With League One not usually mentioned round here (unless it's laughing at sunderland being there), figured that for people who aren't aware of the clubs playing that I'd start a club-by-club analysis over on /leagueone: unfortunately that subreddit's dead as fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.
If anyone here is watching and can provide info on their club, I'd greatly appreciate you following this link and submitting a write-up.
Firstly, my favorite club, Sunderland:
Club: Sunderland AFC
Nickname: The Black Cats (Formerly/Minor Nickname: The Roker RoaThe Lads/Coal Cats/The Rokerites)
Stadium: The Stadium of Light (Formerly: Roker Park)
Major Honours:

• 2 Time FA Cup winners, 1937/73 (Seriously, watch the 1973 win, it's fucking beautiful)
• 1 time Community Shield 1937 winner
• 6 time Premier League/First Division winners (1891–92, 1892–93, 1894–95, 1901–02, 1912–13, 1935–36)
• 1 Time Sheriff of London Charity Shield winner, predecessor to the Community Shield

17/18 Finishing Position: Fuck/24 (Relegated) (Again, Fuck)
Transfer Market Squad Value: £32.36m
Manager: Jack Ross. Managed Alloa Athletic from 2015 to 2016 (Couldn't prevent their relegation), but the REAL meat of his managing career (which is admittedly a small 3 year one, though he played football for 16 years prior) is at St Mirren. He managed St Mirren, who had been relegated to the Scottish Championship in 2014-15, and got them promoted to the Premiership in 2017-18. He's got intelligence, experience and has turned St Mirren around. He was named the PFA Scotland Manager of the Year the same year St Mirren was promoted.
Best player(s)/talisman: Oh. Oh dear. Yeah, this one is NOT a easy answer, because half the team last year were mercenaries, and hence most of them have been sold or free-transferred. That said, here's the ones to watch:

• Luke O'Nien: 17 goals over his career, playing for Wycombe and Wealdstone, and the man could very well be the next big thing.
• Duncan Watmore: Pacey but somewhat injury prone. Nice guy, clearly cares about the club and while this video does show a lot of his misses you cannae deny he's got good dribbling skills.
• Aiden McGeady: It's Aiden McGeady. Sure, he's towards the tailend of his career, but he'll definitely hold an important role in the dressing room, similar to how John O'Shea acted as a senior figure for the rookies.
• Chris Maguire: Scottish international with 76 goals to his name over 13 years.

Rising Star: Honeyman has just become captain thanks to his excellent attitude. He will be important in the future, but I'm personally REALLY excited for Luke O'Nien. The guy's ridiculous at times. Watch the video I linked for him please!
What happened last season?: We completed our downward spiral, basically. The reason these downward spirals happened was fairly simple: Ellis Short hadn't a clue what football was about. The managers failed to motivate their players because they were mostly mercenaries as Sunderland kept purchasing bad players while those that were good ended up just getting poached by the bigger clubs (Pickford to Everton, Darren Bent, , and when we brought players in, we picked up failures at the PL league and tried to polish turds like Rodwell, Ndong, Djilobodji, Jozy Altidore (SERIOUSLY WHAT EVEN HAPPENED THERE), Kone and Lens. This plus the Manager Revolving Door problem:

1. Arrived and firmed up the team, usually just before we got relegated
2. Prevented relegation
3. New season, new hopes
4. Hopes dashed
5. Manager fired, back to step A lead to an eventual situation where nothing could be done to save us.

Summer Transfer Business: We've cut almost all the mercenary p-league castoffs out of the team and have replaced them with fresh faces or pre-existing young players. I'm going to point you towards the SAFC Transfer Window Megathread for more details, but notable names: Luke O'Nien, Jon McLaughlin, Chris Maguire, Charlie Wyke and a loaned Jerome Sinclair.
Starting XI: Here's my rough idea. (Might be total arsecandle, so don't put much faith in it. I'm not the manager for a reason.)
Best Case: Promotion. Jack Ross says himself that the only thing he considers a success is promotion, so that's one hell of a sign.
Worst Case: Losing in the playoff final. That would hurt more than Darren Bent's relegation securing header did. And I was in attendance for that match.
Prediction: 1st. PREPARE YOURSELF FOR STEWY D'S RED AND WHITE ARMY.
What will happen to your closest rivals?: Newcastle are going to implode because Mike Ashley is a cunt, Middlesborough are going to continue to exist.
Club: Luton Town (By vJamyy)
Nickname: The Hatters (The Town is also acceptable but not very original)
Stadium: Kenilworth Road predates the dinosaurs but one of few remaining classic football league grounds, we have had talk of a new ground since the 1960s and currently have plans submitted for a 17,500 capacity stadium with expansion to 22,500. However we submitted these plans when Sunderland were still in the premier league (Sorry) and still have not got a decision. Plans
Major Honours:

