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Forget DVDs: the proper way to watch classic matches is on super 8 films. Marcus Davies describes his collection and what makes this forgotten format so special. No projector required

I have a large, and ever increasing, collection of super 8 football films. Some were acquired as a Christmas present in 1975, but most have been bought on eBay in the last few years. There is a possibility, even at this early stage of serious collecting, that it is already the single largest anthology in existence. This may not be a major claim to fame, though, because I rather suspect that I am the only person collecting them.

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Gavin Willacy compares his experiences as a young player with those of kids today, and finds an obsession with emulating the boys at the top

Early this season, Radio 5 Live’s morning phone-in got all in a lather about a youth league in Huntingdonshire that was unhappy at the FA banning them from publishing under-eight league tables in their local paper. The story subsequently ran in several other national media outlets.

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Trevor Brooking is unhappy about the attitudes pervading youth football and, based on his own experiences, Barney Ronay can see his point

Trevor Brooking, who has turned out to be an unexpectedly evangelical FA director of coaching, has talked a lot over the last month about the “golden age of learning” between the ages of nine and 13. The FA have identified this as the crucial window for football skill-cramming, the period that decides whether or not you’re going to be a Velcro-touched master of the chest-trap.

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A spate of death threats, with bullets sent in the post, is hurting the image of football in Holland. Derek Brookman reports

Many people, if asked to choose an appropriate adjective for Dutch society, would plump for “tolerant”. We all know about the views on prostitution and soft drugs, and the country also has a centuries-old tradition of welcoming those deemed not to ­conform elsewhere.

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The Lions' share of football glory has been fairly minimal down the  years and pre-season hopes were low, while Carlisle were play-off semi-finalists in May. Yet there has been a reversal of fortunes since August, even if a good run for Kenny Jackett's Millwall has been punctuated with nasty defeats. David Stubbs reports

As I enter The Den, the strains of Sonny and Cher’s I Got You Babe resound around the stadium from a PA system so tinny they could be better off making their announcements from the one at nearby South Bermondsey station and hoping the wind carries them. The cine-worm of Groundhog Day immediately squirms to mind – that was the song Bill Murray woke up to every morning. This being a cold evening – all gloves, big cups of coffee and visible breath – you half expect Murray and Andie McDowell to come running out of nowhere throwing snowballs at you. 

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