Chris Taylor explains that while FC United of Manchester’s FA Cup exploits are exciting, news of a new ground is the best thing to happen to the club this season
My dad used to point at stars and tell me that they could have expired thousands of years ago, and yet we can still see them because of how far away they are. I can now tell him that the away end of the Withdean Stadium is so far away from the pitch, you see events roughly 70 minutes after the rest of the ground.
Kevin Borras recounts the moment that AFC Wimbledon were drawn against MK Dons in the FA Cup second round
I’m a season-ticket holder and a shareholder at AFC Wimbledon. Day zero for us was May 28, 2002, when the FA, in their infinite wisdom, declared that to deny Wimbledon FC the opportunity to move to Milton Keynes and “keep the club alive” would not have been in the wider interests of football. So, the potential of playing the club that we all refer to as Franchise FC in the second round of the FA Cup was the very embodiment of mixed emotions.
Our web awards focus on the best footballing blogs, fanzines and websites. Ian Plenderleith gives his view on why each is worthy the accolade
It’s that time of year when we finally say something nice about what’s on the internet, and the 2010 Web Awards focus on what may be considered classic fanzine virtues – independence, originality, wit and selfless involvement in a game that seems intent on distancing itself from a fanbase whose cash it wants and needs, but which in many corners still stubbornly refuses to sink into the passive role of slavish devotee. Our by-no-means comprehensive selection of sites, some of them consistent enough to be held over from last year’s awards, reflects the necessity of a watchful ethical eye, the redemption of satire and an increasing awareness of the need to analyse the game’s business side. The web may be clogged with bothersome ads, unhinged anger and celebrities masquerading as columnists, but there’s resistance too. Support your team, but support too the many voices of sanity who still care that teetering crises contrast daily with high-spend lunacy.
The media lambast England manager Fabio Capello as some choice decisions see his side losing a friendly to France 2-1.
Fabio Capello can please no one. Harry Redknapp thinks he shouldn’t pick players he turned down for the World Cup. Sam Allardyce is upset that he disrespected Paul Robinson. Robert Huth thinks he should pick Ryan Shawcross. David Moyes wants him to play Leighton Baines more. And Roy Hodgson wants him to play Steven Gerrard less.
Why it should come as no surprise that England failed to capture the 2018 World Cup
You would have needed a heart of stone not to laugh at the peeved expressions of the England 2018 delegation as the World Cup hosting announcement was made. They shouldn’t have been surprised; everyone who has taken an active role in the 2018 bidding process will have known that England’s campaign was screwed a while ago.