• League Cup Winners 1988
• Plenty of lower league titles and a JPT from 2009

17/18 Finishing Position: 2nd (Promoted) Sky bet League 2.
Transfer Market Squad Value: £3.17M
Manager: Nathan Jones. Regarded as one of the best young managers in the football league at just 45. Is his first job in management and has been with us since January 2016. Was signed to Luton as a player but never got a game, moved onto Spain and still speaks the language before coming back to play for Southend, Brighton and most notably Yeovil which he only left in 2012. Since then he was a highly rated coach at Brighton taking over a handful of first team games in between managers.
Best player(s)/talisman:
Danny Hylton - You'll hate him, we'll love him. Wasn't really known for his goal scoring at Oxford but just being a fabulous player, now he does both. Think he is bang on 50 goals in 100 games for us. Loves a yellow card though so misses our first game of the season.
Alan Sheehan - Club captain and centre back. Was our player of the season last year. Has a wand of a left foot will be on free kick and corners. If there was a league 1 fantasy football he'd be essential.
Jorge Grant - On loan from Notts Forrest and was on loan at Notts County last season where he nearly propelled them to automatic promotion. 4 goals in 3 pre-season games from midfield means i'm very excited to see how his season goes.
Dan Potts - Was worried he would not sign a new deal and we'd lose him for nothing in the summer but confirmed today he has signed a new 3 year deal. The season before last I wouldn't have cared if he was released but what a turn around. One of the top scoring fullbacks in football, He'd out jump most Olympians and from the sounds of it he is not anywhere near his ceiling yet.
Rising Star: Might have to put this as star(s)
James Justin (20) - Right back whose been part of our set up since 2005, he's reportedly attracted a lot of interest over the summer and has done for the last few seasons. Largely frustrated last year by the form of Jack Stacey whose only 22 himself but most fans still consider Justin to be the hotter prospect.
Arthur Read (18) - Had not heard too much about him until this pre-season where he has slotted into midfield as if he were a regular first team player scoring one beautiful goal in the process. He's still young so there's no rush but I'd love to see him get a few minutes this season.
What happened last season?: Goals, Goals, Goals and more Goals.
It all started with an opening day 8-2 win over Yeovil, add to that a 7-0, 7-1 and we were the first football league side to score 7 or more goals 3 times before Christmas add in a couple of 5-0s for good measure and we were laughing. Looked like we would cruise to the title. But in true Luton fashion a couple of stumbles and Accrington winning very game 1-0 for about 4 months meant we were happy enough to take the runners up spot. I would not say we bottled it completely, it was more down to Accrington's unstoppable run of form
Summer Transfer Business: One of our best transfer windows in recent memory, we've been recruiting for League 1 for the last couple of seasons according to Jones and he's stuck to his word. We've only lost one player we wanted to keep so far; Olly Lee who rejected a new contract in order to make the step down to the SPL (easy money i guess?) personally I think he'd only be getting on the bench this season anyway so no big loss - did score from his own half last season though. Plenty of club have been sniffing around our full backs, with rumours of 7 figure bids coming in for all 3 of them. So far we've been strong but West Brom look like coming back in for Jack Stacey.
As for incomings we've made a few brilliant signings:
Andrew Shinnie - a creative midfielder we had on loan last season now made permanent, not too fussed either way as he fell off the wagon a bit when it came to swamp like conditions in the winter
Sonny Bradley - Proper coupe this one, the centre back was a target for almost anyone that could afford him in league 1 and quite a few championship clubs too. Loves a goal from corners but apparently can be slow at the back.
Matty Pearson - Another defender this time from Barnsley, by all accounts not quite good enough for the championship but should be solid enough in league one
Jorge Grant - Already mentioned.
Not sure we are quite done yet, no secret but we were set to sign O'Nein from Wycombe before Sunderland swooped in. So think we will be in the market for another midfielder.
Starting XI: Should be close enough, centre back pairing is the real guesswork as Sheehan and Bradley are both left footers which would usually mean they are competing for one place as Jones likes one right footed and one left. However i just can't see them both not playing. Was talk of us going 5 at the back but we've been working on the diamond for years so we aren't going to ditch it now.
Best Case: A few people tipping us for a back to back promotion challenge, we're 5th favourites too according to the bookies
Worst Case: Straight back down, would feel like a waste of 3 years.
Prediction: 13th - I really aren't in a rush to get promoted i doubt we could sustain ourselves at that level whilst still at Kenilworth Road so as long we aren't fighting relegation i'll be content. We are under no pressure to get promoted for the first time in around 10 years so maybe we'll do well. No chance of automatics in my opinion and if we finish in the playoffs we'll only lose them anyway.
What will happen to your closest rivals?: Watford are going down, its their year. Like every other year.
Edit: Spelling

