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Damon Green warns that sparing your kids when choosing their team will only spoil their heritage

A colleague at work, drawn and tired, complained to me recently that he doesn’t want his son to grow up supporting his team. Their performances have been so shameful and the management of the club has been so dire that he would be ashamed to pass on such a legacy. I looked at him for a second, then laughed in his face. He supports Arsenal.

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Dear WSC
In answer to Jamie Sellers’ enquiry (Letters, WSC 296), no, David Needham and I are not related, although I pretended he was for a while at junior school. Also, when I went to Forest games and the Trent End chanted “Needham! Needham! Needham!” during corners (he was renowned for nodding them in), I would step forward, raise a hand, shout “Thank you, fans!” and then do that breathing-on-the-fingernails-and-buffing-them-on-the-lumber-jacket thing that boastful kids were wont to do in the late 1970s.
Al Needham, Nottingham

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John Duerden on how Lebanon are raising hopes against the odds with a good showing in World Cup qualifying

Lebanon’s German manager, Theo Bücker, was tired of waiting and told the bus driver to leave the Seoul hotel, where the team were preparing for a 2014 World Cup qualifier against South Korea, without one of his players. “If I say five o’clock, I don’t mean two minutes after or two minutes before,” Bücker said. “If a shot hits the crossbar is it a goal even if it had gone in had the shot been two centimetres lower?”

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Footballing tensions in Ireland have worsened recently over several cases of defection and perceived poaching, reports Aaron Rogan

Gerry Armstrong’s goal against Spain in the 1982 World Cup finals will live long in the memories of Northern Ireland supporters. His new role within the Irish Football Association (IFA) could be vital for the future success of the national team. Over the last few years, the south’s Football Association of Ireland (FAI) has begun selecting an increasing number of northern-born and capped players to represent the Republic. Armstrong has been appointed as “elite player mentor” to persuade younger players to stay within the north’s set up.

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Following industrial action Spanish law has changed. Dermot Corrigan hopes the result is more responsible action from clubs

A most welcome wind of change may just be blowing through Spanish football, sparked by a players’ strike before the first round of fixtures. Twenty Primera División and La Segunda matches were postponed in August after the Spanish players’ union (AFE) head José Luis Rubiales led his players out in a dispute over €58 million (£50m) in unpaid wages. This is due to 200 first and second division footballers at seven different clubs.

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