"I am not a number, I'm a free man," bellowed the Prisoner. Greedy sod, he should have been grateful, because Coventry City striker Paul Williams is remembered in the tomes of football folly by just a solitary letter. Yes, one blessed letter.

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CHAMPIONS LEAGUE GLAMOUR ON THE MENU...
WEDNESDAY 16th JULY 2008
Don't be deceived by the who's who of unpronounceable club names - the Champions League kicked off in earnest last night with Welsh Premier minnows Llanelli shoving one up Ventspils, and in so doing taking a 1-0 1st leg lead to Latvia in a fortnight's time, courtesy of a Stuart Jones goal.

Stebonheath Park, with its new seating (pictured) must have been rocking last night, although it's a long way back home for the 40 hardy souls who ventured over from 'Gary Johnson country'.


Tonight it's Linfield's turn against the mighty Dynamo Zagreb, and it's even on the telly! Strange isn't it, if Man United landed Zagreb you'd have people clamoring for a four of five-goal rout, but as soon as you compare them against Ireland's finest they seem like world-beaters. Only time will tell .. but I bet they're not .. otherwise they wouldn't be slumming it in the qualifying round, innit.

In any case, this is the real spirit of European football - just look at TNS's award for battling through Champs League qualification a couple of years ago - getting tonked by Steven Gerrard.

Some of the other names in the Qualifying Round draw do take a bit of rehearsing .. F91 Dudelange sounds like a military aircraft, Buducnost Podgorica some type of debilitating venereal disease, and I don't even want to know the extend of tongue-twisting that goes to making up the club (sensibly) abbreviated as BATE Borisov.

The first person who has the time and humility to find out, and who writes in to let us know, gets a free ticket to the club's 2nd-leg away trip to Valur Reykjavik, and that's a fact, though you'll have to pay for your own transport, I'm afraid.

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