Alright you lot, it's been a while. How've you been?
Yes, I'm back again with a footballing history lesson none of you really asked for. I've split this one into two parts, I would say it's so we can have an in-depth discussion but it's mainly because I'm lazy. Hey, at least I'm honest.
I've done some similar posts to this one before, and the lovely people at 8by8 Magazine asked me to write them with a little more substance. You can see my past articles here:
PFA Young Player of the Season 1990-2000: Where are they now?
PFA Young Player of the Season 2000-2010: Where are they now?
Premier League Manager of the Season: Where are they now?
2003
RAFAEL VAN DER VAART
Club (at time of winning): Ajax
Position: Midfielder
Age: 20 then, 32 now
The winner of the inaugural Golden Boy award was a young Dutch boy from Heemskerk. At the time of winning he’d already been playing regular football for Ajax for three years, making his debut at just 17. Van der Vaart left Ajax in 2005 after a series of incidents that also sparked the sale of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, internet darling and absolute bellend, from Ajax after rumors that Zlatan had intentionally injured Van der Vaart during a Holland v Sweden game. The two were supposedly vying for the striker position at the time. Van der Vaart moved from Ajax to Hamburger SV and then on to Real Madrid for £10 million in 2008.
Van der Vaart’s time at Real Madrid started well with him being nominated for the Ballon d’Or in October 2008, but the next few years were not as kind seeing him reduced to a sub for much of his career, leading him to look elsewhere. So entered Henry James Redknapp into Van der Vaart’s life. In what was actually a fantastic piece of wheeling and dealing that would make Del Boy shed a tear, Redknapp managed to snag Van der Vaart for a mear £8 million after an £18 million deal to Bayern Munich had fallen through. He even got the Premier League to allow Spurs to conduct business after the transfer window had officially closed, presumably on the grounds that it was a top, top piece of business. In his debut season Van der Vaart was both Spurs top scorer and provided the most assists.
Van der Vaart currently plays for Real Betis, with injuries having plagued the later half of his career.

• 505 career appearances, 169 goals (0.32 goals per game)
  
• 198 Hamburger SV appearances, 66 goals
  
• 109 Netherlands caps, 25 goals
  
• Career silverware: 2 Eredivisie titles, 1 KNVB Cup, 1 Johan Cruijff-schaal, 2 Intertoto Cups, 1 Supercopa de Espana, 2010 World Cup Runner-up.
  

