Dublin has been mentioned as Wimbledon's next home, but Mike Ticher warns that the club have a lot to lose if they move to Ireland

Jean-Louis Dupont, the lawyer who won the Bosman case, obviously thinks he knows a thing or two. A thing or two more than UEFA, maybe, but it would be foolish to get overly pleased with yourself about that. And the news that he has been hired by Wimbledon to further their bid to move to Dublin has only added to the apparently unstoppable flow of guff eman-ating from the Dons’ corner on their plight.

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It may be winter, but Ian Plenderleith points out that the football can continue indoors

There are some things in football as sure to come around every year as Ian Wright’s suspension and Thomas Brolin’s attempt at career rehabilitation. In Germany and Switzerland it is the litany of the coaches moaning about the tough playing schedule when the annual fixture lists are produced, as if they thought perhaps this year they would only be playing their opponents once and that the national cup had been abolished. They carp on about too many “English weeks”, meaning that their poor oppressed players have to some-times turn out on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. And that the summer break is far too short.

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Illegal payments are no laughing matter

"Bung" is a comedy word, close to bungling, an activity that generates derision, not to be taken too seriously. Bungs, as the Premier League inquiry established, are passed over in motorway service stations or transport cafes in plastic carrier bags or even, in one case, on an Icelandic trawler. It is a pity that ‘bung’ has become the standard shorthand phrase for corrupt transfer dealings in football because it trivialises an activity that can often involve huge sums of money changing hands.

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Thursday 1 The FA say that they will ask for more World Cup tickets when they meet tournament organisers later this month. At present only 20% of tickets for each match are to be given over to fans from the two teams involved. Man Utd fan representatives demand a meeting with club officials after some supporters were ejected for standing up during the Boxing Day match with Everton. “The brutality of some of the security staff has gone beyond a joke,” says a spokesman for United’s Independent Supporters Association. Hearts miss a chance to go back to the top of the Scottish Premier after bottom of the table Hibs come back from two down to draw 2-2.

Friday 2 Celtic get their first league win against Rangers in eleven matches, 2-0 at Parkhead. Rangers’ lead at the top is now down to a point. Paul Gascoigne may be in trouble again after responding to the barracking of Celtic fans as he was warming up by pretending to play the flute in an Orange march style (he’ll plead ignorance again, you watch).

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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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