Summary

  • Football League/Scottish seasons start this weekend

  • Blackburn and Cardiff kick off the domestic season later (19:45 BST)

  • Celtic back in Champions League as Legia Warsaw are thrown out

  • Arsenal face Besiktas, Celtic to play Maribor in play-offs

  • Europa League play-offs: Spurs face Limassol of Cyprus, Hull away to Lokeren

  • GET INVOLVED: Who is your club's one to watch? #myclubshiddengems

  1. Votepublished at 11:11 British Summer Time 8 August 2014

    Good news Portsmouth fans. If our readers know their football, then you will be celebrating at the end of the season. We asked who would win the League Two title, and here's how you voted:

    16.8% Portsmouth 9.8% Luton 8.3% AFC Wimbledon 6% Bury 5.7% Southend

    Thanks for taking part. At 12:00 BST we'll be asking who you think will win the Championship title, and at 14:30 we'll ask the same question about League One.

  2. Champions League play-off drawpublished at 11:11 British Summer Time 8 August 2014

    Celtic drawn away to Slovenian champions Maribor in the first leg on either 19 or 20 August.

  3. Football League Focuspublished at 11:07 British Summer Time 8 August 2014

    League One hopefuls Bradford City sign forward Filipe Morais on a short-term deal.

    The 27-year-old Portuguese, who started his career at Chelsea, was a free agent after leaving Stevenage at the end of last season.

  4. Champions League drawpublished at 11:06 British Summer Time 8 August 2014

    We are about to start the draw for the Champions League play-offs, which will now contain Celtic of course. They are in the Champions section of the draw, so cannot be paired with Arsenal, who are in the League route section.

  5. Footballpublished at 10:57 British Summer Time 8 August 2014

    David Ornstein
    BBC Sport

    Arsenal agree a fee of about £15m with Spanish runners-up Barcelona for the sale of club captain Thomas Vermaelen.

    The 28-year-old Belgium defender must now agree personal terms and pass a medical.

    Vermaelen was a target for Manchester United, but the Old Trafford club ended their interest after refusing Arsenal's demand to receive a player as part of the deal.

    The move is likely to be completed over the weekend.

  6. Legia Warsaw consider appealpublished at 10:55 British Summer Time 8 August 2014

    Back to the Celtic saga and Legia Warsaw have five days within which to lodge an appeal, and a statement on the Polish's club website indicated they had requested Uefa's reasoning for the ruling before making a decision.

  7. Football League Focuspublished at 10:54 British Summer Time 8 August 2014

    Fifty-nine per cent of Bolton's goals last term arrived in the first half - a league-high percentage.

  8. Bolton Wandererspublished at 10:49 British Summer Time 8 August 2014

    Jack Dearden
    BBC Radio Manchester

    Bolton manager Dougie FreedmanImage source, Getty Images

    How has your club fared in the transfer market? "Finance has clearly had an impact over the last couple of years, with manager Dougie Freedman having to have cut his cloth accordingly. The wage bill has been reduced, and so has the average age of the players, and with that has become diminished expectation. Freedman has been in charge for almost two years and the players are now largely the ones he's brought to the club."

    How do you expect your team to do this season? "They are still capable of pushing for a play-off position, even if the bookies don't think so. I think the squad remains competitive, albeit still very shallow. The fans will demand a much better start to the new campaign than last season, when it took them until 5 October to win a league game."

    Who is your club's player to watch? "The form of midfielder Mark Davies could be critical to Wanderers' campaign. He's capable of unlocking defences, and if he can chip in with the odd goal here and there, he could be pivotal to Bolton's season.

    Listen to full match commentary of Watford v Bolton on BBC Radio Manchester

  9. Bright future for Man Utd?published at 10:45 British Summer Time 8 August 2014

    James WilsonImage source, @fizzer18

    Former Manchester United defender Phil Neville on Twitter: "Great win by the U21's last night vs Man City, well done boys."

    Just to expand on this a little for the viewers Phil; James Wilson scored all four goals as United beat City 4-1 to retain the Manchester Senior Cup at Hyde FC.

  10. Get involvedpublished at 10:43 British Summer Time 8 August 2014

    Dominic Wilson: Lewis Cook, Lewis Walters and Chris Dawson are Leeds United's #myclubshiddengems

    Tim Gordon: Cauley Woodrow for Fulham. Already plays for England Under-21s and played a bit for us in the Prem last season. Looking good!

    Ruks: Tom Cairney for Blackburn Rovers is an incredible talent and has the attributes to be a potential star this season!

  11. Football League Focuspublished at 10:37 British Summer Time 8 August 2014

    Nottingham Forest manager Stuart Pearce insists his relationship with chairman Fawaz Al Hasawi is healthy after a difficult week.

