29 September

1886: - Bob Crompton signed for Blackburn Rovers. Regarded as the greatest right-back of his day he stayed with the club until May 1920 which became the longest spell any player had been with one club. This was surpassed in 1953 when Ted Sagar completed 24 years with Everton.

1928: - Ealing played St. Leonards and became the first amateur match to be played at Wembley Stadium when they meet in the Southern Amateur League.

1947: - Following a match between Zagłębie Sosnowiec and AKS Chorzów in Poland, one fan died and other were injured after skirmishes broke out between police and fans. Zagłębie Sosnowiec, who had missed out on promotion to the First Division, tried to attacks AKS’s players, the referee and the officers.

1962: - At the age of 15 years and 9 months, Peter Lorimer made his debut for Leeds United against Southampton at Elland Road.

1964: - Bill McGarry was appointed as manager of Ipswich Town. He took the club to the Second Division title but walked out of the club a year later in 1968.

1992: - Wimbledon owner Sam Hammam labelled Vinnie Jones a “mosquito brain” for his involvement in a video glorifying cheating and violence in football.

2001: - Tottenham Hotspur surrendered a 3-0 home lead given to them by Dean Richards, Les Ferdinand and Christian Ziege, to Manchester United to eventually lose 5-3 after goals from Andy Cole, Laurent Blanc, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Juan Sebastian Veron and David Beckham.

2007: - Portsmouth beat Reading 7-4 at Fratton Park in an FA Premier League match. The match, which saw 11 goals, became the highest scoring match in Premier League history.

28 September

1878: - The Lancashire Football Association was formed by 23 clubs following a meeting in the Volunteer Inn in Bromley Cross.

1891: - The Uruguayan club; Club Atlético Penarol was founded in Montevideo. Originally called the Central Uruguay Railway Cricket Club it was founded through the impetus of employers and workers of Montevideo’s Central Uruguay Railway which had operated in Uruguay since 1878. Of the 118 founding members, 72 were British, one was German, and 45 were Uruguayan.

1893: - FC Porto was founded, in the northern city of Porto, by the wine-salesman António Nicolau de Almeida’ who had his first contact with the game of football on one of his trips to England.

1920: - Tommy Miller transferred from Liverpool to Manchester United, after 8 years at Anfield. He only spent one season at Old Trafford before moving onto Heart of Midlothian.

1933: - Walter Bussey was signed by Blackpool from Stoke City. He also went onto play for Swansea Town and Exeter City.

1946: - Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Billy Wright won his first England cap.

1951: - Sammy Smyth moved to Stoke City from Wolverhampton Wanderers. He left Stoke in 1953 for Liverpool. In total he scored 68 goals in 172 League matches.

1955: - The FA Cup match between Carlisle United and Darlington became the first floodlit FA Cup match between two Football League clubs.

1966: - Tommy Walker was sacked as manager of Heart of Midlothian. While in charge of the club he guided the club to its first success in over 50 years as they twice won the League in 1958 and 1960 and also won the Scottish Cup in 1956 and the League Cup three times in 1955, 1960 and 1963.

1992: - The German striker, Rudi Voeller announced his retirement from international football.

1996: - Arsenal appointed the Frenchmen Arsène Wenger as their new manager.

1997: - Manchester United captain Roy Keane suffered knee ligament damage against Leeds United and was ruled out for the season.

27 September

1884: - The Glasgow Evening News put out the first ever issue of a special Saturday night football paper. The paper is now defunct.

1924: - Swansea Town’s, Jack Fowler scored 5 goals against Charlton Athletic in a Third Division South match. He went onto score 102 goals in 167 League games for the Swans.

1931: - Don Mills, transferred to Leeds United from Cardiff City. From 1946 to 1962 he was one of the most consistent players in the game. At the end of his career he had played in 464 League games and scored 96 goals.

1961: - Ted Drake, the Chelsea manager was sacked. He had been in charge for nine years and guided them to the League Championship in the 1954-1955 season.

2003: - Leyton Orient sacked their manager Paul Brush after a 3-0 defeat in League Two against Huddersfield Town.

2004: - Billy Davies was appointed Preston North End’s manager on a permanent basis.

26 September

1908: - SK Brann were formed after 10 men met in a local cafe in Bergen. Due to the dissatisfaction of the current state of the local football clubs in Bergen, they decided to form a new football club. They called it Ski-og Fodboldklubben Brann (Ski and Football Club Brann). This was later changed to Sportsklubben Brann (Sport Club Brann).

1936: - Denis Compton made his League debut for Arsenal against Derby County. He became a fine outside-left and his career last until 1950 during which he won an FA Cup medal in his last match for Arsenal against Liverpool. He also scored 15 goals and played in 54 peace-time League games and 11 war-time internationals for England.

1948: - England were held to a 0-0 draw in Copenhagen in their first ever international with Denmark in one of the surprise international results of all time.

1955: - Don Kichenbrand signed for Rangers from Boksburg of South Africa. The centre-forward scored 24 goals in 25 matches, winning a Championship medal at the end of his first season. He however, only played in 4 games, scoring just twice the following season. He then spent two seasons with Sunderland scoring 28 goals in 43 games but left the game shortly afterwards.

1956: - Manchester United beat Anderlecht 10-0 in the European Cup 1st Round, 2nd Leg tie, winning 12-0 on aggregate after they beat the Belgium side 2-0 in the 1st Leg. The game was the first such tie to be played in England. United’s goals came from Viollet (4), Taylor (3), Berry and Whelan (2).

1960: - Fulham’s Maurice Coo became the first player to score in the Football League Cup when he scored in the 9th minute of his sides’ game against Bristol Rovers at Eastville Stadium. Despite this early setback, Bristol Rovers went onto win the game 2-1.

1962: - Arthur Rowley scored his 411th League goal against Millwall for Shrewsbury Town. This landmark made him the highest ever scorer in British football, beating the 410 goals scored by Glasgow Celtic’s Jimmy McGrory. McGrory, however, did it in fewer seasons as it only took him 15 seasons to reach his total, whereas Rowley was in his 17th.

1969: A Lloyd Aereo Boliviano aircraft disappeared at 4,000m near the Tres Cruces in the High Andes. The plane was carrying the first team of the Bolivian side The Strongest back from a fixture at Santa Cruz de la Sierra. Three days later, a military search party found the plane with the 19 team members and another 50 passengers and crew all dead.

