Dear WSC
I’m stunned. Whilst channel hopping for some late night smut, I came across none other than Garth Crooks hosting an in-depth politico-chat show, Des-patch Box.I sat transfixed as Garth, a man whose normal journalistic beat leads him to doing humourous pieces on the shopping trips of the Reggae Boyz or Graham Kelly’s musical tastes, spent air-time slapping down Austin Mitchell’s views on the strong pound, summarizing the extradiction of Pin-ochet and probing into why the Welsh Secretary resigned.I first of all dismissed his presence on such a programme as a fluke, poor Garth being pressed into service when a Paxman clone went down with lumbago, chucked a copy of the Independent and told to get in front of the camera. But no! Garth gave a much more measured display than he ever did for Man Utd. At the end of the show he astound-ed me by announcing that he’d be back next Thursday.As a mere lad when Garth was in his prime for Spurs, I remember Tony Galvin being championed by the Topical Times as a major intellectual force because he had a degree in Russian. Shoot! thought Chris Hughton a real academic because he read the Guardian rather than the Mirror. But now know who was the true colossus of culture – Garth Crooks.I can only wonder at what Mark Falco and Gary Brook are doing now – teaching juris-prudence at Oxford and developing new forms of antibiotics, perhaps?
James Kerr, York
Search: ' Euro 68'
Stories
Simon Evans explains why eastern European clubs are staying loyal to UEFA despite being frozen out of the Champions League
Grey-haired sixty-somethings in conservative suits, with small badges on their left lapels, firmly shook hands, slapped backs, kissed one another on the cheeks and greeted each other in Russian. It might have been a scene from any party congress in the past five decades, but this was 1998 and the first-ever meeting of eastern European football associations.
Stephen Wagg describes how British clubs are beginning to overcome their traditional hostility to the appliance of science
The current denigration of Glenn Hoddle is as predecessors Robson and Taylor, but, quite by accident, it has thrown up a matter of some interest: football’s relationship to science. Hoddle has, on the one hand, been persistently criticised for employing a “faith healer”, yet, on the other, for allowing his players to be given Creatine, an ameno acidic powder thought to aid short, high energy movement and delay fatigue.
Everyone likes a good moan about their local council. Especially Jim Gwinnell and Rob Rushton, who suspect theirs of neglecting one half of their respective cities
BRISTOL
There has long been a feeling among Bristol Rovers fans that Bristol city council might just as well be named Bristol City council. Their suspicions of a pro-City bias on the Labour-run council have been heightened by the most recent moves in the seemingly endless saga over the future homes of the city’s two League clubs. Bristol City want a new 40,000-seater stadium to replace Ashton Gate, while Rovers are desperate for an adequate home of their own.
FIFA's proposed world club championship is likely to involve teams from Asia and Africa as well as Europe and South America, we look at how the Champions League format is spreading around the word. Justin McCurry reports from Asia, while Alan Duncan examines the situation in Africa
The Asian club championship has some way to go in terms of sponsorship, prestige and public and media interest before it can rival similar competitions in Europe and South America.