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Features
Future tense Reforms to children’s grassroots will require an influx of capable coaches
Debt collectors Manchester United’s grim financial reality is hitting on and off the pitch
Holding the reins Politicians push back on the regulator
Match of the month Desperate for a home win, Ipswich Town welcome Tottenham Hotspur
Biscuit base Why Reading fans loved Elm Park
Olympia games The team for Somalis in Birmingham
End of the line How Stranraer are defying their geographical challenges
Object lessons A personal note from AS Roma
Watching brief Cold nights out as a football scout
Turkish delight The challengers to Istanbul’s big three

Regulars
Editorial Scrapping relegation from the Women’s Super League would be a backwards move
Sidelines Doncaster providing a home for Afghanistani players; tribute to Patrick Barclay; how Farsley Celtic’s pitch problems have spiralled; Cambridge United turn to some familiar faces in the fight for League One survival
Shot! Huddersfield Town Women host Middlesbrough
Harry Pearson column The fans who just love the attention
The perfect shot Ray Wilkins and Paul Mariner celebrate a crucial win for England in Hungary in 1981
World view Expansion plans for the United Soccer League; African clubs cash in on the Club World Cup; a bumper turnout for Ireland’s season opener
Letters We all hung around, watching a variety of spotty youth team players running around carrying tools…
Season in brief A point separates Porto and Benfica in a tight 2012-13 title race in Portugal’s Primeira Liga