1984: - The legendary Russian goalkeeper Lev Yashin underwent a leg amputation. The complications in this leg amputation would eventually lead to his death.

1993: - Sir John Moores, the former Everton chairman died at the age of 97.

25 September

1869: - Clapham Rovers beat The Wanderers 1-0 in the clubs’ first ever match, despite the Wanderers being one of the most successful clubs of the time.

1904: - Charles Follis became the first black player to play professional football after he signed a contract with Ohio Shelby Blues.

1929: - Joe Bradford scored 5 goals for the Football League against the Irish League at Goodison Park. The Birmingham inside-forward was probably the greatest forward Birmingham ever had as he scored 250 goals in 413 League matches for the club between 1919 and 1935.

1933: - Blackburn Rovers’ inside-left; Tommy McLean and Sheffield Wednesday’s inside-left Harry Burgess came together during the First Division match between the two sides at Ewood Park. The two players however left the pitch before the referee Harry Mee could send them off.

1936: - Hughie Gallacher for the first time in a 15 year career transferred out of the First Division when he transferred from Derby County to Notts County, who were then in the Third Division South. Before the Second World War a total of £23,000 was spent on his transfers which were a record at the time. He moved from Airdrieonians to Newcastle United in 1925 for £6,500, to Chelsea in 1930 for £10,000, to Derby County in 1934 for £3,000. Notts County signed him in 1937 for £2,000 but that moved lasted less than a year when he moved onto Grimsby Town for £1,000. A move to Gateshead followed in 1938 for £500. In his 18 years in the Scottish and English Football Leagues he scored 386 goals in 549 matches.

1963: - Tom Finney came out of retirement to play a European Cup tie for Distillery against SL Benfica. The former Preston North End and England winger inspired the Irish club to a 3-3 draw. However without his influence the club lost the second-leg 5-0.

2006: - Millwall parted company with their manager Nigel Spackman, following five successive defeats, the latest being a 1-0 defeat to Northampton Town on Saturday 23rd September.

2006: - Four Greek football fans were charged with causing a public disturbance following Panathinaikos’ 2-1 win over PAOK Thessaloniki. The rioting started by Panathinaikos fans after the match resulted in 24 cars, 2 buses, and a motorcycle being seriously damaged or destroyed when they attacked them with iron bars and gasoline bombs. 7 people were initially detained inside the stadium for violent behaviour, but three of them were later released without charge.

2006: - The French coach Raymond Domenech called for two referees on the pitch in Ligue 1 matches, after a string of controversial decisions happened in the early part of the 2006-2007 season.

2006: - Gigi Multescu resigned as manager of the Romanian club Vaslui, after picking up only 1 win and 5 points from 9 matches.

2006: - FIFA upheld the 6-month ban to football agent Olivier Jouanneaux, for his part in AS Roma’s Philippe Mexes’ controversial transfer from AJ Auxerre. Jouanneaux was suspended in February 2006 and was fined 50,000 Swiss Francs ($41,000).

2006: - The Uruguayan striker Dario Silva had his right leg amputated, remaining in a serious condition after a car crash. The former Portsmouth and Sevilla striker lost control of the vehicle, which hit a row of street lights. Former Uruguay internationals Elbio Pappa and Dardo Pereira were also in the car only suffering minor injuries.

2006: - Mehdi Mahdavikia of Hamburger SV, was handed a three-match ban and fined €5,000 for violent conduct, after he was sent-off in the 73rd minute of Hamburg’s 1-1 draw with Werder Bremen on 23rd September, following a bad challenge on Diego who left the pitch with a knee injury.

2006: - The Mexican club Necaxa announced Hugo Sanchez as their new manager, while the former Ecuador captain Alex Aguinaga was announced as their new sporting director.

24 September

1929: - Sam Wadsworth transferred to Burnley from Huddersfield Town. The left-back was most involved in the coaching side with Burnley, playing in only 7 matches in 2 seasons after a brilliant career with the Yorkshire side.

1952: - Bolton Wanderers’ Nat Lofthouse scored 6 goals in the Football League’s 7-1 win over the League of Ireland at Wolverhampton.

1958: - Leeds United signed Willie Humphries from Ards. However, the international outside-right only lasted two seasons in Yorkshire before returning to Ireland. He came back to the Football League in 1962 when he signed for Coventry City and won a Third Division medal with the club in 1964. He later played for Swansea Town.

1964: - Nigel Sims transferred to Peterborough United from Aston Villa. The 14.5 stone goalkeeper had moved to Villa in 1956 from Wolverhampton Wanderers.

1966: - P. Conn of Queens Park came on as a substitute during the Scottish Second Division game between Queens Park and Albion Rovers. In doing so he became the first substitute to be used in the Scottish League.

2006: - Fans of the Albanian side Flamurtari hurled stones and water bottles, and chanted abusive chants towards the referee after he awarded a controversial penalty against them during their match against Teuta Durres. The game was 1-1 when the referee awarded the visiting side a penalty in the 79th minute which they converted to go 2-1 up. Members of the Flamurtari bench then ran onto the pitch towards the referee and the fans started chanting sexually-abusive chants. The coaches were led away by police while a fan punched a linesman and at least one policeman was hit with a water-bottle. The Vlore Mayor Shpetim Gjika intervened to calm the situation and allow the match to proceed with the visitors holding on to win 2-1. The Major then walked in front of the referee, who was surrounded by a dozen policemen, appealing to fans to hurl objects at the end of the match.

2006: - 1 fan was killed and 3 other fans hospitalised after street clashes that ended with the arrests of 160, before the match between the Colombian League leaders Deportes Tolima and Millionarios. The violence began when fans from Deportes Tolima defied the 1,000 police, sent to reinforce security, threw rocks at the bus carrying the visiting Millionarios squad. Following Tolima’s 1-0 victory the fighting resumed and Millionarios fan Alejando Galindo was killed when he was run over by a bus, while three other Millionarios fans were taken to a hospital with minor injuries.

23 September

1920: - Frank Barson, the centre-half and Clem Stephenson, the inside left was suspended for two weeks by Aston Villa for refusing to play against Bolton Wanderers. The club also gave them one month to take up residence in Birmingham. Villa for keen to enforce a local residence policy for their playing staff at the time but the wrangle with these two players was never resolved and led to both them and the clubs’ goalkeeper Sam Hardy to leave the club. Barson moved to Manchester United, Stephenson to Huddersfield Town and Hardy to Nottingham Forest.

