Steven Heath gives us a brief history of Southend
1906 A group of local worthies gather in the Blue Boar in Prittlewell (of which Southend was once the south end) to establish a rival to local amateur side Southend Athletic. In a fit of optimism, the proposed name, Prittlewell United, is dropped.The team turn professional and gain entry to the Southern League Second Division.
The Stade de France won over fans of the national team, but so far no suitable club side has been found to play there. Philippe Broussard runs down the possible contenders
The Stade de France, venue of the most recent World Cup final, is now an institution, almost an historic monument. Les Bleus winning the World Cup means that, like Wembley, thousands of tourists visit the Stade. But it hasn’t always had such a positive image. A year ago, at the time of the official opening (January 28th, 1998), there was more criticism than praise. The press wondered what kind of future such a structure could have: was an 80,000-capacity stadium way too large for a country in which football draws many less people than in Italy or England? Was it not a risk to build it in a depressed suburb (Saint-Denis) where spectators would think twice about going? And, most importantly, who would use the ground once the World Cup was over?
Jeff Hill pays tribute to a famous building that is about to disappear
The Wembley that we all love to hate – the dog track with a football ground in the middle – will soon be no more. Next year it will be pulled down, and by 2002 or thereabouts only the famous twin towers are likely to remain of the present structure. Barring last minute hitches, the rest is to be transformed into a multi-sports National Stadium. So England will have a site to equal the Stade de France and all those other sporting venues which are supposed to symbolise “the nation”.
Rather then follow the general consesus of an uphappy team, Argentina's national squad have taken a different approach. Peter Hudson investigates
Any strike is a rarity in Argentina these days, given the weakness of the local labour movement. But the latest is doubly unusual in being led by professional footballers, hardly noted for their revolutionary fervour. What’s more, the players are not looking for higher wages or better conditions. Rather, they are withdrawing their labour in defence of their poorer colleagues, who have been prevented from plying their trade by a court order late last year suspending all matches outside the First Division.
From a Luton dream to a Luton disaster, David Kohler's plan for a new stadium has finally come to an end John Earls reports
David Kohler was fighting a losing battle for Luton fans’ respect the moment he stopped being chairman and instead called himself chief executive. The latter title meant he could draw a wage we could not afford to pay him. Not that this forgives the moronic way Kohler was persuaded to resign in late February – an unlit petrol bomb and box of matches were posted through his letterbox with an accompanying letter making it clear what would happen “next time” if Kohler did not get out.