It is now almost seven years since Uniteds Sheffield and West Ham faced up to one another on the football pitch, the Blades gaining something of a pyrrhic victory over the Hammers with Michael Tonge described in one unmentionable daily newspaper as having turned in a performance of ‘supernova intensity’ – hard to believe given that gentleman’s typically languid style. At that point, the match seemed little more than a battle between two famous old clubs with nothing but the natural disdain of Yorkshire folk for the capital to wedge between them. A month later, however, and all hell let…
All posts tagged Finances
Eye Witness Assessment: Blackpool’s Alarming Slide
Although Blackpool almost suffered an equal fate to that of their fellow Lancastrians Bolton on visiting Reading on Tuesday night, the tone and manner of defeat was quite different. Don’t misunderstand me, this was wretched from the Tangerines – an almost hopeless lack of quality exposed cruelly by the new directness Nigel Adkins has instilled recently – the team simply blown away by the home team’s marked superiority. But while Bolton’s superannuated fancy dans fell apart amid dreams of former glories and Premier League moves, Blackpool could not be faulted for effort – the protracted moanfest of the Paul Ince…
Eye Witness Assessment: Bolton Wanderers are in Intensive Care
Amir Khan would be proud. As double whammies go, fans of Bolton Wanderers have been on the receiving end of two sledgehammers this January. First, after several years of heavy punishment on the financial front, the latest body blow landed as the club’s parent company Burnden Leisure Limited announced a new high for its debt of £163.8 million. Then, following a mini-recovery and an encouraging 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest, the team somehow fell to a 7-1 defeat against a Reading side that have themselves looked sluggish and lacking in appetite in recent weeks while experiencing some potentially acute fiscal…
A Cautious Welcome for QPR’s New Stadium Plans
Just before Christmas, Queens Park Rangers announced ambitious plans to move into a new stadium by the start of the 2018-19 season, signalling the arrival of an off-field component to Tony Fernandes’ much debated generosity to the club. Partners include the company Stadium Capital Developments and the plan is to acquire land holdings in conjunction with Network Rail and the Genesis Housing Group, the arena part of the much vaunted redevelopment of the Old Oak Common neighbourhood of west London. That development is a hub for the government’s plans for High Speed Rail 2, the pros and cons of which…
Preserving Football’s Heritage: A Modest Proposal
Today, we welcome Susan Gardiner to The Two Unfortunates. Ipswich fan Susan took part in a conversational assessment of the fortunes of Ipswich Town FC back in May. Here, she turns her attention to matters of more general interest and crucial they are indeed given recent events. Susan is on twitter at @susan1878 and blogs at Those Who Will Not Be Drowned. … What’s the difference between Ipswich Town Football Club and Abbey Road studios, or between Hull City AFC and Harrods? Tempting as it might be to answer these questions facetiously, I’m asking them in order to make a…
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