» Capers
» Table cloths
» Sending postcards
» Nostalgia
» All manner of “brown ale”
» Cider lollies without
e-numbers
» Keyboards
» Cherry tomatoes
» Gabby Logan
» Sweepers
» Butterflies
» Gingham
» Sea salt
Once you’ve completed your garlic preparation, you can
remove its pungency from your fingers simply by rubbing
them with (the blunt edge!) of a stainless steel knife and
rinsing with cold water. Sadly, we’re currently unable to
unearth a similar solution to “booze ooze” – that uniquely
unshakeable smell which inconveniently hovers long after
you’ve left the pub. Once we do, we’ll pass it on, pronto.
» Being “a bit previous”
» Putting Worcester sauce on
your crisps
www.fsf.org.uk
29
David Peace
compete with the narrative that’s already there. Some of the
things that have happened at clubs like Newcastle United
and Portsmouth – that kind of fact is stranger than fiction.
Being a Huddersfield fan might be like being part of one of
the dullest soap operas every conceived, but does that make
it any less compelling for Town fans? No.
“Some of the things that have happened
at clubs like Newcastle United and Portsmouth – that kind of fact is stranger
than fiction”
“What I believe you can do is try to understand what
actually went on at a certain time, expand on it and explain
it, because loving football is all about imagination, really
– at the start of every season, I imagine Huddersfield Town
are going to win the league; when I go to watch Town, I
do so imagining this will be the match when it all comes
together. When we sign a new player, I imagine him being
one of our greatest signings ever. Creating this fantasy
narrative inside your head, when it comes down to it, that’s
what the game is all about for many of us.
tfs interview
David Peace
by Jez Robinson
David Peace’s novel The Damned United wasn’t a
documentary work, but it did conclusively prove
one thing to be true – word of mouth remains
the most effective means of advertising known to man.
Love it or loathe it, Peace’s literary interpretation of Brian
Clough’s 44 days as Leeds United manager was impossible
to ignore, and remains one of the most widely-read books
ever written about football.
Spawning a feature film hasn’t exactly harmed sales; and
recently cited by The Times as “possibly the best book ever
written about sport”, The Damned United is certainly the
best novel about the game. Interestingly, it was football fans
30
recommending a rattling good read to their friends that
really took care of business for The Damned United – as
Peace himself happily concurs.
“I find the fact there aren’t more novels about football
quite strange really, given that so many British writers
grow up obsessed with the game, and I’m proud The
Damned United struck a chord with so many supporters.
Fans reading it and recommending it to their mates made
me feel I must have got somewhere near achieving what I
set out to”, Peace told tfs.
“As with a lot of things in this country, it seems you are always
put in your place and kept there as a football fan. Unless
you have played the game you must only ever be deemed a
spectator. When people who haven’t played do write about the
game, it is generally from the fans’ point of view.
“One of the things that I realised during the course of
writing The Damned United was that perhaps the reason
so few novels about the game exist is that it’s very hard to
“If that kind of imagination isn’t a qualification to write
about football, then I don’t know what it is. That’s why I just
think this prevailing ‘never played the game so you can’t
write about it’ attitude is wrong. The fact is that, by and
large, those who have played the game, or been involved
in it can’t write about it anyway. Most players’ books are
ghost-written and, while there are exceptions like Tony
Cascarino’s, they tend to lose something in translation, so to
speak, and are bland.”
“I’d done a few pieces for
FourFourTwo during the
2002 World Cup and one of
the lads there was doing a
column with Brian Clough.
I did have the chance to
meet him through that
connection, but I never did.
What stopped me was the
feeling the book would have
crossed a line if I had. It
simply wouldn’t have been
a novel anymore – it would
just have been another book about Brian Clough. I knew
there were plenty of those about, because I’d been seeking
them out via the internet – even all the out of print ones.
“None of them were up to much really and neither were
the books about the ex-Leeds players, which I sought out
and read painstakingly, too. It was never my intention to
upset anybody – really – and I think The Damned United
has increased the public’s affection for Brain Clough,
if anything. It’s very clearly a novel – mistaking it for a
biography would be like mistaking a painting for a photo.
As I wrote it, I was very conscious my admiration and
respect for Brian Clough was growing.”
Whilst sales of The Damned United soared, one of the
criticisms most often levelled at Peace – largely from those
involved in the football industry – was… you guessed it,
that he couldn’t possibly understand what really went on at
Leeds during those fateful 44 days because he’d never been
involved in the game himself. But he’s having none of that.
Being bland is certainly not a charge that could be
levelled at The Damned United – but Peace has had to
contend with accusations the book disrespected both
the Clough family and the Leeds United players of the
day. Johnny Giles famously served a writ successfully
demanding some of the content of the first edition be
changed, while the Cloughs boycotted the premier of The
Damned United film.
“It’s funny because if someone writes something about
the police, nobody expects them to have been a copper
themselves, do they?” Peace chuckled. “In the UK we
seem to be obsessed with what’s “authentic” when it comes
to writing about sport – in America, it couldn’t be more
different. Writers aren’t expected to have been players or
coaches, because that obviously isn’t what they’re good at
– what they are good at is writing, that’s their talent and
that’s talent enough to be respected for.
“I wrote the book in Japan, where I was living at the
time, and while Brian Clough was still alive”, Peace said.