1957: - Len Davies, the Cardiff City and Welsh international forward for the 1920s died. He played at a time when Cardiff had one of their most successful teams in their history and was in the side when they almost won the League Championship in 1924 but won the FA Cup with the club in 1927. He also played for Thames in the Third Division South.

1958: - Peter Wakeham, transferred to Sunderland from Torquay United. The promising goalkeeper had only just established himself with the West Country club. He later moved to Charlton Athletic, Lincoln City and then played non-league football with Poole Town in 1966.

1965: - Ernie Hunt transferred to Wolverhampton Wanderers from Swindon Town. He was popularly known as Ernie even though his real name was Roger. He only played 31 times for Wolverhampton Wanderers in an incomplete season.

1983: - Pat Jennings became the first Irishman to represent Northern Ireland in 100 matches. He reached the feat when he played against Austria. At the same time he also became the first player in Britain to achieve a century of caps. Northern Ireland won the match 3-1.

22 September

1932: - Aston Villa signed Kilmarnock’s Jimmy Nibloe, the Scottish full-back. He only spent two years at Villa Park before moving onto Sheffield Wednesday.

1937: - Liverpool were ordered to pay Dundee United £750 for the transfer of Alex Milne by the International Football League Board. He had moved to Anfield during the 1936-1937 season but was given a free transfer at the end of the season and he joined Hibernian.

1937: - George Mutch transferred to Preston North End from Manchester United. The inside-forward at the end of his first season with the club scored a goal in the last minute of extra-time in the FA Cup Final to give Preston North End a 1-0 victory over Huddersfield Town.

1964: - Billy MacAdams transferred from Brentford to Queens Park Rangers. The Irish international had been the clubs’ joint top goalscorer the season before when the club won the Fourth Division Championship in 1963.

2007: - Leeds United equalled a 34-year record by equalling the club’s best ever start to a season. They recorded their seventh win on the trot with a 2-0 victory over Swansea City.

21 September

1925: - Jimmy Trotter scored 5 goals for Sheffield Wednesday against Stockport County in a Second Division match. He went onto play for Torquay United and Watford until a knee injury forced him to give up the game.

1934: - Jack Smith, moved to Newcastle United from Huddersfield Town. The prolific centre-forward scored 134 goals in 244 peace-time League matches between 1933 and 1948.

1950: - Billy Steel moved from Derby County to Dundee for a record fee for a Scottish club. The deal was worth £17,500. He was seen as the greatest Scottish forward of his day.

1952: - East Germany played its first ever international match against Poland. Taking in Warsaw saw Poland win 3-0.

1955: - PSV Eindhoven made their European debut with a 6-1 defeat against Austria’s Rapid Wien in the first round of the European Cup.

1959: - Bobby Johnstone moved to Hibernian from Manchester City. He began his career with Hibernian in 1949, winning a Championship medal in 1951. His second spell with Hibernian only last a year and he soon came back to England to play for Oldham Athletic.

2006: - Milan Mandaric resigned as Portsmouth chairman. The Serb-American had been acting as a non-executive chairman following the clubs’ takeover by Alexandre Gaydamak.

20 September

1890: - Sunderland had two points deducted for playing J.E. Doig in goal against West Bromwich Albion earlier in the month before he was registered. The ban came about due to a 14 day qualification rule and Sunderland had played him in the week they had signed him from Blackburn Rovers.

1930: - Tommy Lewis scored 5 of Wrexham’s 7 goals against Crewe Alexandra in Division 3 North.

1950: - Tommy Thompson transferred from Newcastle United to Aston Villa. The reserve forward at Newcastle United went onto become one of the most prolific goalscorers in post-war football. Between 1947 and 1964 he played in 444 League matches and scored 224 goals, playing for Preston North End, Stoke City and Barrow.

1962: - Mike Harrison moved to Blackburn Rovers from Chelsea. The left-winger became a regular at Ewood Park, playing in 135 League matches and scored 33 goals.

2003: - Millwall threatened to sack Kevin Muscat if it didn’t clean up his act, just three weeks after signing him. He was on a final warning after he stamped on Danny Webber in the game against Watford, then gave away a penalty and was sent-off.

2006: - Less than a year after the club was fined for badly behaved fans, some 6000 Kaizer Chiefs fans went on the rampage after the Johannesburg club had lost to Bidvest Wits University 2-0. The coach of Kaizer Chiefs, Ernst Middendorp, as well as players had to run for cover as fans ripped up chairs and hurled them onto the field to express their disappointment at a poor start to the season.

2006: - Arsenal announced that their debt had increased by more than £100million following their move from Highbury to the Emirates Stadium. The London clubs chairman, Peter Hill-Wood, announced that their overall debt had risen from £153.3million, 2005, to £262.1million. The debt was put down to the new stadium and also refinancing the related debt, which would prove beneficial was it secured a financing arrangement for the long term, while also freeing up more cash for investment in the team. The figures also showed that Arsenal’s operating profits before player trading and exceptional items was £11.3million which was down from £32.6million. The level of pre-tax profits from the sale of players was up to £19.2million, while Arsenal’s run to the UEFA Champions League final meant that their football business increased turnover to £132.1million.

2007: - José Mourinho announced that he had left Chelsea by mutual consent, stunning the world of football. The decision came after the club had held a crisis meeting to discuss the indifferent start to the 2007-2008 season.

19 September

1912: - The Dutch club NAC Breda were founded when the two clubs NOAD and ADVENDO merged.

1914: - Jimmy Blair signed for Sheffield Wednesday from Clyde. The full-back had played in 100 matches for Clyde before his transfer. In 1915 he returned to play in Scottish football but after the First World War he rejoined Wednesday.

1925: - Notts County’s First Division match against Birmingham was suspended for over an hour due to a severe thunderstorm. The game ended 1-0 to Notts County.

1929: - Ayr United’s record breaking centre-forward, Jimmy Smith moved to Liverpool. In his first season he was the clubs’ top goalscorer with 23 but this was the only thing of note he did in his two years with the club.

1958: - Derek Tapscott transferred from Arsenal to Cardiff City. He went on to become Cardiff City’s leading goalscorer when they won promotion in 1960.

