Archived Rumours and unsubstantiated truths

Rumours and unsubstantiated truths (Archive)

May 28, 1998

* - WSV continues to strengthen the team for next seasonn. Midfielder Uwe Scheer was signed from 1.FC Köln. Also inking was defender Murat Jarasevic from Zwickau, a 29 yr old Bosnian international.

May 18th, 1998

* - Although the season ended on a semi-high note, a lackluster 1-0 win at tailenders Teveren, there will obviously have to be lots of changes for next year.

* - The rumoured signing of Michael Koestner from 1.FC Köln turned out to be just that, as Koestner has come to terms with 1860 München.

* - Constantin Rontea is apparently taking WSV to court. Something about his contract. He's probably been hanging around Sven Christians, but all that we can say is that if you're not good enough to make this year's WSV squad, you don't deserve to get paid for playing soccer.

May 5th, 1998

* - WSV is looking ahead to next season. The budget will apparently be increased from DM 1.1 million to DM 3.5 million, as new sponsors have come on board. As a result, new players are joining for next season. As mentioned earlier, DeWitt and Dengel from Fortuna Köln have already been signed. There also seems to be a chance that Aurel Panait may return from Mainz if they are relegated. (Good chance on the relegation part). Carsten Hutwelker of Bochum has also been rumoured, but Bochum is unlikely to take the drop.

* - The club General Assembly is tomorrow (May 6th). I'm sure they'll have lots to talk about.

Apr 28, 1998

* - Coach Rudi Gores has come under severe criticism from fans for remarks that he made after the 2-0 win over RW Essen. Apparently he said that he would have rather played Meinke and only got a draw. Plus "playing Essen is better than playing Elversberg". RWE is taking the drop, and Rudi and his co-coach, Roman Geschlecht, are ex-Esseners. While his remarks seem uncalled for, at least WSV did win...

* - WSV continues to operate below full strength. Brent Goulet and Gabi Raduta are out for the season. Good news is that defender/midfielder Richard Mademann is back after a long absence, but many players from WSV-II have been forced into action.

Apr 13, 1998

* - The replay for the WSV-RW Essen game has been announced as April 21, at the Zoo-Stadion at 6:45pm.

* - WSV have signed two new players from Fortuna Koeln: midfielder Dirk deWitt and forward Christoph Dengel.

Apr 02, 1998

* - In a stunning blow, the DFB has apparently ruled that the match against RW Essen needs to be replayed!! Obviously the bureaucrats didn't take into consideration that WSV was actually helping Essen out by playing Selela, since he was total crap, thereby giving Essen a greater chance! Is it WSV's fault that Essen sucks? That's gratitude for you. In any case, the investigation showed that although WSV had in fact received a fax from the South African Federation clearing Selela to play, apparently this had been forged. Since WSV was not to blame, the DFB ruled that the game had to be replayed.

* - The DFB also refused to grant licenses for the 2.Liga to anybody but RW Oberhausen. The license is a prerequisite for being promoted to full professional status, where you prove you have the necessary financial resources. This throws an interesting wrench into the playoff race, as Siegen, Homburg, Trier and Saarbruecken were all slapped in the face. They'll have to scrounge up more money first. Who knows, maybe WSV can sneak in the back door if they fork over enough dough.

Mar 31, 1998

* - The game against Rot-Weiss Essen may need to be replayed. The DFB has agreed to hear Essen's protest over the eligibility of Benson Selela, who played briefly and then was yanked because he was crap. Essen argues that he didn't have the necessary permit to play, which WSV denies. Of course, a more palatable argument would be that coach Gores might be investigated for bribery, given the fact that he is an ex-Essener. Afterall, since Selela was total crap, by playing him, Essen actually had a greater chance to win the game. They couldn't because they suck. In any case, the whole thing, like the Gores "theory" seems ludicrous, but apparently Essen is real desperate to avoid playing teams like Sproeckhoevel or Velbert.

* - Rumours continue to fly around that WSV is on the verge of signing several "high level" players in an attempt to get promoted next year. What is that all about? Better avoid getting relegated first. With our luck, they're probably talking about the Ahlen rejects, or perhaps the whole Romanian national team after the World Cup 98.

* - Several unnnamed players and coach Rudi Gores have been offered contracts for next season. At the same time, rumours continue about several players getting feelers from other clubs as well.

Mar 23, 1998

* - Things are looking up financially at least. After the annoucement by the city for some rent relief on the Zoo Stadion, it looks like additional sponsors will be giving money to support WSV. Club President Friedhelm Runge was optimistic about things for next season, which is a marked change.

* - Defender Ingo Menzel has signed a contract for next year.

* - Gerd Zeise is the new Marketing Director at WSV. He had previously held similar positions at both Homburg and RW Essen. Of course, if he really wants to be taken seriously, he should immediately send all sorts of free WSV paraphenalia to WSV Homepage - Pacific Edition!

Mar 16, 1998

* - The postponed match against Alemannia Aachen will be made up on April 1st, 18:30 in the Zoo Stadion.

* - Apparently the city is looking at helping WSV out afterall. The rumours are that the club will receive a stadium rent rebate for 3 years, and will be offered 75% of ad revenue.

Mar 10, 1998

* - Rot-Weiss Essen supposedly protested the loss in Wuppertal, claiming that WSV used an ineligible player (Benson Selela). However, WSV had received a permit to use Selela at least two days prior to the match.

* - Coach Rudi Gores has been wondering outloud whether he should leave the club at the end of the season. Apparently he is not yet convinced that WSV has a serious future as a contender. Adding fuel to the fire are the persistent rumours that several players have been getting inquiries from other clubs, e.g. Steup (Koeln), Mademann (Schalke) and several from FC Remscheid. However, so far, there are no reliable confirmations.

Mar 5, 1998

* - In a surprise move, forward Brent Goulet has asked the club to release him from his contract. He would like to return to the USA for professional and personal reasons. Goulet has been suffering from a foot injury, and has seen only limited action recently. He had started the season as team captain.

* - Club officials are hinting that this weekend's match against Alemannia Aachen (which should draw a decent crowd) may the last in the city owned Zoo Stadion. Given the conflict between the city and WSV, the club is pursuing options of relocating to Duesseldorf's Rheinstadion or to play on the club owned "Freudenberg", where WSV-II plays. However, since the next home opponent will be RW Oberhausen, you would expect a fairly large crowd, that could not be accomodated in the latter venue. On the other hand, you might as well play in a studio instead of the Rheinstadion, because otherwise the echoes from the empty spaces will be too loud. WSV Pacific Edition suggests future games be at the "Sportplatz Am Gelben Sprung". Not that this venue would be any good, but from my ex-Hatzfelder viewpoint, this would allow some current residents to sneak in...

* - South African forward Benson Selela has apparently returned to Cape Town without finalizing his contract with WSV. Odds are, this is the last we'll hear of him.

