Ever heard of a player ageing four years overnight? Paul Virgo reports on the remarkable tale of Chievo’s Brazilian star who admitted to faking his own identity
Luciano Siqueira de Oliveira is not the man he used to be. The man he used to be was Eriberto Silva da Conceição, a classy 23-year-old Brazilian midfielder who played for Chievo of Verona in Serie A. The man he is now is also a skilful footballer, but is four years older and doesn’t fill his pants every time a police car passes by.
Five years after blazing their way out of the Football League (with an arsonist at the helm), Doncaster are back, to the delight of Glen Wilson
In the underpass at Doncaster station there is an advertisement for a local nightclub, which reads: “Can you make Doncaster what they made Carlisle?” Anyone passing through may be forgiven for thinking that the people of Doncaster don’t expect a lot in life. However, when it comes to football the expectations of the town are far greater. Almost 10,000 Doncaster supporters made the trip to Stoke for the first ever Conference promotion final, in the hope that this would be the season in which Rovers finally regained their place in the Football League.
Isn't the Conference great for football? Roger Titford, for one, is not so sure about the gradual rise of the Football League's younger brother
Football League membership has, I’ve always thought, been a very precious thing, a distinction that was historically conferred on a club by the existing members. That once huge distinction between League and non-League is suddenly getting very blurred. I feel there’s a fifth column, literally, in our divisional tables now; someone else pretending to be part of the League family, creeping in bit by bit. Unfashionable though it may be to say so, I’m not sure I like what’s happening any more.
Bedfordshire is in shock at some dramatic upheavels, writes Neil Rose
It was all going so well. After a decade of decline, Luton Town were on the up. A high-profile manager had won promotion from the Third Division and followed it with a good season in the Second. A Luton legend was his right-hand man. The wealthy owner clearly loved the club. Then, in a dizzying week, Joe Kinnear, Mick Harford and Mike Watson-Challis all went.
In South Yorkshire fans are copying AFC Wimbledon after becoming frustrated with directors, writes Joe Quimby
Disillusioned fans of Second Division Barnsley have formed a new club, taking its inspiration from AFC Wimbledon. AFC Barnsley announced their intention to forge ahead on their own terms, following the move made by disenfranchised supporters of the London club, because of reservations over the intentions of the Reds’ new owners.