1999: - Newcastle United recorded the second highest win in FA Premier League history after they beat Sheffield Wednesday 8-0. Goals came from Aaron Hughes, Alan Shearer (5), Kieron Dyer and Gary Speed.

2006: - Greater Manchester Police announced they were looking at a claim that Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann kicked a bottle at Manchester United fans at Old Trafford during their game on 17th September. The German goalkeeper was accused of booting the bottle into the East Stand during the Gunners’ 1-0 victory.

2006: - After becoming a majority shareholder at the club, Randy Lerner officially became the chairman of Aston Villa replacing 82-year-old Doug Ellis.

2006: - The BBC Panorama programme alleged widespread corruption in the English with Sam Allardyce and Harry Redknapp both being accused of underhand transfer dealings.

2006: - The Aston Villa plc executive Chairman Doug Ellis and his board resigned to be replaced with a new board headed by Randy Lerner following a takeover from the American businessman.

2007: - Leeds United’s assistant manager Gus Poyet was charged with a breach of FA rule E3 in respect of comments made to the media about the referee Andy D’Urso.

18 September

1904: - The Brazilian side Electro Club Football Club, who had been founded a month earlier, changed their name to Botafogo de Fútbol e Ragatas.

1926: - Tommy Law made his League debut for Chelsea against Bradford Park Avenue in a Second Division match. He became one of the finest left-backs of his day only playing for Chelsea.

1958: - Albert Quixall moved to Manchester United from Sheffield Wednesday for a then record fee of £45,000. He made played in 243 League matches for Wednesday scoring 63 goals and winning a Second Division medal in 1956. He spent 6 years at Old Trafford appearing in 165 League matches and scoring 51 goals. He won a Cup medal in 1963.

1960: - Wally Bowes died at the age of 46. The England outside-left played for West Bromwich Albion, Everton, Notts County and Scunthorpe & Lindsey United.

1962: - David Sadler became England’s youngest amateur international when he played for England against Ireland at Dulwich at the age of 16. He was playing for Maidstone United at the time.

1964: - Manchester City signed the Blackpool centre-half Roy Gratrix. He only made 15 appearances for Manchester City before moving into the non-league game.

2006: - Peterborough United announced that Darragh MacAnthony, chairman of MRI Overseas Property had purchased 200 shares in PUFC.

2006: - The American businessman Randy Lerner took full control of Aston Villa FC announcing he had 89.69% of the shares.

17 September

1927: - Jimmy Cookson scored 6 goals for West Bromwich Albion against Blackpool in a Second Division match. When he left football in 1938 he had scored 255 goals in only 292 matches.

1927: - Wolverhampton Wanderers signed Tom Pritchard from Newport County. The centre-half also played for Stockport County, Charlton Athletic, Thames, Preston North End and Mansfield Town.

1938: - For the 5th time in his career and at the age of 36, Hughie Gallacher scored 5 goals for Gateshead against Rotherham United. He had previously scored 5 for Airdrieonians against Clyde in 1923, in 1925 for the Scottish League in a game against the Irish League, for Scotland against Ireland at Belfast in 1929 and again in 1934 for Derby County against Blackburn Rovers.

1944: -Lieutenant Eric Stephenson was reportedly killed in action in Burma while serving with the K.O.Y.L.I. A prominent schoolboy football he was regarded as a brilliant creative inside forward when he joined Leeds United and made his debut in 1935. He won two England caps and pre-war he played in 110 League games for the club and scored 21 goals.

1959: - James McCole transferred from Bradford City to Leeds United. A much travelled player he appeared in the Scottish League all four Divisions of the Football League and both senior Leagues in Ireland. His record for Scottish and English Football League matches stood, at his retirement, at 217 matches and 118 goals.

1967: - The worst sports-related violence occurred in Turkey as 40 people were killed and at least 300 injured during a match between the Turkish clubs Kayseri Erciyesspor and Sivasspor at the Atatürk Stadium in Turkey. The violence erupted after a goal was scored by Oktay Aktan of Kayseri. Following the goal some of the players began to fight amongst themselves and opposing fans started to hurl rocks at each other. As Sivasspor fans tried to flee, a stampede occurred in front of the stand exits and forty people were crushed to death and at least 300 injured. Due to the growing violence the referee cancelled the game and the players fled into the dressing rooms. The events in the stadium were followed by vandalism in Kayseri and riots in Sivas.

1999: - The former England and Liverpool full-back Rob Jones retired from football at the age of 28 after he had failed to recover from a succession of injuries.

2002: - Aston Villa were beaten 3-0 by Birmingham City at St Andrews in the FA Premier League. The game, however is best remembered for Birmingham City’s “freak” second goal as Villa goalkeeper Peter Enckelman looked to make a routine clearance from an Olof Mellberg throw-in but as he tried to trap the ball he let it roll under his feet and into the net. The referee David Elleray ruled that the Finnish goalkeeper had made contact with the ball and gave a goal. Birmingham City’s other goals came from Clinton Morrison (31) and Geoff Horsfield (83) which came either side of Enckelman’s own goal (77).

2006: - Sergei Petrenko resigned as manager of the Russian club Torpedo Moscow following the Russian club’s defeat to Rostov, which left them in relegation zone, in the Russian Premier League.

2006: - Portuguese club Vitoria Setubal announced Antonio Conceiçao “Toni” as their new manager to replace the sacked Helio Sousa.

16 September

1912: - Jack Mew was signed by Manchester United. The goalkeeper made his debut a year later but didn’t really establish himself until after the First World War. He left the club 1926 after 206 peace-time League matches.

1929: - Albert Geldard, became the youngest player to appear in the Football League when he played on the wing for Bradford in a Second Division match against Millwall at the age of 15 years and 156 days.

1935: - Joe Bereford was signed by Preston North End from Aston Villa.

1960: - Willie Cunningham transferred to Dunfermline Athletic from Leicester City.

1961: - Two people were killed and a number were injured when a crash barrier collapsed at Ibrox during Glasgow Rangers’ league match against Celtic. The match was completed and resulted in a 2-2 draw.

1992: - Derby County paid the record fee for a club outside the top division with the signing for Notts County centre-back Craig Short for £2.5million. It was also a national record for a defender.

2006: - Panathinaikos sacked Hans Backe, despite the Swedish coach only being in charge for a month. He paid the price for a poor start to the season, and left with immediate effect.

