Middlesbrough up, Brighton floundering and Charlton safe – what WSC contributors got right and wrong in their predictions for the previous season

1 August ~ “Automatic promotion,” asserted Burnley fan Kevin Clarke ahead of the 2015-16 Championship season. “It goes against everything I believe in as a Burnley fan to predict this, but there really is no reason why not.” It took them a couple of games to get going but in the end Kevin’s confidence was well placed and his team sealed an immediate return to the Premier League, going up as champions by four points.

Port Vale 3 Doncaster Rovers 0, 22/08/2015, League One, Vale Park.

Dave Lockwood has been at The Valley for 24 years but wants rid of Roland Duchatelet

19 July ~ Charlton Athletic’s long-time matchday announcer has stepped down from his role and will now join fans’ protests against club owner Roland Duchatelet. Dave Lockwood, who has been on the mic at The Valley for 24 years, released a statement to the South London Press yesterday in which he said: “It isn’t Charlton anymore is it? Not our Charlton. For 24 seasons I have had the privilege of being the announcer, maybe the voice of the Valley? But I can take no more. When a statement on the website accuses fans of wanting failure.”

August issue available online and in stores

The new WSC is out now, available in all good newsagents or to order from the WSC shop.

- England exit in confusion
- Marvellous month for Wales
- Portugal: teamwork triumphs
- From Bilic to Shearer: TV analysed
- Views from Lille and Marseille
- Taking on Europe in 1973

Crewe Alexandra training ground shoot, 2002.

Photo by Tony Davis from WSC Photography
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Selected images available as prints

Another major international tournament has been and gone, which means it’s time for you to have your say on the state of the game in the 2016 WSC Survey – and maybe win a WSC T-shirt. Who put in the best underdog performance at Euro 2016? Who do you trust to run football? What would you change about WSC?  We promise we read all your responses, so don’t hold back. As ever we’re grateful for your participation and it should take you about ten minutes.

Supporters were attending Etihad as neutrals after match against Oldham postponed

16 July ~ Millwall fans who were denied entry to the Etihad Stadium as neutrals have had their complaint upheld by the Independent Football Ombudsman (IFO). Nick Weavis and his group of friends had originally been planning to attend Millwall’s match at Oldham but, when it was cancelled, opted to watch nearby Manchester City play Swansea instead. However, upon learning they were Millwall fans the cashier at the Etihad refused to sell them tickets. When Weavis initially complained Manchester City put the decision down to police advice, but a freedom of information request to Greater Manchester Police revealed no such advice was given.

Germany's five semi-finals in a row and a World Cup have not placated a vocal section critics

14 July ~ On Tuesday, Joachim Löw finally confirmed that he has every intention to honour his contract as Germany head coach, running until the 2018 World Cup. Not everybody is celebrating. In spite of guiding Germany to five semi-finals in a row (six, if you insist on counting 2006 in which Löw served as an assistant to Jürgen Klinsmann), with one World Cup trophy thrown in, Löw continues to polarise opinions: is he the tactical magician responsible for those triumphs, or an addicted tinkerer whose butt continues to be saved by the extraordinarily gifted bunch of players we currently are producing?

12 July ~ A view from the top of Dundee Law showing the city's two senior football grounds, with Dundee FC's Dens Park visible in the foreground and Dundee United's Tannadice Park in the background. The two stadiums are situated on the same street, a few hundred yards apart.

Photo by Colin McPherson for WSC Photography
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Selected images available as prints

Swedish travel agencies selling up to five times as many package deals to Old Trafford

11 July ~ In spite of both Sweden’s and Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s underperformance at the Euros, the latter's status and commercial drawing power is just as strong as it was before the tournament. After a decade of pilgrimage to Milan, Barcelona and Paris it is now time for Manchester to be the hottest destination for the relatively well off among Swedish football fans. It’s fair to assume that the weak British pound will also contribute to the stream of travellers.