Nick House doesn’t mind that little has changed at Torquay Utd’s home ground and thinks plenty has improved in the last 25 yearsIf 1986 was one of English football’s low points, it’s even more starkly remembered at Plainmoor where Torquay United were in the process of finishing bottom of the pile for the second year running.
Following the security problems during Italy’s abandoned international fixture against Serbia, Vanda Wilcox discusses how crowd safety and hooliganism is still a problem for the Italians
Before anyone in Italy knew his name or had even seen his face, Ivan Bogdanov had made himself instantly recognisable. Continuous TV footage and acres of newsprint were immediately dedicated to Bogdanov and his fellow hooligans, responsible for the violent disruption of Italy’s European Championship qualifier against Serbia in Genoa on October 12.
Dan Callow travelled to the biggest game in Fulham's history and enjoyed the matchday experience away from the Premier League
It may seem a little churlish, stood in a fabulous stadium shortly before the start of the biggest game in your club’s history, to start remembering some of the awful matchday experiences you have suffered in the past. But as fans of about 87 other League clubs will attest, when it comes to following your team then the glass is always very much half empty even, so it seems, when stood on the threshold of possible European glory. Besides, it’s all bound to go wrong and we’ll be back in League Two in three years anyway.
Scotland's troubles in Macedonia were not just on the pitch, says Kevin Donnelly
Any football fan who regularly travels home and away with their team will have faced the problem of lack of tickets for their respective end. The dilemma is whether to shrug your shoulders and accept it or go in the home section and sit on your hands, a choice made by approximately 1,500 Scotland fans for the game against Macedonia last month. The events around the World Cup qualifier in City Stadium in Skopje on September 6 raise a variety of questions over the official ticket distribution, stewarding of matches and the facilities that ought to be available for spectators in 35-degree heat.
There seems little sign of any good news for the clubs struggling financially, writes Tom Davies
When Bristol Rovers announced ambitious plans to redevelop the Memorial Ground in conjunction with a student flat development, it was hailed in many quarters as a model for similar sized clubs, but the £35 million project has hit the skids after the property company due to fund most of it pulled out.