2006: - Georgian First Division club Dinamo Tbilisi appointed Dusan Uhrin on a two-year contract.

2006: - An Argentinean First Division match was suspended after 42 minutes after a linesman was hit by an object thrown from the crowd. The Colon v Velez Sársfield match played in Santa Fe was the third game in Argentina which had failed to finish since the start of the 2006-2007 season. The referee Saul Laberni stopped the game after the object, identified as a cigarette lighter, hit the linesman and caused a cut on his face. The fan who threw the object was then attacked by other supporters, and arrested by police. Colon were winning the game 1-0 at the time through a first-minute goal from Sebastian Malandra.

15 September

1888: - Walter Tait became the first player to score a League hat-trick during the Football League game between Bolton Wanderers and Burnley. Burnley won 4-3.

1891: - John Heath of Wolverhampton Wanderers recorded the first goal from a penalty kick when he scored against Accrington Stanley. Penalties had been introduced that year following a proposal from the Irish Football Association.

1903: - 32 people met at Salão Grau restaurant and founded Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense with Carlos Luiz Bohrer being elected their first president.

1923: - Jimmy Cringan made his debut for Birmingham City at inside-left at St Andrews. He would later make a fine reputation as a right-half.

1928: - Joe Smith of Stockport County and Tom Johnson of Manchester City both scored 5 goals for their club’s in their respective League matches. Smith scored 5 goals against Lincoln City in a Third Division North match while Johnson scored 5 goals against Everton in the First Division.

1944: - Santiago Bernabéu was elected as the President of Real Madrid unanimously. He held the post until he died on 2 June 1978 and during his presidency the club enjoyed a golden era.

1954: - Walsall signed professional forms with Tony Richards, who would become Walsall’s most prolific scorer before he was transferred to Port Vale in March 1963, having scored 184 League goals in 334 matches.

1964: - Stan Cullis was sacked by Wolverhampton Wanderers ending 30 years of service, as both a player and official.

1976: - Derby County became the first British side to scored 12 goals in a European match when they beat Finn Harps of Ireland 12-0 in a UEFA Cup tie.

1990: - Martin Hicks made his 536th senior appearance for Reading. His appearance against Cambridge United equalled the clubs’ record.

1993: - Goals from Efan Ekoku, Ian Crook and Jeremy Goss gave Norwich City a 3-0 victory over Vitesse Arnhem in the clubs’ first-ever European game.

2000: - Chelsea named Claudio Ranieri as their new manager, replacing Gianluca Vialli.

2004: - The Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy became Manchester United’s top-scorer in Europe after he netted 2 goals in the clubs’ 2-2 draw with Olympique Lyonnais in the UEFA Champions League, bringing his tally to 30 goals.

2004: - Mark Hughes was appointed as the manager of Blackburn Rovers, after the former Manchester United player left his post as manager of Wales.

2004: - AS Roma’s UEFA Champions League match with Dynamo Kiev was abandoned at half-time after the referee Anders Frisk was struck by an object thrown from the crowd.

2006: - Helio Sousa was sacked as the manager of Vitoria Setubal, becoming the first managerial casualty of the 2006-2007 in Portugal.

14 September

1929: - Bill Imrie transferred to Blackburn Rovers from St Johnstone.

1935: - Leeds United signed the inside forward George Brown from Burnley. He only spent a year at Leeds United before he left to take over as player-manager at Darlington.

1942: - The Brazilian club Societá Sportiva Palestra changed their name to Socidedade Esportiva Palmeiras.

1954: - Willie Woodburn, the Glasgow Rangers and Scotland centre-half was suspended, sine die, for indiscipline on the field. The ban was lifted a few years later but by that time he felt he was too old to take up his career again.

1955: - Floodlighting was used for the first time in the FA Cup as a qualifying round replay between Kidderminster Harriers and Brierley Hill Alliance FC become the first FA Cup tie to be played under floodlights. After a 1-1 draw in the first leg, Brierley Hill won 4-2.

1960: - The former Portsmouth centre-half and Captain Reg Flewin was appointed as the manager of Stockport County.

1981: - Manchester United offered West Bromwich Albion £2milion for Bryan Robson and Remi Moses.

1986: - Aston Villa sacked their manager Graham Turner after just over two years at the helm.

1996: - Following Queens Park Rangers 3-1 home defeat to Everton their caretaker boss Frank Sibley stepped down.

13 September

1890: - Blackburn Rovers played their first-ever match at Ewood Park against Accrington. The match ended 0-0.

1929: - Austen Campbell, Blackburn Rovers and England left-half transferred to Huddersfield Town.

1933: - SV Austria Salzburg was founded. The club later became Red Bull Salzburg.

1947: - Wolverhampton Wanderers inside forward Dickie Dorsett transferred to Aston Villa. He later turned out for Villa as a half-back and a full-back, before hanging up his boots in 1953. He played 256 League matches for Aston Villa.

1949: - Arsenal signed Freddie Cox from Tottenham Hotspur.

1966: - After just five months and one League game Alex Stepney, Chelsea’s under-23 international goalkeeper transferred to Manchester United for a reported fee of £60,000.

1996: - In an attempt to gain management experience Chris Waddle joined Falkirk from Sheffield Wednesday in a player-manager capacity on a free transfer.

1999: - For the first time-ever at an English League men’s game the referee and both assistants were all female, as Wendy Toms and her two assistants Janie Frampton and Amy Raynor referred the Football Conference clash between Kidderminster Harriers and Nuneaton Borough.

2001: - The Football League announced they were planning to invite Glasgow Celtic and Glasgow Rangers to participate in the 2002-2003 edition of the Worthington Cup.

2002: - Ipswich Town asked their staff to take a pay cut to make up a £13million deficit at the club.

2007: - Gary Megson was appointed as Leicester City manager, replacing Martin Allen.

12 September

1885: - Bury beat Wigan Athletic 4-3 in a friendly match in the first ever game to be played at Gigg Lane.

1934: - Sam Bartram signed for Charlton Athletic. He went on to spend 22 years with the club. During his time at the club he was regarded as the finest uncapped goalkeeper in the game.

1946: - Albert Stubbins transferred to Liverpool from Newcastle United. He came into the Newcastle side in 1938 and became a prolific goalscorer during the war years.

