Who's next for Scotland?...Your view

There is a huge list of potential candidates lining up to replace Alex McLeish as the new boss of Scotland.

The Tartan Army just missed on sealing a spot at the Euro 2008 finals but have now set their sights on a place in the 2010 World Cup.

A host of successors are in contention to lead them but who is the right man for the job?

Billy Davies (left) is the favourite for the Hampden Park hotseat but there are plenty of others in the running.

Click here to view our selection and let us know if we missed anybody out.

Simply the Best...

George Best's destruction of mighty Benfica back in 1966 has got to be the best ever individual display in European club football.

Benfica hadn't lost at home in seven years of European football when Manchester United went to the Stadium of Light with a slender 3-2 lead from the first leg.

But within 15 minutes of the game the 19-year-old Best had torn the Benfica defence to shreds. His first goal - a deft looping header - was good enough. His second was sublime. The skinny winger with Beatle haircut weaved his way through the entire Benfica defence to slot the ball past a bemused keeper.

Best continued to torture the home defence as United went on to secure a stunning 5-1 win that resonated around Europe. Best, like Sir Matt Busby's rebuilt side, had arrived on the world stage with a bang.

Two years later they went on to become the first English club to lift the European Cup. But it was on that night in March 1966 that a true star of the global game was born.

As United and Liverpool take on Sporting Lisbon and FC Porto respectively in the Champions League this week, we've been looking at some epic encounters between English and Portuguese sides.

Click here to check out our selection.

Cup draw cock-ups and capers

Heaven help us if Alex Salmond and his chums north of the Border ever achieve the impossible and persuade Fifa to stage the World Cup in Scotland.

Just imagine the chaos that would ensue if and when it came to the draw. The Scots couldn't even organise this season's CIS Cup semi-final draw, which descended into farce even though there were only four clubs 'in the hat'.

Imagine what it would be like if 170 teams had to be sorted out, as is the case this weekend in the draw for the 2010 World Cup which is taking place in Durban, South Africa.

To mark the occasion, we've been looking at draws for big football tournaments that have turned into fiascos or festivals of fun and frolics.

There's the famous occasion which saw a woman presenter faint live on television, right in front of Steven Gerrard. Or the shapely German model who revealed much more than her love of football. Then, of course, there are the Scots, and the man who forgot his glasses.

They're all part of the rich tapestry which forms the backdrop of these often overblown events, when the glitz and glamour can so easily get the better of sporting common sense.

Click here to enjoy the fun and games.

Euro 2008 qualifying: Winners and losers

Failure, despair and disaster. For the Home Nations and the Republic of Ireland the qualifying campaign for Euro 2008 has been a pretty miserable experience.

None have qualified, two managers have been sacked, there have been goalkeeping clangers, fights on aeroplanes and one national coach even had an Uzi machine gun waved in his face!

But twinkling faintly amidst the gloom, there were some glimmers of light which offered faint hope for better fortunes in the future.

Check out our 10 winners and losers of the European Championships qualifying campaign, then have your say below.

Who were your biggest successes and failures? Did we leave anyone out? Give us your views on England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic.

Result points to England

Well, well, a draw against Croatia and England qualify  for next year's Euro 2008 finals and who knows a win isn't out of the question...


After results went England's way on Saturday Steve McClaren's bunch of under-achievers appear to have been given a golden opportunity (talk is it's worth upwards of £20million to the Football Association) to book their ticket to  Austria and Switzerland.

Croatia have qualified whatever the result tonight at Wembley and if you really want to think about it, why should Slaven Bilic's boys want to finish top and avoid playing the likes of Greece, Austria and Switzerland?

I can you almost see the score-line now - England 1 Croatia 0 - plenty of huff and puff from England but little cutting edge upfront.

Remember how previously England have made hard work in previous encounters click here

Have your say on tonight's clash especially if you think England will freeze and we'll crash out at the final hurdle.

Classic sport games... Your view

Our fantastic competition giving away a Lewis Hamilton Limited Edition Scalextric set got us dipping nostalgically into our youthful love of sporting board games.

We've come up with a top ten of classic sports games which you can read all about here. But we want you to add your nominations, recollections and general thoughts on the subject. With which games were you obsessed? To what extent did you take your obsession? Are there any classics we've missed out/

Simply fill in the boxes below to send in your suggestions.

Oh no...not more McClaren misery

By Richard Groom

First the bad news: Steve McClaren is back from the dead, resurrected by Israel's sensational win over Russia in their Euro 2008 qualifier.

He would probably have been out of a job had Dimitry Sychev's last-minute shot grazed the other side of a post seconds before Omer Golan's winner for Israel gave England the reprieve they hardly deserve.

