4 February ~ West Ham United play hosts to Millwall today for the first time since 2009’s infamous League Cup tie, when the home fans ran riot both on and off the pitch. An early kick-off plus a scandalously small ticket allocation for away supporters was supposedly designed to prevent any possible repeat of those scenes. It appears to have had the opposite effect, with rumours of Millwall fans threatening to turn up on the day in the hope of gaining entrance to the ground or buying tickets for the home end. Only five days ago Sky announced they would be showing the game – apparently on the request of the police.

4 February ~ Earlier this season, after Doncaster Rovers went down 2-0 at the Madejski Stadium, a fellow fan said to me "Can we not just take these Reading games out of the fixture list, give them the six points and do something else on these dates?" The Biscuitmen are Doncaster's bogey side. Rovers have taken just one point from their seven meetings since the two sides were reunited in the second tier. It is a foreboding fixture at any time, let alone in the week when your top scorer and talisman has moved on to pastures new.

3 February ~ Winning Ugly is a tennis manual written by former tour pro Brad Gilbert in which he explains how to achieve success even when hampered by a lack of ability or form simply by focusing on clear strategy and resolve to defeat an opponent. Gilbert would doubtless be wringing his hands in frustration at the current Manchester City squad, who, despite having no shortage of talent, are finding the art of grinding out the difficult win when not at their best a major stumbling block to their title aspirations.

3 February ~ In a blog for the Independent, Alex Hochuli has explained that the 74 deaths at a football match in Port Said on Wednesday night were not just the tragic result of another football disaster. He argues that it would be a mistake to simply treat the events as another in a long line of football catastrophes, in which lazy or corrupt officials fail to provide security. The causes of the violence are much broader. Politics has impacted heavily on other aspects of life in post-revolution Egypt. Since last year's uprising, political stability and security have deteriotated in the Arab world's most populous country. This disaster needs to be understood in a wide politcal context. To read the blog click here.

2 February ~ "Our City Our Team" is the statement that greets readers logging onto York City’s official website. Sadly it seems inevitable that in the near future these sentiments will no longer be appropriate. After nearly 80 years of calling Bootham Crescent home, a planning application has been submitted to the council that would see City move to a new home three miles out of town, on the site of the Monks Cross shopping centre. Bootham Crescent, situated in the terraced streets of Bootham just a wayward free-kick away from the bustle of the city centre, is no longer wanted by the club’s directors due to its lack of corporate facilities and inability to provide income away from match days.

2 February ~ It would be understandable if Vladimir Weiss, who quit his job as coach of Slovakia this week "by mutual consent", reflected that he had become a victim of his own standards. Three and a half years ago Weiss took on a team that had become a target of ridicule after losing a Euro 2008 qualifier 5-2 at home to Wales. He proceeded to guide them to the top of their World Cup qualification group, earning a rare win over neighbours the Czech Republic in the process. In South Africa, a thrilling victory over the World Cup holders Italy sent the Slovaks through to the last 16.

2 February ~ Chile is an unpredictable place, epitomised by the desert city of Antofagasta ("Anto" is Spanish for opposite, while "fagasta" can be loosely translated as "Reeaally?"). The club's crest refers to the constant state of alert locals are in when disposing domestic refuse and recycling. It is not unknown for residents and council employees to be surprised by a white panther rearing up at them from inside wheelie-bins. Grown to excessive size by feasting on human detritus, these scavenging behemoths were responsible for the phenomenon of "mob recycling", in which armed parties of up to 30 neighbours separated their glass, paper and card accompanied by a priest and a doctor. Deportes Antofagasta have used this terrifying image to suggest Dormant Menace, which, coincidentally, is pretty much Andy Carroll's role in the current Liverpool side. Read more

Premier League – More Merseyside misery for Mancini
Roberto Mancini's frustrations continued on Tuesday night, when they lost 1-0 to Everton. The Italian manager has never won in Liverpool, despite leading his teams to the city six times since February 2008, when his Inter side were beaten at Anfield in the Champions League. It is bemusing, then, that Mancini has admitted he took the game too lightly, particularly considering that City have won only once in 14 visits to Goodison Park since 1993. The defeat leaves City ahead of Manchester United on goal difference, while Everton have climbed to ninth.

