Colchester United hosted the Brazilian over the weekend with local reports claiming the ex-Stamford Bridge striker is interested in buying the club. Alexandre Pato spent much of his career overseas but did represent Chelsea briefly during the 2015/16 season, whilst on loan from Corinthians. The 36-year-old hung up his boots in 2023 after spells in Spain, China, Brazil and the United States and is reportedly worth upwards of 100 million.
"Actions of this manner simply do not belong in our society, let alone the sport we all love. "Unfortunately, as a football club, we can't change the way people think. "However, we can use our status and platform to continue to fight for those who are subject to such vile and cowardly abuse."
Image source, Getty Images Bromley have signed Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Damola Ajayi on loan, external until the end of the season. The 20-year-old scored on his Spurs debut - a 3-0 win against Elfsborg en-route to winning the Europa League last season. It remains his only senior appearance for the club, though he was an unused substitute in the final victory over Manchester United in Bilbao. Ajayi becomes the League Two leaders' first signing of the January transfer window, returning to the Ravens having represented the club at youth level.
Saturday's scheduled League Two matches at Oldham Athletic, Chesterfield and Accrington Stanley have been postponed while Salford City's FA Cup tie at home to Swindon Town has also succumbed to freezing conditions. Thursday pitch inspections at Boundary Park and SMH Group Stadium found the playing surfaces frozen, while a pitch inspection at Stanley on Friday also led to their fixture being postponed.
As a new year begins, the race to reach the Premier League is even by the Championship's usual standards absolutely wide open. Coventry remain the clear front-runners, but their blistering early form has slowed in recent weeks; Frank Lampard will seek to start the new year on a high against out-of-form Charlton today. Behind them, Middlesbrough (at Derby), Ipswich (at home to Oxford) and Hull City (at home to Stoke) will look to keep up the chase.
Ian Holloway might have begun his career at hometown club Bristol Rovers but there will be no time for sentiment when he returns on Saturday in the opposition dugout for a competitive fixture for the first time. It was almost 30 years ago in 1996 when Holloway first stepped into the Memorial Stadium as a manager and, while his career since has taken him all across English football, he has never returned with another club until now with Swindon Town.
Starting with the hosts, while MK Dons might open Saturday's fixtures sat just one-point adrift of finding a route into the automatic promotion spots, Paul Warne's men are seeking some recent stability. Last seen settling for a 2-2 stalemate away at Tranmere last weekend, the former Derby boss has seen his squad win just a pair of their previous six appearances across all competitions.
Christian Fuchs has been linked with Newport County, and he is reportedly set to take over the managerial role. Speculation is growing that the former Premier League champion Christian Fuchs could join the Welsh club as their new manager after he was spotted watching Newport County's recent away fixture from the stands, as per The Sun. Christian Fuchs did well for the Foxes
The 2025-26 FA Cup first-round draw takes place on Monday, 13 October from 18:30 BST. It will be held before Worthing face Robbie Savage's Forest Green Rovers in the fourth round of qualifying. All 48 teams from League One and Two will join the 32 non-league teams who have progressed from the qualifying rounds. Premier League and Championship teams enter the FA Cup in the third round. Fixtures from the first round will take place around the weekend of Saturday, 1 November.
I went for the LMA health check in May and they found something with my heart. I've got to have heart surgery this week. It sounds dramatic, but it's a routine thing they do. This has all been planned. Get behind Dobbo and the team, they will be stepping up. I'll be off for a few weeks, and then I'll be back.
It is not going to be a quick fix, like I said last week. I looked at the stats and it seems they gave up a lot of possession to Oxford. Gary Rowett's team has better players now and more ways to hurt the opposition. I always felt it was going to be a tough game. Chris Wilder had success last year being a transition team.
League Two bottom side Cheltenham Town have sacked manager Michael Flynn after they suffered a 3-0 home defeat by Oldham Athletic. The loss was the Robins' ninth in 12 matches across all competitions this season. Only one of those wins have come from nine league matches to date, leaving them at the foot of the English Football League. Flynn had been in charge of Cheltenham since May 2024 and guided them to 15th place in the table last season.
Walsall have signed forward Daniel Kanu on a season-long loan from Championship side Charlton Athletic. Kanu, 20, came through the youth ranks at The Valley. He made his debut in February 2022, and has scored seven goals in 59 league appearances for the Addicks.
Walsall holds a 2-0 advantage over Chesterfield as they head into the second leg of the League Two play-offs, aiming to secure a spot in the finals.
The League Two play-offs will start on May 11, 2025, featuring semi-finals on specified dates, leading to a final on May 26 hosted at Wembley.