2004
WAYNE ROONEY
Club (at time of winning): Everton
Position: Striker
Age: 19 then, 29 now
Since the last time I wrote one of these, quite a lot’s happened for Wayne. It would be easy to poke fun at him getting knocked out by Phil Bardsley in his own home, but it happened and really the knowledge alone is enough for me. No the real story is that Rooney is now England’s all-time goalscorer. What makes it more magical is that he did it the right way. You can imagine it now: It’s Liverpool 1992, a young Rooney sits with his family, huddled for warmth around a burning Ford Escort someone at the pub “found”. Wayne looks up from the rat he’d been gnawing on and says “Mam, I’m gonna be England’s top scorer me. And I’m gonna do it by scoring dodgy pennas against San Marino and Switzerland”. Brings a tear to the eye.
Joking aside, the wake of Charlton’s record being broken sparked a desperate attempt by pundits to convince themselves that Rooney was in fact deserving of the record and that no-one had ever spoken ill of him. But the flurry of opinion pieces just served to highlight how sad it is that the media have made Rooney the scapegoat for so many of England’s failings over the years. Yes, he hasn’t lit up a major tournament since he was a teenager, but is it really his fault England have been so poor on the world stage? Should it really be expected that he has to be the one to get England over the line? Or should the blame be more on the FA for only producing one truly world class player in his generation and then pinning all their hopes on him?

• 565 career appearances, 252 goals (0.45 goals per game)
  
• 488 Manchester United appearances, 235 goals
  
• 107 England caps, 50 goals
  
• Career silverware: 5 Premier League titles, 2 League Cups, 3 Community Shields, 1 Champions League and 1 Club World Cup.
  

2005
LIONEL MESSI
Club (at time of winning): Barcelona
Position: Forward
Age: 18 then, 28 now
I was torn how to approach this little bio of Messi. What can I say? You all know who he is and what he’s about (if you don’t, he’s the third most famous Lionel in the world, behind Richie and Blair). I could talk about how he might worry about how aging will affect his game but unlike other players his age he shows no signs of slowing down. I could spend the whole bio just poking fun at him, but in reality that’s kind of impossible because at the end of the day he’s Lionel Messi. He’s dodged more in tax than I can ever hope to earn, he’s short but annoyingly that just makes him better at football and worse of all he seems like a nice bloke. At least most of the great footballers have the decency to be a bit of a knob to balance it out (Maradona, Pele, looking at you lads).
Undeniably the most deserving winner of the award and a footballer we are all lucky to be witnessing in his prime, Messi will undoubtedly become the impossible standard of all future Golden Boy winners. Perhaps even the anomaly that was too good at football - how many players will be built up to be “the next Messi” only to have expectation and inevitable disappointment tarnish their careers? How many already have been?

• 525 career appearances, 429 goals all for Barcelona (0.82 goals per game)
  
• 105 Argentina caps, 49 goals
  
• Career silverware: 7 La Liga titles, 3 Copa del Rey, 6 Supercopa de Espana, 4 Champions Leagues, 3 UEFA Super Cup, 2 Club World Cup, 2008 Olympic Gold Medal, 2014 World Cup Runner-up, 2 Copa America Runner up.
  

2006
CESC FABREGAS
Club (at time of winning): Arsenal
Position: Midfielder
Age: 19 then, 28 now
It’s funny how quickly things change in football. This time last season Fabregas was lighting up the Premier League, his partnership with Costa the personification of Mourinho’s smug ability to seemingly always have one over on Wenger. Fabregas was hailed as one of the signings of the summer, his return to the Premier League in blue a masterstroke from Chelsea and a foolish missed opportunity from Arsenal. But time and football are cruel mistresses and both have taken issue with Cesc. While time is doing her best to turn Fabregas, Costa and Mou into a trio of greasy kebab shop owners, football seems to have forgotten about the three of them altogether. Chelsea currently lie 15th in the table with 8 points from 7 games and Fabregas seems to have lost his magic touch that defined the first half of every season he’s played. Although a more impressive individual display against Newcastle does suggest the skill that earned him this award may still be around it remains to be seen if the malaise that seems to have infected the Chelsea squad is temporary or indicative of a permanent shift in an aging Fabregas’ career.

• 509 career appearances, 105 goals (0.21 goals per game)
  
• 303 appearances for Arsenal, 57 goals.
  
• 98 Spain caps, 14 goals.
  
• 3 Catalonia caps, 0 goals.
  
• Career silverware w/ Arsenal: 1 FA Cup, 1 Community Shield.
  
• Career silverware w/ Barcelona: 1 La Liga title, 1 Copa del Rey, 2 Supercopa de Espanas, 1 Super Cup, 1 Club World Cup.
  
• Career silverware w/ Chelsea: 1 Premier League title, 1 League Cup.
  

