Football: Scandinavian Saddlers may miss Walsall's finest hour

SPORT ON THE INTERNET

Perhaps one should not be surprised that even the smaller football clubs have their own web sites, but most of GM Vauxhall Conference sides have either an official or unofficial site.

Stevenage Borough, the last non-League side left in the FA Cup, have a very good site with the usual mix of results, match reports, news, history, player info and merchandising.

For the braver among you, there is the chance to sample Boro's FA Cup song via the web site. Also, pictures are promised of their new away stand "which is coming on nicely" and this may come as a slight reassurance for all those Geordies streaming down from the north-east for tomorrow's match.

Cardiff City are the only Third Division side left in the competition and, of their two main web sites, the unofficial one is much the better. Yesterday both of them led with the surprising news that Cardiff had sacked their manager Russell Osman the day before one of their most important matches for years and the official site managed to spell the now ex-manager's first name wrong.

Spelling is not the strongest suit on the internet, but getting Osman's name wrong does rather add insult to injury.

There are two clubs from the Second Division, Walsall and Grimsby, both of whom are playing Premier League opposition, Manchester United and Leeds respectively.

Maybe it is because Walsall now have a Danish manager, but the best unofficial site is in Sweden. Why Walsall in particular should have such a Scandinavian following beats me. What is more understandable is that Grimsby have a Norwegian web site, but you have to be fluent in Norwegian to understand it.

The Stevenage site puts its seniors to shame in terms of club history. I find it hard to believe that details of Walsall's defeat of Manchester United in the third round of the Cup in 1975 does not get a mention. I'm sure that there are thousands of Saddlers' fans in Scandinavia and elsewhere praying for a repeat today.

- Edward Abelson

ADDRESSES

Stevenage official site

http://www.stevenageboro.demon.

co.uk/

Cardiff City official site

http://www.styrotech.co.uk/ccafc/

Cardiff City unofficial site

http://ds.dial.pipex.com/m4morris/

ccafc.htm

Walsall unofficial site

http://hem2.passagen.se/herjulf/

index.htm

Grimsby Town unofficial site

http://www.gizmocat.demon.co.uk/

gtfc/

Grimsby Town unofficial site (in Norwegian)

http://www.marina.unit.no/

sverrer/grimsby.html