Phil Town looks at how Porto have fared since winning the European Cup

Luigi Del Neri never got to warm the coach’s seat at the Estádio do Dragão. FC Porto had a chew on him at the ChampionsWorld Series in America and spat him out within the 30-day trial period provided for by Port­uguese general labour law. They didn’t like him. Not one bit. But just how do you follow an act like José Mourinho, who, in two years, had left the greatest impression of any coach in the history of the club? He was without a doubt the great architect of Porto’s success, helped by the club’s ability to buy key players such as Benni McCarthy and Carlos Alberto, but also by his unerring ability to get the best out of previously modest players that had cost little or nothing, such as Maniche, Derlei, Ricardo Carvalho and Paulo Ferreira. 

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Since playing a key role in Arsène's 1998 triumphs, this former Arsenal striker has become virtually anonymous and also larger than life, as Ian Davey discovered

“Riding along on the Christ-oph-er Wreh” went the memorable anthem conceived in honour of the Liberian striker who arrived at Arsenal in 1997. He was so good, in fact, that Arsène Wenger signed him twice (he had taken him to Monaco when he was just 14); and he was even supposed to be cousin of a former World Footballer of the Year, George Weah.

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Paul Sturrock and many in the St Mary's stands may disagree, but Southampton fan Dave Juson finds much for which to thank the club's widely reviled chairman

“What’s going on?” – give an expletive or two – is the question everyone in Southampton is asking as another manager heads metaphorically west.

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Wigan Athletic's chairman controls clubs involved in both codes of rugby, too, but Ashley Shaw finds that few object to this takeover of a town as the Latics fly high

Pies, piers and rugby league used to dominate Wigan. Yet as a town situated handily between the football hotbeds of Manchester and Liverpool, it comes as little surprise that supporters of Wigan Athletic reject the stereotype straight away.

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"No one likes them" – Justin McCurry reports on Japan, Asia's answer to Millwall, and their trip to China for this year's Asian Cup

The impeccable behaviour of Japan fans at France 98 and their hospitality at Korea/Japan 2002 earned them a deserved reputation as one of the most popular sets of supporters in the world. That is until they arrived in China last month to follow their team at the Asian Cup.

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