Neil Rose wonders if the high profile involvement of lawyers in the administration of the game may be causing more problems than it solves
Graham Kelly and the ‘Gazza Rap’. An unsavoury pairing if ever there was. The connection? Lawyers. As a breed, lawyers may have committed many sins on this earth over the centuries, but these two surely rank among the greatest.
Nigeria look odds on to qualify for the 1998 World Cup in spite, rather than because, of their organisation off the pitch, as Osasu Obayiuwana explains
Perhaps like nowhere else in the football world the recent history of the game in Nigeria is one of odd but intriguing contrasts, a showcase for both excellence and mediocrity. “A foreign manager with no backbone and an aversion for conflict cannot work as coach of the national team in Nigeria,” says Clemence Westerhof, the Dutchman whose five year reign came to an end after the 1994 World Cup Finals.
Mike Ticher explains why Terry Venables' appointment as Australia's new manager caused as much consternation there as it did here
Australia fulfils an odd role in Britain’s unofficial list of foreign stereotypes these days. Because the vast majority of its inhabitants are white, it’s become one of the last places on earth which the so-called quality press, as well as the tabloids, feel free to patronize without fear of being called racist. What’s more, there’s a vast lexicon of symbols associated with Australia and Australians which are instantly recognizable to British people: marsupials; soap operas; conspicuous alcohol consumption; comical words and phrases; boomerangs; the bush; most of the words to Waltzing Matilda.
Filippo Ricci looks at the connections between Italian politics and football
From Benito Mussolini, who even wanted the national team to play in black shirts, to Silvio Berlusconi, politics and football in Italy have walked together. Until the eighties Roma had just won one title, in 1941-42, the season since known as “Mussolini’s championship”. The Duce simply decided that the title must come to the capital and so it came.
Dick Sharman examines Rushden & Diamonds' success in 1996
Something is stirring in East Northants. In the little-known market town of Irthlingborough, one of many such places in the area separated by unremarkable, gently rolling fields, a a fledgling club are being nurtured by a multi-millionaire. Rushden and Diamonds are the new champions of the Beazer Homes League, already priming themselves for Endsleigh League status – and beyond. The galling thing for Northampton Town fans is that is should have been us.