Groundtastic, now in its 50th edition, has documented the huge change to British stadiums at all levels over the past 12 years. The fanzine’s co-editor Vince Taylor explains the motivation

For those of us whose pulses quickened at the sight of floodlight pylons towering over neighbouring housetops, and whose idea of bliss was to be stood in the middle of a crowded concrete terrace, the publication of The Football Grounds of England & Wales by Simon Inglis in 1983 was a moment of epiphany. Though it wasn’t quite “the love that dare not speak its name”, nobody before Inglis had articulated this fascination some of us have for football grounds as entities in their own right. He introduced us to Archibald Leitch, the Scottish civil engineer who more or less invented the British football stadium as it existed before the Taylor Report, and also demonstrated that every football ground, no matter how great or humble, generally has an interesting tell to tale.

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A-League clubs are allowed one star signing and Juninho has joined Sydney FC. But, asks Mike Ticher, does the Brazilian have what it takes to match the achievements of his predecessor, Dwight Yorke?

In 1975 the Australian leg-spinner Kerry O’Keeffe arrived in Blackburn for a season as the professional for East Lancs in the Lancashire League. All he heard on his first night there was how brilliant he would have to be to emulate a long list of predecessors – each one ticked off with a resounding: “He were a good ’un.”

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It may not be the best phrase to use around QPR, but “trigger happy” describes Milan Mandaric’s attitude to managers at Leicester. How will new boss Gary Megson fare against another man in the firing line, wonders Al Needham?

Leicester is a strange city. It’s actually the biggest in the east midlands, but it keeps it quiet. Until recently, the airport within its boundaries was called Nottingham East Midlands. It’s got a National Space Centre for no discernable reason whatsoever (unless they knitted a jumper for Neil Armstrong, or supplied NASA with space crisps) and, when you make the horribly long walk from the station to Walkers Stadium, you could swear blind you were in a rugby town. You spend most of the journey on Tigers Way (the part of the A594 dedicated to the local egg-chasers), craning your neck to see if there’s anyone in blue shirts ahead of you, and that you’re actually going in the right direction and the game is actually on.

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The Euro 2008 qualifiers between Armenia and Azerbaijan will remain pointless and unplayed. No one comes out of the affair well, including UEFA, as Dan Brennan explains

The decision by UEFA, after 18 months of bureaucratic fudge, to cancel September’s double-header between Azerbaijan and Armenia was depressing on all fronts. Depressing because it underlined that, over a decade after a ceasefire officially ended armed conflict between the two countries, they still can’t agree on anything. Depressing, too, because of the failure on UEFA’s part to act swiftly to resolve a situation where alternatives were available.

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Or, the mysterious case of the grandmother killer. But Stephen Ireland’s ever-changing excuses for pulling out of a game in Prague finally arrived at a genuine personal tragedy. Pat Daly reports

“So how did you feel when you found out you were dead?” That’s how the RTE radio host began his interview with Patricia Tallon, whose sudden demise had forced her grandson, Stephen Ireland, to withdraw from the Republic of Ireland squad on the eve of last month’s match in the Czech Republic. “Oh, it was an awful shock,” answered Tallon, who, careful readers will have deduced, wasn’t dead at all.

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