Search: ' Port Vale'

Aleksander Goryunov is concerned about Skonto Riga, struggling against economic downturn and a huge sporting rival

The end of April saw the reigning Latvian champions Skonto Riga, managed by the former Southampton striker Marians Pahars, host leaders Metalurgs. Over 800 fans turned up at the 10,000-capacity Skonto Stadium to witness a dominant performance by the visitors. With the home team 2-0 down we were treated to the surreal sight of the 30-odd Skonto ultras behind the goal “doing the Poznan” in the near-empty ground. It will take much more than this to inject some life into Latvia’s most successful club.

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Phil Town explains how a recent ruling could mean more good news for Porto, while Boavista hope for a reversal of fortunes

“This is our destiny” ran the stadium banners that accompanied FC Porto’s best ever season. They won four out of a possible five trophies – Portuguese Championship, Cup and Supertaça (between last season’s Champions and Cup-winners) and the Europa League – and faltered only twice. The League Cup went to Benfica and the open-top bus broke down on the way to the city-centre celebrations for the Europa League win.

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Tom Davies explores the boardroom politics causing trouble at Wrexham, Port Vale and Rushden & Diamonds

Few clubs can have attracted such a remarkable string of inappropriate suitors as Wrexham in recent months. To a backdrop of winding-up orders and threats of disqualification from the Conference play-offs, an extraordinary soap opera has been playing out in the battle for ownership of the club, which now has a fighting chance of a happy ending as supporters stand poised to take control.

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Having survived a brutal beating, one fan is determined to draw attention to Italian police violence. Matthew Barker explains

On September 24, 2005, Brescia fan Paolo Scaroni was among a group of supporters gathered at Verona’s Porta Nuova train station, preparing to make their way home after a game against the local team, Hellas. Before getting on board, Scaroni went to a nearby McDonald’s to buy a few bottles of water for him and his friends. As he ran back up the steps to the platform he was attacked by a group of eight riot police officers. The beating was so severe that he fell into a coma. It took 20 minutes for medical staff to arrive on the scene then he was operated on at a local hospital.

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Continuing our anniversary series we look back at how the spectator experience has changed in the last 25 years. David Wangerin was fascinated with English football in the 1980s as everything was so different to his native US. Times have changed

I was unlucky, I suppose, that both of the first two English football matches I ever saw ended without a goal. But what I remember most about my first trip to Villa Park, on the first Saturday of February, 1984, wasn’t the score, the weather, or even the opposition: it was all the empty seats.

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