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TheHalfDecentFootballMagazine1986

TheHalfDecentFootballMagazine

2011

Inside Dilemmaforteenstars

SwindonTown’sworstseason

SwindonTown’sworstseason

CarltonCole’sTwittertrouble

CarltonCole’sTwittertrouble

Crawley-unpopularchampions

Crawley-unpopularchampions

RelegationbattleinBirmingham

RelegationbattleinBirmingham

BARCELONA: BEST IN THE WORLD? IN THE WORLD? IN THE WORLD?

£2.95 June2011 Issue292

Noonecan matchusfor passing...

hype...

andfalling over

AroundtheworldRacisminBrazilBosniabannedbyFIFA

AroundtheworldRacisminBrazilBosniabannedbyFIFA

Germandemocracyunderthreat

Germandemocracyunderthreat

ForeignownersforSpanishclubs

ForeignownersforSpanishclubs

China’sfootballboom

China’sfootballboom

1986

2011

25thAnniversarySpecial

Fromfanstocustomers–the changingmatchdayexperience

11/05/2011 18:25

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TheHalfDecentFootballMagazine1986

2011

Inside FootballLeaguereview

FootballLeaguereview

Swanseabackatthetop

Swanseabackatthetop

WholikestheEuropaLeague?

WholikestheEuropaLeague?

TheFAatwarwithFIFA

TheFAatwarwithFIFA

AnIrishmaninLibya

AnIrishmaninLibya

HAS BLATTER

HAS BLATTER RUINED FOOTBALL?

RUINED FOOTBALL?

No,itwill takeatleastanothertakeatleastanother

No,itwill takeatleastanother fouryears fouryears

AroundtheworldGoodtimesforPorto

Italian fancampaign SeasonrestartsinJapan

Serbia:Arkan’sclubindecline

Latvianfootballonthebrink

Argentinarefereeingcontroversy wsc293_cover.indd 1

£2.95 July2011 Issue293

£2.95 July2011July2011July Issue293

1986

2011

25thAnniversarySpecial

Thechangingfaceofclubownership fromIpswichbrewerstoRussianoligarchs

08/06/2011 18:21

TheHalfDecentFootballMagazine1986

1

2011

Inside Over-pricedEnglishtalent

Players’ superinjunctions

HowforeigntourshavechangedHowforeigntourshavechanged

Howforeigntourshavechanged

Whathappenedtoawayends?

Football’s onlineabusers

THE NEW MOURINHO?

Failtowinthe ChampionsLeague,fall outwithAbramovich,

takeabigpay-off

AroundtheworldMexicowintheGoldCup again

Palestine takeonAfghanistan

NewhopeforIndianfootball?

GranadaontheriseinSpain

CorruptioninSouthKorea

AderbydayinRio wsc294_cover.indd 1

£2.95 August2011 Issue294

1986

2011

25thAnniversarySpecial

Howthegamehaschanged,from

Howthegamehaschanged,from parkfootballtothetacticalrevolution parkfootballtothetacticalrevolution

06/07/2011 18:30

TheHalfDecentFootballMagazine

TRANSFER MADNESS!TRARANMADNDNDNDNESS!S!MADNDN

1986

2011

TheHalfDecentFootballMagazine

TheHalfDecentFootballMagazine

INSIDE Football and the riots

Joey Barton’s long goodbye

Life in League One for

Sheffield Wed and Notts County

Sheffield Wed and Notts County

Footballers’ Desert Island Discs

Footballers’ Desert Island Discs

Media-savvy managers

1986

2011

Let’sall moveto Manchester

TheHalfDecentFootballMagazine

INSIDE Stars from the lower divisions

Stars from the lower divisions

Should clubs compensate fans?

Should clubs compensate fans?

Footballers love computer games

Footballers love computer games

Gateshead aiming for the League

Gateshead aiming for the League

When crowd abuse goes too far When crowd abuse goes too far

When crowd abuse goes too far

Hartlepool’s lost rivals

TEVEZ CONTROVERSY

Iwon’tplaywith peoplewhoareonly hereforthemoney

£16million forPhilJones?

£20million forJordan Henderson?

£20million forStewart Downing? £20million£20million forStewartforStewart Downing?

wsc295_cover2.indd 1

£3.50 September 2011 Issue295

INSIDE The Carlos Tevez saga

Women’s World Cup

Wimbledon are back

Uruguay win Copa

Bundesliga scandal

Champions League in decline?

