Italian bookmakers stopped taking bets on a recent goal-packed Serie-B match in Bergamo which was watched by Geoff Bradford

Monday December 20 was one of the coldest nights of the year in Bergamo. Despite this, 1,400 hardy souls, me included, turned up for the last Serie B game of the calendar year, AlbinoLeffe v Piacenza. With Piacenza at the foot of the table and AlbinoLeffe perilously close to the relegation zone, an open, entertaining game was not expected. In fact we got a see-saw 3-3 draw.

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Faced with winding up order and Peter Ridsdale, it’s a grim time to be a Plymouth fan. But their local rivals are offering Supporters’ Trust solidarity and three valuable point, writes Gareth Nicholson

Derby day in Devon, and the Exeter fans are high on schadenfreude. The home supporters, meanwhile, are discovering that hubris is a cold mistress. Eight years ago, when Argyle cruised to a 3-0 victory on their way to a League Two title and year-on-year improvement all the way to the Championship, the Green Army had honestly believed that “We’ll never play you again”.

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Zesh Rehman has been praised for his work in the Asian community but not on the pitch. Jason McKeown explains

Saturday March 7, 2009, Bradford City are thrashing Aldershot Town 5-0 to climb into fourth place in League Two. Around Valley Parade there are Mexican waves, but in quieter moments a pocket of dissenting home fans can be heard protesting their displeasure. “We want Zesh!” is their loud, high-pitched cry. These were no regular supporters but children from local schools, predominantly Asian. And their vocal disapproval, aired during Bradford’s biggest win for 11 years, was due to the benching of Pakistan international centre-back Zesh Rehman.

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For five surreal seasons in the 1970s, the FA Cup had an extra round. Owen Amos looks back at the games no one remembers

Of all the FA’s daft ideas – and there have been a few – the FA Cup third-place play-off must be among the worst. If, as the saying goes, no one remembers the runners-up, then who cares who came third? The answer, as it turned out, was no one at all. These were, and are, the forgotten FA Cup ties. The first play-off was in 1970, between that season’s beaten semi-finalists, Manchester United and Watford. The game was played on a Friday night at Highbury, the day before the Cup final. United won 2-0; 15,105 people watched. And were they impressed?

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A fine League Cup run may be a welcome diversion from a relegation battle for the Hammers, but historical precedent worries Mark Segal

In a season which so far has bought nothing but pain, disappointment and misery, the Carling Cup is providing some light relief for West Ham fans. While Avram Grant’s limited team plod along unconvincingly in the Premier League, the season’s first cup competition has seen them score wins over Sunderland, Stoke and, most impressively, Manchester United in the quarter-finals.

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