“To a degree, I think the same is true of media coverage
of football today – with every game imaginable on TV
www.fsf.org.uk
»
31
David Peace
nowadays, everything is written with an understanding that
everyone will have seen everything anyway. We’re all “there”
to an extent, these days. So you get Monday morning
articles dissecting what’s already been said about matches
that were televised on the Saturday and Sunday. A pretty
sad state of affairs – I think I’ve noticed the dearth of good
football writing more since I moved back to England from
Japan, almost a year ago.”
Moving back to this country has certainly given Peace new
perspective on what’s happened to English football in his
absence, too, and the irony of clubs struggling to re-connect with
the communities which sustain them is clearly not lost on him.
“I think there are a lot of parallels between football,
particularly the Premier League, and what has happened in
English society over the last decade or so”, Peace said. “The
Premier League mirrors what’s happened in the banking
sector, with clubs effectively running on empty, carrying
huge burdens of debt. Many people I speak to are becoming
completely disenfranchised by ticket prices and simply can’t
afford to go anymore. They still support their clubs, because
you can’t just give something like that up, but have to watch
them on Sky in the pub.”
“Even at Huddersfield – who do try very hard to make
football affordable, and have “kids for a quid” days and what
have you, when me, my son and my Dad go in the family
stand at the McAlpine it costs the thick end of £60. That’s a
lot of money for an afternoon out.
“Now they want the people back on
board and they’re finding it’s not easy
after you’ve spent years treating them
with contempt”
“The problem is that football focussed on attracting some
mythical new audience for so long it forgot all about the
communities who supported the game in the first place.
Now they want the people back on board and they’re
finding it’s not easy after you’ve spent years treating them
with contempt.”
And whilst his current literary celebrity status has meant
he’s had to get used to being on camera, he says being
filmed by the police at matches is a fact of modern football
life he’s found it tricky to come to terms with.
A Start In Life
David Peace on Huddersfield Town...
“I support Huddersfield Town because I had little choice
in the matter, basically – my Granddad had been a Town
fan, my dad too, so there was never any question that I
wouldn’t be. They were our closest club and you were just
born a Town fan in those days. Mind, it wasn’t so bad for
my Granddad’s generation, because they were winning the
First Division Championship and the FA Cup in his day!
“My first ever game at Huddersfield’s old Leeds Road
ground was Brian Clough’s first game as Leeds manager.
I’ve researched the period for The Damned United, but
the memories I had of that day before I started the book
remain the most vivid. It was a sunny evening, I was
32
© Actionimages
outside the main entrance with my dad when the Leeds
United coach came into view, and that the atmosphere
was charged. The programme was just a sheet of
cardboard, which my dad scribbled the team changes all
over. I’ve still got it.
“Clough’s last game in charge of Leeds was at Town,
too – a League Cup tie. I didn’t go because I was only
seven and it was a school night, but my dad did. When
Clough went, my Dad being absolutely fascinated
that was the beginning of my interest in the period, I
suppose. My fascination with Huddersfield Town was
well underway, too.”
Clough with long time assistant Peter Taylor
“Like most people growing up where and when I did, I
have my share of horror stories about the police”, Peace
said. “Heavy-handed policing was very much the norm
at football, and everywhere really. I’ve noticed at certain
games I’ve been to, like the Leeds v Huddersfield derby,
that policing seems much lower key on the face of it,
these days.
“But there’s something vey sinister about the way the
police in this country consider it their right to constantly
video people, point cameras at them, and nobody seems
to challenge this. It’s the same at any kind of ‘gathering’
where more than a handful of people congregate. Britain is
already suffering more surveillance than any other society
in the world – there aren’t many places you can go without
appearing on CCTV anyway. You wonder what happens to
all that footage, let alone what the police accumulate from
the stuff they record themselves.”
“There’s something vey sinister about the
way the police in this country consider it
their right to constantly video people”
But the prospect of featuring on a police database isn’t
enough to deter Peace from watching Huddersfield these
days, though he admits he didn’t attend games at all for a
few of his formative years. And, never one to shrink from
controversy, the proud Yorkshireman admits rediscovering
his love for the game in Lancashire.
“Until the age of 12 or 13, my life was all about football, but
once I got beyond that age, music took over to a large extent”,
he admitted. “With the music I was into – I like to call it
‘post-punk’, others call it ‘Goth’! – the two just didn’t seem to
go together, really. I drifted away from the game until I ended
up at Manchester Polytechnic in the mid-80s. I’m not sure
how fellow Yorkshiremen are going to take this, but it was in
Manchester that I started to fall back in love with football.
“I went to Old Trafford a few times with mates, in the Lee
Sharpe era, and they were entertaining to watch. But I lived
very close to Manchester City’s ground, and I started going
to quite a few of their reserve games, It was only a quid or
something to get in, and there was always the chance some
really good players would be turning out, people on their
way back from injury, or promising young players who were
on the verge of breaking into the first team. We had some
very enjoyable evenings there.
“But in Manchester at the time, something was happening
which brought football and music much closer together.
The Happy Mondays and the Stone Roses and the
“Madchester” thing helped, then there was Italia 90 too,
sound-tracked by New Order’s World in Motion. Being into
music and being into football didn’t seem at odds to me
anymore and it became part of my life again.
“Mind, Maine Road was also the backdrop to one of my
darkest football days, when Huddersfield got beat 10-1
there – as for how awful that was, words fail me.”
www.fsf.org.uk
33
I have two distinct images of what it
is to love football. The 1970’s image
is all about happy, ugly children with
bad hair and oversized duffel coats.
Working class young men fresh from
the dole queue, unable to feed their
kids but still prepared to spend one
and six on a season ticket or a few jars,
or a packet of stickers. Or whatever.
How wonderful it must have been.