1960: - Chelsea goalkeeper Bill Robertson transferred to Leyton Orient. He went onto spend three seasons with Orient until he left the league after a total of 247 matches.

1964: - Six players were sent-off in games in the Football League which is a record for one day. The six were David Gibson (Leicester City) at Leeds United, R. McGarry (Newcastle United) and B. Wood (Crystal Palace) at Newcastle United, Dick Renwick (Aldershot) at Notts County, Colin Bettany (Torquay United) and Ian Sandiford (Stockport County) at Torquay United.

1990: - East Germany played their last ever international match. The Communist nation ended on a high when they defeated Belgium 2-0 in Brussels.

2000: - Italian Gianluca Vialli was sacked after two-and-a-half years in charge of Chelsea. During his time in charge of the London club he won the FA Cup, League Cup, European Cup Winners Cup, Charity Shield and European Super Cup.

2001: - All UEFA Champions League ties were cancelled following the terrorist attacks in the United States of America.

11 September

1895: - The FA Cup was stolen from the window of William Shillcock, who was a boot and shoe manufacturer at his house. The trophy was on show after it had been lent by the holders, Aston Villa.

1930: - Joe Robson transferred to Huddersfield Town from Grimsby Town. The centre-forward in his time at Grimsby had scored 119 League goals in 161matches. A year after joining Huddersfield he broke his leg which virtually ended his career.

1947: - Bob Finan, moved to Crewe Alexandra from Blackpool. The centre-forward had two seasons with Crewe before retiring from League football.

1964: - Plymouth Argyle paid £45,000 for Barrie Jones, the Swansea Town winger.

10 September

1904: - Exeter City Football Club player their first ever competitive match as they beat the 110th Battery of the Royal Artillery 2-1 at St James Park in the East Devon League. The attendance was 600 and the winning goal was scored by Sid Thomas.

1905: - Crystal Palace Football Club were formed by workers at the Crystal Palace.

1910: - The high-scoring centre and later inside-forward Tommy Browell made his League debut at the age of 17 for Hull City at Bolton Wanderers.

1931: - Jimmy Brain made the move across North London from Arsenal to Tottenham Hotspur. In his 6 seasons with Arsenal he scored 123 goals in 204 games while in his four season for Tottenham Hotspur he played in 45 matches and scored 12 goals.

1947: - Wilson Jones transferred to Nottingham Forest from Birmingham City. He left League football in 1948 after 148 games and scored 70 goals.

1959: - David Jack, died at the age of 60. The son of Bob Jack, a former manager of Plymouth Argyle, he played for Plymouth Argyle and Bolton Wanderers before he made a record £10,000 move to Arsenal in October 1928. There he won 3 League Championships, and a Cup winner’s medal before he retired in 1934. Following this he became manager of Southend United in May 1934 and Middlesbrough in 1945.

1985: - The battle against hooliganism in football is dealt a blow when a magistrate’ in Manchester give permission to Manchester United to sell alcohol at 19 outlets at Old Trafford.

1985: - Seconds after the final whistle in a FIFA World Cup qualifier for Mexico 86 between Scotland and Wales, the Scottish manager Jock Stein suffered a massive heart-attack and died in the tunnel at the Cardiff Arms Park. The match ended 1-1.

9 September

1893: - Liverpool beat Middlesbrough Ironopolis 6-0 in the Football League. The defeat for Middlesbrough Ironopolis was their heaviest defeat in their only season in the Football League.

1916: - Donald Bell, who was a pre-war full back with Bradford was awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery on the Somme. This is the only known instance of a professional footballer being awarded the supreme honour.

1933: - Bob Scott, who at 6’3” was one of the tallest goalkeepers of the day, made his League debut for Burnley against West Ham United at Upton Park.

1950: -The Barnsley centre-forward Cecil MacCormack scored 5 of his side’s 6 goals in a Second Division match against Luton Town.

1960: - The match between Blackpool and Bolton Wanderers became the first live Friday night match to be screened on TV. The game was intended to be the first of a regular Friday night programme, but as the game was a drab 1-0 win for Bolton the plan for a regular Friday night broadcast was dropped.

1998: - An inquest recorded a verdict of suicide on former Norwich City and Nottingham Forest striker Justin Fashanu who was found hanged at a locked-up garage in London on 2 May 1998.

8 September

1888: - The first matches of the newly-formed Football League were played, with Derby County producing the best result as they beat Bolton Wanderers 6-3.

1919: - Matt Bell made his League debut for Hull City against Stoke. He went on to give the club 12 years of service appearing in 394 games, before he moved to Nottingham Forest in 1931.

1923: - Only one home side in the 9 matches played in the Scottish First Division won. 3 home teams failed to score and the other six only managed one goal. Three away teams managed two goals and none of the teams scored as many as three goals.

1941: - Croatia played their first game as a FIFA associate. The game ended 1-1 against Slovakia in Bratislava.

1949: - Newcastle United transferred George Lowrie to Bristol City. His move came just 18 months after his move from Coventry City for £18,000. However in the 18 months he only played in 12 games and scored 7 goals for the Geordies as his campaign was plagued by injury.

1959: - Willie Thornton was appointed as the manager of Partick Thistle in succession to David Meiklejohn.

1979: - Andy Gray transferred to Wolverhampton Wanderers from Aston Villa for a then British record £1.5million.

1990: - York City striker David Longhurst aged 24 collapsed and died from a heart attack during a Fourth Division fixture at Bootham Crescent.

1998: - Aston Villa paid Middlesbrough £6.75million for Paul Merson.

2005: - The FA charged Chelsea, and fined them £40,000, with misconduct in respect of “the independent private drug testing the club conducted on some of its players” in July 2004.

2006: - Liverpool FC gained permission from Liverpool city council to build a new 60,000 all-seater stadium in nearby Stanley Park.

2006: - The German Football Association announced the formation of the 3rd Liga. It had been anticipated that the league would be called 3rd Bundesliga but the DFB chose 3rd Liga instead which reflected the fact that the league would be directly administered by the DFB not by the DFL.

7 September

1893: - Genoa Football & Cricket Club was as originally a cricket and athletics club. At first a private club with which Italians weren’t allowed to be members held activities in the Campasso area at the Piazzi d’Armi. The men who founded the initial cricket and athletics club were: - Charles De Grave Sells, Daniel G. Fawcus, S. Blake, G. Green, W. Riley, Sandys, E. De Thierry, Jonathan Summerhill Snr, Jonathan Summerhill Jnr and Sir Charles Alfred Payton.

