Search: ' Portsmouth'

Wigan throw it away as Preston capture the title, by Mark Barr

The long-term significance
This was the season that revived two traditional Lancashire clubs. Preston returned to the second level after a nineteen year absence, while runners-up Burnley had spent only two years outside the lower divisions during the same period. Both clubs have remained in the Championship, with Preston qualifying for the playoffs twice. This season Burnley’s victories over Chelsea and Arsenal have take them to their first major cup semi final since 1982-83.

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What would you change about football? WSC writers look ahead to 2009 and ask, sensibly enough, for preparation for a global dystopia and for players to learn the laws, which will never catch on

After sneaking an away win at Bristol City a few years ago, Brentford created a minor stir by warming down on the pitch within minutes of the final whistle. Home fans regarded the winners’ touchline-to-touchline trudging to be “unnecessarily provocative” and, via a flurry of letters to the local paper, demanded an apology from the club.

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Tom Davies looks at the fortunes of three clubs struggling with finances

Suddenly, football ownership is all about selling, with predatory would-be owners outnumbered by chairmen seemingly desperate to offload – and not being able to. Portsmouth and West Ham’s travails have had the highest recent profile, while at Newcastle Mike Ashley’s decision to withdraw the club from sale has rekindled some of the fan anger of earlier in the season, sparking long-awaited stirrings of organised supporter activity.

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Clubs struggling in the current financial crisis by Tom Davies

The financial crisis has inevitably brought with it a swirl of speculation about how football clubs will cope with the first recession since the Premier League breakaway, but given the messes so many got into during the boom years it’s tempting to wonder whether we’ll notice much difference. But there’s no doubt many will find life more precarious.

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Is it possible for Jamie to comment fairly on Harry?

It was no surprise that Harry Redknapp’s appointment as Spurs boss a few days later met with almost universal approval in the press. Most football journalists seem to love Redknapp – while many managers treat reporters with varying degrees of suspicion, he’s affable, talkative and funny, a constant source of good copy. In among the many phone calls he apparently made in the hours after his departure from Portsmouth around midnight on Saturday was a characteristic quip, reflecting on the £5 million compensation agreed with his ex-employers: “Pompey couldn’t sell a player in the window so we sell the manager.”

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