Latvia may be the least expected qualifiers for any major tournament, but Daunis Auers believes they travel with a realistic aim: to overcome indifference to football at home

In November, Latvia, a tiny nation of 2.4 million wedged at the northern end of the Baltic, trampled all over World Cup semi-finalists Turkey, home and away, to win a lucrative place (worth eight mil­lion Swiss francs, apparently, £3.6m or 3.4m Latvian lati) at Euro 2004. This is all too much for the small band of long-suffering Latvian football fans, accustomed to years of tediously predictable underachievement. Success has usually been measured by the odd victory over neighbours Estonia. Just a few years ago there were a half-dozen Latvians plying their trade on the substitute benches and reserve teams of English professional football. Now only Marians Pahars (in the cosy South­ampton treatment room) and Andrejs Stolcers (Ful­ham reserves) remain. Yet Latvia have suddenly started playing well, winning and attracting sell-out crowds.

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Wales’s journey from outsiders to group favourites to narrow play-off failures leaves Paul Ashley-Jones unsure whether to despair at another defeat or celebrate progress

It’s the Euro 2004 draw and, despite my shutting myself in the other room, my wife insists on shouting out who’s in which group. I’ve not quite reached the fingers-in-ears stage but it’s getting pretty close.

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Archie MacGregor believes Berti Vogts’ forward thinking is the one thing going for the German, but Scotland’s topsy-turvy play-off defeat to Holland was a dismal throwback

Ah, the roller-coaster ride that is the lot of the Scot­land supporter. From exultant, wide-eyed op­tim­ism to the pits of despair in four days. Wasn’t this sort of thing supposed to have been banished once and for all after Argentina 78?

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The FA’s recent history is just one long club versus country row, as the new chief executive has soon discovered. Simon Tindall wonders if Mark Palios can ever bring peace

One year on from the resignation of Adam Crozier, the new Football Association chief executive, Mark Palios, is en­snared in the same eternal triangle that besets English football – the relationship between the top clubs, the top players and the England team.

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Well, United, anyway. Oh, and it’s a city. Darren Fletcher reports on how Mr Fry has extended his control of Peterborough but has also responded to his many critics

For years Posh fans have winced at media references to “Barry Fry’s Peterborough United”. But finally the term has some credence as he now owns 99.6 per cent of the club, becoming the first Eng­lish football man­ager to double up as owner. In April this year, former owner Peter Boizot finally sold his stake to a consortium funded by Colin Hill, a prop­erty developer, and led by former chairman Alf Hand. The deal went through in 24 hours and was pas­sed off to sup­porters as Posh being sav­ed from those who sought to make a fast buck from redeveloping the London Road site.

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