Owen Amos on why losing can be fun with BJ Heijman
Brandon United are bottom of the Arngrove Northern League Second Division, five divisions from the Football League. They’ve won one match all season and, after 14 games, their goal difference is minus 52. So why do their players go for trials at PSV Eindhoven? Why do rival coaches watch their training sessions on cold Thursday nights? And why, at those sessions, do almost 30 players turn out, twice a week?
English reaction to Fabio Capello’s arrival has bemused his compatriots, as Matthew Barker reports. Some wonder how a man used to the best will cope with English talent – a problem other foreign coaches face
Italian reaction to the appointment of Fabio Capello as England coach was, in fairly quick succession, pride, bemusement and a smattering of scepticism. Often deemed a cold, haughty northerner (Capello hails from the Bisàsco region, near the border with Slovenia), the former Real Madrid boss had been steadily winning over a new breed of fans during a stint as guest pundit on state broadcaster RAI’s Domenica Sportiva show. Certainly his entertainingly forthright views and surprisingly chatty demeanour put him noticeably at odds with another apparent candidate for the Soho Square hot seat, Marcello Lippi, who, when coaxed off his yacht for co-commentating duties with Sky Italia, is often disappointingly uncomfortable and wooden.
Four clubs fight to their keep heads above water. By Tom Davies
Who could possibly have imagined that the link-up between Sam Hammam and Peter Ridsdale at Cardiff City would have brought problems? The fallout from Hammam’s departure as chairman is casting a considerable shadow over City’s future, with the club facing a court action in March over £24 million of unsecured “loan notes” owed to investor Langston, for whom Hammam is now acting as “mediator”. Defeat in court is likely to land the club in administration.
As Argentina's traditional clubs struggle three unlikely teams rise to the top, writes Rodrigo Orihuela
It was the year of the minnow in Argentine football. Two small teams from the suburbs of Buenos Aires – Lanús and Tigre – took the two top places in the championship and a third – Arsenal – won the Copa Sudamericana, second only to the Copa Libertadores. Arsenal’s story is probably the most eye-catching of all since the club, founded in 1957, only reached the top division in 2002. The club were set up by the two Grondona brothers, one of whom, Julio, has been FA chairman since 1979. The team are located in the industrial district of Avellaneda, also the home of giants Racing and Independiente, and have the smallest fan base in the first division – their average crowd last season was just 3,005.
Ray Ranson's consortium ensured Coventry City avoided administration. Neville Hadsley reports
Coventry City have experienced last-gasp escapes plenty of times down the years so, by previous standards, surviving with just over half an hour to spare seemed rather comfortable. But that is how close the club came to extinction in December, when a takeover deal by the SISU consortium – headed by former Manchester City defender Ray Ranson – was finally sealed. Without the deal, administration would have been a certainty and a return to the old Third Division for the first time in more than half a century would have been more than a probability.