Throwing toilet rolls, rubbing yourself
up against other fans, all wearing
manmade fabrics so there was no way
of knowing whether the throbbing
exhilaration of match day was caused
by that stupendous hat-trick or excess
static. Bit of a ruckus, nothing too
heavy – get overly affectionate with a
mounted policeman, then home where
your Mam’s got the dinner on and
your Dad’s upstairs looking at the porn
you’ll be looking at tomorrow. Brilliant.
Feverbitch
So that was the World
Cup. Definitely worth
the four-year wait. My
employer was generous enough to
buy some crisps and roll a telly into
the office; it was like bring your own
toys day. I know a bit more about
goal-line technology now; both sides
of the argument seem totally valid
and entirely uninteresting. Like speed
camera debates. There was also a lot to
learn about South Africa. Who knew
that the gay community had such
support in the Rainbow Nation?
However disappointing the overall
England experience may have been, it’s
Feverbitch’s way to find the positive.
So what can we take from England’s
frankly dire performance? Obviously
Wayne Rooney should be sent to work
in a call centre. All the boy needs is
34
to spend some time worrying about
family tax credits and compulsory
redundancies. He’d soon buck up
his ideas. Fabio Cappello seems a
nice enough man, although he’s
clearly useless and speaks no English.
Apparently he does his job via the
international medium of mime, a la
Marcel Marceau. He even wears white
face-paint and a stripy T-shirt to keep
the lads’ attention.
It’s not just England though, there’s
something rotten afoot in the whole
world of football. From my vantage
point as an enforced bystander, I
can’t fail to notice that the balance
between money and celebrity and pure
footballing love is seriously off-kilter.
What has happened to your beautiful
game? I’ll tell you what – the modern
world. You’ve been eclipsed by a great
tsunami of cash. You dedicated fans
are simply faceless crowds of grubbypawed workers shoveling your pitiful
wages into football’s furnace of funds.
“ This cretinous Adonis
has bought a child in
his image. This is surely
the epitome of modern
footballers’ God complex
in action. So impressed
is Ronaldo with Ronaldo
that he just couldn’t wait
to recreate the spectacle.
What a prize prick.”
Now, in 2010, it’s about another type
of young man altogether. 25-yearold Cristiano Ronaldo is a case in
point. But it’s not his fault – he’s
just a walking ego. It’s the system
that dictates that footballers should
be paid so much money they can
buy children. Think about it. Say
it to yourself out loud. Footballers
are paid so much money they can
buy children. And nobody flinches!
Rooney stands to earn £140,000 a
week with Manchester United. In
1977 Kevin Keegan (a fairly wellknown footballer who achieved some
success) was paid a record £500,000,
which works out at about £9,600 a
week. In today’s money, according to
the Retail Price Index, that’s around a
third of Rooney’s wage. Which other
profession has seen wage increases so
large? If you’re earning £25,000 today,
it’s like your boss saying “You know
what, you’re worth more than that
and I’m harbouring a slight crush.
From tomorrow you’re on £75,000.”
Nice but nuts.
Feverbitch has a plan for revolution.
A plan to return to football’s
heyday when it was about homestapled fanzines and dubious
crowd control. Just stop buying the
paraphernalia. Throw away your Sky
box tellies. Reject the advertising
and endorsements. You definitely
don’t need the latest strip, and your
children (who will keep relentlessly
growing) don’t need it either. Write
to your club and tell them you are
doing these things. Football needs
to downsize and take responsibility.
Like a lover who’s paid the gas bill
on your credit card and told your
best friend she’s got nice tits, football
owes you. Feverbitch could have
been a football fan. We could have
been caught up in the romance of
Saturday mornings with butterflies
and the tribal faith in a group of lads
who could have been our brothers.
It’s like having a bit of a thing for a
long-dead film star. Nostalgia for an
unknown time in football’s history.
Let us love again.
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www.fsf.org.uk
35
SAVING LIVES
TOGETHER
Portrait photography by Manchester Evening News
A DIFFERENT KIND OF MATCH
GIVE A SPIT AND BE A LIFESAVER
When people at Anthony Nolan talk about finding
‘a match’, it’s not football that’s on their minds –
it’s saving the lives of people with leukaemia. And
in this issue we’re calling all TFS readers to take the
collective disappointment that was the 2010 World
Cup and turn it into a positive, by making this the
month they join the Anthony Nolan Register. One
day a TFS reader might just save a life – and that
would definitely be a match worth celebrating!
Joining the register is now easier than ever before.
All you have to do is fill out an online application form
at www.anthonynolan.org and give them a sample
of your saliva using a special kit. And that’s it! You’ll
receive a registration card and from then on your record
will be looked at 15 times a day. If, one day, you’re found
to be a match, you could go on to donate some of
your healthy stem cells and potentially save a life.
For a child or adult with leukaemia, a stem cell
transplant from a healthy donor can be their only
hope of life. But there’s a catch: the donation has
to come from a person with the same tissue type.
That person could be from any walk of life and from
any background but they’ll only be found if they’re
on the Anthony Nolan Register.
MAN OF THE MATCH
When it comes to choosing stem cell donors, doctors
prefer to use men. Why? Because men tend to be
bigger than women and that means they produce
more lifesaving stem cells. If you’re a man aged 18-40
(or you know one that is) visit www.anthonynolan.org
and finding out more about saving a life.