Feb 25, 1998

* - WSV and Ion Viorel have agreed that he be released from his contract. Viorel never received clearance to play for WSV. There is also some question over the future of Bogdan Bucur. He contract is good thru June, but coach Rudi Gores hasn't been impressed with his play.

* - A sign of good or bad things to come? WSV-II defeated WSV-I in a practice game 1-0 over the weekend.

* - There appears to be some split in the Wuppertal government. After a semi-concillitory speech full of platitudes and no new ideas, Chief Mayor Kremendahl promised to work with local businesses to try and get new sponsorship for WSV. Meanwhile, Vice Mayor Richter has split with his chief. He stated that WSV should be allowed to retain 90% of all proceeds from all stadium advertising. In addition, WSV should be allowed to play in the Zoo-Stadion rent free until WSV is back in the 2.Liga.

Feb 20, 1998

WSV to leave Wuppertal?
* - Club management has hinted that WSV may consider "options" to leave the Zoo-Stadion, potentially moving to a site outside of Wuppertal. In a recent news conference, club president Friedhlem Runge discussed the possibility while describing his frustration with the negotiations over the Zoo-Stadion with city officials. Apparently the city, led by Runge rival mayor Kremendahl, is unwilling to make concessions on the lease arrangements. Instead of offering a rent rebate, the city intends no changes, and has even hinted at raising the amounts.

* - Friedhelm Runge looks to be stepping down as club president for next season. He stated he would remain active, and continue sponsorship through his EMKA company.

* - WSV released Edwards M'Ba, who left for Nigeria without explanantion. His replacement is Benson Selela, a South African forward who last played with Juventus of Cape Town. He came in as a sub in WSV's game against RW Essen.

* - The club announced that although 7,000 fans showed up in the Zoo-Stadion to watch Essen, in fact over 9,500 tickets were sold for the match. Many of these were in fact purchased by businesses and individuals in the "Save WSV" campaign last week.

Feb 13, 1998

* - Bankruptcy proceedings against WSV were lifted by the Wuppertal courts, so the immediate financial crisis is over!

Feb 12, 1998

WSV SAVED!!

* - Reports out of Wuppertal indicate that the club may be out of bankruptcy. Apparently the Runge brothers have agreed to cover the outstanding debts of the club. WSV President Friedhelm Runge announced at a press conference that he will cover the clubs debts out of his own pocket, pending negotiations with the various agencies. Supposedly an agreement has already been reached with the Labour Office, and an OK from the Tax Office should be forthcoming. As a result, the club could be removed from bankruptcy proceedings as early as Friday, prior to the crucial weekend match with RW Essen. This is the 2nd or 3rd time that the Runge's have played sugardaddy for WSV, reaching into their own pockets to save the day. At least part of the funds will come from sponsorship through EMKA, the Runge's successful hardware supply company.

Feb 07, 1998

* - Although WSV will show up in Trier, it will be weakened ball club. Since Babacar N'Diaye went to Hannover 96, and Brent Goulet is suffering from a foot injury, a totally new attack is needed. However, as previously mentioned, new signing Edwards Mba has returned to Nigeria, and Gerrit Meinke is the only true forward on the roster.

* - Christian Siegloff has been promoted from WSV-II, and Sascha Waldbroehl has been sent down in his place.

Feb 04, 1998

* - Edwards Mba, the recent signing from Waldhof Mannheim, disappeared earlier in the week, apparently returning home to Nigeria for a mini-vacation. It is unknown whether he plans on being available for this weekend's match at Trier, or whether he ever intends coming back.

* - In a town-hall, well actually beer-hall, type meeting organized by Radio Wuppertal, many of the involved parties gathered to discuss the future of WSV. Most of individuals pretty much disgraced themselves, absolving their own selves, while blaming everybody else. Current coach Rudi Gores, despite being an ex-RW Essener, rose above the fray and declared that everybody should sit down and work this out. He also offered a sizable donation out of his own pocket.

* - The fan clubs "Schwebende Jonges" and "Die Falken" announced a campaign to raise money through donations to help save the club. Just passing the hat at the meeting raised DM 800 (hmm, maybe they can afford the bus fare to Trier to play Eintracht on Sunday). They have set up a special account managed by the local Sparkasse to collect donations. If they could get all the Wuppertalers just to pledge a mark or two, they could probably save the club. In any case, if the club still collapses, then the Sparkasse will return money to the donors. "Schwebende Jonges" will also set up a table at next week's critical RW Essen match to collect donations.

* - The club has launched an all out campaign to draw fans for the home game against Rot-Weiss Essen on the 15th. The hope is to bring 10,000 into the Zoo Stadion, which would be the largest crowd of the season.

Jan 29, 1998

WSV IS FINISHED!!!

Read the latest on the bankruptcy .

* - In what could theoretically be WSV's last game, Fortuna Duesseldorf defeated WSV 2-0 on Wednesday night in a friendly. Approximately 500 lost souls attended the match, which was fairly even. Duesseldorf took the lead on a garbage goal by Marek Lesniak after 20 minutes, and then upped the score to 2-0 after 75. on a counterattack goal by Gleb Panferov.

* - WSV will still play it's scheduled it's scheduled friendly on the 31st in Essen against Schwarz-Weiss, if a sponsor can be found for the bus fare. What a joke.

Jan 24, 1998

* - WSV is having a good time in Cyprus at the training camp. In a friendly with Eintracht Braunschweig, they drew 1-1. The goal was scored by new signing Edward M'Ba. In an earlier match, two goals from Gerrit Meinke boosted WSV to a 2-1 victory over Russian 1st division club Kaliningrad.

* - Babacar N'Diaye is gone. WSV and Hannover 96 agreed to a transfer fee, so he can join the Regionalliga North leaders immediately. The fee was undisclosed, but probably around DM 50.000.

* - Ex-player and assitant coach Rudi Mueller has been given the head coach job of the WSV-II squad.

Jan 17, 1998

* - It would appear that Ion Viorel has indeed signed with WSV. This should help in the offensive firepower department, as Viorel has scored some 125 goals in less than 200 1st division Romanian games. He has also made about 8 appearances for the Romanian national squad. His primary asset appears to be speed, although his agent seems to obviously sing his praises with hyperbole.Also signing with with are goalkeeper Alexander Ogrinc, from Hessen Kassel and defender Sascha Lenhart.

* - It looks like the Viorel signing may be just in time. Babacar N'Diaye is apparently refusing to play anymore, since he wants to go to Hannover 96 immediately. He plans just to sit in the stands. WSV has brought the matter to the DFB court to decide the matter, but you have to feel tat if a player really doesn't want to play, what's the point?

Jan 02, 1998

* - Steaua Wuppertal Report
WSV is back in discussion with Ion Viorel, the forward from Otelul Galati, who was a hot topic about 6 months ago. Undoubtedly further collapse of the Romanian currency has made him think again about getting some Deutschmarks in his pocket. Some good news regrading Gabi Raduta, who looks like his contract with WSV will run through 1999. Bogdan Bucur still has a good chance of sticking around, and negotiations are also underway to keep Ionel Pirvu. The final decision is due around the 15th of January. Constantin Rontea, who was in ex-coach Hoefer's permanent bow-wow house, is still hanging around too, so we'll see if Gores has any plans for him.

