Tuesday 2 An exciting night for several teenagers at Highbury, where 16-year-old Francesc Fabregas is among the scorers in Arsenal reserves’ 5-1 Carling Cup thrashing of Wolves. Two James Beattie goals, one a last-minute penalty, settle the first Hampshire derby for eight years. Joe Cole is banned for two games for his spat when West Ham played at Bolton last April. Ken Bates is steaming: “Those responsible for keeping him waiting seven months should have their wages withdrawn for three months, or be sacked.”
Search: ' fixture congestion'
Stories
Ian Farrell reflects on the sad trajectory of Georgi Kinkladze's career, from mistrusted genius at Man City to occasional tubby cameos at Derby
In these troubled times for football, it’s comforting to know that some things never change. The “Ellis Out” protests, the fixture congestion complaints and, of course, the Winter Panic Of The Bottom Six Manager. As sure as night follows day, February sees Ginolas and Djorkaeffs arriving at the sharp end amid talk of “having a little bit of something extra” and how “he can make all the difference for us”. They are then usually benched within a month amid talk of being “a luxury we can’t afford” and how “this is a battle and we need warriors” as the even-more panicky manager decides instead to try to Colin Hendry his way out of the relegation zone. Derby under John Gregory did not dip into the Cranky Maverick bargain bin, but that’s because they didn’t have to. Step forth from the shadows, Georgi Kinkladze.
Continuing our occasional series on defunct competitions, Lionel Birnie dons his plimsolls and recalls the glory days of the televised indoor tournaments
Despite increasingly sophisticated coaching methods, the humble five-a-side has endured. It is still the traditional way for teams to round off the last training session of the week. But despite its far-reaching popularity, no one would think of organising an indoor tournament for Premiership clubs. Can you imagine Sir Alex’s face if he was asked by the FA to send David, Roy and Juan Sebastian to the G-Mex the night before a Champions League match?
Oceania's masterplan to attract the attention of the football world paid off spectacularly as an avalanche of goals in the World Cup qualifiers set new records. Matthew Hall counted them all in
Nicky Salapu picked the ball from his net 57 times during his country’s four World Cup qualifiers over Easter, but then he is the goalkeeper for American Samoa, officially the worst national team in the world.
Everyone agrees top footballers are playing too many games, except Roger Titford, who can remember when they endured far more without whining. Phil Ball and Neil McCarthy sum up the situation in Spain and France
England
Once again, the top clubs are calling for a reduction in the number of fixtures. Arsène Wenger (31 players used already this season) is to the fore of the complaints, while Alex Ferguson’s strategy for managing his club’s 60-game workload is plain to see. “The recovery time is too short,” Wenger said after Arsenal’s defeat at Middlesbrough in March, which followed a midweek UEFA Cup match. “It is nonsense to have only two and a half days of preparation.”