ANTHONY NOLAN READER APPEAL
SAVING JACKSON
Robert and Nicola are huge
Manchester City fans, but
on their son Jackson’s fifth
birthday they bought him a
Liverpool shirt in honour of the
consultant that had helped save
his life. Here’s their story:
From an early age,
Jackson was often poorly
and frequently needed
trips to the hospital. Then,
in 2008, his family’s worst
fears were confirmed:
Jackson had juvenile
myelomonocytic
leukaemia.
“The worst thing,”
says Rob, Jackson’s
dad, “is the realisation
your little boy is
going to have to
fight for his life.
YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED
MEET OLIVER
BETTER THAN SCORING GOALS
Is donating painful?
Four-year-old Oliver is battling
with leukaemia. His only chance
of survival is a donation of healthy
stem cells from a person who is
the same tissue type as him.
That person could be in
Oliver’s hometown or
100 miles away – and it
could be a TFS reader!
Elliot knows what it feels like to save a life. Not long
after he’d joined the register he got a call to say there
was a patient in need and he was the only one who
could help.
If you donate through a vein in the arm you can
sometimes feel some flu-like symptoms afterwards
but these usually go away within 24 hours. If you
choose to donate some of your bone marrow from
your pelvis you might feel sore for a couple of days
but it’s really no worse than muscle ache after a
game of football.
If you’re aged between 18-40
and in good health, visit
WWW.ANTHONYNOLAN.ORG
and join the register – it’s the easiest
way to do something remarkable
“I’ve scored goals and felt like Rooney,” says Elliot.
“I’ve met girls and felt tingly and I’ve helped out
and felt awesome. But I can’t explain how I felt
W
knowing I’d helped save someone’s life.”
Last year Anthony Nolan found over
800 lifesaving matches for patients.
But for every patient that got their
transplant, another went without
because their match simply hadn’t
joined the register. And it’s not even
difficult to join:
“It was easy,” says Elliot.
“I filled out a questionnaire,
got a spit kit, used it and
sent it back. Then when
they found I was a match
and all I had to do
was give some stem
cells from my blood.
It didn’t take long and
I hardly felt anything…
well, apart from
absolutely amazing.”
How long would it take my body to
replace the cells?
Your body is clever and works quickly. It begins to
replace the stems cells immediately and levels get
back to normal after around 21 days. In the meantime
the cells you’ve donated will be busy creating new
blood cells for the patient.
I’m already an organ donor – does that
mean I’m automatically on the Anthony
Nolan register?
No. Even if you are an organ or blood donor, you
will still need to go through the Anthony Nolan
donor recruitment process to join the register.
Can I donate stem cells while I’m still alive?
Yes. Unlike organ donation, we can only take stem
cell donations while the donor is alive.
It was absolutely crushing.” Robert and Nicola
were told that Jackson’s condition was so severe
that he would need a stem cell transplant.
“We were tested and so was his sister Molly –
but none of us were a match,” said Nicola.
So Jackson’s doctors turned to Anthony Nolan.
Incredibly, within a few days the search team
had found not just one but three possible
matches – Jackson could have the transplant
he so desperately needed.
On 21 July, following the successful transplant,
the family celebrated Jackson’s fifth birthday.
“In the past we’d always got him a Manchester
City shirt with his age on the back” said Dad Rob,
“but because his consultant is a Liverpool fan,
this year we got him a Liverpool shirt as well.
We say he’s an honorary Liverpool fan.”
Talking about the donor, Rob says: “Someone
we have never even met saved the life of our
precious son. I just feel totally humbled by such
an unselfish act of kindness.”
MATCH STATS
70% rely on finding a stranger who is a match.
50% never find that match because the person isn’t
on the register.
1 quick visit to www.anthonynolan.org is all it
takes to put your name down as a lifesaver.
We asked some of our donors why they
joined the register. Here’s what they said:
‘To be the one that does something amazing’
‘To feel like I’m doing something for the world’
‘To give somebody the opportunity to live’
and join the register – it’s the easiest
way to do something remarkable.
Picture it. You’re sitting at home when somebody
from Anthony Nolan calls to say you might be a
lifesaving match for a patient. How would you feel?
Excited? Nervous? Proud?
it’s no worse than the soreness you might feel after
spending the afternoon doing gardening or playing
football,” says Ailsa.
Juliette Kelvin knows how it feels because she
received just that call. “I was one of a number of
people who was a possible match.” says Juliette.
“I went for a blood test and they said they would
be in touch if I was needed.”
LETTER FROM THE PATIENT
When Juliette was found to be the match, she was
given a check up to make sure she was fit enough to
have the procedure. Anthony Nolan’s Ailsa Ogilvie
explains what happens next when somebody donates:
For Juliette, who donated through a vein in her
arm, she says it gave her a different view of the
world. “It was a little bit of inconvenience, and I’d
potentially saved somebody’s life. That’s amazing
to be able to do that.” She says “Afterwards,
I received a letter from the patient’s wife and two
children – the children thanked me for saving their
daddy’s life.”
MAKING IT EASY
THE MATCH FIXER
“People often think that we only do bone marrow
donation. But actually donating through a vein in
your arm is now much more common,” says Ailsa.
“You’re visited by a nurse who gives you injections
over three days.”
Doctors around the world contact Anthony Nolan
to ask them to search for a match for their patients.
When a match is found, it’s Jo Badger’s job to track
down that person and tell them they are the one.
The more tradional method is bone marrow donation.
You’ll come to the clinic where your blood is taken
through a tiny tube in your arm, and passed through
a machine that uses a filter to take out some of these
new, lifesaving cells.
