Torquay head back to the Football League

WSC No 269, July 2009

Contents

It is often the case that the fewer people that care about something, the more intense their attachment Match of the month, Torquay v Cambridge p18

4 Editorial

Unreasonable expectations 6 News watch

Search for a Champions League scapegoat 8 Shot!

Final day in Leagues One and Two 10 Sidelines

Survival Sunday on Sky; the FA Vase; fixture list feuding; blogging on 14 United v Barça

Good v evil or just good PR?; Cantona shows his class on the big screen 16 Moving on

Cardiff fans say goodbye to Ninian Park and gather a few mementoes 18 Match of the month

Torquay and Cambridge meet at Wembley to play off for Football League status 22 Football at war

Cantona film p15

Honduras and El Salvador go to war over a World Cup qualification play-off 24 Shot! archive

Photographer Peter Jay captures Gordon Banks’s joy

SIMON GILL

26 League review

A look back at the major events and stories from 2008-09 in the Football League 29 Divisions of power

Five years on from the introduction of the Championship brand 30 Euro view

Real’s presidential problems; Serbia’s golden generation blossom; Ukrainian Euro 2012 preparations hit a snag 34 A question of loyalty

Brighton’s takeover and West Ham’s support bring worries for long-term fans 36 World view

Ecuador’s pure creole club; political tension in Asia; Korea and Japan’s empty stadiums 40 Reviews

Managing Sunderland; a quality football novel; John Wark’s story; a PFA history 42 Letters

Dear WSC, do you agree ... 46 Season in brief

A change in the offside law sees the goals rain in during the 1925-26 season