Neil McCarthy explains why French football fans may be tempted to stay at home on matchdays from the start of next season
As from September, every single French First Division match will be shown live on television. A new interactive satellite channel will allow viewers to choose from one of nine matches played simultaneously – there is even the possibility of watching them one after the other, or all at once.
Nothing unusual about a teenage player keeping a record of progress, except when he is a future European Footballer of the Year. In an extract from a feature first published in the Dutch magazine Hard Gras, Hugo Borst describes the contents of Marco van Basten's diary
Joop van Basten now lives alone in the house in Utrecht where he raised his family. His sons Marco and Stanley (named after Stanley Matthews) have moved out. Several times a day Mr Van Basten visits his wife in a mental home – a stroke depriving her of her mind in 1985 – and in Marco’s old room, he maintains a shrine to his son’s career.
Nick House explains how Torquay Utd have come to find themselves light years adrift at the bottom of Division Three
They say when things are looking brightest the worst should be expected, when things look bad the best is to come. Such has been the story at Torquay United where spells at the foot of the Football League give way to play-off appearances before depths are plummeted again. The score since 1987: Fights for League Survival, 3; Play-off Heroics, 3.
Manchester City need all the help they can get. In recent matches the referees have not come to their aid. Steve Parish muses on the inconsistencies of referees – and of the TV watchdogs
Alan Wilkie’s penalty award in the Manchester FA Cup derby, and Martin Bodenham’s failure to spot Asprilla’s elbow at work when Newcastle met City at Maine Road the week after, were both well examined by Match of the Day.
Rob Trent reports on how many rebuilt grounds fail to take into account of the interests of disabled fans
Since the forced implementation of the Taylor Report, top English football clubs, and indeed Southampton, have spent millions of pounds redeveloping their stadia, but some of these same clubs have blatantly ignored the needs of disabled spectators. Manchester United, one of the richest clubs in the country, are nearing the completion of a new stand, raising the total capacity of Old Trafford to 55,000. In this new stand, no spaces have been allocated for wheelchair users, other than in the most expensive executive boxes.