Tuesday 2 West Brom drop down to fourth in Division One after losing 1-0 at home to (gasp) Man City while Sheffield Utd move above them following a 3-2 over Stoke. In Division Three a League record is equalled at Wigan where Bristol Rovers have four players sent off, together with one from the home side. Three go after a mass brawl triggered by the first dismissal, of Rovers defender David Pritchard. "It was atrocious, abysmal and an absolute disgrace," says Rovers manager Ian Holloway, talking of the refereeing rather than the fighting. Doncaster get their first win of the season, 2-1 v Chester, to take them to within six points of Brighton.

Wednesday 3 West Ham beat Crystal Palace 4-1 in a restaging of the match abandoned due to floodlight failure last month. The game is watched by officials from Juventus said to be considering investing in Palace for reasons that remain obscure, possibly some form of collective madness.

Thursday 4 So-so World Cup draw for England who'll be playing Tunisia, Romania and Colombia, harder for Scotland, up against Brazil in the opening match of the tournament (traditionally a low-scoring game, though) then Norway and Morocco. Ray Harford resigns as manager of West Brom as a prelude to taking up the QPR job, saying "At times there were problems with the travelling. A chance came that was going to be better geographically." Did he fly home from Blackburn every day then?.

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Dear WSC
As a student of Romanian language and literature (no, there aren’t many of us) I spend a lot of time in Romania and have become rather fond of Steaua as a result. Unfortunately, I was not in Bucharest for the visit of Aston Villa, and therefore had to watch the game on Channel 5. I spent it counting cliches. They started immediately after the opening titles ceased – cue shot of the Câsa Poprilor, which is not where Ceaucescu lived as Channel 5 told us; cue orphans; cue interview with a taxi driver (and I hoped he ripped Channel 5 off as Bucharest taxi drivers do most foreigners). Even worse was the predictably awful pronunciation of Romanian names. For the eight thousandth time, ‘Steaua’ is pronounced ‘Ste-au-wa”. As for the attempts by all involved to pronounce ‘Ciocoiu; (which should be ‘Chock-oi-oo’), I’m still laughing. Villa themselves must also be berated for their patronising ‘gifts’ of food and bobble hats to a Bucharest orphanage, thereby reinforcing all the stereotypes that Britons have vis a vis Romania, sure to be repeated during the World Cup . The Romanians’ economy is not as strong as our own, but the populace is not starving, and does not need charity.  But perhaps Villa have now set a precedent, whereby teams from strong economic powers should bring donations for their poorer hosts. So, if Villa go on to play a German team later in the competition, maybe their opponents should bring food and clothes for the homeless of Birmingham?
Craig Turp, London SW20

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England's first World Cup match will be in Lens. William Hamilton looks at a small but proud town with a love for football

Brian Murphy must be one of the spawniest men alive. A folk singer from Stafford who toured the Irish and English pubs of Northern France, he became an ‘events consultant’, married a French woman and made his home in Lens, a small town in Northern France. As the only expat in town, Brian is something of a local celebrity. When we pop into some of the town’s many football bars, he is greeted with the affection and fuss normally reserved for populist politicians or local boys made good. Handshakes, smiles and free drinks abound.

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The World Cup may be in their own country, but Neil McCarthy explains why the French aren't as confident as you might think

There are two main advantages in being the World Cup’s host nation: automatic qualification and playing at home. France, however, appear to be turning them both into disadvantages. After 18 months of lacklustre friendly matches, the French players are finding it increasingly difficult to perform to a background of boos and whistling from their own supporters.

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A very basic run-down of the 32 teams at this summer's World Cup

Worried that your lack of knowledge of international football will leave you exposed when conversation turns to the World Cup draw? Fear no more. Our cut-out-and-throwaway guide gives a thoroughly researched journalistic fact about every team, sure to be repeated umpteen times on television from now until the moment ITV show slow motion footage of Romario to the accompaniment of Santana’s Black Magic Woman.

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