* - WSV is planning a training camp in sunny Cyprus. However, since the players are supposed to pay an indeterminate amount out of their own pocket, the lodgings could be sparse. Several Greek Cypriot bunkers within range of Turkish cannons are being considered.

* - The winterbreak schedule is somewhat firm. On the 10th and 11th, WSV plays in the Wuppertal City indoor tournament, with several opportunities to repeat previous disgraceful outings against weaker opponents. But since it's a worthless indoor tournament, who cares? On the 14th, WSV plays Fortuna Koeln, which should be a severe test. After returning from Cyprus and the ouzo hangovers, WSV faces arch rival Fortuna Duesseldorf, in an probable preview of next year's top Regionalliga derby. Finally, on the 31st, WSV defeats the number one club in Essen, Schwarz-Weiss.

Dec 26, 1997

* - WSV may have received a bargain basement signing. According to the web page of the (now defunct) FC Hessen Kassel, goalkeeper Alexander Ogrinc has signed for Wuppertal. Since Kassel has ceased operation, their players are free to sign anywhere at no transfer fee.

Dec 22, 1997

* - DISGRACEFUL CUP DEFEAT!
WSV suffered perhaps it's most disgraceful defeat of the year, as they were eliminated from the regional cup by SV Straelen 1-2. The Regional Cup is a preliminary qualifier for the DFB Cup. A win could have put WSV in the DFB final rounds next year, where they could have kicked Bayern Muenchen's ass. Instead , they'll be back to qualifiers against the likes of SpFr Doenberg. As for the game itself, not much to report. The police arrested a few drunken WSV "fans", who got into fights with Straelaenders, who were probably Dutch provocateurs who snuck across the border to get some warmups for the Ajax-Eindhoven match.

Dec 14, 1997

* - Details regarding Aurel Panait's transfer to Mainz have come to light. Apparently WSV was only able to get a measly DM 90.000 fee. Either Panait is not as good as you might expect from an alleged National squad player, or WSV management was overly optimistic over their ability to get some green. Some WSV fans hinted that it is actually management incompetance. Interestingly enough, WSV apparently demanded DM 100.000 from Hannover 96 to let Babacar N'Diaye transfer early.

* - Aurel Panait made his debut with Mainz as a starter in their 1-0 away upset over Uerdingen. So they've already gotten decent value...

* - As of yet the details are unclear, but apparently N'Diaye insulted WSV president Friedhelm Runge at the recent Bonn match. According to some, he merely showed him his back, but according to others, he either bent down or pointed to his ass. In any case, his action was met by wild approval from fans in attendance...

* - Meanwhile, a decision of the directorship on whether to continue or not has been postponed till February. A couple of WSV Fan clubs have rigorous campaigns to get the Runge brothers to resign. Whether this view is shared by the general public at large is unclear, since nobody shows up for the games. I guess you could consider that an indication of how they feel though.

Dec 08, 1997

* - Aurel Panait will be leaving the club. Last week, it was announced that he would join 2.Liga club Energie Cottbus immediately. Then apparently he changed his mind, and decided to accept an offer from FSV Mainz 05.

* - Rudi Gores was apparently outraged over goalkeeper Jochen Gramse's performance against Muenster. He has demanded that Friedhelm Runge acquire another keeper immediately.

* - Given WSV's weakness upfront, with only two real forwards (Goulet and N'Diaye), acquiring another striker is a priority. Former WSV player Markus Aerdken (93-95) is being considered. Interest is also around Peter Vossen and Michael Küsters of FC Remscheid, especially after their excellent performances against WSV.

* - Babacar N'Diaye wants to leave for Hannover 96 immediately. However, unless the 96ers fork over some green, he looks to be staying until June 98.

* - Some WSV fans are demanding that the WSV directorship leap headfirst from the Schwebebahn into a shallow portion of the Wupper river, with their hands tied behind their backs. Barring that, they would like for them to resign en masse.

* - Jochen Classen's WSV Today has been renamed WSV-Kurier, but will continue to provide the same excellent coverage. Also in the service dept, WSV-Szene-Westerwald will be offering an information service that will provide game and score updates via pager and cell phone.

Dec 01, 1997

* - Coach Rudi Gores has publically stated that if he is expected to save the team, no more players can be sold. He also said (after the Teveren disaster) that we are fighting against relegation. His plan is to decide during the Winterbreak (coming up in a couple of weeks) which players to jetison

* - Roman Geschlecht is a new co-trainer for WSV. Other candidates were incapacitated in one way or another.

* - Christian Broos apparently reminded Rudi Gores too much of Porky Pig, so he was put on an ultra slim fast diet.

* - Player move rumours: WSV hopes to extend the loan from Steaua Bucharest for Bogdan Bucur. That should be no problem as long as they wave a few 100 DM notes around. Ionel Pirvu is rumoured to be entertaining some offers from Spain, whereas closer to home, Frank Wuester is in contact with 1.FC Köln. Guess he really wants to play in the 2.Liga next year! Meanwhile, Knut Harwig, who left WSV for Muenster, is thinking about coming back.

* - The Verl match was boycotted by the fan club "Wupperschlümpfe". Since hardly anyone showed up for the match, they can claim at least partial success. However, we have learned that many regulars had other pressing engagements, such as getting a haircut, and were unable to attend the match.

Nov 19, 1997

* - HOEFER CANNED!
In late breaking news, direct from the Zoo-Stadium pub, WSV coach Karl-Heinz "Ali" Höfer was fired by Club President Friedhelm Runge. He is replaced by Rudi Gores. This firing comes as a bit of a surprise, as there was no indication that such a drastic step would be taken, nor did there seem to be a clamoring among the fans to get rid of Hoefer. Gores last managed enemy team Rot-Weiss Essen a couple of years ago. He brought them into the 2.Liga, but since they sucked, he was fired before they got relegated back into the Regionalliga. Of course, he is not responsible for their upcoming drop to the Oberliga, where they belong.

* - WSV will face Oberliga team SV Straelen in a DFB Cup regional round on December 20th.

* - Rumour has it that WSV would like to sign Stefan Küsters of FC Remscheid. Where the money will come from is anybody's guess.

* - Club President Friedhelm Runge has set a "deadline" of December 15th for new sponsors to show up, otherwise he will resign.

Nov 13, 1997

* N'Diaye gone! Well, not just yet, but Babacar N'Diaye, WSV's in form Senegalese forward, has signed a contract with Hannover 96. According to the Hannover 96 news server, N'Diaye's contract starts July 1998, so it looks like he will finish out the season with WSV. The 96ers seem fairly pleased with the signing, describing him as a player that can do everything, but has trouble putting things in the net. Given that Hannover has an very good chance of playing the 2.Liga next year (certainly better than WSV), it's probably not a bad career move. Apparently he has signed as a Vertragsamateur, a "contract amateur", but could be upgraded to full professional if Hannover gains promotion.

