With their short-term existence secure, Bradford City are looking to learn from past mistakes to stop history repeating itself. Gary Rolin looks into their birthday wish

Real Madrid celebrated their centenary year by win­ning the European Champions League for the third time in five years. At the other end of the football scale, Bradford City’s preparations for their 100th birthday party have been boosted by Leeds High Court’s decision in February to lift the administration order that threa­tened the survival of the club form­ed in May 1903 when the Football League voted them into the Second Division. 

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After initial success in the Premiership, Ipswich Town now find themselves in financial turmoil. Csaba Abrahall documents their fall from grace

“So much of football is about short-term glory which leads so often to boom and bust. We’re not about that.” So said David Sheepshanks when Gavin Barber and I interviewed him for WSC 172 on the day Ipswich se­cured European qualification in 2001. This kind of level-headed approach had been a feature of his chairmanship and while he continued to adopt it, the club appeared to be in safe hands. Yet today it is in administration, with debts spiralling and the team a long way short of delivering financial salvation in the form of a return to the Premiership. What on earth went wrong?

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Terry Fenwick's reign has ended almost before it has started, leaving the Cobblers in dire straits. Rob Marshall reviews his tenure

“The team are disjointed and it’s definitely the case of the sum of the whole being LESS than all of the individuals. The embarrassing ten­dency to play the offside trap looks outdated and liable to fail at any time. The inevitable de­feats are met with increasingly arcane man­agement excuses.” A letter received by North­ampton Town fanzine What A Load Of Cobblers after the Bristol City defeat? It could have been, but in fact it was a letter in a Pompey fanzine some years ago when former England def­ender Terry Fenwick was in charge there.

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Although they have another season in the top flight secured, Manchester City could be in for a troublesome summer in the boardroom. Ian Farrell investigates

With an aggregate derby win helping to ensure Premiership survival before the spring, all but the most optimistic Manchester City fans can be more than content with their return to the big time. Signing Robbie Fowler at a knockdown price to partner the low-maintenance goal machine that is Nicolas Anelka would seem to be another great plus. However, the deal’s complications have cast doubt over whether it will ultimately prove a positive or a neg­ative for the club. Their true effect on Kevin Keegan’s relationship with David Bernstein, once the rock-solid chairman he always seems to need, is the major concern.

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The Darlington chairman is banning those who criticise him from the club's new stadium. Ron Hamilton reports

On the outskirts of Darlington stands the club’s fine new stadium. The 25,000-capacity, as-yet unnamed stadium boasts restaurants, a nightclub and a reputed £85,000 worth of marble floor­ing. A new home fit for a king rather than a team struggling to avoid the drop to the con­ference. And while this stadium will welcome the Conference-dodging Quakers on to the pitch for the first time at the start of next season, one man who will not be there is former editor of fanzine Where’s The Money Gone?, Dave Mac­Lean. For that matter, neither is MacLean wel­come at Darlington’s current, less glam­orous abode, Feethams.

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