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Ed Upright looks back on the season Hereford were promoted and Palace weren't thanks to Cup distractions

The long-term significance
At the end of this season goal difference replaced goal average, under which system teams level on points were separated by goals scored divided by goals conceded. Goal difference made standings much easier to calculate, but the rival systems could also reach different conclusions. Huddersfield won the 1923-24 title on account of their 1.818 goal average, fractionally better than Cardiff’s 1.794. Had goal difference been in place the title would have gone to Wales for the only time – equal on a goal difference of 27, Cardiff had scored 61 goals to Huddersfield’s 60.
The 1975 Safety of Sports Grounds Act set new standards on crush barriers, access routes, lighting and surfacing. In an era of dilapidated stadiums, rising costs and no thought of ground relocation, this meant huge expenditure. The League created a mutually beneficial deal with the pools promoters – spot-the-ball competitions would remain untaxed in return for a percentage of profits going to a new body to help clubs, the Football Grounds Improvement Trust.

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In 1970, the boot was on the other foot as Gigi Riva led Cagliari to the Serie A title. Jon Spurling examines the team’s achievement

In the last 40 years of Italian football, only Diego Maradona’s partial deification in Naples can rival the status granted by Cagliari fans to striker Gigi Riva. Thirty-seven years after his Herculean goalscoring feats (21 goals in 30 games) helped the Sardinian side win their only Serie A title, his presence can still be felt around the island. In Cagliari’s Bar Marius, where fans gather before matches, a life-size statue of Riva continues to draw adoring glances. In other bars and cafes on Sardinia, posters of Riva, aka Rombo di tuono (Sound of thunder) continue to adorn the walls, and 46-year-old Danilo Piroddi still claims to be able to “dine out” on the story of how, during a Cagliari training session in 1970, a Riva thunderbolt, estimated at 120 kilometres an hour, broke his arm. “Despite the agony I was in, the doctors still treated me with reverence when I told them how I’d sustained the injury,” Piroddi claims.

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Given the record of British coaches in developing players in the UK, is it a good idea that they are doing well in the burgeoning and highly profitable US soccer market? Mike Woitalla doesn’t think so

One of the myriad American youth soccer programmes declares it uses “soccer as a tool to teach kids about life”. Classes are open to children from 18 months old and, by the time a child is three, the Lil’ Kickers coaches will be teaching them “concepts of co-operation and teamwork”. So now, even for the youngest, it’s not just a game. If it were and kids were simply given a place to kick around in the manner that has created the world’s best players, could Lil’ Kickers promise the indoor arenas that host their classes an annual income boost of £125,000?

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We’ve all bemoaned, doubted or disbelieved an offside decision. Thankfully, Ian Plenderleith has found an online world where you can debate the issues, view the possible solution or test yourself on the rules

Like the offside rule itself, the website Offside Today still has some room for improvement. However, it differs from that perpetually discussed law in that it’s not a necessary evil, but a necessary platform to help keep the issue at the forefront of ­football debate.

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In a matter of months he went from being seen as English football’s big managerial hope on the international stage to being a load of rubbish – more or less literally. Graham Dunbar looks back

For followers of the national team unconvinced by Steve McClaren, some comfort can be taken from the example of Mike Walker, a man who proved it is possible to go from England contender to managerial pariah in less than a year. Walker’s career path once seemed to be following that of Alf Ramsey: reaching the top after taking a small East Anglian club to unimagined heights. Eventually, he would more closely resemble Paulie Walnuts from The Sopranos: sharp-suited and well groomed, with a sideline in waste management.

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