THE TRADITIONAL ROUTE
The more traditional route is to donate some of the
stem cells found in your bone marrow. You’ll go to the
clinic and receive a general anaesthetic so that the
doctors can take some of the bone marrow
found in your pelvic bone. When people
choose to donate some of their stem cells
in this way they stay a night at hospital
and need to rest for a few days afterwards.
“There’s a misconception that donating
bone marrow is really painful;
actually people tell us
How do people react when you tell them they
could be the match you’re searching for?
They often can’t believe it. It’s not every day you’re
told you could save a life and for most donors it’s
the most amazing thing they’ll ever do.
What’s the best bit about your job?
When we find out that a patient has got their
transplant it’s pretty fantastic; you know that it’s
given them the hope of life. But actually the best
part is dealing with the donors themselves – it’s
not difficult to donate but knowing that you could
potentially save a life is just, well, it’s really emotional.
Are you on the register?
Absolutely! I’ve never been found to be a match but
I’m always hoping that one day it might be me.
Visit WWW.
ANTHONYNOLAN.
ORG and join
our register – it’s
the easiest way
to do something
remarkable
MATTHEW HALL: CARPENTER,
HUSBAND, LIFESAVER.
really made it easy. They paid for me
to travel down to London. I went in
for the operation in a hospital that
was more like a top class hotel.
After the operation I felt a
bit of stiffness which was
uncomfortable, but after a
day or two it was gone.”
“I used to go clubbing a lot,”
says Matthew Hall, who joined the
Anthony Nolan Register in the
1990s. “I’d always end up in
the same place for food
afterwards and one day I
saw an appeal for donors
for a woman who worked
there. I decided to join the
register to try and help.”
Sadly Matthew wasn’t a
match on that occasion
but he stayed on the register
knowing one day they might
be called.
MEETING OLIVER
Two years after his
donation, Matthew received
word that the person he had
donated to wanted to get in
contact with him. That person’s
name was Oliver.
When I found out he wanted to
get in contact feeling. It put a lot
more questions in my head. What
does he look like? How old is he?
What does he do? Where does
he live?
“When I first joined the register, I
spent the first few months thinking
about the possibility of donating,
but after that you forget about
it.” Then, many years later, Anthony
Nolan called Matthew – he was a
match for a patient. “When I knew I
could actually help someone, I was
up for it. There was no way I was
going to say no,” says Matthew.
“It was really good to hear from
him, and nice to know he is
doing well. After the operation
people would say how what
I’d done was wonderful, but I
consider myself lucky to have
been in a position to help.”
Matthew went to a London clinic
to donate some of his healthy
stem cells. “Anthony Nolan
WHAT DOES YOUR SPIT
SAY ABOUT YOU?
So, next time you’re watching a football match and spot a
player spitting on the pitch, just think how much better it
would be if they used it to join the register instead!
Thanks to new technology, your saliva can now be
used to find out what tissue type you are. Anthony
Nolan’s Ailsa Ogilive, explains:
“When a person joins the register we need to
find out what tissue type they are. Previously
people had to give a blood sample but now it’s
much easier: donors go online to fill out the
medical form then we send them a Spit Kit to
use and send back. Simple.”
and join the register –
it’s the easiest way to do
something remarkable.
2-3 Heathgate Place
London NW3 2NU
0303 303 0303
www.anthonynolan.org
The Anthony Nolan Trust is a registered charity no 803716/SC038827
OP_ADV01/0710
Portrait photography by Nick David
IT’S YOU! WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU’RE A MATCH?
FSF Chair Malcolm Clarke
© Actionimages
Dr. Declan Hill
From the chair
Malcolm Clarke, Chair of the
Football Supporters’ Federation
and fans’ representative on the
FA Council.
I’ve just returned from Wembley and what
appears, by common consent, to have been our
best Fans’ Parliament yet. It was so encouraging
and exciting to see such enthusiasm and high quality debate
on the issues which face football fans and it gives me great
optimism that the FSF can go from strength to strength in
working to change, for the better, the game we love.
Where to start then? Well perhaps with the inspiring but very
worrying keynote speech from Dr. Declan Hill, Canadian
author of the much-acclaimed award-winning book “The Fix:
Soccer and Organised Crime”. Declan held us spellbound,
not only with his captivating and unpredictable delivery style,
but also with the extraordinary content of his speech. In a
nutshell Declan is convinced that the game in Europe faces
real danger through the spread of match fixing from Asia and
the inadequacy of the authorities’ response.
40
As well as Declan’s talk we also held three major breakout
sessions on safe standing, football governance, and
policing and stewarding matters. I won’t repeat all the
arguments here for the implementation of safe standing
in the top two leagues as I’m sure you’re familiar with
them (and if not get in touch and we’ll point you in the
direction of our excellent safe standing report). However,
the political landscape has changed somewhat on this as
one of the coalition partners, , the Liberal Democrats,
have a firm policy in favour of safe standing and David
Cameron has promised a review. Even Gerry Sutcliffe, the
outgoing Sports Minister, had said in a pre-election BBC
Radio Five Live debate that he had no objection to safe
standing in new grounds.
“the Liberal Democrats, have a firm
policy in favour of safe standing and
David Cameron has promised a review”
The reality is that this issue will not go away until it is
recognised that many supporters would like to stand in
safety. This would be an excellent candidate for the new
Government’s famous bonfire of unnecessary central
laws and regulations which restrict people’s rights for no
good reason.
On to the workshop I chaired on finance and club
governance next. This is a massive issue as fans from
Portsmouth to Leeds to Chester City to…well, the list
is depressingly long, as many can testify. We heard
presentations from UEFA, the Premier League, the Football
League and the Football Association about what the current
regulatory regimes require and how these have changed.
