Football Diary 31 - Alf and Wilf

User Rating:  / 0

by Patrick O’Connor

WATCHING the modern football coach in action with his clipboard and fancy diagrams, it’s no surprise that sometimes the game can appear to be too scientific, too pre-planned.  Supporters of a mature age often long for a return to the golden era when football was all about a team having two attacking wingers, two wing-halves and stalwart centre-forwards called Alf and Wilf.

Well, the clock was certainly turned back when the League Two encounter between mid-table Burton Albion and relegation threatened Cheltenham took place at Burton’s Pirelli Stadium on Saturday.   It was only watched by 2,500 spectators but this humdinger produced the sort of score-line rarely witnessed these days.  In a terrific see-saw encounter which saw Burton lead at 4-2 and 5-3, Cheltenham eventually emerged 6-5 winners!

Burton’s Canadian manager Paul Peschisolido is usually eloquent and informative at post-match press conference but he told the BBC: "I'm lost for words - don't know what to say. I'm embarrassed, I don't know what happened. We just fell apart.”

His Cheltenham counterpart, Mark Yates, whilst delighted with the three points, added, somewhat miserly: "We worked on finishing in training with everybody, but we're obviously going to have to work on defending this week."

It must have been a real sickener for Burton Albion fans – they saw their team hammer in five goals and still finish on the losing side.  Off the field, football fans are having to come to terms with the financial axe hanging over their teams.

For Chester supporters, there is no longer a team to support, City having been wound up at a High Court hearing in London.   The 126-year-old club, who were kicked out of the Football Conference last month, owed HM Revenue & Customs £26,125 in unpaid taxes.  Chester supporters group City Fans United now intend to start a new 'phoenix' club in a lower league.

Cardiff City have been given one last chance by the High Court to settle an outstanding tax bill. The Championship club were facing their third winding-up order over a £1.9m debt to HMRC.  Cardiff hope to raise an estimated £1.8m from the sale of two plots of land around the Cardiff City Stadium. A deadline of May 5, three days after the final game of the regular season, has now been set to fully pay the debt.  Counsel Matthew Smith for HMRC had argued that the club should be wound up.

Southend United have been granted a 35-day extension by the High Court to repay outstanding debts.  They are in dispute with HMRC, who claim they are still owed money, believed to be £183,000.

Even followers of the mighty Manchester United are getting worried.  The Red Knights group eyeing a possible bid for United is to be advised by investment bank Nomura.  The group of financiers has met the football club's supporters, who have been running a  campaign to bring about a change of ownership. Manchester United was bought by the Glazer family for £800m in 2005.  The Glazers' reign has been controversial, with many fans opposed to the huge levels of debt that Red Football, the club's holding firm, took on to finance the takeover. Red Football now has more than £700m of debts.

A more immediate impact of the cash crisis has been felt at Premier League Portsmouth where 85 employees have been made redundant.   Administrator Andrew Andronikou said no players were being made redundant as they were the "shop window" with regards to finding a potential buyer. Mr Andronikou also said other staff had agreed to work fewer hours and that he will attempt to bring about salary deferrals with others.

He added that "one or two" players offered to take pay cuts, but that his hands were tied in relation to the playing wage bill as the players were "very much protected by [players' union] the PFA".  I’m sure that the 85 Portsmouth employees now on the dole will find it gratifying that “one or two” of the extremely wealthy young footballers at the club offered to take a pay cut.