* - WSV facing bankruptcy (again) ? There have been some disturbing rumours from sources in Germany that hint that WSV may go belly up, and it has nothing to do with Sven Christians! The latest is that players are no longer being paid, and they are considering a strike for the next match at Remscheid, so it is possible that the WSV-II or even WSV-III team may be forced to take the field.

Nov 11, 1997

* - WSV continues to suffer financial difficulties. The club may owe some DM 650,000 in union contributions. In addition, new sponsors need to be found. Club President Friedhlem Runge, through his company EMKA, has been forking over DM 1.5 million annually, and cannot continue to do so. A probable outcome is sale of some players. Given the marked improvement of WSV's Romanian imports over the last few games, they are likely candidates.

* - Sven Backhaus gets a 4 week ban for his red card.

Nov 3, 1997

* - Christian Puscas short term contract (through 31. October) has expired, and WSV will not excercise the option to extend it. It also appears that Ionel Pirvu and Bogdan Bucur's contracts will end at the end of November. Since the money is apparently not available to sign them on for a longer period, it is hoped that they can be sold to another team.

* - WSV-Szene-Westerwald reports that a Bratwurst can be had from the concessions for only DM 2.00. The french fries are also reported to be quite good.

Oct 31, 1997

* - The planned transfer of Aurel Panait and Bogdan Bucur to FSV Mainz is apparently on hold, since the Mainzers have not come up with any cash.

* - Christian Broos has sustained an upper thigh injury that will keep him out of the lineup.

* - On Wenesday, WSV won a "test" match against a Bezirksliga opponent SV Dhuenn 5-2. WSV's scores were from Babacar N'Diaye and Brent Goulet.

Oct 27, 1997

* - The relations between the WSV Fan clubs and management continue to get worse. "WSV-Szene-Westerwald" reports that club president Friedhelm Runge was taking questions from some 30 fans after the Oberhausen game. He was asked why the WSV-Fan clubs in the internet were being treated so shabbily, and he supposedly replied "I'm not interested in those crappy 5 Mark fans." Whether this is true or not, WSV-Szene-Westerwald has issued a call for a "boycott" at the next home game against Saarbruecken.

There appears to be increasing strife between coach Karl-Heinz "Ali" Hoefer and club management. Hoefer has apparently been quoted as saying that if they're unhappy, they should get rid of him.

* - "WSV-Today" has revealed some interesting info on the Ionel Pirvu case. Apparently there was a dispute between Steaua Bucharest and PAOK Thessalonika over his transfer fee, which the UEFA has now adjudicated to some $750,000. It's unclear how this effects Pirvu's status at WSV, where he has played a valuable role in the last couple of matches.

* - Aurel Panait, WSV's longest serving Romanian mercenary, is rumoured to be on the trading block. Specifically, struggling 2.Liga club FSV Mainz would like to loan him out. Mainz, last season finishing 4th, has been unable to replace departed midfielder Bruno Akrapovic. Also rumoured to be going along in the deal is the mysterious Visan Bogdan Bucur Popescu, who has of yet not played for WSV. According to sources from Mainz, both players had a practice session with Mainz, but there is likely to be no decision until some time in November at the earliest

Oct 20, 1997

* - Some internet contraversy. The West Deutsche Zeitung printed an article detailing club management's apparent unhappiness over coverage being received in some of the fan homepages. (Certainly they can't be thinking of us! - ed.) In any case, the article went to say that the club couldn't do much about that, but since the club emblem is copyrighted, they would see about that. This has apparently caused some of the Fan pages to remove the logo from their sites. For more details, see the Editorial Page.

Oct 13, 1997

* - Club President Friedhelm Runge chaired a meeting with the Bergisch Business Rountable and the city, to discuss new financing and sponsorship arrangements for the club. Overall, the meeting was positive, and vague commitments were made about new sponsorship and partnering with the city.
* - A friendly against the Landesliga club (5th division) Tuspo Richrath was won 6-1. Big deal.

Oct 8, 1997

* - Continued dissention at WSV between club boss Friedhelm Runge and coach Karl-Heinz Höfer. Apparently after Runge got through singing praises of his new signing Christian Puscas, Höfer turned around and ripped him a new asshole by berating his practice habits. In any case, Puscas hasn't seen any action yet.

* - Some websurfing research has indicated that new signing Ionel Pirvu, who supposedly played for PAOK Thessaloniki in Greece in fact was never really on their roster. He did play for some 222 games as a defender for Steaua Bucharest in Romania under the name Ionel-Antonel Parvu. So maybe he is a halfway decent player. Another rumoured signing is Visan Bogdan Bucur-Popescu, another Steaua defender of some 150 games.

Oct 2, 1997

* - A fair amount of dissention has apparently arisen between club boss Friedhelm Runge and coach "Ali" Höfer. The issue is that Runge wants to see some of the newer signings play, and Höfer does not believe that they've shown enough in practice.
* - In a scrimmage during a training session, the WSV II squad was able to pull off a 3-3 draw against the WSV I team. Most of the problems evident in the last few games were clearly exposed by the second stringers, which does not bode well for the near future. Sven Backhaus saw some action, and was promising.
The WSV-Szene-Westerwald reports that the WSV flag had to be defended against some drunken bozo after the Paderborn disaster. Apparently it was some drunken Wuppertaler that wanted to light it up.

Sept 26, 1997

* - WSV advances to the next round in the prelims of the DFB-Cup, with a 3-1 victory over VfR Neuss on Sept. 24. Goals for WSV came from Goulet, Mademann and N'Diaye.
* - Apparently two new players have been signed. Christian Puscas comes from Romania's Steaua Bucharest, most likely the "B" team. Ionel Pirvu comes from PAOK Thessalonika of Greece, but was also not on the 1997 roster. What's with WSV-Romania connection, you might ask?
* - Coach Höfer may be tempted to make several changes for the upcoming match in Paderborn. Apparently Christian Broos is in the doghouse, for having complained about being yanked against Siegen. Vlatko Glavas may actually be eligible to play, as might Sven Backhaus.
* - Aurel Panait was scheduled to have his cast removed from his leg earlier in the week, and may be available for duty soon.
* - WSV will apparently takeover the operation of the Zoo-Stadion pub. As long as there's lot's of beer, they should do OK, since the fans need it.
* - Despite his apparent legal problems, club president Friedhelm Runge is thinking about covering WSV's debts, in order to entice new sponsors.

Sept 12, 1997

* - Coach Hoefer has decided that the players need to work on their technique, probably like "kicking the ball into the net, eh?". This means training sessions twice a day.

* - WSV tries to keep going for next year's DFB-Cup, as they meet up against VfR Neuss on September 24. They should win this one about 5-0.

