Michael Owen at Manchester United

If the medical goes through. And, it should be taken as no insult to Stoke or Hull that the news comes as something of a relief. (More beneath the cut)

Scotch Christians and the 1902 Ibrox Disaster

Later, they blamed the rain for bringing the stand down. The eventual toll from the accident on 5 April was 25, but the deaths took time: the stand collapsed on a Saturday, and by the following Wednesday the count was still only 21. (More beneath the cut)

The Professional Foul: 1908

Courtesy of the British Library’s new British Newspapers 1800-1900 (= about 1910 in practice) service, this image comes from the Penny Illustrated Paper and Illustrated Times of February 15th, 1908.

There are two points of interest here, the first of course being tempora mutantur and that we all agree with the sentiments in the caption.

The other point of interest is that, in two pages of 1908 football coverage, this is the only sketch. The other illustrations are all freeze-frame action photographs.