Micky Adams has led Leicester back to the Premiership, his third promotion, and City are out of administration, too. But Adams – who has had his share of managerial knocks – believes they could be a “yo-yo side” for a while longer. He spoker to Al Needham

Leicester’s promotion is the third of your managerial career. In view of their financial problems, is it the one you’re most proud of?
They’re all the same. They all mean as much to me and the fans. But the other two promotions [Fulham in 1996-97, Brighton in 2000-01] were with sides that I’d moulded myself. Here, I inherited a side and had to motivate them after the disappointment of relegation, which was a major achievement. The hardest thing about running City this season was going into administration, in October. People we knew and respected were losing their jobs. We were trying to keep the morale going all over the club.

Read more…

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.

Read more…

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.

Read more…

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.

Read 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.

Read more…