* - New President in the pipeline?
Apparently President Friedhelm Runge is in hot water. His company has been found guilty of some patent hanky-panky, and courts in Velbert (undoubtedly jealous because WSV eliminated worthless SSVg Velbert from the DFB Cup), have slapped on a fine of some DM 400000. According to reports, he could also be liable for another 1.5 million DM in compensation. Maybe he could get Sven Christians to pay the fine.

August 27, 1997

* - Read about WSV's 1-3 defeat by Trier in the season section.

* - It looks increasingly like Vlatko Glavas will not be playing with WSV this year. Apparently his old club, Osieck of the Croatian league still holds some rights, and is demanding money. Since Viorel is apparently also not going to play for WSV, this would be the 2nd "newcomer" who only showed up in Wuppertal long enough to ride the Schwebebahn. In any case, none of the new signings have had much of an impact, as only Raduta and Dionne have seen any action at all.

* - WSV-Today reports that coach Karl-Heinz Hoefer wants Aurel Panait to take a more active role in controlling the flow of play.

August 21, 1997

* - The San Jose Clash suffered an upset 2-1 home defeat against the 3rd division San Francisco Seals in the quarterfinals of the US Open Cup. The Clash basically were phoning it in after leading 1-0 at half, and toally controlling the game. However the Seals never gave up and fought their way to victory against the lethargic Clash. This comes after the Clash had pulled them up into at least a mathematical chance for a MLS playoff spot, and are no longer the worst MLS team.

August 17, 1997

An important away win in Bonn: 2:1 against Bonner SC.

Earlier in the week, WSV defetaed SSVg Velbert 3:1 in a Cup qualifier.

August 10, 1997

WSV draws 1-1 at home with Preussen Muenster. Goulet scores again for WSV. See season details for more info.

* - San Jose Clash downed the Colorado Rapids 2-1.

August 4, 1997

A heroic 2-1 away victory in Verl, a team that kicked WSV's ass last year. Scoring for Talers were Brent Goulet and Sven Steup!

* - San Jose Clash of MLS had their best performance of the season, as they thrashed the New England Revolution 5-1.

* - The planned ISDN/internet broadcast of WSV-Preussen Muenster for this weekend has been canceled. Along with all the other circus atmosphere and festivities. Apparently club management neglected to secure the necessary permits from the police and city. The other problem was that the German Soccer Federation, DFB, objected to the broadcast because it would allegedly violate their "TV" contract.

July 28, 1997

* - WSV played a friendly against Hessen Kassel, ending 1-1.

* - The San Jose Clash defeated the 3rd division Central Coast Roadrunners 5-2 in a US Open Cup match in San Luis Obispo in front of 7,500 fans. Must have been a big event down in SLOtown! In a tremendous upset, the San Francisco Bay Seals, also 3rd division, stunned the Kansas Wizards of the MLS 2-1.

* - WSV on internet TV?
Some WSV sponsors will attempt to broadcast LIVE on the internet WSV's match against Preussen Muenster on Sat. Aug 9th, 15:00 German time. Three cameras have been set up with ISDN connections to feed images to a special web site. For details, refer to wsv.wtal.de

July 24, 1997

NEWS FLASH!!!!!!

The TRAITOR Sven Christians has found a new club!!!! He has apparently signed with SV Babelsberg of the Regionalliga Nordost!! WSV should immediately demand a transfer of some 500 Million Ostmarks, which ought to worth about 2 pfennigs, but at least they could then say they got some value in return. Read all about him in Sven Christian's Saga .

July 21, 1997

* - News from WSV-Today suggests that WSV has come to terms with Bosnian midfielder Vlatko Glavas of Fortuna Düsseldorf.

* - Apparently Romaninan forward Ion Viorel will not be coming to WSV. Another Romanian, Cristian Puskas is being talked about. Libyan international Ben Krema had a tryout with WSV.

* - WSV's jersey will be from the "Fila" sportswear company.

* - Results:
Here are some of the WSV friendlies:
TuS Rheinsdorf - WSV 0-7
Daun/Eifel - WSV 0-6
WSV - Wattenscheid 90 II 2-0
SSV Sudberg - WSV 0-3
Fortuna Düsseldorf - WSV 3-2
WSV - Kocaelispor 0-1

Except for the Düsseldorf and Kocaelispor matches, all games you would expect WSV to win easily.

* - The San Jose Clash went on a losing road trip, dropping two games in Dallas and Tampa Bay by identical 3-1 scores.

July 14, 1997

* - WSV played the first two test matches over the past week. The first was a hard test against the Turkish Cup winner, Kocaelispor, coached by German Holger Osieck. The final result was a 0-1 loss. I don't have detailed info, but according to "WSV-Today", WSV gave a relatively good account of itself. Coach Höfer played two different squads in each half. Another observer mentioned that it was hard to draw conclusions from this game. Gabi Raduta, the Romanian midfielder, played up front along with Brent Goulet in the 1st half, and apparently gave a good account of himself.

In the second friendly, WSV beat the Kreisligist SV Reinsberg 7-0. In order to "even" the score, WSV played only 9 players. Scoring were Goulet (2), N'Diaye, raduta, Walbröhl, Knezevic and Christian Siegloff, up for a trial from WSV-II.

* - Results:
In a vicious match that should have been called a hockey game, the san Jose Clash "lost" at home in a shootout against the Tampa Bay Mutiny. The game featured 7 yellow cards, 3 red cards, approximately 70 fouls and one broken leg. San Jose was winning 2-1 until Nelson Vargas scored for Tampa on a beautiful freekick with about 20 seconds left.

July 8, 1997

* - Results:
The Clash bounced back with a thrilling 3-2 victory over the New England Revolution, before a crowd of 12,000 in Spartan Stadium.

* - WSV has announced a friendly against Union Solingen for July 29th.

* - Uwe Fecht, the coach of WSV-II, and retired Rudi Müller have been announced as assistant coaches for WSV.

* - The rumour mill reports that WSV is trying to sign an ex-WSV player, Bosnian Vlatko Glavas, who was last with Fortuna Düsseldorf.

July 5, 1997

* - Results:
Back to normal for the Clash, losing 1-3 away to Colorado. Eric Wynalda had surgery and is out for 8 weeks. When does WSV start?!

June 30 1997

* - Results:
New coach Brian Quinn got off to a good start as the San Jose Clash defeated the Dallas Burn 3-1.

June 25 1997

* - Practice for the coming season, which kicks off August 3rd, starts on June 30th. The first regular season match is away against Verl, against whom we stunk on both ocasions.

* - WSV can forget about Lars Kindgen, as he signed with RW Essen. Another Senegalese forward, Hussein Dion, has apparently signed from Union Solingen. I think we'd rather have Celine Dion; she can't play, but she'd probably draw huge crowds to the Zoo-Stadion and then we could payoff Sven Christian's hitmen.