There is often a lot of confusion and ignorance about what
is there at the moment but if you would like to see the
presentations visit www.fsf.org.uk and join the FSF for free
– we’ll be emailing the information from all workshops to
our members.
“At the heart of the FSF’s policy is the
key philosophical point that professional football is, or should be, about
culture and communities, not about
making money for private individuals”.
Credit where it’s due, the direction of travel is right but
the workshop decided that we want to go a lot further, and
produced a 12-point plan. At the heart of the FSF’s policy
is the key philosophical point that professional football is,
or should be, about culture and communities, not about
making money for private individuals. We looked at models
of regulation in other sports and countries and identified
the need for a Sports Law. This would recognise that the
legislative and regulatory framework which is applied to
business in this country can be inadequate at best, and
downright damaging at worst, to the interests of football.
We also believe that the Football Association must reassert
its historic core purpose of being the governing regulatory
body of football in this country; and that conflicts of
interest in its structure should be removed. We want to see
the full implementation of the Burns Report.
Last, but by no means least, was the workshop on civil
rights and the policing of football fans. Speakers here were
Nicholas Long from the Independent Police Complaints
Commission, Mark James an academic specialising in this
area of law, Shami Chakrabarti Director of Liberty, and
national council member Amanda Jacks. The workshop
highlighted many areas of concern to supporters although
I’ll focus on two here.
Firstly, the inappropriate and unjustified use of Section
27 of the Violent Crime Reduction Act, which has been
highlighted in this magazine before, continues despite our
success in getting a successful judicial review against the
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) for their treatment of
Stoke City supporters in December 2008. The Manchester
Evening News recently discovered that the GMP has now
paid out almost £200,000 to Stoke fans who were illegally
treated – all thanks to the work of the FSF and Liberty.
Secondly, we have major concerns about the use of the so-called
Section 14(b) provisions (also known as Football Banning
Orders or FBOs) for gaining civil banning orders against football
fans. These cases are heard in a civil not criminal court which
means that there’s no jury, the burden of proof is lower and the
police can introduce evidence of previous convictions which
need not even be in a football context. Much of it also seems
to revolve around guilt by association – you have been seen
drinking in the same pub as “hooligans” and therefore you must
be one yourself. You’re not only banned from football but also
city centres, train stations and can see your passport confiscated.
This is dangerous stuff in civil liberties terms.
The reality of this was brought home to me when I sat through
part of a recent case involving Leeds United supporters which,
as we go to print, is yet to be decided. I readily admit that I was
shocked and horrified by what I saw in court in the paucity of
the evidence presented and the way in which it is allowed to be
used. I knew all the intellectual arguments about FBOs but it
was only seeing it in court which brought home the reality.
Astonishingly the hearing also revealed that, once again,
GMP had completely misused Section 27 against fans – in
contravention of their own guidelines and despite the fact
they’ve already had to pay out almost £200,000 in compensation
to fans The Met had done the same in London too.
Following Conference it is now our policy to oppose 14(b)
banning orders whilst remaining, as we have always been,
totally opposed to any form of football violence. We took
the case against GMP in conjunction with Liberty and at
the workshop Shami committed Liberty to working closely
with us to get some changes in this area. That’s great news
and we look forward to forging a close working relationship
with her and her colleagues – you’ll be hearing a lot more
from us on that in the coming months.
www.fsf.org.uk
41
Dear tfs
Send us
your letters
The brightest and best of the FSF post
bag, these days called an inbox...
By Mail: tfs, The Football Supporters’ Federation The Cherry Red Records Fans’ Stadium –
Kingsmeadow, Jack Goodchild Way, 422A Kingston Road, Kingston Upon Thames KT1 3PB
By email: [email protected] Online: [email protected]
Dear tfs,
Just back from South Africa and
must take exception to the article in
the June issue citing Edgar Davids
as number one in the premier
league of punditry.
He is surely a candidate for the
title of the worst pundit ever. If
he’s insightful then there’s hope for
Lee Dixon. His incoherent and ill
informed mumblings on South
African broadcaster Supersport
included the memorable (sic)
contribution while watching an
opening round game between France
and Uruguay “I know nothing about
African football”. Not really what
his employers wanted to hear at the
start of an African tournament. He
was in good company though as his
co-panelist on the same game Steven
Keshi (ex Nigerian captain) refused
to make a pre-match prediction.
Check the dictionary definition of
pundit Steven.
Thankfully Supersport soon
consigned Edgar to the subs bench
replacing him with the heavily
accented but knowledgeable Ruud
Krol. It was just a pity about his
shiny suits.
John Martin, Peterborough
Dear tfs,
The organisers of the World Cup claim
that it is non-political, yet it is dominated
by large multinational corporations.
Meanwhile, a recent photograph of the
Argentine football team holding a banner
was censored by the international press
and blocked by YouTube. Why?
The banner simply stated that
the members of the football team
supported mothers of young men and
women who disappeared between 1976
and 1983 at the hands of the Argentine
Military Junta.
Darrall Cozens
Dear tfs,
In issue 21 you ask for
enlightenment regarding
attendance at all 92 Premier/
Football League grounds. My
partner and I completed the
list several years ago and have
maintained our record each
season as new teams entered the
League or clubs moved to new
grounds. Indeed we’ve been to
over 130 such grounds to keep
up the record. It’s not really
42
informing
supporting
campaigning
that hard and we are already
thinking about our plans to go
to Stevenage, Morecambe and
Chesterfield this season.
