Vast majority of fans from all countries mingling amicably around city

15 June ~ At half-time in last night’s Portugal v Iceland match I wandered down from my flat to the crescent of bars surrounding Gare Lille Flandres. When I got there it was obvious a number of Lille locals had chosen to participate in another spectator sport rather than tuning in to Cristiano Ronaldo and co.

New format will see academy teams competing against League clubs

15 June ~ Last Friday the Football League voted to include Premier League under-21 teams into the Football League Trophy. The competitions new, expanded format, which has been announced just a few weeks after the League suggested they needed to cut fixture congestion, will begin with a group stage and include 16 category one academy sides alongside the usual clubs from League One and Two. It will initially be trialled for one season, but the change hasn’t gone down well with fans, who were not consulted on the new format.

Players are being criticised by fans and pundits after 1-0 defeat to Croatia

14 June ~ A week before the Euros kicked off, Turkey’s manager Fatih Terim tried to lower fans’ expectations. He declared that a draw against Croatia would be a great start to the tournament, and noted that should Croatia qualify for the knockout stages they would go very far in the tournament. By the looks of pre-game commentary on social and other forms of media, he was successful.

July issue available online and in stores

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

- Hibs' first Cup win since 1902
- Edinburgh City break new ground
- Controversial League shake-up
- Who won the unofficial World Cup?
- Spain's withdrawal from Euro 60
- WSC writers' competition winners

Good but defensive defeat to Poland leaves Michael O’Neill’s team requiring a win

13 June ~ Northern Ireland’s opening Group B match with Poland was a game that had been 30 years in the making. In the end what ensued was a defensively solid performance but one lacking in attacking vigour and a disappointing defeat. It would be churlish indeed to say anything other than “hard luck, lads” but there is undoubtedly a sense that a change in approach will now be required.

Coach Jan Kozak was wary of Chris Coleman’s team more than other in Group B

13 June ~ Slovakia coach Jan Kozak will take no comfort in the fact, but his team‘s 2-1 defeat to Wales in Bordeaux has enhanced his reputation as a man of wise words. As soon as the draw for the final stages was made last November, Kozak said he was happy enough to be in a group with England and Russia but that Wales were the fourth seeds he really hadn’t wanted.

The country has fallen in love with their exciting national team

10 June ~ They say France has ground to a standstill, but there was little sign of that as commuters poured out of Gare Lille Flandres into the June sunshine this morning. Strikes continue to take place across the country as part of the CGT union’s widespread protests against the controversial loi travail, which would change working conditions in the country – but you would never have guessed it from the number of people wandering down Rue du Molinel into offices in the usual manner or enjoying their morning cafés on the pavement terraces.

Gaustad also created the William Hill Sports Book of the Year award

7 June ~ John Gaustad, the founder of the influential bookshop Sportspages, died over the weekend. The first Sportspages was opened on Caxton Walk, just off Charing Cross Road, in London in 1985 and became hugely important in the rise of sports literature, offering fans and journalists a dedicated place to go to find writing about football. The shop was also one of the early stockists of WSC, as well as many other fanzines at that time. Gaustad went on to co-found the William Hill Sports Book of the Year award in 1989 and opened a second branch of the shop in Manchester in 1992.

6 June ~ Feethams was home to Darlington between 1883 and 2003, when the club moved to the new Darlington Arena on the outskirts of the city. The ground, which had a capacity of around 8,500, was demolished in 2006.

Photo by Tony Davis from WSC Photography
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Supporters Direct asking members for opinions on reorganisation

5 June ~ On May 19 the Football League put forward proposals to reorganise the domestic system into five divisions of 20 teams from the 2019-20 season. The League claim that clubs would not be financially worse off despite having fewer games, while it would also help to ease fixture congestion. The suggestions received a mixed response from both those running and supporting clubs in the divisions that would be affected. Now Supporters Direct are asking their members’ opinions on the proposals – you can take the survey here.