    Pearce was unhappy that young stars Karl Darlow and Jamaal Lascelles were sold against his wishes, but has since been reassured by the dual signing of Michail Antonio and Britt Assombalonga.

    "I'm comfortable with the relationship with the owners now," says the ex-England international. "They've moved heaven and earth to get me these two players."

    Pearce's return to Forest is one of 10 great stories behind the Premier League wannabes of the Championship. Go on, have a read.

  12. Football League Focuspublished at 10:32 British Summer Time 8 August 2014

    Sam HutchinsonImage source, Getty Images

    Rising through the ranks at Chelsea, promising centre-half Sam Hutchinson was being tipped as the "new John Terry". But his dreams of lining up alongside the former England captain in the Premier League appeared over when he stopped playing in 2010, aged 21, because of a knee injury.

    That's when Hutchinson's story becomes Roy of the Rovers stuff. He battled back to fitness and received a standing ovation when he returned to action at Stamford Bridge two years later.

    Now 25, he is continuing to rebuild his career at Championship side Sheffield Wednesday. The ex-England youth international has been telling his story to the Daily Mail, external ahead of the Owls' opening game at Brighton on Saturday.

  13. Clifford joins Walsallpublished at 10:31 British Summer Time 8 August 2014

    Walsall sign midfielder Billy Clifford on a six-month contract. The 21-year-old has been training with the Saddlers after he was released by Chelsea earlier in the summer.

  14. Skipper Spahic steps downpublished at 10:28 British Summer Time 8 August 2014

    Bosnia and Hercegovina captain Emir Spahic is retiring from international football at the age of 33 after 10 years with the team, culminating in his country's first appearance at a World Cup finals.

  15. Sagan switches to Tinkoff-Saxo teampublished at 10:26 British Summer Time 8 August 2014

    Denmark-based team Tinkoff-Saxo sign Slovakian sprinter Peter Sagan on a three-year contract from Cannondale.

    Sagan, 24, has won the Tour de France green jersey for the points classification winner three times, and will join twice Tour winner Alberto Contador at the team owned by Russian entrepreneur Oleg Tinkov.

  16. Postpublished at 10:20 British Summer Time 8 August 2014

    BBC presenter Gary Lineker on Twitter:, external "Thought Celtic were the better team anyway."

  17. Football League Focuspublished at 10:18 British Summer Time 8 August 2014

    Jordan RhodesImage source, PA

    Jordan Rhodes is the first Blackburn player since Alan Shearer (1994-95 and 1995-96) to score 20 or more league goals in consecutive seasons.

    Scotland international Rhodes netted 27 goals in his debut season at Ewood Park and 25 in 2013-14.

  18. Swimmingpublished at 10:17 British Summer Time 8 August 2014

    BBC Sport's Elizabeth Hudson at the IPC Swimming European Championships:

    "Tom Hamer and Jack Thomas won silver and bronze behind Iceland's Jon Margeir Sverrisson in the S14 200m freestyle as Great Britain added to their medal tally on Friday morning here in Eindhoven.

    "The pair, who filled the same positions at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, swam well but Sverrisson was stronger and set a new European record of one minute 58.60 seconds.

    "Elsewhere, Jessica Jane Applegate saw her world record go to Russian rival Valeriia Shabalina in the heats of the women's S14 200m freestyle.

    "Shabalina clocked 2:06.50 to beat the 2:09.88 the Briton set to win world gold last year, but Applegate looked like she had more in the tank with the final to come later today."

  19. Get involvedpublished at 10:14 British Summer Time 8 August 2014

    We're asking who you think will be the new stars from your club this term.

    Please keep them coming in to #myclubshiddengems

    Tom CarrollImage source, Pete Norton

    Ollie Reynolds: Tom Carroll for Spurs (pictured above), really natural centre mid who links up play and will thrive under Pochettino.

    Jack Groves: Lewis Baker for Chelsea. Led the U21s to the league title and a massive part in the youth team. One to watch.

    Aaron Giles: James Ward-Prowse at Southampton.

    (Let's hope they can keep hold of him eh Aaron?)

  20. Football League Focuspublished at 10:13 British Summer Time 8 August 2014

    Steve Claridge
    BBC Sport

    While we're asking you who will win League Two, here's some thoughts from Football League Show regular Steve Claridge on the players to watch in the division this season:

    Luke Chadwick (Cambridge) - The former Manchester United midfielder has still got a bit about him, has a good attitude and is back at his hometown club.

    Danny Hollands (Portsmouth) - I played with him at Bournemouth and said I'd sign him if I had the chance. Someone at Pompey asked me about him and I said they should go for him.

    Ryan Lowe (Bury) - He guarantees you goals, even in his mid 30s.