Saturday 1 Man Utd stay a point clear after a late Eric Cantona goal brings victory over Southampton. Stan Collymore keeps Liverpool in second place with the only goal at Derby, who play for most of the second half with ten men after Darryl Powell is sent off. Arsenal are still third but three points adrift after a goalless snoozeathon at Leeds – for whom it is a tenth clean sheet in 15 games since George Graham took over. A godsend for the tabloids as UEFA announce that they will be backing Germany's bid for the 2006 World Cup. World At War! says the Mirror; Kraut of Order! – says the Sun. "Unannounced pacts behind closed doors are no substitute for democracy and fairness," says the FA's David Davies. The final decision will be taken in three years' time. FIFA are said to favour South Africa as hosts but that may change if Joao Havelange fulfils his promise to step down as President in 1998. Meantime it will go on, and on, and on.

Sunday 2 Business as usual at St James' Park where Newcastle come back from 3-1 down against Leicester with 13 minutes left to win 4-3, Alan Shearer completing a hat trick with the winner in injury time. "You know what Newcastle are like. You never know what is going to happen," says their new manager, after a long lie down.

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Dear WSC
I don’t know what the rest of you think but all the recent media coverage of the Italian national team had led me to one major conclusion: Paolo Maldini gets his good looks from his Mum’s side of the family.
Alex Anderson, Ardrossan

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With more Norwegian players leaving every week, Ole P Pedersen explains why the player drain to the English league is causing concern back home

I never thought I would see Norwegian footballers be a major part of English football. But there are now more Norwegian internationals than Scottish in the Premiership: cheap, solid footballers who can run all day, never drink and accept lower wages than their British compatriots.

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Nick Wyke looks at the efforts being made to promote women's football in Italy in the face of media indifference

Italy’s Serie A is, arguably, the most prestigious and rigorous league in world football. As a result, Italian women have a reputation to live up to. Their cause has not been helped by a media that shirks the women’s on-pitch efforts in preference for sideline gossip.

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John Williams explains why the women's game in the UK is in need of a major overhaul

According to FIFA, 20 million women play organized football worldwide. In Scandinavia, where views about women as athletes, and almost anything else, are at least post-Jurassic, football is the most popular sport for females. Most local clubs cater for both male and female teams and foreign stars such as the USA’s Michelle Akers are brought over to join the semi-professional ranks. No surprise, then, that Norway won the recent women’s World Cup in Sweden and that they and Denmark are as tough as they come in international competition. England? Well, you reap what you sow; in Sweden we were simply outclassed by, no avoiding it now, the Germans.

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