Outside the Box: Fabio's world to cave in as TV shakes up Champions' League

Squashing the quart-sized football season into the pint pot that is the available calendar will be more complicated than ever for 2009-10, when in a World Cup year, Uefa have decided to add two extra midweek dates for the Champions' League and, for the first time ever, to play the final on a Saturday.

The first knockout round of eight matches will be played over four midweeks instead of two "to maximise live match opportunities"; meaning, of course, TV opportunities. The final will be on 22 May, which means that the FA Cup final will have to be on 15 May and the Premier League must end the previous weekend, both a full fortnight earlier than in the current crowded season. But the campaign is starting no earlier than this one. None of which will fill Fabio Capello with glee as he looks forward to taking a fit and fresh squad to the World Cup finals with proper preparation time.

A real sportspage turner

Happy return to Sportspages, the much-missed bookshop, albeit in a different guise. Reflecting the way of the world, it is now an e-business at www.sportspages.com, specialising in the sort of second-hand and antiquarian publications that the original store never had space for, and offering sports memorabilia. For those who are seeking an incentive to sort out all the old stuff stored in the loft, a first Rothman's Football Yearbook from 1970 is going for £120, while a 1966 World Cup final programme (original) costs £150 and a set of tickets for 1966 World Cup games at Wembley and White City set you back £1,200.

Stoke giants kick WBA into touch

Given the sort of season that West Bromwich Albion are experiencing, there is no high ground they can occupy other than the moral, and even doing that tends to be problematic. But it doesn't stop them trying, especially where Stoke City are concerned. Referring back to last November's match at the Britannia Stadium, Albion's programme last week said: "We were treated to a comparison of the virtues of association football and its rugby brother, a sharp contrast between football played on the deck, and the game where kicking for touch and playing for set-pieces is prized above all things." As for the poison-pen pictures of Stoke players, Abdoulaye Faye was: "Another of the Stoke giants – they have a similar recruitment policy to the Metropolitan Police when it comes to height, it seems." Ryan Shawcross? "If the ball is there to be cleared Shawcross (pictured below) is quite willing to ensure it's soon 50 yards away." The diminutive Matthew Etherington? "Must have been wearing platforms when he went for his interview." All good knockabout stuff, which would carry more conviction if Stoke's "kicking for touch" had not been sufficient to complete yet another double over the Baggies, who will be shooting up the table just as soon as Sepp Blatter or Michel Platini introduce points for artistic impression. In the meantime, their record in the style war is, let's see, one win over Stoke in 25 League meetings.

Accrington fans go off

Accrington Stanley, best known for the 1980s "who are they?" milk advert, fear a new claim to fame tomorrow: a crowd numbered in three figures. The attendance against fellow strugglers Chester is expected to be the Football League's lowest since 849 saw Wimbledon play Rotherham in 2002.

s.tongue@ independent.co.uk