•  Also World Cup 2010 Winner, Euro 2008, 2012 Winner 

2007
SERGIO AGUERO
Club (at time of winning): Atletico Madrid
Position: Striker
Age: 19 then, 27 now
Like a lot of young and talented Argentinians Sergio Aguero, along with the likes of Lionel Messi and Carlos Tevez, was lined up to be the “New Maradona”. This would later establish what was undoubtedly the world’s worst father-in-law/son-in-law dynamic after Aguero married Maradona’s youngest daughter in 2009. I’m not saying that’s what caused Aguero to file for divorce in 2013, but can you imagine having to suffer through having Diego Maradona as your father-in-law? I bet he has a scrapbook full of articles about how you’re not as good as him.
Like so many strikers before him Aguero gained a reputation for himself in Europe at Atletico Madrid before making a big money move to the Premier League - joining Manchester City in 2011 for £35 million. In his debut year in the Premier League he quickly established himself as one of the league’s showpiece players, City’s talisman forward and a key part of Sky Sports Premier League advertising. His last minute strike against QPR has become one of the defining moments of the modern Premier League era, which due a planning masterstroke on my part I got to experience through live text updates sat outside a broken toilet on an overcrowded train from Middlesbrough to Sheffield. I’ve heard it was quite a special moment.
What is strange about Aguero is that unlike most other stikers there’s just something inherently likable about him. Even Manchester United fans don’t hate him really. I mean the nickname “Kun” on his shirt is the nickname his grandparents gave him as a kid and he even has a tattoo of it in Elvish on his arm. Come on now, how can you hate a bloke who loves his Nan that much?

• 463 career appearances, 231 goals (0.50 goals per game)
  
• 234 Atletico Madrid appearances, 101 goals
  
• 68 Argentina caps, 32 goals
  
• Career silverware: 1 Europa League, 1 Intertoto Cup, 1 UEFA Super Cup, 2 Premier League titles, 1 League Cup, 1 Community Shield, 1 2008 Olympic Gold Medal, 2014 World Cup Runner-up, 1 Copa America Runner-up.
  

2008
ANDERSON
Club (at time of winning): Manchester United
Position: Midfielder
Age: 20 then, 27 now
So I’m not really sure what happened this year. Maybe the pre-vote party got a bit heavy, maybe the England representative took the other lads out for a Nando’s, things got extra cheeky and they agreed to vote for Anderson “for the bants”. Whatever the events that led to him winning the award it seems Anderson is the only player on the list whose career didn’t quite pan out as planned. Or that’s what you’d think. Believe it or not in terms of silverware, Anderson is the second most successful Golden Boy winner of all time. Just take a moment to think about that.
In a way I’m being hard on Anderson, when he won the award in 2008 he was one of the hottest and most exciting prospects in world football and was rightfully recognised for that. Anderson was fantastic for Brazil U17s; picking up the Golden Ball at the 2005 World Championship and this exceptional form is probably what helped him secure a £20 million move to Manchester United in 2007. Yet somewhere along the way something went wrong. Brought in as replacement for Keane and Scholes, during his time at United Anderson struggled to keep a grip of both the central midfield spot and his waistline. Injury and off the field insubordination left Anderson in the footballing wilderness, with United eventually washing their hands of him, taking a loss as Anderson left for Inter Internacional on a free transfer in January 2015. Sadly there doesn’t seem to be a second coming on the cards for Anderson, on his Internacional debut he missed a penalty and was substituted after only 36 minutes into his second game, uninjured but still requiring an oxygen mask.

• 261 career appearances, 21 goals (0.08 goals per game)
  
• 181 Manchester United appearances, 9 goals
  
• 8 Brazil caps, 0 goals.
  
• Career silverware: 4 Premier League titles, 2 League Cups, 2 Community Shields, 1 Champions League, 1 Club World Cup, 2 Primeira Liga titles, 1 Taca de Portugal, 1 Supertaca Candido de Oliveira, 1 Campeonato Gaucho, 1 Campeonato Brasileiro Serie B title, 1 2008 Olympics Bronze Medal, 1 Copa America.
  

Auto-Refreshing Transfer News Thread from Sky Sports
Auto-refreshing reddit comments link
17:50

THAT'S IT!

