Reading's fortunes have improved little in recent months, but the fans have taken the club by the scruff of the neck and shown unswerving support, says Roger Titford

When Scunthorpe took the lead against Reading on November 27 at the Madejski Stad­ium 1,000 home fans instantly stood up and sang “We’re shit and we’re sick of it”. Less than three months later, when Scunthorpe took the lead against Reading at Glanford Park, 1,000 travelling fans instantly stood up and sang “Come on, Reading”. With Reading in much the same place in the Second Division relegation battle, why the transformation in mood?

Read more…

Only five years after Montserrat was devastated by a volcano, the Caribbean island is set to contest its first World Cup qualifier. David Austrin reports

The tiny Caribbean island of Montserrat is better known for its volatile volcano than its football, but that could be about to change. On Sunday March 5 Montserrat will make World Cup history when they play the Dominican Republic in their first ever World Cup game. The qualifying match in the Dominican Re­public’s Estadio San Cristobal probably won't go down in the annals of the game as one to remember, but it will be re­markable nevertheless.

Read more…

Russia hope to host the 2008 European Championship, but their infrastructure is at home in a previous age, says Kevin O'Flynn

First they let Lennart Johansson set up shop in the Kremlin. A few days later Sepp Blatter was discussing tactics with acting president Vladimir Putin over a football match.

Read more…

A new type of football violence is emerging in the Italian capital, says Roberto Gotta

Italy has again been surprised by an outbreak of football violence, and moved swiftly, though as usual too late, to correct it. It wasn’t the usual city centre skirmishes but a different kind of violence: political slogans written on large banners and racist chants, a disease which had been spreading for a long time without anyone noticing.

Read more…

Celtic's chief executive Allan MacDonald has sacked his manager and criticised the team, but he is not a wholly innocent party, says Gary Oliver

On the last weekend in January high winds loosened some of the guttering at Parkhead, causing the Scottish Cup tie against Inverness Caledonian Thistle to be postponed. Ten days later, the entire roof fell in on Celtic: ICT, a club just six years old, strolled to a cataclysmic 3-1 win, prompting a civil war in the home dressing-room during the half-time interval.

Read more…