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Former England international Tony Woodcock had two spells as a player with Cologne and settled in Germany aftr retiring. He has since worked as a coach and for a management company representing players as he told Andy Lyons

“I got a FIFA agent’s licence when I joined the company I now work for 18 months ago. We do everything connected with sport from TV production to internet coverage. My depart­ment is sports management, dealing with boxers and ice hockey players as well as footballers. When I first moved to Cologne from Forest [in 1979], a transfer to another country was a complicated business, like something from a James Bond story, with secret talks and flying here and there. I learned a lot about how things were organised and later in my career players would come to me for advice on things like moving clubs.

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Saturday 2 The addition of Rio Ferdinand to Leeds’ defence has an instant impact, with Leicester scoring three times in the first half hour at Filbert Street. “One of my central defenders cost us all three goals but I’m not saying who it was,” says David O’Leary. The fact that Jonathan Woodgate was taken off after 37 minutes may be a clue. At Anfield, Alan Curbishley and Gérard Houllier disagree politely about Emile Heskey, who twice downs Richard Rufus. “I try to cool my players down and he tries to get my player sent off,” rages Houllier after Liverpool’s 3-0 win. “Mind you, he is English, so you forgive him.” In the First Division, Huddersfield win at home for the first time this season, beating Crewe 3-1. Wimbledon lose at home again, 1-0 to rising West Brom. “Maybe the players have a rampant sex life when they stay in their houses on Friday night,” ponders knockabout Dons boss Terry Burton. Oxford are seven points adrift in the Second after losing  3-2 at Oldham. “It is time to start kicking backsides because some of these players are looking for excuses and that’s why they are losers,” says manager David Kemp. Which should help boost morale.

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Massed ranks of WSC writers and interviewees reflect on the best and worst of 2000

Jim Rosenthal
Ups
– Premier League highlights acquired by ITV
– Cardiff losing at Gillingham to ensure Oxford United avoid relegation
– Playing for the Cookham Dean Parents against 12-year-old son Tom (lost 8-7)

Downs
– Hearing the country I had backed to win Euro 2000 (Italy) had lost in the final in extra time. They were still leading with two minutes to go when I boarded a flight home after the French grand prix.
– Oxford United’s owner Firoz Kassam telling the fans after the Luton game to “piss off” unless they gave him their support. The club’s “saviour” is taking us into the fast lane out of the League.
– Sitting in the stadiums of Florence, Rome and Turin and hearing the racist abuse directed at black players of Manchester United, Arsenal and England

Hope for 2001
– It stops raining and English clubs go all the way in the Champions League.

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Marcus Christenson examines the past achievements of the next England manager

Sven-Goran Eriksson’s appointment was met with a barrage of xenophobia in England. In Sweden and elsewhere in Europe, however, the discussion centred on why on earth a top European coach would go anywhere near the mangy Three Lions. It is difficult to imagine Fabio Capello, Hector Cuper, Alberto Zac­cheroni or any other successful European coach leav­ing their clubs to join up with Adam Crozier and co. So why was Eriksson prepared to swap Rome for London?

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Dear WSC
An idea for a movie script, in which hard man Vinnie Jones plays a villain called, er, Hard Man. A large group of ex-footballers who’ve been on the receiving end of one of his so-called “tackles” lure him to a deserted warehouse and wallop the shite out of him.
Stephen J Bunting, Cambridge

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