Influential members of the FA board were reportedly ready to part company with McClaren instantly had it not been for the dramatic events in Tel Aviv.

But the pressure is still very much on the England coach. If his side fail to secure a draw with Croatia on Wednesday, McClaren's chances of survival will be nil - and rightly so.

Forget all the excuses, injuries to key players and waffle about formations. The truth is that McClaren has failed to galvanise a credible squad, and failed to prove his many critics wrong.

His rose-tinted ramblings after lacklustre displays are almost as annoying as the bluster of those billionaire club owners who think they have a divine right to run (and ruin) the game.

Which brings us to Roman Abramovich. What a joy it was to see Israel, playing for nothing but pride, upset the Russian's apple-cart.

For once he couldn't buy glory because international football is about much more than money, which is why the likes of Israel, Scotland and Northern Ireland can punch way above their weight.

Long may they and other 'small' nations continue to do so. While money-fuelled club football becomes ever more predictable at the highest level, those oft-forgotten values like team spirit, passion and pride in the shirt still play an important part on the international stage.

So let's end with the really good news: Northern Ireland's David Healy is now the record scorer in a European Championship qualifying campaign with a tally of 13. His glorious late winner against Denmark at a rain-lashed Windsor Park took him past Davor Suker's record that had stood for 12 years. And Northern Ireland still have an outside chance of qualifying for Euro 2008 despite their meagre resources. Who said the true spirit of football is dead? Feel free to post your comments below.

Who ate all the pies?...Your view

As you can see from this picture, Andy Fordham has lost a lot of weight in the last year - 10 stone to be precise. But "The Viking" will forever be remembered for his rather large presence on the oche.

After the darts player made an unsuccessful return this past week when he failed to qualify for the 2008 World Championships, it got us thinking about other sportsmen who enjoy their fair share of picnics.

You can view our selections here and then send in your thoughts below. Are there any others take-away lovers that we've missed out?

Worst sporting events... Your view

Austria are so ashamed with the standard of their national side, some fans have started a petition asking for them to be withdrawn from Euro 2008!

The news got us thinking about previous sporting events which hosts may subsequently have liked to disassociate themselves from. Our trawl through the annals of sporting history led us to terrorism, political propaganda, mysterious deaths and plain, simple shoddy 'entertainment'.

Read our list here and then send in your views on the selection below. Are there any other sports events you thought were boring or controversial or just a complete waste of time?

Cricketing tales... Your view

England return to Sri Lanka today for a quick-fire three-Test series in December. Their departure got us thinking about the great tales from cricketing tours.

We've picked out 10 of the best (click here), but want you to suggest alternatives. Have we forgotten any blinders? Did you see any in progress yourself? Have you had ever been at the same pub or club as famous cricketers?

Click here to send in your views.

Sporting comebacks... your view

Michael Schumacher's return to F1 testing with Ferrari prompted us to think of other triumphant and ill-advised sporting comebacks.

We've picked out 10 - read them here - but have we missed any? Which was your favourite sporting return? Send in your views and we'll ponder whether to include them in an expanded selection.

Football's worst mishaps... Your view

Every sportsman - even the very best - endure days which can only be described as nightmares.

But there's a smaller group, like Zinedine Zidane, who push the boundaries even further. To coincide with our competition to win Ian Wright's new DVD, "It shouldn't happen to a footballer!", Orange have picked out our top ten moments when footballers are caught up in incidents they would instantly like to forget.

Check them out by clicking here and then let us know your thoughts below. Have we missed any out? Disagree with the order? Do footballers simply not care what they do on the pitch?

Biggest FA Cup shocks... your view

The FA Cup begins in earnest this weekend with the minnows of the domestic game slugging it out for the right to face a giant later in the competition.

As with every FA Cup year, there's bound to be plenty of shocks. With that in mind, Orange decided to look back at 10 of the most dramatic from down the years.

Click here to read our selection of the biggest football shocks.

Now we want your view. Which games did we miss out? Were you at any of them? What was it like?

Worst appointments... your view

With ten managerial changes at Football League clubs in the last fortnight alone, Orange decided to look back at the worst managerial appointments of all time.

Click here to read our selection of the most catastrophic bosses.

Now we want your view. Who did we overlook? Who was your club's worst ever manager and how long did he last?

Simply add your comments below and we'll publish the best.

Football fireworks...Your view

As sparks fly around the country on Bonfire Night, it seems like the perfect moment to look back at some classic occasions when tempers were also ignited on the football field.

Click here to read the top ten scraps we've picked out of the football's archives.

Now we want your view. Did we miss any out? Which was your favourite fight? Were you present at any of the matches in question? If so, tell us what you saw!

Simply add your comments below and we'll publish the best.