The Week That Was

Sometimes when it comes to Friday and The Week That Was there’s an element of scratching around to see what interesting stories we can find – managers complaining about refs EVERY week can get a bit boring after all. There was none of that this week though as plenty caught our eye and, happily, none of it involved moaning about lack of injury time/too much injury time/non-existent penalties given/blatant penalties missed.

It feels like every week we read that another club has found itself in financial difficulties and this was no different as Watford face the prospect of administration and mandatory 10 point penalty. This came after (then) chairman Jimmy Russo quit his post on Tuesday and demanded the club repay him £5m within 48 hours.

Ex-Hornets manager Graham Taylor, who’s stepped in as interim chairman, said he couldn’t understand why the ‘malicious’ Russo rejected an offer which would have seen him repaid in three to four weeks. We can’t work that one out either, suffice to say though, it’s an example of yet another owner fans wish they’d never set eyes on. 

Another club in trouble were Plymouth Argyle who were hit by a Football League transfer embargo following unpaid debts. Executive director Keith Todd blamed a technicality, said the club would not face administration, and claimed it would all be sorted in time for the January transfer window. Here’s hoping.

On to happier things and congratulations to Ryan Giggs on winning the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award. There’ve been plenty of disagreements on whether it’s deserved or not, with some dubbing it a Lifetime Achievement Award. Regardless of who should or shouldn’t have won this year we’ve nothing but admiration for his achievements as a player.

Giggs was missing for Tuesday’s Premier League fixture at Old Trafford – as was the entire Wolves team, bar Marcus Hahnemann. This caused no end of strife with many Wolves fans understandably outraged that they’d paid £42 for a ticket (plus travel/food/drink) to see their reserve side.

The cold-edged analysis by many ex-pros that it was the sensible thing to do disrespects fans who’d made the trip, undermines the entire league system and kills any romance in the game. If Wolves were ever going to win at Old Trafford it was on Tuesday against a United side decimated by injuries.

We’ll finish off with the genius that is Jens Lehmann. Last week he jumped behind an advertising hoarding mid-game to relieve himself but this week he might even have gone one better. Jens stamped on a rival’s foot which saw him concede the penalty that cost Stuttgart victory and got him sent off in the process.

Not content with that, he then stole a fan’s glasses and ran off with them, after he’d had the temerity to criticise his actions. He’s off his rocker, Crazy Jens. 

That’s all for this week – there’ll be no TWTW next week because it’s Christmas Day, so we’ll see you again in the new year!

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