Slow News – GAME OF THE PEOPLE

ROMFORD of the Essex Senior League have won the FA Vase at Wembley against league stable-mates Great Wakering Rovers. Romford won 3-0 with three second half goals from Hassan Nalbant (2) and Sam Deering in front of 19,000 people. Romford last had a team at Wembley in 1949 when the current club’s predecessors reached the FA Amateur Cup final. That Romford FC folded in 1978 but at one stage they were aiming for election to the Football League. The Vase victory compensates for the team’s recent defeat in the Essex Senior League play-offs (Romford finished third), which saw them lose to Sporting Bengal United and miss out on promotion to step four of the non-league pyramid.

ZENIT St.Petersburg are in danger of losing their crown as Russian champions for the first time in more than five years. With just two games to go, Zenit have slipped to second place after losing 1-0 at home to CSKA Moscow who won through a second half penalty from Fyodor Chalov. Dynamo Moscow are now top following their 3-2 win at Baltika, one point ahead of Zenit. Dynamo, who are coached by the Czech Marcel Lička, last won a championship in 1976. Krasnador are in third, two points behind Dynamo. On the final day of the season (May 25), they are at home to Dynamo, while Zenit play Rostov. Zenit have won the title for the past five seasons with an average margin of victory of 10 points.

GATESHEAD of the National League have won the FA Trophy after recently being denied a chance to enter the play-offs to the EFL due to failing the league’s ground ownership rules. They beat Solihull Moors, the team they were scheduled to meet in the play-offs, on penalties after the two teams drew 2-2. Gateshead were runners-up in the competition in 2022-23, losing 1-0 to Halifax. For Solihull, they have suffered double heartbreak at Wembley, missing out on both the play-offs and the Trophy on penalties in the space of seven days.

SILKEBORG, managed by former Manchester City striker Uwe Rösler, won the Danish Cup final, beating AGF from Aarhus 1-0 in the final at the Parken stadium. The winning goal was scored by Peruvian international full back Oliver Sonne. The game received huge exposure on social media due to the TV broadcast using a new technique called “Manager Mode”, which included name bars on the players, formations and data. For example, Sonne’s winning goal, as it was scored, revealed that the ball was travelling at 87 kilometres per hour. While some viewers were excited by the technology, others felt it added nothing positive to the occasion. How long until this appears on Premier League screenings?

COMO, whose chief executive is former Wimbledon and Chelsea midfielder Dennis Wise, have been promoted to Serie A for the first time in 21 years. The club secured their place in the top flight with a 1-1 draw against Cosenza. Como are managed, on an interim basis, by Welshman Osian Roberts. The club has a chequered past having suffered bankruptcy twice. They play at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia, a stadium that was built under orders of Benito Mussolini in 1927.

TWO goals from Real Madrid substitute Joselu sent the Spanish champions into the UEFA Champions League final, beating Bayern Munich at the Bernabéu Stadium. Bayern were 1-0 ahead with two minutes of normal time remaining thanks to an outstanding 68^thminute goal from Alphonso Davies. They had taken the lead against the run of play, with Manuel Neuer pulling off some excellent saves, notably from Vínicius Juníor. Sadly, Neuer’s uncharacteristic blunder in the 88^th minute allowed Real to equalise with Joselu prodding home from close range. Two minutes later, Joselu netted again and after a VAR check, the goal was finally given. There was extensive added time, more than 12 minutes, but Bayern were beaten. Real Madrid go in search of a 15^th title against Borussia Dortmund on June 1 at Wembley.

David Moyes is leaving West Ham United at the end of the season after four and a half years with the club. Moyes, despite a slump in recent months, has the best win rate (37.87%) of any Hammers’ manager in the Premier League era. He led West Ham to their first trophy in 43 years when they won the UEFA Conference League in 2023. However, many fans were unhappy about the style of football under Moyes and feel it was not aligned to the mythical “West Ham style”. The former Wolves manager Julen Lopetegui is expected to take over in the summer, a coach that has a rather defensive approach. This may not be what West Ham’s fanbase were hoping would emerge post-Moyes. As they say, be careful what you wish for.

The Everton debacle goes on. A shareholder group has urged Farhad Moshiri and the Premier League to intervene in the takeover of the club. 777 Partners, who have agreed to buy 94.1% of the club from Moshiri, have been accused of fraud. They have been unable to meet the Premier’s criteria for the takeover and there have been serious doubts over their ability to fund the acquisition. The Everton Shareholders Association, which has 1,500 members and owns less than 5% of the club, issued a statement calling for action: “In the absence of the Premier League making a timely decision we insist that the Everton board, and Farhad Moshiri in particular, stop this damaging process now and recognise that 777 Partners are not at this time fit-and-proper prospective owners of Everton Football Club. The powers that be are being disrespectful to our fellow shareholders, our fantastic worldwide fanbase and football as a whole by continuing to allow this farce to continue. We demand a decision and we demand it now.”

One of Scotland’s oldest football clubs, Stranraer, are facing a very challenging future if they suffer relegation from the Scottish League on May 18. The club finished bottom of League Two and have to play-off against Lowland League champions, East Kilbride, to secure their place for 2024-25. Stranraer FC, which represents a town of 13,000 people, play in front of crowds of less than 400. They ended the regular season with three points from their last nine games. Locals fear that relegation would be the death knell for the club. They play the first leg of their play-off on May 11.

Manchester United seem to be in crisis mode again after losing 4-0 at Crystal Palace, casting doubt once more over the future of manager Erik ten Hag. With the club likely to be a hive of activity in the summer after the arrival of Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the anticipated influx of new players may not be as significant as fans hope. Football finance expert Kieran Maguire believes United will not have much scope to spend substantially as the club has made £ 100 million of losses over three years, meaning they are close to the permitted £ 105 million limit. United also have a big wage bill, the third highest in the Premier. If United have to sell in order to buy, player wages may become an issue if they are to unload players used to lucrative contracts at Old Trafford. The absence of Champions League football will also be a problem.