* - Following another loss, 3-1 to Tampa Bay, the San Jose Clash finally fired their coach, Laurie Calloway. Calloway, who was known throughout his playing career as a basic English hacker, had basically shown that his all-defensive strategy was useless. His replacement is expected to be Brian Quinn, coach of the San Diego Sockers and former Northern Ireland midfielder with Everton.

June 16 1997

* - Results:
The San Jose Clash upset the Wizards 3-1 in Kansas City. Both teams basically sucked, but the Clash had Eric Wynalda, who set up all three San Jose goals. Unfortunately this victory, which breaks a five game losing streak, will mean that coach Laurie Calloway won't get his ass fired.

* - As insider sources had indicated over two months ago, WSV Marketing manager Michael Zylka has resigned from the club. The cause is supposedly disagreement over the way things are being run.

* - All sorts of player rumours are flying about, many dealing with ex-WSV players, such as Lars Kindgen and Thomas Richter. The latter just got relegated with VfB Lübeck, so he probably figures he could do without the icy Baltic sea blasts.

June 9 1997

* - Results:
WSV dropped their final season homegame, a disgraceful 1-0 loss against almost relegated FSV Salmrohr. This leads to a 6th place finish, rather disappointing.
The San Jose Clash lost again, 3-2 to the Kansas City Wizards. They sucked, as usual, and gave up the losing goal in the dying minutes.

* - In a potentially good move, WSV announced new, generally lower, ticket prices for the next season. Given the overall crappy performance on the field and at the gate, this was undoubtedly needed.

June 5 1997

* - The San Jose Clash played a friendly against the 2nd division Seattle Sounders (USISL-A League) in Seattle. After a 0-0, the Clash proceeded to lose the shootout, as usual. Most of the regular starters did not play.

June 1 1997

* - Results:
WSV was pretty much without a chance in a 2-0 away loss to Saarbrücken. ASV Wuppertal got their butts kicked, losing 4-0 against SC Cronenberg.
The San Jose Clash dropped a tough 3-2 home decision to the defending champions DC United. Only seconds after scoring the equalizer in the 86th minute, they gave up the final goal to lose again. Well, at least it wasn't a crapshootout.
* - Sven Backhaus (Admira Wacker Vienna) is on the hot-list for new players. President Friedhelm Runge stated that his signing is "almost 90%".
* - The three Romanian players (Viorel, Raduta, Rontes) will apparently be offered contracts.
* - Frank Zilles may be staying with WSV, as the Youth coach.

May 25 1997

* - Results:
WSV continues it's good recent form, as they brushed back FC Homburg 3-1 to make it 3 wins in a row. WSV II got hammered in their Verbandsliga match 4-1 by Union Solingen.
Another loss for the San Jose Clash, as they go down 3-1 in Washington against D.C. United. They had a legitimate goal disallowed, but it really didn't matter, since they got their asses kicked.

May 19 1997 * - Results:
WSV again underachieved, although at least they came away with a 4-2 away victory over SC Hauenstein.
The San Jose Clash played two crap games over the weekend, and both were 1-1 draws before losing in the crap-shoot-out. On Friday night, they played against the New England Revolution in San Jose. Despite an evening start, the temperature was over 95 degrees, which undoubtedly contributed to the small crowd of only 11,000. That and the fact that the Clash played crap again. Then it was on to Los Angeles, to play against the Galaxy in a Sunday afternoon matchup. Even though LA is about the worst team in MLS this year, the Clash stunk up the joint, eventually losing in the crap-shoot-out.

* - Daniel N'Gombo's contract with WSV will probably be terminated. It does not appear to be a performance issue, but rather extenuating circumstances. First, he apparently commutes from Belgium, and WSV is planning to have morning practice sessions next year. He also appears to be troubled with the situation in his home country of Zaire. Apparently his brother was shot dead during the upheavals.

* - Günter Breitzke is apparently set to go to Alemannia Aachen, and Knut Hartwig looks to be on his way to Preußen Münster. Meanwhile, coach Wolfgang Jerat benched the traitor Elvis Hajradinovic, who is transferring to RW Essen. (Well, at least he's not going to Oberhausen!). Club President Friedhelm Runge has also stated that Babacar N'Diaye is staying. This probably means that those feelers from Bundesliga clubs was just wishful thinking.

* - Apparently Heiko Peschke (KFC Uerdingen) will not be coming to the Wupper valley. The club is interested in Uwe Stöver (Mainz 05) for the libero position, but this seems unlikely as well.

* - Finally, a bit of good news. After getting their butts kicked by WSV last week, Oberhausen fired their coach. But then they went out and hired an ex-WSv coach, Gerd vom Bruch. What's up with that?!

May 14 1997

* - Results:
The San Jose Clash tied Aston Villa of England's Premier League 1-1 in a friendly in Spartan Satdium last night.

May 12 1997

* Results:
WSV decides the championship! Well, maybe not so dramatic, but the Red and Blues have their best result of the season, winning 3-2 at home against RW Oberhausen. This essentially hands the title (and promotion) to Wattenscheid.
In lower division action, WSV II tied 3-3 at VfB Homberg, whereas in the Landesliga, ASV Wuppertal lost 0-2 at SSVg Velbert, ending any hopes for the championship.
The San Jose Clash pick up an important road victory against the New York MetroStars on Lawrence Lozzano's goal at the Meadowlands.

* - Veteran Rudi Müller is set to leave the club. Also, Elvis Hajradinovic has decided to turn traitor, and will sign with RW Essen! Babacar N'Diaye supposedly has some feelers from Bundesliga clubs. For what, we're not sure...

* - WSV is rumoured to be negotiating to bring 3 former Romanian internationals to the club. Not Hagi, Dumitrescu and Popescu, or anyone else that you have heard of. The players mentioned are Viorel Ion, Constantin Rontes and Gabi Radatu. Apparently one way WSV hopes to economize is to sign players from impoverished countries like Romania.

* - The club is still seeking a uniform sponsor for next year.

May 05 1997

* - Results:
WSV goes down to defeat at Verl, losing 0-1 to SC.
In MLS action, the San Jose Clash crashed and burned in a 1-3 home defeat to the Columbus Crew. About 15,000 fans witnessed a disgraceful SJ performance.

* - Christian Broos and Günter Breitzke should be getting the boot. New coach Karl-Heinz Höfer has apparently told them to take a hike, since they no longer fit in his plans.

* - WSV is supposedly putting out feelers to Stefean Küsters and Marcel Podszus of FC Remscheid. In another unconfirmed rumour, Dortmund's Brazilian star Julio Cesar apparently recommended a friend of his for a test training at WSV. No further details available at this time.

Apr 27 1997

* - Results:
WSV blew a 2:0 lead and gave up two goals in the last minute of play to only tie 2-2 at home against Preußen Münster!!! In the Verbandsliga, WSV II had a 1-1 draw at Osterfeld, and in the Landesliga, ASV Wuppertal won 2-0 away to SV Kray.
The San Jose Clash managed a stunning "victory" in a crap-shootout over defending MLS champs DC United in Washington. Despite the somewhat tainted victory, it was an excellent result. After being totally outplayed and down 2-0 after a half, without an injured Eric Wynalda, things looked grim. Yet they managed to come back and tie 2-2, and Jeff Baicher missed a hat-trick when he blew a penalty. Last year they would have just curled up and died.

