Search: ' La Liga'

Hooligan's and Graeme Souness (no connection) are just some of the things that Jamie Rainbow has been looking at on the web

In the wake of Cardiff’s opening day visit from Millwall, there has been much talk of a resurgence in football hooliganism involving rival fans allegedly arranging fights over the internet. Time then for WSC to undertake an in-depth invest­igation into the phenomenon. An initial search for “football hooligan” produced 230 sites. The first selection was called simply: “Hooligan’s”, which sounded promising until I discovered it was a site advertising Hooligan’s Tavern in New York. However, the bar does claim to be “equipped to serve all your sporting needs”, so you never know.

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Tony Morris gives us a brief history of Tranmere Rovers

1885 Belmont FC change their name to Tranmere Rovers. Fielding players from a Methodist chapel, the righteous Rovers win their first home game 10-0 against Liverpool North End.

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A poor performance while on international duty could have a more worrying effect on a player's domestic club than meets the eye, writes Neil Wills

When Martin Palermo missed three penalties against Colombia he unwittingly wrote him­self into the Copa America record books. What he probably did not realise at the time (hey, he probably had other things on his mind) was that his profligacy from 12 yards would have far-reaching repercussions for British football clubs in this age of the market.

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With the attention of off-field matters increasingly turning towards the finances of the game, how long can football clubs survive working on unsustainable budgets?

It’s an unlikely feat, but the youngster seems to have pulled it off. Even in a sum­mer when words such as “Office of Fair Trading” and “minister for sport” have been grappling for our attention, nothing has hit the high notes on the Yawnometer quite like a mention of Nicolas Anelka.

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To mark WSC's 150th issue, we invited three critics with different links to the magazine's past to reflect on changes in fan culture since 1986

WSC The term “fan culture”, which barely existed when the magazine started in 1986, has now become commonplace. But it seems as though there is actually less of a unifying fan culture now than there was then. Are there things that still bring people together, from Premiership to the Third Division, as we assumed there were when we started? 

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