“Steve Coppell is lying on the floor with four metal clips attached to his hands and feet. He’s in the process of being wired up to some sort of electronic device. For a brief moment, I fear the Reading boss is about to be sacrificed in the name of scientific research.” (BBC)

Pro Vercelli: From the Diary of Walter Colombo, 31 August 2014 (The Run of Play – Brian Phillips)
“By the time we made landfall near Palermo, the hours of steady rattling had left me sore from head to toe. I crawled ashore, my muscles aching, my tie dangling in the surf. Before I reached the bar of dry sand at the top of the beach, a deafening roar and a sudden wave-churning wind told me the Achilles was gone.” (The Run of Play)

Once again, Super Eagles on the precipice, Nigerians are crying (Vanguard – Patrick Omorodion)
“Again Nigerians have started another permutations on another World Cup qualification series. After the exit of Dutchman, Clemens Westerhof, Nigeria has never found it easy qualifying for any World Cup. When he quit after the 1994 World Cup in the United States, the boys he groomed to win the Africa Nations Cup were still around and qualified for the France edition in 1998 almost effortlessly.” (Vanguard)

Capello must tackle flaws of England’s work in progress (Guardian – Kevin McCarra)
“Fabio Capello proved more resilient than his back four. Following the unkempt 2–1 victory over Ukraine, the manager’s own defensive work was impeccable. England may now have won all five of their World Cup qualifiers but the sole shut-out came against Andorra.” (Guardian)