* - The "new" strategy was announced by the club in the press conference. Manager Horst Runge stated that the current DM 2.6 million ($1.75 million) budget would be reduced by about 20%-30%. To make up the difference, the club will try and sign young hungry players. (Given the wages they'll be getting, they will certainly be hungry!). Club President Friedhelm Runge stated that the near term goal would be to finish in the top 4 (not this season we won't!), in preparation for the future single 3rd division.

* - Contract negotiations have begun with the players for next season. Insiders say that Brent Goulet, Gerit Meinke and Babcar N'Diaye are definite "keepers". Veterans Rudi Müller, Richard Mademann, Ingo Menzel and Daniel N'Gombo will be offered contracts, but at reduced salaries. Günter Breitzke and Andre Lenz have been in contact with Alemannia Aachen. And of course, Sven Christians has a guaranteed contract!

Apr 24 1997

* - It's official: Wolfgang Jerat's stay as WSV head coach is over. In a press conference at the Zoo Stadion yesterday, it was announced that his contract would not be renewed. WSV-II coach Karl-Heinz "Ali" Höfer will take over next season, with a 1 year contract. (Now how's that for job security!)

Apr 22 1997

* - Results:
WSV gets a break, as the Regionalliga West was off this weekend. The next match is against Preußen Münster, who stuck it to WSV 2:0 up in Alster-town. The Verbandsliga and Landesliga also were off, so WSV II and ASV Wuppertal got to drink beer all weekend.
The San Jose Clash "lose" again in one of those ridiculous shootouts after a 1-1 tie in Columbus to the Crew. The only real positive was attendance of 18,500 in Columbus, which should help their drive for a new stadium.

* - It appears that head coach Wolfgang Jerat's days at WSV are numbered. Reports out of Wuppertal indicate that the chemistry between management and the coach appear to be out of whack. While the WSV-II coach Karl-Heinz "Ali" Höfer and Manager Horst Runge travelled to Romania to see Germany's under-21 team in action (perhaps to scout new players), Jerat was left high and dry. While you might not want to read too much into that, as a trip to Romania can hardly be classified as a "boondoggle" (it has to rank right up there with Albania and Bosnia), there does appear to be some financial evidence. Club President Friedhelm Runge has indicated that he hopes to cut salaries - and the coach position is targeted. Meanwhile, Jerat is on record as saying that he already took it in the pants when he signed on, and can't afford another cut.
* - Ingo Menzel is apparently negotiating with the Stuttgarter Kickers of the 2.Liga
* - Uwe Fecht is being considered as the new coach for WSV-II. This assumes that "Ali" Höfer is offered the head coaching job.
* - Wolfgang Benkert is being talked about as new goalkeeper coach.

Apr 15 1997

DEATH SENTENCE FOR WSV?

Yesterday, the Wuppertaler Amtsgericht handed down the verdict in the Sven Christians case. Guilty as charged!!! Therefore, WSV needs to fork over DM 1.5 million through the end of next season. According to radio reports, the club does not have the capacity to pay. If a "sugardaddy" like Club President Friedhelm Runge can't be found, they will probably have to declare bankruptcy!!

Apr 13 1997

* - Results:
Ugh! Another defeat as WSV crashes 1-0 in Aachen. In the Verbandsliga, WSV II also suffered a defeat. losing at home 2:3 to Viersen. A very nice win on the other hand for ASV Wuppertal, which had a 2:1 Landesliga victory over....(drumroll)....Rot-Weiss Essen II.
The San Jose Clash crush the evil Los Angeles Galaxy 4-1. Attendance was over 17,000.

Apr 6 1997

* - Results:
Yes! WSV win the derby against Remscheid 4-1. Wattenscheid have now taken the lead as Oberhausen crash 0-1 at Hauenstein! But WSV now embark upon a diffcult stage: away to Aachen, home to Muenster, at Verl, home to Oberhausen.
In the lower divisions, WSV II and ASV Wuupertal did not play, as the Verbandsliga and Landesliga rested.
The San Jose Clash lose 2-1 in Dallas to the Burn. They managed to tie at 1-1 , despite being a man down on a laughable red card. A last minute scramble in front of the Dallas goal ended with a shot being cleared off the line.

* - There seems to be a big question as to whether Coach Wolfgang Jerat will be around or just history next season. While one sticking point may be money, it should be obvious that the coach ios going to take some of the heat for this year's crappy campaign.

* - The Zoo stadium lockers were broken into, and thieves stole WSV blind. Uniforms and balls were totally cleared out. Unconfirmed sources say that a thieving gang of RW Essen hooligans led by Sven Christians may be to blame.

* - WSV II coach Karl-Heinz Höfer hopes to keep much of the nucleus of his relatively successful squad together for next season. High on his list are Oswere, Tönnies, Siegloff, Niedzkowski, Mohymann, Kaul, Fecht, Valenti and Reichert.

Apr 2 1997

The announcement yesterday regarding SAP sponsorship turned out to be a cruel April Fools joke perpetrated by the editor on a slow news day. Anyone who is familiar with SAP's R/3 would guess that SAP would make things so complicated that it would be almost impossible to get anything done without a $100 million budget anyway. Plus the DM 5 million would probably end up with Sven Christians.

Apr 1 1997

STUNNING NEWS FLASH!!!
In a stunning announcement that is sure to change the fortunes of Wuppertaler SV, German software giant SAP announced today that they would assume sponsorship of the club. Although details were not announced, it is believed that the total annual stipend would exceed DM 5 Million.
The main driver behind this agreement is the sponsorship of SAP of the San Jose Clash of the Major Soccer League. Along with many other major Silicon Valley firms, such as networking giants cisco, 3com, Oracle and Sun Microsystems, SAP has become an official sponsor of the Clash. This tremendous cash inflow has allowed the San Jose Clash to purchase the contracts of Mexican internationals Carlos Hermosillo, Rafael Ramirez and Luis Garcia Aspe. Given the large number of Mexican-Americans in the San Jose area, this move created a tremendous amount of excitement and good publicity for the sponsors, and has made the Clash the favorites to win the championship.
With it's large presence in Foster City, SAP has tried to make inroads into the maturing companies in Silicon Valley. Given the tremendous popularity of the Clash, SAP decided that sponsorship of the soccer team would be an excellent publicity move.
SAP is said to want to bring some German players to San Jose, with Juergen Klinsmann being mentioned as the primary candidate. The Clash are looking for a club to test players in the off season. Part of the arrangement with WSV is that the Clash can bring players over to Wuppertal during the MLS offseason. (MLS is a summer league.)
SAP entered into the sponsorship agreement with Wuppertal after being rebuffed by several Bundesliga clubs. However, it is also believed that newly promoted SAP Vice President Ulrich Bergmann, until recently responsible for SAP America/Foster City, influenced the decision. Bergmann is a native of Wuppertal, and did his abitur at the Gymnasium Sedanstrasse.

