Book reviews

Dan Herd explains that although he saved them from administration, chairman Ken Davy is not flavour of the month among Town fans

When around 100 Huddersfield Town fans gathered outside the Galpharm stadium to protest about chairman Ken Davy’s lack of investment in the team after the 3-2 home defeat by Yeovil on September 16, many outside observers were confused. After all, this is the man who, in July 2003, had taken the club out of administration, thus saving the Terriers from extinction. Since the takeover, Huddersfield Town have gone from League Two to the League One play-offs in three seasons – so what is there to protest about?

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As Obafemi Martins arrives on Tyneside one question still remains – how old is the Nigerian? Filippo Ricci reports

Before Newcastle’s UEFA Cup tie against Ventspils in August, Obafemi Martins was paraded in front of the crowd. Glenn Roeder was delighted with his £10 million signing from Internazionale – though he did face some slightly unwelcome questions regarding just how old the new man was. “We at Newcastle have never questioned his age. It is disrespectful to question his age, around the world we have a good reputation. He is 21, we know he is 21, we always have done, we have a talented young player.”

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Wearside has seen an unlikely football marriage, but Paul Doyle looks behind the headline spats to see how much Roy Keane and Niall Quinn have in common and assess their chances of survival

Niall Quinn often comes across as a Ronan Keating-type figure. There’s something earnest about the two Dubliners that denotes a craving to be perceived as nice guys. And there’s something essentially gormless in their demeanours that frequently suggests they’re both merely well meaning simpletons not to be taken seriously in the real, nasty world. So when Quinn first declared his intention to take over Sunderland, many in his homeland greeted the news with the same mixture of pity and amusement that they felt several years ago when Keating expressed an interest in becoming president of Ireland.

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Terry Venables returns to the England setup but it's unlikely he'll be welcomed back by all, reports Barney Ronay

Rumours of Terry Venables’ appointment to the England coaching staff have tended to provoke either feelings of bafflement or tub-thumping applause, depending mainly on whether or not you happen to be one of his special mates in the media. To anybody out there younger than, say, Rio Ferdinand, the recurrent championing of Venables in the tabloid press must be slightly bemusing. Why all the fuss?

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After three years in Milton Keynes, the Dons still don't have a proper ground and are facing up to League Two football. Graham Dunbar looks at the state of Pete Winkelman's bastard brainchild

The line-up of talent playing in Milton Keynes this year is surprisingly expensive and all thanks to a stagnating stadium-building project. Why else would Robbie Williams spend five September nights in Britain’s fastest-growing urban centre, were it not for the continuing and ludicrous unavailability of the new Wembley? The part-owner of Port Vale seems to have no further need to visit football grounds.

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