Time to say goodbye on the blog now as we transfer our focus to the Monday Night Football action! See you all again in the morning.
17:12

WATCH: LAMPARD ON JOSE

Derby County boss Frank Lampard admits he has sympathy with his former boss Jose Mourinho.
16:35

CHELSEA WANT ANOTHER HAZARD

Eden Hazard’s younger brother Ethan could join his brother at Chelsea, according to the Daily Mirror.
The 15-year-old currently plays for AFC Tubize in Belgium.
Kylian Hazard and Belgium international Thorgan Hazard are already both on the books at Chelsea.
15:30

BREAKING NEWS

One of the country’s highest profile football agents, David Manasseh has today been suspended from all football-related activity by the FA for three months.
Manasseh, managing director and co-founder of the Stellar Group, which looks after the likes of Gareth Bale, Luke Shaw and Jordan Pickford, is now suspended until December 31st and has been fined £50,000 after he was found to have signed up a young footballer at a Premier League club while he was still a minor.
14:58

MILINKOVIC-SAVIC GETS NEW DEAL

Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic has extended his contract with the club.
The Serbian has been heavily linked with Premier League clubs, including Manchester United.
Striker Ciro Immobile has also penned a new deal.
A statement says: “The SS Lazio announces that it has extended the economic contracts of the players Ciro Immobile and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic until 30 June 2023.”
14:55

‘WE NEEDED EXPERIENCE’

Former Carlisle boss Keith Curle’s experience was the key reason in Northampton’s decision to appoint him.
Northampton are fourth bottom in Sky Bet League Two after just one win and five losses from their first 10 games, including three defeats in their last four.
"In the position we are in we think we needed a manager with a lot of experience of League 2 and Keith has that," said Chairman Kelvin Thomas.
"He has managed around 400 games at this level and we think he is exactly who we need right now. He took over at Carlisle United in similar circumstances and did an excellent job, not only steering them out of trouble but developing a squad that was able to challenge for promotion in the following seasons.”
14:45

BREAKING NEWS

Northampton have appointed Keith Curle as manager.
14:38

‘I’LL NEVER MANAGE BARCA’

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino is plotting Barcelona's downfall safe in the knowledge he will never manage the Spanish giants.
Pochettino is relishing the prospect of tackling Ernesto Valverde's side in Wednesday's Champions League group stage match at Wembley.
But he knows his past precludes him from ever taking charge at the Nou Camp, given he has been both a player and manager at rivals Espanyol.
He said: "It is more than understood [that I will never take over]. My path and that of Barcelona are different, opposite directions. Coaching there would be impossible."
14:17

WATCH: JOSE ON SACK TALK

Jose Mourinho's Manchester United future might be under heightened scrutiny but the man himself dismissed suggestions his job could be determined by this week's results against Valencia and Newcastle.
Here's what he had to say at his Champions League pre-match news conference...
13:54

FOOTBALL WHISPERS

Here are the latest rumours from our friends at Football Whispers...
https://storify.com/services/proxy/2/fUdnX9nyngL34Aa2E_SpjA/https/d2kmm3vx031a1h.cloudfront.net/fgN7VqxRU2fOhahPyFZt_2018-10-01-14-19-25-sky-top-10-graphic.png
12:56

JEDINAK ANNOUNCES AUSTRALIA RETIREMENT

Australia international Mile Jedinak has announced his retirement from international football in order to focus on his club career.
The 34-year-old won 79 caps for his country and represented them in three World Cups, twice as captain.
Jedinak, who also led Australia to victory in the 2015 Asian Cup on home soil, scored 20 goals for the Socceroos.
12:49

BARCA CHIEF RESPONDS TO POGBA RUMOURS

Barcelona chief Josep Maria Bartomeu has refused to rule out a move for Paul Pogba.
Barcelona are currently unwilling to pay over £100m, but Manchester United value the player at double that.
Asked about a potential January bid, Bartomeu told the Times: "I read these rumours - not just Pogba but a lot of players. Most of the teams don't want to sell their players. They want to grow.
"When you hear from agents that a certain player is on the market - and I am not saying that about this player, but generally - I will sometimes call the CEO and say 'Is it true you want to sell this player?'. Usually they say 'No way, not for sale' and that's the end of it."
12:44

