Hull City may be heading in a new direction, explains Andy Medcalf, but only in the boardroom
When tennis supremo David Lloyd rescued Hull City from the claws of owner Christopher Needler last summer it was hoped the good times would return to East Yorkshire following the Terry “doldrum” Dolan years.
Roger Titford gives a unique insight into the proposals for league reform
On December 11th, the Football League Working Party On Structure published its report on the five options for the future structure of the League. By giving each name option the name of a planet, and adding in some extraneous guff about giving points for half-time leads, they attracted a huge amount of (largely) negative publicity and very little critical analysis.
Monday 3 For the second time this season a Premiership match is abandoned due to floodlight failure: West Ham have just equalized after being two down at home to Palace when Upton Park is plunged into darkness. "The electricans said they just couldn't get to the bottom of it," says Harry Redknapp, looking even more perplexed than usual.
Tuesday 4 Goals from Ian Taylor and Dwight Yorke take Aston Villa on to the Third Round of the UEFA Cup. Opponents Bilbao pull one back twenty minutes from time but fail to force the draw that would have taken them through. "Now we can look forward to going on our travels again before Christmas," says Brian Little. (And that was the best quote too. God, he's boring.) "We just didn't stick the ball in the net enough times," says Roy Evans, flashing that marvellous old boot room wisdom as Liverpool beat Strasbourg 2-0 but go out 3-2 on aggregate.
Wednesday 1 In the Champions League Man Utd recover from conceding a goal in the first minute to beat Juventus 3-2 at Old Trafford. "This is a measure of how far we've come," says Alex beaming fit to burst. "If we put another three goals past Peruzzi in Rome next week we will be on our way to the World Cup finals," says Phil Neville, getting carried away. Newcastle come back from two down in Kiev to draw with two late goals, the second a bizarre deflection. Their luck is offset, though, by an injury to Tino Asprilla which will keep him out for at least a month. In the Coke, Sheffield Wed go out to Grimsby on a 4-3 aggregate. "It was another bad night at the office," says David Pleat, who may not be working late for much longer.
Thursday 2 Bad news for bar staff around Manchester – Roy Keane's cruciate injury will keep him out for the rest of the season.
There are big plans afoot for football in a corner of Greater Manchester, Ashley Shaw explains
“Tameside is the largest Metropolitan Borough in England without a League team, that is a fact that we intend to correct as soon as possible.” This was how Peter Barnes, chairman of Conference hopefuls Stalybridge Celtic, helped kick up one hell of a stink in Tameside, East Manchester.