John Fashanu's latest venture is the small Welsh team Barry Town. Simon Price outlines the reasons behind the new arrival

When John Fashanu popped up on Talk Sport in December to announce proudly that he had bought the champions of Wales, there were many patronising references to “little Barry Town”. In some respects, this is understandable. Barry, for the uninitiated, is a seaside town at the southernmost tip of Wales with a population of 50,000. The town is a microcosm of the Old Wales: sheep farms to the north, Bhopal-sized chemical plants to the east, dying dock­yards to the south, and a third-rate mini Blackpool called Barry Island to the west. Most peo­ple with the means to do so get the hell out. Why, then, is Flash Fash moving in?

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Two of the biggest clubs in Brazilian football have been affected in different ways by the strange nature of the game there. Robert Shaw investigates

Back in the 1950s and 1960s, Botafogo v Santos games were titanic struggles involving the cream of Brazil’s talent, with Garrincha and Pelé taking top billing for their respective sides. In 2002 the two clubs had divergent fortunes. Santos won the championship, beating Cor­inthians 5-2 on aggregate in December’s play-off final. The team were coached by Emerson Leão, the former goalkeeper renowned more for modelling swimming trunks than for a less-than-successful spell as national coach during World Cup qualifying.

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The intense rivalry between Rangers and Celtic is about more than just football. But Ken Gall feels not enough is being done to turn focus back to the pitch

In December, as part of a wider package of mea­sures aimed at ending sectarian behaviour in Scotland, First Minister Jack McConnell an­nounced a campaign to end bigotry at Old Firm games. This might prompt the cynical to speculate as to what his next project might be – the prevention of night following day, perhaps.

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Peter Kenyon's call to cut the number of professional teams to 40 is being met with fierce opposition

At the time of writing, York City could be less than a fortnight away from disappearing. The club is in administration, players aren’t being paid and prop­erty developers Persimmon, who hold shares in the company that owns the ground, Bootham Crescent Holdings, plan to build flats on the site.

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Friday 1 Tony Pulis, out of work since leaving Portsmouth two years ago, takes over at Stoke. Steve McLaren resigns as Sven’s assistant, saying: “It was never intended to be long-term and it has dragged on.”

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