NORTHAMPTON MANAGER UPDATE

Sky Sports News understands Northampton wish to appoint a new manager as quickly as possible, with ex-Carlisle boss Keith Curle currently the bookies favourite.
Ex-Blackpool manager Gary Bowyer and Kevin Nolan, who was last in charge at Notts County, are also short in the odds after the Cobblers sacked Dean Austin on Sunday following a 4-0 thrashing at Mansfield on Saturday.
Northampton are fourth-bottom of the bottom tier after one win and five defeats from their first 10 games, including three defeats in their last four.
12:07

AKINFEEV RETIRES FROM RUSSIA DUTY

Russia goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev is retiring from international football after leading the national side as captain to this year's World Cup quarter-finals on home soil.
The 32-year-old CSKA Moscow player's acrobatic penalty saves captivated home crowds and helped Russia to their best tournament finish since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
"There is a beginning and an end to every story," Akinfeev was quoted as saying on CSKA's website. "My story with the national team has also reached its logical end."
11:36

ASHLEY: SHOW ME THE MONEY

On Saturday, Ashley watched Newcastle play at home for the first time in 16 months. He was abused by large sections of the crowd as Newcastle lost 2-0 to Leicester City.
Ashley has now watched two games in a row. His attendance at games is part of a strategy being driven by chief executive Lee Charnley to build bridges with fan, players and manager Rafael Benitez.
In another conciliatory move, Ashley is planning to take Benitez and his players to dinner this week. He wants to get everyone together to clear the air and address the problems at the club and demonstrate his support and commitment.
One source told us that until Kenyon makes an offer, it is a case of “a man with no money wanting to buy a football club”.
11:34

NEWCASTLE TAKEOVER UPDATE

Mike Ashley’s challenge to anyone who wants to buy Newcastle United is to show him the money.
The Newcastle owner and his representatives have never publicly named their price for the club, but it is understood it is unlikely to be sold for less than £300m.
It is also our understanding that aside from purchasing the club prospective buyers must also prove they have the funds to take the club forward.
Former Manchester United and Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon is trying to put together a deal to buy Newcastle.
With clubs such as Manchester United valued at more than £3bn, the onus is on any prospective buyer to make their best offer.
10:52

MARADONA: MESSI SHOULD RETIRE

Argentina legend Diego Maradona has told Lionel Messi that he should retire from international football once again.
Messi's future with his national side is uncertain with the Barcelona forward opting to take a break following a below-par World Cup campaign.
What would I tell Messi? To not come back any more. To retire,' the current coach of Mexican outfit Dorados told C larin on Sunday.
"The Under 15s lose and it is Messi's fault, the fixture list in Argentina puts Racing against Boca and Messi is to blame. He is always to blame.
"I would tell him: 'Don't go anymore, man'. Let's see if they can handle that. Let's see if they're really big men."
10:20

ZIDANE'S CALL TO JOSE

Jose Mourinho is worried about his Manchester United future, and a phone call from Zinedine Zidane has convinced him that club officials have sounded out the Frenchman as his replacement.
The Sun are reporting that the France and Real Madrid legend was concerned Mourinho would think he was plotting behind his back, so felt obliged to call him.
Zidane reportedly told Mourinho that his representatives were asked if he would be interested in the job.
10:01

NORTHAMPTON SEEKING NEW BOSS

Northampton Town parted company with Dean Austin on Sunday night, and chairman Kelvin Thomas has been speaking to the media this morning.
He says the club are looking for an experienced, ruthless manager with experience of League 2.
Andy Todd is taking training this morning and preparing the squad for Tuesday’s visit from Bury.
09:15

MONDAY'S PAPERS

Jose Mourinho is resigned to his fate at Manchester United - after getting a call from Zinedine Zidane, according to The Sun.
Meanwhile, The Daily Express claim Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly turned down Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain before moving to Juventus in the summer.
Read the full Paper Talk HERE.
08:55

