Ken Gall describes Gretna's meteoric rise from the depths of English football to taking the Scottish Third division by storm

To those sadly unenlightened individuals not au fait with the gálactico-fest that is the Scottish Third Division, the news that Gretna FC had only just lost a seven-goal classic to Dundee United in the third round of the Scottish Cup might have caused some surprise. (Among those so surprised would be those Bolton Wanderers fans who can recall their side knocking Gretna out of the FA Cup just over ten years ago.)

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With Arsenal's decision to go a deeper shade of red, Steve D Wilson looks at the stories behind commemorative kits

At first glance Arsenal’s decision to wear a dark red home shirt in 2005-06 marks a pleasant change in modern football attitudes. The club will wear the new kit for one year to commemorate their final season at Highbury – it is the colour they originally wore when they moved to the north London stadium from Woolwich in 1913.

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It's more than a question of semantics down under, writes Matthew Hall

This has been a long hot summer for Australian soccer fans. Sorry – football fans. The wording is important. Australia kicked off 2005 with the Australian Soccer Association changing its name to Football Federation Australia and decreeing that the game will be officially referred to by its proper name rather than soccer.

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Howard Pattison looks ahead to Manchester United's trip to the other St James Park

On the day of Exeter City’s FA Cup replay against Manchester United, a football liaison officer from Devon’s police force warned of strict punishment for anyone caught touting tickets outside the ground. “It is an offence to tout tickets for designated matches where it may lead to away supporters being in the home sections and cause trouble,” he remarked. Leaving aside the apparent admission that there are some games where it’s perfectly fine to sell tickets at inflated prices, this also leaves you wondering who on earth he thought was going to fill the home terraces at St James Park.

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It may be painful, but let's hear it for Chelsea

What’s the hardest three-word sentence to say in English? Come on, Chelsea. But we might as well start practising it. For a while this season, many football supporters will have reviewed with dismay the prospect of the Premiership title, and possibly several other trophies, heading to Stamford Bridge. Victories for a team funded by Roman Abramovich’s, let us say, contentiously acquired wealth would seem to be contrary to the basic principles of sporting competition. A club that two years ago sagged under the weight of debts of close to £100 million incurred by grotesque over-spending under Ken Bates could yet be quadruple winners this season.

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