Pm Doutreligne is proud to support a Brussels club with a singular history, and opposes a merger with local rivalsIn August my team, Union Saint-Gilloise, played a pre-season friendly, five miles away at FC Brussels. Although both based in the Belgian capital, the two clubs could hardly be any more different.
An unlikely agreement in South Yorkshire may benefit both Sheffield clubs, reports Tom HockingAs the Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday players run out at Bramall Lane this month the rivalry in the stands will be as volatile as ever. United’s directors and executives, however, will be welcoming some familiar faces from across the city, having spent their summers locked in negotiations.
Ed Parkinson on how Darlington’s demise means Hartlepool need a new local rivalFor the best part of a century Hartlepool and Darlington were bound together through shared derbies that added a couple of high points to what were, more often than not, long and dreary seasons. Holding little hope of any more substantial achievement, fans of both clubs focused intensely on beating “them” once or twice a year. There was the occasional season apart but the breaks never lasted long as both clubs quickly returned to their natural habitat of the fourth division.
Thom Gibbs on footballers’ love affair with video gamesOn Manchester United’s impeccably marketed, sickeningly luxurious and unimaginably profitable summer tour of the US the squad were kept busy. Rafael da Silva caught salmon at Seattle’s Pike Place fish market, Patrice Evra and Park Ji-sung were taught how to make deep dish pizza in Chicago and the squad visited the floor of a glass-blowing factory, with Alex Ferguson the only visitor who looked remotely interested in being there.
Adam Bate questions the perception that recruiting from the lower leagues is a riskPaul Merson risked being accused of xenophobia when he expressed the view last season that Arsène Wenger had put too much focus on buying from France or Belgium and not explored the home market effectively. While Merson could have been dismissed as a Little Englander, he found an unlikely ally in Italian football journalist Gabriele Marcotti, who noted: “Scouting in the Championship is something few clubs do well.” But is the talent really there?