Saturday 1 A ten-point lead for Man Utd who thrash West Ham 7-1 – “It was one of those days when everything went right,” says Sir Alex – while Big Dave’s babies lose for the third time in four games, 1-0 to Chelsea. Michael Owen’s tufty hair receives plenty of ruffling as he scores two in a 3-0 win at Coventry that takes Liverpool to within a point of Leeds. Southampton and Wimbledon both lose but Bradford fail to take advantage, beaten 2-0 at Newcastle. Watford still need eight points to avoid the worst ever Premiership total, their defensive frailties highlighted at Goodison Park, where even Mark Hughes manages to score in Everton’s 4-2 win. There’s violence in Birmingham, where home fans clash with Wolves supporters before their game at St Andrews, and in Bristol, with Stoke goalkeeper Kevin Ward attacked on the pitch by three Rovers fans at the end of the teams’ 3-3 draw. Trapdoor teasers Chester win again, 1-0 at Halifax, and draw level on points with fast sliding Shrewsbury. Hamilton’s match at Stenhousemuir in the Scottish Second Division is called off when the visiting team’s players go on strike over unpaid wages.
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Stories
Dear WSC
Why is Juninho (and any other Brazilian for that matter) referred to as a “samba star”? We don’t call Spanish players “tango stars” or Italians “tarantella stars”. Dennis Bergkamp has never been a “clog dance star” and I haven’t heard Everton fans heralding Joe-Max Moore as their new “hoedown star”. I wonder what foreign journalists call English players. “Morris dance stars” perhaps?
Nigel Ball, Middlesbrough
Ken Gall talks to the MPs whose intervention over Danny Wilson's management of Sheffield Wednesday drew so much flak
Managers at struggling clubs quickly become inured to criticism from the media, fans and directors. Few, however, will experience a public call for their removal from a cabinet minister – the fate which befell Danny Wilson as Sheffield Wednesday’s season made the dreadful journey from bad to worse.
Despite Sheffield Wednesday's atrocious season, Danny Wilson's job seemsed safe until last month. Grahan Lightfoot examines how it all went wrong for him
The post mortem at the end of the 1999-2000 season will reveal that the cause of Sheffield Wednesday’s Premiership death was obvious. Nothing ever lasts long without a heart. All the more strange that the man who presided over this long and painful downfall was a player who wore the blue and white stripes with such pride. When Danny Wilson was appointed as manager at Hillsborough in July 1998 there weren’t too many Owls fans who were disappointed. After less than two years in charge, however, his dismissal by the club’s new chairman Howard Culley has been met with mixed feelings.
Wednesday 1 Man Utd beat Bordeaux 2-0. “You’ve got to win your home games,” advises Sir Alex. Mark Bosnich, dropped after his leaden-footed display against Wimbledon the previous Saturday, is said to be “fuming”, the poppet.