Fifa

We know who owns Wolves, but who owns football?

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Before the Fosul era: an example of the art of Jody Craddock, a former Sunderland and Wolves stalwart, and reproduced with his consent

Stephen Benton, a sportswriter, notes the impressive turnaround in the fortunes of Wolverhampton Wanderers since being taken over by China’s Fosul Group in 2016: promotion back to the top flight last season and currently seventh top after another fine result, 3-1 winners at Everton. And he raises question about the powers behind the sport …

After a change in their club’s ownership, all Wolves fans in Wolverhampton had a wonderful year.

The new owners – a Chinese investment group called Fosun International – booted out the manager Kenny Jackett (the chief executive officer Jez Moxey stepped down on his own), replacing Jarrett with Walter Zenga and then Zenga by Paul Lambert before finally settling for Nuno Espírito Santo, a Portuguese international at various levels though he never won a full cap.

And with the close involvement of superstar sports agent Jorge Mendes, the team signed a dozen players. The result: Wolves finally returned to the Premier League after being out of it for six years.

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The Robson Report: a Messi end to Brazil 2014

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taking a detached view of events overseas
taking a detached view of events overseas

Not quite done with the World Cup yet. Jeremy Robson lets fly at the decision-making process that led to Lionel Messi being chosen as player of the tournament ahead, he says, of far more deserving participants …

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The Robson Report: biting thoughts on Suarez

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taking a detached view of events overseas
taking a detached view of events overseas

This should really have preceded Malcolm Dawson’s short, timely piece on the Luis Suarez biting incident. Monsieur Salut had assorted domestic crises, a heavy extractor fan falling in the middle of the night to smash the hob and my Mac’s refusal to accept the valid password for wifi access being only two of them. So here, out of sequence but welcome, are Jeremy Robson‘s thoughts on footballer’s teeth invading footballer’s flesh …

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Birflatt Boy on Blatter’s gaffes: no mincing words

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Monsieur Salut didn’t get as worked up as some about the World Cup venue votes. Cries of foul play? Last-minute manipulation? Prize snatched from under the expectant winner’s nose. Er, no, that was London beating Paris to the 2012 Olympics. But other issues have arisen, so stand by for some straight(ish) talking from Birflatt Boy …

A couple of weeks after the ridiculous announcement that the 2022 World Cup would be held in a country that currently has three suitable stadiums, and where the temperatures during the tournament will be so high that you could cook bacon and eggs on the roof of your car, there is now furore surrounding comments from the Fifa president Sepp Blatter.

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A Christmas football wishlist. 1 (A-I): Thierry Henry in Gaelic, Darlo in the playoffs

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tree

Is Santa listening? Probably not, but Salut! Sunderland thought it would produce its own list of the presents it wants, the things it wants to happen not just for Christmas but for the coming year. Let’s see how many are granted. This is the first of three instalments. Come up with a better suggestion or two and you might win a prize …

A is for Arsène. The elegantly whingeing Alsacian – (“is that why they’re called Arsenal?” asked the daughter who knows nothing about football) – announces a new deal with Optical Express, suddenly sees things more clearly, apologises for his players’ occasional diving and heaps praise on teams that beat or draw against Arsenal as well as those that lose.

B is for Bruce: Steve wins three manager-of-the-month awards in succession and we’re not only safe but sixth.

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