In today's Reappraisal Ed Wilson proposes that, if you look past his bitter demeanour, Gordon Strachan is a decent manager

Gordon Strachan is probably one of British football's most quoted people. When asked by a journalist for "a quick word", he famously replied "Velocity". This quotability is, in fragrance terms, The Essence of Strachan: while other managers are noted for being charismatic, beleaguered, or defiant, he is quintessentially pithy.

31 January ~ Last week the Bundesliga announced a record high revenue for its 18 clubs during the 2010-11 season, with a turnover of almost €2 billion (£1.7bn) and an overall profit of €52.5 million. On the same day, UEFA revealed that more than half of its top 650 clubs lost money during 2010, despite the threat of exclusion from European competitions under its looming financial fair play regulations. What is Germany doing right that the rest of Europe is doing wrong?

With Harry Redknapp in the news at the moment, we took a flick through his autobiography and found the following passage, where Redknapp talks about signing the striker Carl Richards for Bournemouth. An incredulous Redknapp was shocked to discover the player didn't know he had to pay income tax.

Carl turned out to be a massive success for us. Opposing defences couldn't handle him. But off the field he didn't have a clue. The first week he got paid he came to my office and accused me of fiddling him.
"You told me I'd be getting £250 a week but I'm only getting £190," he complained.
"That's your tax and stuff," I said.
He looked at me accusingly. "You didn't tell me anything about this."
"That's your income tax," I said, amazed. "Everyone in the country has to pay it. When you went to work before you joined us you must have paid tax, didn't you?"

Page 74 of Harry Redknapp: My Autobiography published in 1998 by CollinsWillow

FA Cup ~ Crawley continue to defy their league place
It has almost stopped becoming a shock for Crawley Town to knock higher-league opposition out of the cups. They dispatched Derby County in the FA Cup third round last season and have now eliminated two Championship clubs this season. They beat Bristol City and then, this Saturday, Hull City 1-0 to advance to the fifth round for the second successive season. The investment in the squad and behaviour of manager Steve Evans – whose assistant was sent to the stands on Saturday – has made them unpopular, but their success is hardly likely to upset Crawley fans. The club will host Stoke City in the next round.

Equatorial Guinea midfielder Narcisse Ekanga takes diving to a new level.

28 January ~ In light of the recent race row between Luis Suárez and Patrice Evra, today's FA Cup tie between Liverpool and Manchester United is expected to be played out in a particularly poisonous atmosphere. But there will be one potentially explosive ingredient missing, in the form of an injured Michael Owen. He is deeply disliked by the majority of Liverpool fans. Exactly why he is so unpopular is less well known. The fact that Owen plays for their most hated rivals doesn't endear him to the Liverpool fans. But considering the injury-plagued, bit-part role he has at Old Trafford, most Liverpool supporters are happy to see him on the United bench – as opposed to say, Karim Benzema or David Villa.

The new WSC is out now, available from all good newsagents or dispatched on the day of order from the WSC shop. Including:
The short-sightedness of biased football managers
Eurotrash is welcomed on Channel 5
History mystery surrounds Arsenal's anniversary
Corinthians flex their muscles in Brazil
A DVD howler from David James
An unpaid SPL player takes up painting and decorating
Future stars European trek: the next generation series

27 January ~ Here goes then. The obligatory article about that cup tie. The one everyone's been waiting for since the fixture was confirmed. This Saturday, the eyes of the football world will be on… Ballymena Showgrounds as Coleraine face Crusaders in the Irish League Cup final. It has been business as usual in the Irish League this season, with Linfield yet again sitting pretty at the top. There have been plenty of stirrings elsewhere though. Portadown have put together their first realistic title challenge in a decade, while Glentoran continue to stumble from one crisis to the next – their recent Irish Cup exit at the hands of amateurs Newington Youth Club led to the resignation of manager Scott Young.

In today's "I was there", James Baxter remembers seeing his West Brom team humiliated in the FA Cup third round by Woking, a team from four divisions below. Things could only get better, or so he hoped

I am convinced that West Bromwich Albion’s 1990-91 season was planned by a Wolves fan. There is simply no other way to explain it.

