BBC BLOGS - Football

SPL right to stand and deliver on fans' standing

Jim Spence | 17:12 UK time, Monday, 26 December 2011

Comments

The proposal for safe standing areas at Scottish football is the best news I've heard for a long time.

I've never been a fan of sitting at a game and improvements in technology mean standing could be a real boon to our game in terms of atmosphere.

Celtic and Rangers both seem ready to embrace the move and others should follow.

At Celtic Park, the Green Brigade has been much maligned, but very often they have provided the only atmosphere at games there.

Read the rest of this entry

La U accomplishments unforgettable despite defeat

Tim Vickery | 11:40 UK time, Monday, 26 December 2011

Comments

It is finally over. After 36 games, the unbeaten run of Universidad de Chile came to an end last Thursday when they went down 2-1 to Santiago rivals Universidad Catolica (an interesting side themselves - look out for right-back Stefano Magnasco and left-footed striker Kevin Harbottle).

The long awaited defeat of 'La U' (the previous one was in July) came in bizarre circumstances. At 1-1 and with the game in stoppage time, they looked in total control - until the usually excellent midfielder Marcelo Diaz misplaced a pass out of defence and Catolica's Jose Luis Villanueva fired in a cross shot to win the game.

Apart from ending the run, the goal was irrelevant. It came in the second leg of the semi-final of the Chilean championship, and was not enough to prevent La U marching into the final against Cobreloa, with first leg on Boxing Day and the return match on Thursday.

Read the rest of this entry

The precarious position of clubs in administration

Matt Slater | 14:54 UK time, Friday, 23 December 2011

Comments

Over the last few years, Brendan Guilfoyle has been called a hero and a liar, a saviour and a crook. Lauded in Luton, praised at Palace, the affable accountant is a pariah in Plymouth.

And it is this most recent experience - his stint as Plymouth Argyle's administrator - that has caused Guilfoyle to have a Jerry Maguire moment.

Fellow devotees of the film will recall the "mission statement" the sports agent tapped out during a crisis of conscience: his agency needed to be more honest and personal, which could only be achieved with fewer clients. His colleagues said they loved it to his face, while they engineered his exit behind his back.

This week, Guilfoyle published a blog titled "Football clubs - are they businesses worth saving?" The product of a Plymouth "post-mortem", it finishes with a set of promises for how football insolvencies should go in future. It is coherent, sensible and completely unworkable, a point Guilfoyle acknowledged with a wistful chuckle when I pointed it out.

Read the rest of this entry

BBC iD

Sign in

bbc.co.uk navigation

BBC © 2011

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.