Mar 31 1997

* - Results:
WSV squeaked by tail-ender Elversberg with a 2-1 win in the Saarland. Although this is a team we should beat about 6-0, at least we bring home the bacon.
Despite two goals from Eric Wynalda, the San Jose Clash came away with no points after losing the shootout to the Kansas City Wizards. The full-time score was 2-2. Attendance in KC was a wimpy 11.000.

* - Dirk Heinemann and Frank Wüster have signed new contracts for the next season. Wüster was recently promoted from the 2nd team, and has played very well.

* - Coach Wolfgang Jerat's car was broken into and his cell-phone was stolen. Unconfirmed reports say that police suspect irate RW Essen hooligans preparing for next year's Regionalliga wiedersehen with WSV. Another obvious suspect is Sven Christians.

* - Frank Zilles had an operation, and Ingo Menzel will also be out of the lineup due to injury.

* - Marketing Manager Michael Zylka is said to be looking for a new sponsor. He is rumoured to be lining up several potential newcomers.

* - Excitement is rising in the Wupper valley in preparation for the derby against FC Remscheid next week.

Mar 23 1997
* - Results:
WSV crunch Bocholt 3-0 to partially erase the disgrace from last week. In the Verbandsliga, WSV II draws 1-1 at Tura Düsseldorf and Borussia Wuppertal ties 0-0 at Viersen. In the Landesliga, ASV Wuppertal has a nice 3-0 away win over SpVgg Remscheid. And of course, in the MLS season opener, the San Jose Clash defeat New York MetroStars in a shootout after a scoreless match in front of 28.000 fans in Spartan stadium.

* - ASV Wuppertal has immediately dismissed Coach Bergemann. He takes over at TSV Ronsdorf.

* - Coach Jerat is not leaving WSV to go to Standard Liege/Lüttich (Belgium).

* - Borussia Wuppertal has let it's coach Boss go to SSV Sudberg.

* - Lucky Oswere has finally got his release from WSV. He had been playing in the 2nd team.

* - Last week's 5-1 loss to Bor. M'Gladbach II by WSV II was blamed on goalie Jochen Gramse. He was apparently "subjected to dizziness attacks, and so was unable to see the ball." The fans also got dizzy from watching the ball roll around in the net so often. (- ed.)

Mar 16 1997
* - WSV suffered a miserable 0:2 loss in Erkenschwick. So much for the nine game unbeaten streak. WSV II suffered an embarassing 1-5 defeat at the hands of M'Gladbach II.

* - Sven Christian's Saga should be retitled "The Neverending Story". Apparently the bum has decided that playing soccer is for wussies, and it's much more lucrative to sue WSV in the courts. The latest rumour is that he is suing WSV for "bonus" pay. You have to admit, the guy has balls. Not that I'm suggesting it, but it would probably be cheaper for WSV to hire some Russian gangsters or Bosnian gunmen to bump him off than keep losing thousands of Deutschmarks in the courts.

Mar 11 1997
* - The latest rumours have coach Werner Jerat perhaps leaving the club at the end of the season. He may be in the running for a coaching job with Belgium's Standard Liege (Lüttich for you German speakers who insist on changing the names of all towns! BTW, when do we get to play Eintracht Brunswick again?). I would guess that this would be some sort of assistant's job.

Feb. 4 1997
* - WSV managed a 0-0 draw with the traditional Romanian power Steaua Bucharest. Considering that the last friendly was a loss to SW Essen, this has to be considered a decent result.

Jan. 27 1997
* - WSV is rumoured to be acquiring a forward from Union Solingen.

* - Apparently there was a mini-riot at the recent WSV - Trier match. Some 200 angry fans wanted to lynch club president Friedhelm Runge as details of the Sven Christians litigation have come to light. As revealed earlier, WSV is forced by the labor courts to fork over some DM 750.000 as part of a settlement. (The court ruled against WSV, and a settlement was reached to avoid further grief.)

* - WSV lost a friendly against Schwarz-Weiss Essen 1-0. What a crappy result, although Essen will probably get promoted to the Regionalliga next year. (Which will give Essen two Regionalliga teams when RWE gets demoted!)

* - WSV has apparently scheduled two more friendlies for early February: vs. Roumania's Steaua Bucharest, and against Belgium's National squad.

(Infos courtesy Joern Janssen)

* - Daniel Simmes name has appeared on the transfer list. He had been one of the steadier players for WSV in the fall season, so this has to be considered yet another transfer loss. He has returned to play in Belgium. Since his contract with WSV expired on 31 December 1996, he apparently already had another one in his pocket.

5 Nov 1996

WSV to have uniform sponsor!
Some good news at last: WSV has apparently found a sponsor for the uniform. The new sponsor is the EMKA company, via club president Friedhelm Runge.

* - WSV is apparently in negotiations to bring another forward to the club, who apparently played for WSV 3 years ago.

The board of directors hopes that renewed attendance can bring the average up to 4.000 per match this year. (Editorial comment: Not likely)

Info courtesy of Joern Janssen

17 Oct 1996
* - WSV is supposedly seeking another forward, to breathe some life in what has become a pathetic offense. Looks like the whole WSV attack will end up in Oberhausen.

Sep 1996
* - The latest rumor is that forward Günter Breitzke is grumbling about his lack of playing time.

* - Coach Werner Jerat defended his player Rudi Müller against the "outrageous" yells of "Müller out!" from the fans in the recent match against Erkenschwick. He expressed disappointment with the level of fan support, mentioning that if you have crappy fan support, don't be surprised if you end up with a mediocre team.

He also commented that he would have liked to keep Achim Weber, but apparently the player wanted to leave, so the club had no choice. (Um den ganzen Bericht auf Deutsch zu lesen, bitte hier klicken.)

Aug 1996
* - Achim Weber has left WSV and joined Rot-Weiss Oberhausen.

* - Ben Manga's contract was dissolved, and he has departed for parts unknown. (Actually, KFC Uerdingen Amateurs)

* - WSV defeated 2.Bundesliga newcomer Rot-Weiss Essen 5:3 in a test match

* - The club wants to sign Daniel Simmes of Lierse SK of the Belgian 1st Division. He has looked very good in test matches. Simmes was not cleared by the DFB in time for the first match against Eintracht Trier, pissing off coach Wolfgang Jerat.

* - WSV has signed Zairean international Daniel N'Gombo-Mansoni. His last club is believed to be Standard Liege of Belgium.

* - Forward Brent Goulet has signed with WSV, becoming the first American to sign with WSV. Originally with the Texas Longhorns, Goulet has bounced around in German soccer, his last two teams being RW Oberhausen and Bonner SC. Both seasons could be considered to be relatively successful.