PEP WARNS SANE NOT TO LOSE FOCUS

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has warned Leroy Sane not to lose his focus again or he'll be axed.
The £37 million Germany international has suffered since being named PFA Young Player of the Year in May.
Sane appears to have put his problems to one side since becoming a father, starring in City's last three games, but Guardiola has sent out a warning.
“He has played really well but our profession is so demanding.
All my players, I want them to be focused. Do every single day what you have to do.
“When they do that there is no problem at all. When they don’t do that, they know what happens.”
08:26

TERRY ATTENDS SPARTAK GAME

John Terry is reportedly close to replacing Jody Morris as youth team coach at Chelsea, but the former England captain was back in Russia on Sunday to attend Spartak Moscow's 1-0 home defeat to Rostov.
Terry was spotted posing for pictures with Spartak fans weeks after calling off his move to the Russian outfit.
The 37-year-old had a medical and was close to finalising personal terms on a tax-free deal, in the region of £3million a year, but he pulled the plug on a move.
https://twitter.com/fcsm_official/status/1046423444051697665
07:47

EVERTON PURSUE PEPE

Everton have joined Bayern Munich in their pursuit of Lille striker Nicolas Pepe.
The versatile forward has a growing list of admirers, having scored five foals in eight Ligue 1 games so far this season.
The Ivory Coast international has previously been linked with Barcelona, and the Daily Star are reporting that Everton are ready to step up their interest following a strong start to the campaign.
07:21

LIVERPOOL LEAD RAMSEY CHASE

Liverpool will lead the chase for Arsenal's Aaron Ramsey after having a summer enquiry for the Wales international knocked back.
The Daily Mirror are reporting that Jurgen Klopp has earmarked the midfielder as a potential target after he signalled his intention to leave the Emirates.
Ramsey was substituted in Arsenal's 2-0 win over Watford and was spotted at Le Golf National on Sunday for the culmination of the Ryder Cup.
06:38

SANCHEZ TO BE SOLD?

We start with news from Old Trafford, and reports this morning that Alexis Sanchez's Manchester United career might be coming to an end.
Jose Mourinho has lost faith in the Chilean forward and Sanchez was left out of the United matchday squad during the weekend's 3-1 defeat at West Ham.
The Daily Express are reporting that the 29-year-old will be allowed to leave the club in January, just 12 months after he was signed from Arsenal.
06:27

GOOD MORNING!

Hello and welcome along to another day of Transfer Centre LIVE! We'll be rounding up all the morning's transfer news in the Monday newspapers and keep you abreast of all the latest transfer developments throughout the day.
Join the discussion on Discord. I am a bot. Found any errors? Contact /Football Mods

Winners in bold.
LFE Apprentice of the Year – League 2: Ben Godfrey, Frankie Musonda, Hakeem Odoffin
LFE Apprentice of the Year – League 1: James Bree, Bright Osayi-Samuel, Thomas Smith
LFE Apprentice of the Year – Championship: Ademola Lookman, David Popa, Mathew Hudson
PFA Player in the Community: George Friend, Danny Grainger, Andy Butler
Johnstone’s Paint Community Club of the Year: Charlton Atheltic, Burnley, Rotherham United, Cardiff City, Burton Albion, Brighton & Hove Albion
Nickelodeon Family Club of the Year: Fulham, Doncaster Rovers, Middlesbrough, Millwall, Oxford United, Stevenage
Mitre Goal of the Year: Marco Matias (vs Leeds United)
Capital One Supporter of the Year: Oscar Pycroft, Pat Custard, Tommy Leggett
The Football League Young Player: Lewis Cook, Rico Henry, Moussa Dembele
Sky Bet Player of the Year – League 2: Kemar Roofe, Matty Taylor, Ricky Holmes
Sky Bet Player of the Year – League 1: Bradley Dack, Romaine Sawyers, Nicky Ajose
Sky Bet Player of the Year – Championship: Andre Gray, Alan Judge, Ross McCormack
Sir Tom Finney Award: Kevin Davies
Football Manager Team of the Season: GK: Adam Smith RB: Bruno CB: Danial Ayala CB: Craig Morgan LB: George Friend MF: Alan Judge MF: Bradley Dack MF: Joey Barton ST: Kemar Roofe ST: Nicky Ajose ST: Andre Gray Manager: Chris Wilder
Contribution to League Football: Andy Williamson
That wraps up the awards tonight.