Mike Whalley tells how after an unexpectedly slow start to club existence, AFC Liverpool are in it for the long haul

“We didn’t really have an idea as to what we were letting ourselves in for,” says AFC Liverpool chairman Chris Stirrup. “Everyone had seen what FC United had done. In that first season, we thought we would walk the league.” Two-and-a-half years in, Merseyside’s newest non-League club have learned to temper ambition with realism. They’ve had to, when their home gates in the North West Counties League First Division – the tenth level of the pyramid – are below 150. Considering the amount of publicity they generated on their formation in 2008, it’s easy to wonder why they aren’t doing better.

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Kevin Borras recounts the moment that AFC Wimbledon were drawn against MK Dons in the FA Cup second round

I’m a season-ticket holder and a shareholder at AFC Wimbledon. Day zero for us was May 28, 2002, when the FA, in their infinite wisdom, declared that to deny Wimbledon FC the opportunity to move to Milton Keynes and “keep the club alive” would not have been in the wider interests of football. So, the potential of playing the club that we all refer to as Franchise FC in the second round of the FA Cup was the very embodiment of mixed emotions.

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Our web awards focus on the best footballing blogs, fanzines and websites. Ian Plenderleith gives his view on why each is worthy the accolade

It’s that time of year when we finally say something nice about what’s on the internet, and the 2010 Web Awards focus on what may be considered classic fanzine virtues – independence, originality, wit and selfless involvement in a game that seems intent on distancing itself from a fanbase whose cash it wants and needs, but which in many corners still stubbornly refuses to sink into the passive role of slavish devotee. Our by-no-means comprehensive selection of sites, some of them consistent enough to be held over from last year’s awards, reflects the necessity of a watchful ethical eye, the redemption of satire and an increasing awareness of the need to analyse the game’s business side. The web may be clogged with bothersome ads, unhinged anger and celebrities masquerading as columnists, but there’s resistance too. Support your team, but support too the many voices of sanity who still care that teetering crises contrast daily with high-spend lunacy.

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As the 40th anniversary of the Ibrox disaster draws near, Iain Duff explores the influence that the tragedy had on both Rangers and their stadium

By Old Firm standards, the traditional New Year derby of 1971 had been a relatively tame affair. Then, with the game seemingly heading towards a goalless draw, there was a late flurry of activity. Jimmy Johnstone’s 89th-minute goal seemed to have secured victory for the visitors, only for Colin Stein to score a dramatic equaliser with the last kick of the game. The Rangers fans who left early after Celtic had scored heard the roar and celebrated as they departed the ground.

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Dave Lee watches Abbey United v Bully Wee United – two of the UK’s supporters’ clubs

It’s 10.30am, and in the car park of a leisure centre, manager Richard French nervously thumbs out a text message. It’s half an hour until kick-off, and there is still no sign of today’s opponents. He’d last heard from the opposition manager an hour ago. They had just passed Birmingham, but the minibus was limited to a paltry 60mph. And, after a night of heavy snow, they were down to just 11 men after one of their number found himself snowed in.

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