Owen Amos on why losing can be fun with BJ Heijman
Brandon United are bottom of the Arngrove Northern League Second Division, five divisions from the Football League. They’ve won one match all season and, after 14 games, their goal difference is minus 52. So why do their players go for trials at PSV Eindhoven? Why do rival coaches watch their training sessions on cold Thursday nights? And why, at those sessions, do almost 30 players turn out, twice a week?
English reaction to Fabio Capello’s arrival has bemused his compatriots, as Matthew Barker reports. Some wonder how a man used to the best will cope with English talent – a problem other foreign coaches face
Italian reaction to the appointment of Fabio Capello as England coach was, in fairly quick succession, pride, bemusement and a smattering of scepticism. Often deemed a cold, haughty northerner (Capello hails from the Bisàsco region, near the border with Slovenia), the former Real Madrid boss had been steadily winning over a new breed of fans during a stint as guest pundit on state broadcaster RAI’s Domenica Sportiva show. Certainly his entertainingly forthright views and surprisingly chatty demeanour put him noticeably at odds with another apparent candidate for the Soho Square hot seat, Marcello Lippi, who, when coaxed off his yacht for co-commentating duties with Sky Italia, is often disappointingly uncomfortable and wooden.
As Argentina's traditional clubs struggle three unlikely teams rise to the top, writes Rodrigo Orihuela
It was the year of the minnow in Argentine football. Two small teams from the suburbs of Buenos Aires – Lanús and Tigre – took the two top places in the championship and a third – Arsenal – won the Copa Sudamericana, second only to the Copa Libertadores. Arsenal’s story is probably the most eye-catching of all since the club, founded in 1957, only reached the top division in 2002. The club were set up by the two Grondona brothers, one of whom, Julio, has been FA chairman since 1979. The team are located in the industrial district of Avellaneda, also the home of giants Racing and Independiente, and have the smallest fan base in the first division – their average crowd last season was just 3,005.
The mid-season money-go-round has been and gone but who are the real winners?
You know what to expect in the new year these days. Several clubs will field weakened sides in the FA Cup. A couple of high-profile players or their agents – this year it’s Dimitar Berbatov and Nicolas Anelka – will let it be known that they are looking for a move to a club “that will match my ambition”. And a couple of managers at least will complain about the transfer window. Step forward Steve Coppell – “I cannot see the logic in it, it brings on a fire-sale mentality” – and Gary Megson who, mirroring the outlook of the Europhobes who complain about the metric system having replaced imperial weights and measures, wants to see the window challenged in court. “Football clubs are told they have to do their business in a certain time, not when they would like to do it,” said Megson, who also echoed Coppell’s view that the window helps only the biggest clubs.
Qualification failure leaves England searching for answers but are supporters aware of how heavy their expectations weigh?
We had the cover of this issue worked out ahead of the Croatia match. “Disaster for England” would have been the headline, with two players discussing the fact that qualifying meant Steve McClaren was still the manager. We should have known better. Still, in the wake of the Wembley debacle, it has been suggested that England’s worst ever qualification failure may yet have a silver lining if it leads to the “root and branch investigation” of English football promised by the FA.