1895: - Thames Ironworks FC played their first ever fixture against Royal Ordnance reserves. The game ended 0-0. The Ironworks would later become West Ham United.

1895: - The Sheffield Independent issued a special Saturday night football paper, The Football World. This was the first issue of its kind in England, but was 11 years after the Glasgow Evening News had introduced their first ‘Saturday Football Special’.

1912: - Swansea City drew 1-1 with Cardiff City at the Vetch Field, in Swansea City’s first professional match.

1934: - The Charlton Athletic goalkeeper Alex Wright died from spinal injuries which he sustained when he dived into shallow water at Torquay. Two days earlier he had played for Charlton Athletic against Torquay United. After joining the London club in 1932 from Irvine Meadow he played in 65 League games for them.

1935: - Swansea Town’s left-back Wilf Milne scored his first League goal for the club after more than 500 matches. His goal came in a Second Division match against Norwich City. He scored second in the last minute of the game from a 40-yard free-kick to give Swansea Town a 4-3 victory.

1946: - Chelsea paid Heart of Midlothian £6000 for the forward Tommy Walker after he had guested for Chelsea on a number of occasions during the Second World War. He made 103 appearances and scored 24 goals during his two and a half years at Chelsea.

1956: - Pele made his debut for Santos FC in a friendly match against Corinthians. The striker who had the time was 16 years old came on with only twenty minutes remaining but still scored a goal in his side’s 7-1 victory.

1990: - FIFA approved the idea of covered grounds in the USA for the FIFA World Cup in 1994.

1999: - Bobby Robson took charge of his first Newcastle United training session after he had succeeded Ruud Gullit as the manager of the St James’ Park club.

2007: - Leeds United revealed that they had not yet regained their FA membership as KPMG had not settled all outstanding non-footballing debts but this would not stop the club from appearing in FA competitions.

6 September

1902: - Norwich City played their first-ever competitive match when they played Harwich & Parkeston at Newmarket Road.

1913: - Arsenal played their first match at Highbury and beat Leicester Fosse 2-1. They had moved from Plumstead during the close season and also dropped “Woolwich” from their title.

1923: - The tall inside forward Jack Elkes moved from Southampton to Tottenham Hotspur, where he spent 6 years.

1930: - Aston Villa’s centre-forward Tom Waring scored 4 goals for the second successive home match, when he hit four against West Ham United.

1965: - Len Allchurch, the younger brother of Ivor, transferred to Stockport County from Sheffield United.

1992: - Hereford United had a league record number of players sent-off when four of their players were sent off during their 1-1 draw with Northampton Town in Division Three. In the extraordinary match both goals were scored in the last 18 minutes.

1993: - UEFA expelled the Champions League winners Olympique de Marseille from the competition for a year after deciding there was sufficient evidence to prove bribery allegations.

1995: - Armenia recorded their first ever win in a competitive international, after they beat FYR Macedonia 2-1 in a 1996 UEFA European Championship qualifier.

1997: - All major football matches were cancelled as a mark of respect for Princess Diana, on the day of her funeral.

1998: - It was reported that BskyB had big £575 million to buy Manchester United.

2004: - Graeme Souness was confirmed as Newcastle United manager.

2006: - The Argentinean club Arsenal de Sarandi and the Spanish club FC Barcelona had struck a deal whereby in exchange for the option to acquire young players that had not played more than one year in the Arsenal first team, FC Barcelona would help to improve Arsenal’s infrastructure. However the deal fell through in 2007 after Arsenal couldn’t afford the infrastructure to keep up with the plan.

5 September

1885: - Dundee Harp beat Aberdeen Rovers 35-0 and Arbroath beat Bon Accord 36-0 in the First Round of the Scottish Cup. J. Petrie scored 13 of Arbroath’s goals.

1931: - John Thomson, Glasgow Celtic’s brilliant Scottish international goalkeeper died aged 22. He died after diving at the feet of Sam English who played for Rangers, and he sustained a fractured skull. He died in hospital later.

1936: - Chesterfield’s centre-forward W.T. Ponting shot what appeared to be a certain goal against Burnley but the ball deflated in flight and never reached the net. Chesterfield won the Second Division match 4-1.

1961: - Aston Villa became the first club to win the Football League Cup. After losing the first leg to Rotherham United 2-0 at Milmoor, Aston Villa won the second leg 3-0. A. O’Neill, Harry Burrows and Peter McParland scored the goals for Aston Villa. In winning the trophy Aston Villa became the first club to win all three domestic trophies.

1982: - The Venezuelan club Atlético Club Mineros de Guayana won the Segunda División Venezolana and were promoted to the Primera División Venezolana for the first time.

1993: - Columbia hammered Argentina 5-0 in Buenos Aires to clinch a place in the 1994 FIFA World Cup and condemned their opponents to a play-off against Australia.

1998: - Alan Shearer scored after just 75 seconds, but England still crashed to a 2-1 defeat against Sweden in their opening Euro 2000 qualifier.

1998: - Christian Gross was sacked as manager of Tottenham Hotspur after just nine months in charge.

2000: - Manchester United thrashed Bradford City 6-0 at Old Trafford through goals from Andy Cole, Quinton Fortune (2), Teddy Sheringham (2) and David Beckham.

2003: - Italy’s under-21 team humiliated Wales’ youngster by beating them 8-1 in the Under-21 European Championship qualifiers.

2005: - The G-14 clubs decided to take FIFA to court over paying players for internationals after the Belgium club Charleroi lost Abdelmajid Oulmers for eight months when he was injured playing for Morocco.

4 September

1860: - Hallam FC, one of the oldest clubs in the world, were founded in Sheffield.

1867: - The Wednesday Cricket Club (established in 1820), agreed to form a footballing side to keep the team together and fit during the winter months at the Adelphi Hotel. The members formed Wednesday FC who would later become Sheffield Wednesday FC.

1920: - Bradford beat Burnley 2-0 in a First Division game, making it Burnley’s last defeat until the end of the following March as record of 30 matches without defeat. During this run they were beaten however in the Cup by Hull City.

1946: - Reading beat Crystal Palace 10-2 in a Third Division South match at Elm Park, as there centre-forward Magnus MacPhee scored 4 goals. The victory is Reading FC’s record victory.

