Simon Hart discusses the history behind 2010's most unique pre-season friendly: Everton v Everton

Forget the money-spinning Emirates Cup, it was Goodison Park that hosted the summer’s most meaningful pre-season friendly, Everton v Everton, as the Merseyside club faced their Chilean namesakes for the first time on August 4. The unique occasion drew a 25,934 crowd – more than the annual pre-season fundraiser for the club’s former players’ foundation usually attracts. Those present witnessed some wonderful quirks, not least the sight of the Park End scoreboard reading Everton 0, Everton 0, at least until the home team’s two unanswered second-half goals.

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While goal-line technology is a popular concept in theory, Rob Freeman explores the issues it may bring into the game

It’s not often that UEFA makes changes in the Champions League that benefit football at all levels, but this season sees the use of extra officials behind the goal, as piloted in last season’s Europa League. This is in line with FIFA’s recent decision to ignore renewed calls for goal-line technology, and refusal to even consider the subject, despite incidents such as Frank Lampard’s World Cup “goal” against Germany. Such a decision has angered those in the media supportive of using technology, but have they thought it through?

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As more Northern Irish fans look to England and Scotland for their football, Robbie Meredith stikes up for the financially challenged local game

Like their lower-division counterparts across the water, supporters in Northern Ireland will have mixed views on England’s summer struggles in South Africa. There’s always the hope that widespread disillusion with brand Wazza, Lamps and JT will lead more people to abandon the Premier League chimera and venture to their nearest club. Yet most local fans also fear that within a couple of “Super Sundays”, many potential supporters will be booking flights and tickets for Anfield and Old Trafford rather than trekking a mile or two to Seaview or Solitude.

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Fans deserve better than the tripe spouted by commentators and managers

The football season usually begins with a clampdown of some sort, whether it's on dangerous tackles, player dissent or managers’ post-match criticism of referees. But a variety of comments made in relation to the game escape censure every year and it’s high time that their perpetrators were brought to book. There should be a moratorium on public whinging about there being "too many foreigners in the game", an observation especially popular among club chairmen whose own teams are packed with players from outside the UK.

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Josh Widdicombe knows how unattractive, overpaid and self-important England are, but he’s still going to support them

It was in the 20 or so minutes between Germany’s fourth goal and the full-time whistle that I decided I had finally had it with supporting England. It was the same decision I made four years ago – when defeat on penalties to Portugal finally opened my mind to the fact that England had been rubbish for the whole World Cup – but this time I told myself I definitely meant it. Maybe.

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