Dear tfs,
Over-rated, narcissistic deluded
tossers!!!
Hamish McSporran
Perhaps the FSF could do
something to replicate the now
(unfortunately) defunct 92 club
since there surely is interest among
real fans?
Alan Sykes, Bingley
tfs responds: Hamish, are you
referring to the England team (as we
suspect) or to our good selves here at
tfs? We’d find it easier to agree with
the former rather than the latter, we
must say.
© Actionimages
Dear tfs,
I was at the Palestine demo in
London last weekend and there
were a lot of people wearing
different versions of the Palestine
national football shirt. Football
is a really good way of raising
awareness about the terrible
hardships people out there face
every day. As well as the appalling
behaviour of Israel and countries
who support the Israeli regime.
Would the FSF be interested in any
campaigns to highlight the situation
in Gaza through football? Isn’t it
about time we allowed a Palestinian
team, youth or otherwise, to tour
our country, give them a bit of
support and raise awareness?
Rob Gowland, Swindon Town
supporter exiled in South London!
tfs responds: Thanks for getting in
touch Rob. The FSF is a democratic,
but non-political organisation.
We aim to represent as wide a
cross-section of football supporters
as possible, and to concentrate
on improving the game for all of
us. We’re sure that many readers
will have some sympathy for your
argument, but it’s not for the FSF to
take sides in the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict; we have enough footballrelated issues to deal with as it is!
Clearly, though, our policy is set by
our members at the annual Fans’
Parliament, and there would be
nothing to stop you turning up there
and making your case.
Dear tfs,
Former Sports Minister Richard
Caborn wants the FA to “franchise
out” Wembley Stadium and the FA
Cup so that it can concentrate on
running the game. He doesn’t explain
why any business in their right minds
would find it to their commercial
advantage to take the running of
Wembley and its associated debt
repayments off the FA’s hands
without it costing MORE than it does
at the moment. He also appears to
have failed to notice that control of
the FA Cup was seized from an FA
committee and placed in the hands of
the FA Professional Game Board.
Nor does he explain how running
the FA Cup distracts from the FA’s
core mission. In Germany the DFB
manages to run the DFB Pokal with
no problem. Likewise the RFEF
in Spain with the Copa del Rey. In
Japan the JFA manages to run the
Emperor’s Cup with no problem.
Caborn also thinks that the way
forward is for the FA and PL to stop
squabbling and show each other the
love. I’m stunned. How can he have
spent so long observing the problem
then misdiagnose it so badly?
Vic Crescit
Dear tfs,
I woke up this morning with a song
in my head so wrote it down. What
do you think? Can you imagine this
being sung in the stands or maybe
number one when we win the
World Cup?
“Come On England”
(to the tune of “I Dreamed a
dream” – Les Misérables)
I dreamed a team called ENG – ER
– LAND,
My hopes were high and life worth
living,
And my hope will never die,
As I dreamed of World Cup winning,
They were all young and unafraid…
[Ed: …have to stop you there]
Gregg Millar
www.fsf.org.uk
43
Dear tfs,
Nice to see Liverpool hitting their
supporters with a seven percent rise
when almost everyone else seems to
be freezing or even dropping prices.
Ghee whiz, thanks Mr Hicks and
Gillett! This is bad enough but it also
turns out they’re charging anyone who
doesn’t buy their season ticket online
an extra £52 which is a disgrace.
Dear tfs,
After the World Cup defeat to
Germany we decided to head to
Lesotho and had a couple of nights
in the village of Morija. We were
drinking in the local bar, the Triple
S Tavern, and on arrival asked the
locals whether there was any chance
of a football match against them.
They agreed and we arranged to meet
at 4:00pm the next day back at the
bar. Imagine our surprise when we
ended playing a full 11-a-side game
against the Lesotho Mounted Police!
We recruited a couple of young locals
to make up our numbers but still lost
4-1 and it would have been more had
it not been for some very generous
decisions to disallow a couple of
home goals. After the game we gave
out a load of England memorabilia,
flags, t-shirts etc. went back to the bar
and had an awesome night with the
Police team and the other locals who
all made us incredibly welcome.
A couple of us also swapped our
England shirts for the shirts of the
opposition. We eventually ran out
of stuff to give away and all we had
left was a few copies of the FSF’s
Free Lions so we gave them away
as well. Pictures attached are of the
locals reading Free Lions in the bar,
a couple of the pics have me in them
wearing the Police team’s shirt.
Kieran
Dear tfs,
Team of America very strong but
games not fair. Why?
Bhupal Lamichhaney
tfs responds: We don’t quite know if
you’re a real person or spam Bhupal,
and we’d love to answer your query
but unfortunately we don’t have a clue
what you’re talking about!
44
informing
supporting
campaigning
A ticket in the Anfield Road End will
set you back £774 at the ticket office
but £722 online! There are still many,
many fans – especially OAPs – who
either don’t have the internet or the
computer skills to do this. Fair enough
an extra £5 admin fee or so but £52?
Disgusting!
Ian Simpson, Wirral
Like
You can sign up to the FSF’s Facebook group at www.facebook.com/thefsf
According to the latest figures from
Virgin, the cost of football has hit a four
year low. Are you noticing a fall in your
matchday costs?
Dan Macpherson My season
ticket price has been the same for
about 4 years now. However away
from home the prices seem to be
getting higher every season. £48
for Chelsea, £35 for Blackburn,
Burnley, West Ham, Spurs and
Fulham and £42 for Man U last
season. Ridiculous prices!
