Alex Wolstenholme wonders if the introduction of age restrictions could reinvigorate the reserves in England as they have done north of the border

Watching the reserves is a journey into a world both instantly recognisable and yet strangely unfamiliar. The setting, the kits and often the players are the same, but there’s something missing that can be found at almost every other level of the game where a league title is played for. The fortunes of the stiffs are never a major cause of concern for fans. That part of the programme where one of the club’s ex-pros (and now second-team boss) gives his match report from the latest reserve game has never been required reading.

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 Chris Taylor’s dreams of watching Juan Sebastian Verón turn into an evening comtemplating has-been celebrities, at a typical reserve match

I had not expected to be discussing the members of Take That while stood on the Popular Side terrace at Altrincham’s Moss Lane ground.

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Conservationist Barney Ronay is worried about the squandering of natural resources by clubs such as Arsenal, whose players come in 57 varieties

When Bill Shankly said, “There are two great teams on Merseyside – Liverpool and Liverpool re­serves,” he may well have had little more than Everton-baiting on his mind. However, more than ever, Shankly’s barb reflects a tendency among clubs at the top end of the scale to accumulate alarmingly large first-team squads.

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  Ian Plenderleith is intrigued by a tale of orchard murder in the Scottish Borders and other football badges in this month’s internet review, but is a touch less impressed by academic obsessions

Just when you’re ready to give up and log off for good to go and do something worthwhile with your life, like recycling old cereal boxes for homeless hamsters, along comes a site that makes you remember why the internet has all been worthwhile. Press ‘Forward’ to July’s site of the month, Footballcrests.com.

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Sunning himself beside the Caspian Sea, Dan Brennan explains the corruption and politics that briefly left Wales’ Euro 2004 opponents in international limbo

As Iraqis can testify, it is not generally good news when the ruler’s son is put in charge of a country’s football affairs. For Uday in Baghdad read Ilham in Baku. Aliyev Junior, son of the Azerbaijani president, might not be guilty of the extremes of Saddam’s boy, but is doing his best to make a bad situation worse.

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