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Manchester Utd equal highest ever winning points margin. By Neil Rose

The long-term significance
Unlike Chelsea the previous season, Manchester United refused to bow to Football Association pressure not to compete in the fledgling European Cup after winning the league. However, on May 15, 1956, Birmingham City became the first English club side to compete in Europe, taking part in the International Inter-City Industrial Fairs Cup, for cities that hosted industrial and trade fairs. Games coincided with fairs and thus the tournament took three years to complete. In 1957 Birmingham lost in the semi-final to eventual winners Barcelona after a play-off in Basle in the days before the away-goals rule (which would have benefited Barça anyway). The competition evolved into the UEFA Cup. In a game dubbed “Old World meets the New”, England beat Brazil 4-2 at Wembley, during which the Brazilians – two years away from their first World Cup win – briefly walked off the pitch in a dispute over a penalty. Stanley Matthews, recalled at the age of 42, gave a virtuoso performance. His opponent on the flank, Nilton Santos, whom the Brazilians had said was unbeatable, reportedly told him at the end of the game: “Mister Matthews, you are the king.”

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Few countries were as desperate for a lift from the World Cup as Trinidad & Tobago, whose team provided some much needed national unity, as Mike Woitalla explains

XTrinidad & Tobago defender Marvin Andrews was 12 years old the last time his country came close to qualifying for a first World Cup. The Caribbean twin-island nation needed to draw against the United States in Port of Spain on November 19, 1989. Dwight Yorke, who had turned 18 two weeks earlier, started in midfield. Schools lifted their dress codes so the children could honour “Red Day”. The 30,000-strong crowd at Hasely Crawford Stadium looked like a scarlet blanket. Calypso bands played tunes about going to Italy. The Mighty Sparrow sang: “I never know Trini did love football so.” Lincoln Phillips, a former T&T national team goalkeeper, said: “It’s crazy. It’s the first time in the history of the country that everybody has gotten behind one thing.”

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How times have changed for England and Germany

The internet is a breeding ground for rumour. Just recently, for instance, a message has been going around about a proposed England song for the 2006 World Cup, not the official one but a celebrity singalong in the manner of 1998’s Vindaloo. It’s Who Do You Are Think You Are Kidding, Mr Klinsmann? sung to the tune of the Dad’s Army theme. Ant and Dec are said to have been approached to sing it with Peter Kay and Gazza among others being asked to participate in the video. It might not be true, but the fact that it sounds all too horribly plausible demonstrates how bad things may get between now and next June.

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Thursday 1 “Toshack hates me, I can handle that,” says Robbie Savage, soberly conceding that his international career is over after being left out of the Wales squad and not called up when others pulled out. Northern Ireland drop Jeff Whitley and Phil Mulryne for going on an all‑day drinking session.

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Northern Ireland’s shock victory over England was a welcome tonic on and off the pitch, as Robbie Meredith reports

Strange as it seems now, the visit of England to Windsor Park wasn’t originally particularly important. Sure, it was a rare chance for us to ogle at the Team England circus and gain some attention from Motty, Wrighty and… um… Woolnoughy, but many Northern Ireland supporters initially viewed the Azerbaijan match the preceding Saturday as more vital. It was a realistic chance to pick up a rare win, whereas most of us assumed that England would stroll into town, patronise us with a load of guff about how they expected a tough contest, then cuff us with relative ease. 

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