26 January ~ On Saturday there will be a new addition to the long list of derbies played out at Hampden Park. For the first time in a century of private enmity, Kilmarnock and Ayr United will meet in the semi-finals of a major cup competition. Scotland v England, Rangers v Celtic and Hibs v Hearts may garner more media hype when they slug it out at the national stadium, but the Ayrshire derby won't disappoint the Sunday Mail sub-editors. There's plenty of animosity here. Kilmarnock sit mid-table in the SPL while Ayr occupy the relegation play-off spot in the second tier. But history shows this is no mismatch and form suggests Killie have more to fear.

The AFC Wimbledon supporter, Siobhain McDonagh MP, will hold a debate in the House of Commons this evening about football governance and AFC Wimbledon. The Labour MP for the former home of Wimbledon FC, will urge her colleagues to ensure any rule changes guarantee clubs are responsible to their supporters. She will also call for MPs to support the Drop the Dons campaign: "I want ministers to remember the case of Wimbledon and look at the running sore of Franchise FC stealing our name. I don't mind if Milton Keynes has its own team, although I wish they had built it from the bottom up, like AFC Wimbledon. The name Dons belongs to us and I will be asking the House of Commons to support the campaign." To read more click here.

In today's Reappraisal Scott Collen defends John O'Shea. He was not Man Utd's greatest player, but his versatility allowed Alex Ferguson to create tactically flexible teams

For 25 years Alex Ferguson has reigned supreme at Old Trafford with phenomenal talents like Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Peter Schmeichel, Brian McClair and David Beckham. In defence he has relied on the services of Gary Neville, Denis Irwin, Gary Pallister, Steve Bruce and Roy Keane to provide the backbone of his squad.

25 January ~ The badge of Al-Mabarrah (it somehow seems more appropriate to use this syntax with a Middle Eastern subject, rather than "Al-Mabarrah's badge" – deeply ingrained) depicts an ancient dance tent, on the site of which the new football club was originally built. In the football dance tent, people who had travelled for many days would try to firstly find the Knower of All Football among the heaving throng and secondly, ask him their question by shouting it into his ear and having the Knower of All Football shout his response in theirs while busting out some moves. Many increased their knowledge of football miraculously in this way, but there was also a significant number who came away more confused than before, owing to the level of noise in the tent. Read more

24 January ~ Sunday was billed as an historic day for football in the United States when terrestrial television broadcast live its first ever domestic English match, Arsenal versus Manchester United. And how did Fox TV – the channel whose political hacks spend their lives shrieking that Bolshevism is the planet's greatest threat – choose to mark this momentous day? They wheeled out Piers Morgan as a pundit, possibly leaving American viewers wondering why they bothered with the Revolutionary War at all.

24 January ~ The Ghana squad warmed up for their opening match at the Africa Cup of Nations with a singsong. Might this inspire Steven Gerrard to lead England in a Phil Collins medley at Euro 2012? 

20 January ~ Although they face a Swansea team high on confidence, Sunderland have every reason to be optimistic ahead of tomorrow afternoon's match. They are creeping into the top half of the table. O'Neill has them playing like his old Aston Villa team – determined, resilient and with a habit of grabbing late winners. He has also demonstrated his knack for picking out a quality winger. Where his minor successes at Villa were built on the attacking ability of James Milner, Ashley Young and Stuart Downing (all overseen by O'Neill's assistant manager, best friend forever and former left-winger John Robertson), James McClean has become central to the renaissance at Sunderland.

19 January ~ Artificial or "plastic" pitches have taken some bad press in recent years. Before the 2008 Champions League final between Manchester United and Chelsea, UEFA ordered that the hosting Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow have its artificial pitch replaced with grass for the match. Harry Redknapp blamed the pitch when Spurs lost their opening Champions League qualifier to Young Boys 3-2 on an artificial surface last season. Redknapp was so concerned about the plastic terrain, he refused to let four of his players start, for fear of them aggravating previous injuries. But there have been murmurings in recent months that suggest Football League clubs might try and change this negative view.