MK Dons' Academy has been slammed after a trio of youngsters had pro deals withdrawn as the club 'could not afford them', with the first team celebrating in Las Vegas. The £200 a week deals, reported in the Milton Keynes Citizen, were pulled on the day they were supposed to be signed with one dad telling the paper: "It is incredibly unprofessional. The system is atrocious. They are holding on to academy status by the skins of their teeth – it must be the worst in the country. The first team are treated like Gods – there is no limit to expenditure on them – but not the academy."
The Football League reports total attendance of 16.2million for the 2007/8 season. It is the fourth sucessive time over 16million, with League Two getting a 5.1% increase in gates. Port Vale are chasing released Team of the Year man Craig Pead. Crawley boss Steve Evans has received a four match touchline ban and a £1,000 fine for the first of his four outstanding FA charges over his behaviour during games over the past few months. He had already been banned and fined for a previous incident before Xmas, and can expect a further ban and fine for the other three offences.