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Archives for December 2010

Why Peter Ridsdale deserves another chance

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Matt Slater | 15:54 UK time, Friday, 31 December 2010

On an eventful Thursday, Plymouth Argyle announced a number of . King Herod is the new boss at the youth academy, Harold Shipman takes over as club doctor and comes in as strength and conditioning coach.

Oh, and .

What?!? Ridsdale has been handed another football club's biscuit tin? Is that the sound of irony dying I can hear?

Erm...maybe, but here's the thing. I don't think this is such an apocalyptic appointment. In fact, I don't think Ridsdale is that bad.

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Pilgrims protest as Christmas is cancelled

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Matt Slater | 09:43 UK time, Thursday, 23 December 2010

A year ago yesterday, Plymouth Argyle's board of directors gathered to discuss .

Twelve months on, the Pilgrims should have , a settled squad of committed players, a growing fan-base here and abroad, the Premier League in their sights and all the benefits of a "sound financial footing".

How's that working out?

Erm...well, the club is haemorrhaging cash and . The stadium plans are in disarray, and the squad is overpaid and under-performing. Oh, and they were relegated to League One in May and face . If this was he'd be calling for the firing squad.

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Fun is the key to England's football future

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Matt Slater | 09:00 UK time, Wednesday, 15 December 2010

I heard a great quote about football last week: "A coach's moral obligation is to play beautifully whatever the opposition does."

According to the Football Association's coaching education manager, Steve Rutter, said that, and even if he didn't, it's the kind of thing we would want a citizen-of-the-world, footie philosopher like the Dutchman to say because we want it to be true. And not just of his teams.

But wanting something to be true is usually a response to knowing that it isn't. How many coaches in this country can honestly say they are going for Guus's Grail as opposed to securing three more points?

If the football I experience most weekends is any guide, not many.

Thankfully, the FA has noticed. It may have its well-documented failings as a vote-winner, financial regulator and property developer, but it has finally identified English football's most fundamental problem: a serious shortage of smiles.

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Why school sport is the new political football

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Matt Slater | 09:46 UK time, Wednesday, 8 December 2010

Debbie Foote will not win any medals at London 2012 and is unlikely to win any in 2016 or 2020 either. She is also never going to score a goal for her country, win Wimbledon or score a try at Twickenham.

But Debbie, , might just be this country's greatest sporting champion for years. Because when (SSPs), Foote responded with the fighting instincts of a born competitor.

Regardless of what you think of the decision to axe funding for SSPs (and I'll get back to that), you have to be impressed with a teenager who gets 620,000 people to sign a petition attacking the cut and then takes it to the Prime Minister's front door.

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