Fulham return to Europe

Pat Rice’s glasses

1986

2011

25th Anniversary Special

Football writing: broadsheets,

tabloids and player biographies tabloids and player biographies

27/07/2011 19:14

ARSENAL’S NEW DIRECTION

AROUND THE WORLD

South Africa’s World Cup hangover

South Africa’s World Cup hangover

Shamrock Rovers in Europe

What next for Asian football?

Mundialito: the tournament

England turned down

Slavia Prague in crisis

£2.95 October 2011 Issue296

31/08/2011 18:27

wsc296_cover.indd 1

AROUND THE WORLD

Joe Cole is a hit in France

Spanish players’ strike action

Premier League still big in Japan

Footballers and booze in Brazil

Lebanon’s World Cup target wsc297_cover.indd 1

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Order online wsc.co.uk Editorial

No apologies Football managers do the game no favours when they back their own players at all costs

In a tumultuous year of revolutions, natural disasters and f inancial crises, one of the most shocking moments came in the f inal fortnight of 2011 when Chelsea showed some common sense. That is rare at a club whose off icials have to pretend it is run as a regular business rather than at the whim of a billionaire. In December, however, they emerged from their cocoon to show an awareness of the world around them. Chelsea players were apparently keen to wear T-shirts showing their support for John Terry after it was announced he will face criminal charges in February for alleged racial abuse of Anton Ferdinand. Manager Andre VillasBoas had already declared that Terry will get his full support “whatever the outcome”, whereas his employers took a step back, saying: “We did not think that the wearing of T-shirts was an appropriate or helpful show of support.”

Chelsea will have noted the torrent of criticism Liverpool received for their reaction to the eight-match ban given to Luis Suárez over abusive comments made to Patrice Evra. It was bad enough that Liverpool reacted to the announcement of Suárez’s ban – before the of f icial judgment had been released – with a rambling statement on their off icial website, which included a gratuitous swipe at Evra (for “his prior unfounded accusations” relating to claims he was racially abused by groundstaff at Chelsea). Far worse that the players, including Suárez himself, wore a T-shirt emblazoned with Suárez’s face before their next match. A 0-0 draw with Wigan thwarted any innovative goal celebrations that may have been planned.

recently marvelled that Terry’s “commitment and concentration has increased since the incident against QPR”. A manager cannot be expected to castigate publicly his own team, but players are not going to behave responsibly if they are constantly indulged.

However delusional it can sound, a manager’s one-sided view of an incident serves a useful purpose in shifting blame.

Chelsea will have noted the torrent of criticism Liverpool received for their reaction to the eight-match ban given to Luis Suárez over abusive comments made to atrice Evra

Alex Ferguson will always have an appreciative audience when he claims dropped points are due to the inadequacy of match off icials, or implies that his club are constantly batt l ing the football establishment rather than being a central part of it. In contrast, when Kenny Dalglish returned to Liverpool last season after a ten-year break from management, he seemed almost avuncular. Even the odd moment of spikiness could be justif ied, such as when Arsène Wenger, ranting on the touchline about something or other, was wearily told to “piss off ”.

A year on, however, Dalglish’s comments on the Suárez ban make him sound just like his counterpart at Old Trafford, convinced that implacable foes are working against him: “They will not divide the football club, no matter how hard they try.” Liverpool play Manchester United in early February. The current mood at both clubs suggests they will be preparing messages for one another, but it should be impressed upon them that “Kick It Out” T-shirts are all they need.

Read Editorials from the WSC archive wsc.co.uk/editorials

Suárez admitted calling Evra “negrito” ( little black boy) but saw no need for an apology as the term would apparently not be considered offensive in his native Uruguay. Liverpool could simply have said they don’t believe he committed a racist act while accepting he had behaved unwisely. Instead Suárez has been presented as another of football’s many wronged heroes. Players who get into trouble in their personal lives might expect to receive support from their clubs, even if it is misjudged – George Graham made his Arsenal captain Tony Adams sound like a penitent saint after he was jailed in 1990 for crashing his car into a wall when four times over the legal alcohol limit. More often, it is bad behaviour on the pitch that apparently requires unequivocal support. “He just isn’t that type of player” is a manager’s routine defence when someone has demonstrated the precise opposite by injuring an opponent in a violent challenge.

Fabio Capello took this approach a step further recently by telling a UEFA disciplinary panel he blamed himself when Wayne Rooney was sent of f for kicking an opponent in England’s Euro 2012 qualif ier in Montenegro. Capello’s failing had been to not withdraw Rooney at half-time after he sensed the player was distracted by the recent arrest of his father. No such worries for the increasingly crass Andre Villas-Boas, who

Luis Suárez gets the support of his team-mates photos

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