1953: - Huddersfield Town signed the promising inside-forward Leslie Massie from the Scottish juniors side Banks O’Dee.

1955: - The first ever European Cup tie took place between Sporting Lisbon and Partizan Belgrade. The match ended 3-3 after Martins of Sporting Lisbon had scored the tournament’s first ever goal.

1963: - West Ham United’s insider-forward and former Scottish international transferred to Brentford for £17,500. He was the first West Ham United player to play for the Scottish National Side.

1984: Newcastle United suffered their first defeat of the 1984-1985 season after they lost 2-0 to Arsenal after goals from Viv Anderson and Brian Talbot gave the Gunners the victory.

1992: - Queens Park Rangers’ David Bardsley replaced the injured Rob Jones in the England squad.

1999: - Alan Shearer hit his first international hat-trick and Michael Owen scored his first goal at Wembley as England romped to a 6-0 victory over part-timers Luxembourg in their Euro 2000 qualifier.

2000: - Florentino Perez, the Real Madrid president, reported that the club were in grave financial crisis as the Spanish club were over £165million in debt.

2005: - Adriano scored a hat-trick as Brazil beat Chile 5-0 to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup Finals.

2006: - Andy Webster’s controversial move to Wigan Athletic was ratified by FIFA. Webster became the first player to invoke a loophole in Article 17 of a FIFA-adopted EU law which enabled him to cancel his contract with Heart of Midlothian in the third year of a four-year deal, one the proviso that he could join a club in a foreign country and sufficient notice was given to his former employers.

2007: - Deloitte Touche reported that the transfer spending by all Premier League and Football League clubs exceeded £500 million, compared to £300 million spent the season before. This was attributed to the huge increase in broadcasting revenue and new owners buying into Premier League clubs.

3 September

1921: - Arthur Wood made his debut in goal for Clapton Orient against Bury, playing in the first of 228 consecutive League games. He played in 374 League matches for Orient overall.

1921: - Halifax Town played their first game at The Shay when they beat Darlington 5-0 in front of 10,000 spectators.

1934: - Wolverhampton Wanderers’ centre-forward Bill Hartill, scored all 5 of his side’s goals during their derby with Aston Villa.

1955: - The Scottish League match between Clyde and Aberdeen at the Shawfield Stadium became the first game to be televised.

1961: - Sam Wadsworth died at the age of 64. One of the finest left-backs of his time he played for Nelson, Huddersfield Town and Burnley, before he coached in Holland. He earned seven caps for England.

1964: - Eddie Boot ended his 27 year association with Huddersfield Town as both a player and a manager when he resigned as manager of Huddersfield Town after 4 years in charge.

1983: - The United States won the first ever CONCACAF under-16 Championship after they beat the hosts Trinidad and Tobago 5-3 on penalties.

1999: - Newcastle United appointed the former England manager Bobby Robson as their new manager in succession to Ruud Gullit.

2008: - West Ham United manager Alan Curbishley left his post and became the first Premier League manager to leave in the 2008-2009 season. His departure was put down to players leaving without his knowledge.

2 September

1908: - On his debut for Newcastle United Bob Blanthorne broke his leg ten minutes into the First Division match against Bradford City. The centre-forward never played in the first-team again, and eventually moved to Hartlepool United.

1920: - In their first appearance at an international tournament, Belgium won the Gold Medal at the Antwerp Olympics after they beat Czechoslovakia 2-0.

1952: - Huddersfield Town signed the centre-half Ken Taylor. After 13 years at the club he joined Bradford in early 1965. The centre-half was also an opening bat for Yorkshire who represented England in Test matches.

1955: - After four years at Goodison Park Everton’s centre-forward Dave Hickson moved to Aston Villa.

1963: - Johnny McLeod moved to Aston Villa from Arsenal for £40,000.

1 September

1886: - Grasshopper-Club Zurich was founded by an English student Tom E Griffith.

1891: - The FA Council regularised penalty kicks.

1898: - Barnsley lost 1-0 away to Lincoln City in the clubs’ first game in the Football League.

1903: - Bradford City lost their first game in the league 2-0, away to Grimsby Town.

1904: - West Ham United beat Millwall 3-0 in front of a crowd of 10,000 at Upton Park in the clubs’ first ever game.

1904: - Hull City drew 2-2 with Notts County in the clubs’ first Football League match in front of 6000 fans.

1908: - Tottenham Hotspur beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-0, at White Hart Lane, in the club’s first-ever Football League game, with Vivian Woodward scoring the clubs first-ever goal.

1928: - Cardiff City put 7 goals past Burnley in a First Division match at Ninian Park as Hugh Ferguson scored 5 of Cardiff City’s goals.

1934: - The 21st anniversary of the opening of Highbury was marked as Arsenal beat Liverpool 8-1.

1940: - After 52 years of playing and then managing the club, the Glasgow Celtic manager Willie Maley retired.

1986: - Wimbledon went top of the First Division with a 1-0 away win over Charlton Athletic. The club had only been Football League members for 10 seasons and were in the top division for the first time.

1994: - Liverpool signed the Republic of Ireland defender Phil Babb for £3.75million from Coventry City.

1996: - Goals from Paul Gascoigne, Alan Shearer and Nicky Barmby ensured Glenn Hoddle got his England reign off to a winning start as they beat Moldova 3-0.

1997: - After 102 years at Burnden Park, Bolton Wanderers officially moved into their new 27,500 Reebok Stadium with a 0-0 draw against Everton.

1998: - Ron Noades became the first chairman to earn the Manager of the Month award when he earned the accolade when in charge of Brentford.

2001: - A hat-trick from Michael Owen and goals from Emile Heskey and Steven Gerrard give England a massive 5-1 victory over Germany in Munich. Owen Hargreaves makes his competitive debut for the national side.

2002: - After beating the hosts Canada, in the final, thanks to a golden goal from their captain Lindsay Tarpley, the 47,784 crowd in Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium saw the USA crowned as the inaugural champions of the FIFA under-19 Women’s World Championship.

2008: - The Abu Dhabi-based Abu Dhabi United Group Investment and Development Limited completed their takeover of Manchester City. The deal was worth a reported £200 million.

2008: - AFC Bournemouth’s Kevin Bond was sacked as manager and became the first manager to lose his job after a poor run of results which saw his team pick up just two points from their opening four games.