Tony Mc Ha ha ha ha ha!
Try telling Liverpool fans that,
obscene price hike in standard and
corporate tickets after worst season
for 10 years!
Southampton have become the latest
in a growing number of clubs to preemptively ban the vuvuzela from their
stadium. Is it better for the greater good,
or is it a dangerous situation where clubs
are becoming over-zealous in saying
what fans can/can’t take into the ground?
Before the quarter finals, we asked
our Facebook fans who they thought
would win the World Cup. How
knowledgeable are they?
Netherlands 10%
Brazil 40%
Uruguay 4%
Ghana 0%
Mike Ashdown Leicester’s tickets
have gone up for the second
season in a row, now pretty much
in line with 2004/5 prices before
they were dropped slightly.
Adam Robinson I liked them
at the World Cup, but let’s keep
African football culture in Africa,
shall we?
Argentina 24%
5 people like this
Germany 8%
Dear tfs,
I note that the recent Football League
AGM was held in Malta. I think that
the FSF should be making serious
criticism of this choice of venue. At
a time when (most) clubs profess
to be financially constrained surely
it must be cheaper and less time
consuming for the meeting to be held
in a central venue in England? It is
environmentally unfriendly to make
such a journey (how many did each
club send?). It sets a bad example in
allegedly stringent times and when
(some) clubs will be complaining that
they need to increase ticket prices
because they can’t afford transfer fees
and/or players’ wages.
Alan Sykes
Nicola Bishop My season ticket
was £99 at Ninian Park now it’s
£229 at Cardiff City Stadium. I
preferred Ninian too :( Oh but I
have a 5 year price freeze.
Richard ‘Ricky’ Butler If I watch
Arsenal it costs far more than
if I watch Dagenham, Wembley
play off final aside, but then I
guess you get what you pay for in
terms of the quality of football.
Having said that I think I would
rather pay £16 to watch The
Daggers then £45 to see Arsenal
get kicked all over the park by the
likes of Stoke and Bolton!
Mikey Taylor Ah this is all a bit
draconian isn’t it? They’re not an
immediate danger in any way, and,
ok some people find them annoyin
but they’re great fun, n create a real
buzz in the atmosphere at a game.
Pun definitely intended. Either
way... What the bosses say goes...
Paraguay 2%
Spain 12%
Should Capello resign in the wake of
England’s World Cup debacle?
Amy Cowles Have you actually
been to a game where vuvuzelas
are prevalent Mikey?? they aren’t
great fun when someone blows one
right in your ear I can tell you, and
how can they create atmosphere
when they are blown continuously
regardless of anything exciting
happening on the pitch?!
Yes 45%
No 41%
Don’t care 13%
www.fsf.org.uk
45
Fact Hunt
Barry Bunter – tfs fact
hunter – explodes myths
and stomach linings
3 Pork Pies - Denis
Law’s back-heal sent Manchester United
down: While it’s true that Law didn’t
celebrate his goal in City’s 1-0 win in 1974 ,
United would have actually been relegated
anyway.
1 Pork Pies - The modern ball is
lighter than those used in the past: Balls
now weigh 14-16oz and have remained
the same since 1937. However, newer
models don’t hold so much water in wet
conditions so there is some truth in
this one.
where he went to school but was never
eligible for the full national team as both
his parents are Welsh.
shirt, and forced them to play in a ‘charity’
match. This story appears on various
websites, who knows?! We’ll give it two
pork pies - that’s one pub-based snack for
every 75 pygmies allegedly kidnapped.
And we repeat - allegedly!
0 Pork Pies - Teams try to
score against themselves : Barbados
needed a two-goal win against Grenada
to progress in 1994’s Caribbean Cup but
with seconds to spare were only 2-1 up.
A quirk in the rules meant that any game
won on penalties was awarded as a 2-0
win. Barbados scored their own goal and
progressed on penalties.
Pork Pie ometer
could have played for England: Giggs did
play for England Schoolboys because that’s
• Local Campaigns
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Join the fsf today for FREE visit: www.fsf.org.uk
Pretty big pork pies
What’s your sauce?
kidnapped 150 pygmies : The Cameroon
legend took the victims hostage, watched
over by a guard in a Saddam Hussein t-
Crumbs it’s a fact
BACKPASS
Spot the difference
Shock news this summer regarding
Cristiano Ronaldo. Not his
underperformance at the World Cup,
that was thoroughly expected; more the
out-of-nowhere announcement of the
birth of his son to a secret woman. Ever
modest, he’s decided to call his son, er,
Cristiano Ronaldo.
Life’s certainly going to change for the
Portuguese winger, as any parent will
know: he’ll have to show a lot more bottle,
won’t have time for 40 winks, and it’ll be
more pampers than pampered from now
on. Still, at least he’s got a Nani he can
rely on.
• Legal Advice and Support
Big fat lie
2 Pork Pies - Roger Milla
3 Pork Pies - Ryan Giggs
• www.fsf.org.uk
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Dedicated to football from
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#1
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SPECIAL OFFER for FSF members – send just £3 to receive Issue 12 (it is £3.50 in the
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Le Tissier, Fred Pickering, Franz Beckenbauer, Bobby Gould, Keith Robson and Trevor
Whymark. Plus the Malcolm Macdonald column, Remembering Albert Johanneson and
Paul Vaessen, a focus on the 1968-69 season, a 2010 World Cup verdict, Attendances in
the 1960s and some opening day games that lived up to the hype.
Send a cheque/postal order for £3 (made payable to Backpass) to Backpass, Greystones,
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Transcription

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