The early international break can be a bit irritating for Premier League fans but football still carries on in the lower leagues in England where there have been some interesting developments as the season unfolds.
With two successive promotions and their Hollywood backing Wrexham have regularly been in the spotlight in recent times. To the delight of their fans the small club from north Wales have maintained their momentum this season and have a chance to go clear top of League One this weekend.
Wrexham have won three of their four games and are second on goal difference to leaders Stockport County. Confident manager Phil Parkinson said his team made a "statement" in their impressive away win last weekend against Peterborough.
On Saturday, the Red Dragons are at home to 20th-placed Shrewsbury Town and will start strong favourites. Stockport do not have a league game this weekend.
Wrexham's biggest test will come in a couple of weeks when they visit Birmingham City who have spent buckets of money on assembling a talented squad.
Another team with an early eye on promotion are former Premier League club Charlton Athletic who are in sixth place, just one point behind the front-runners. The Addicks are at their Valley home on Saturday where they will be hoping for victory against mid-table Rotherham.
A surprise move has been the appointment of former Newcastle gaffer Steve Bruce at Blackpool who are struggling in 22nd place. Bruce may have to produce some miracles at this famous club which spent the 2010-11 season in the Premier League.
In League Two, Gillingham, Walsall and Barrow are the unlikely teams at the top of the table. Gillingham face a tough test of their credentials on Saturday away at Doncaster Rovers who were the bookmakers' tip for the title. Barrow host Swindon Town who are struggling in second from bottom place. It is hard to believe that Swindon were in the Premier League when it was founded in the 1992-93 season.
Every season Bradford City begin as one of the favourites but always seem to fade and they currently sit in a modest ninth place. The Bantams still enjoy large attendances and their two home games this season have attracted crowds of more than 16,000 which is impressive for a team in the fourth tier.
Spare a thought for bottom-placed Morecambe who have lost all four games and have yet to score a goal.
We must not overlook events in the fifth tier National League (formerly the Conference). Top of the table are Gateshead who are unbeaten and just ahead of rivals Eastleigh, and Barnet who they host on Saturday.
Gateshead are one of the unluckiest clubs in the Football League. Last season they came sixth but were ruled out of the play-offs by the EFL because the local council could not guarantee a 10-year lease at the International Stadium where they play.
But the worst injustice befell the original Gateshead club back in 1960. In those days the bottom four clubs in Division Four had to apply for reelection to stay in the league. There was no automatic relegation.
Gateshead were furious that despite finishing third from bottom they were voted out of the league while bottom-placed Hartlepool were allowed to stay. Many felt Hartlepool were reprieved because of the generous hospitality they gave visiting officials.
England 1 Scotland 1
It was a case of honours even as England and Scotland expats fought out an entertaining 1-1 draw in the Alex Forbes Memorial Cup held at Patana International School last weekend.
It required a late equaliser from Simon Murgatroyd for England to retain the trophy following last year's win.
The game started at a frantic pace with chances for both sides with Mark Stevens going close for England and Chatree for the Scots. Scotland went on to dominate play but could not find the back of the net and the score remained 0-0 at half-time.
The Scots continued to dominate and they eventually broke the deadlock with eight minutes to go through a fine goal by Ollie Radcliffe.
England fought hard to find an equaliser and were rewarded just before the final whistle when a long ball from Tommy Almond found Murgatroyd who went on to score.
With two successive promotions and their Hollywood backing Wrexham have regularly been in the spotlight in recent times. To the delight of their fans the small club from north Wales have maintained their momentum this season and have a chance to go clear top of League One this weekend.
Wrexham have won three of their four games and are second on goal difference to leaders Stockport County. Confident manager Phil Parkinson said his team made a "statement" in their impressive away win last weekend against Peterborough.
On Saturday, the Red Dragons are at home to 20th-placed Shrewsbury Town and will start strong favourites. Stockport do not have a league game this weekend.
Wrexham's biggest test will come in a couple of weeks when they visit Birmingham City who have spent buckets of money on assembling a talented squad.
Another team with an early eye on promotion are former Premier League club Charlton Athletic who are in sixth place, just one point behind the front-runners. The Addicks are at their Valley home on Saturday where they will be hoping for victory against mid-table Rotherham.
A surprise move has been the appointment of former Newcastle gaffer Steve Bruce at Blackpool who are struggling in 22nd place. Bruce may have to produce some miracles at this famous club which spent the 2010-11 season in the Premier League.
In League Two, Gillingham, Walsall and Barrow are the unlikely teams at the top of the table. Gillingham face a tough test of their credentials on Saturday away at Doncaster Rovers who were the bookmakers' tip for the title. Barrow host Swindon Town who are struggling in second from bottom place. It is hard to believe that Swindon were in the Premier League when it was founded in the 1992-93 season.
Every season Bradford City begin as one of the favourites but always seem to fade and they currently sit in a modest ninth place. The Bantams still enjoy large attendances and their two home games this season have attracted crowds of more than 16,000 which is impressive for a team in the fourth tier.
Spare a thought for bottom-placed Morecambe who have lost all four games and have yet to score a goal.
We must not overlook events in the fifth tier National League (formerly the Conference). Top of the table are Gateshead who are unbeaten and just ahead of rivals Eastleigh, and Barnet who they host on Saturday.
Gateshead are one of the unluckiest clubs in the Football League. Last season they came sixth but were ruled out of the play-offs by the EFL because the local council could not guarantee a 10-year lease at the International Stadium where they play.
But the worst injustice befell the original Gateshead club back in 1960. In those days the bottom four clubs in Division Four had to apply for reelection to stay in the league. There was no automatic relegation.
Gateshead were furious that despite finishing third from bottom they were voted out of the league while bottom-placed Hartlepool were allowed to stay. Many felt Hartlepool were reprieved because of the generous hospitality they gave visiting officials.
England 1 Scotland 1
It was a case of honours even as England and Scotland expats fought out an entertaining 1-1 draw in the Alex Forbes Memorial Cup held at Patana International School last weekend.
It required a late equaliser from Simon Murgatroyd for England to retain the trophy following last year's win.
The game started at a frantic pace with chances for both sides with Mark Stevens going close for England and Chatree for the Scots. Scotland went on to dominate play but could not find the back of the net and the score remained 0-0 at half-time.
The Scots continued to dominate and they eventually broke the deadlock with eight minutes to go through a fine goal by Ollie Radcliffe.
England fought hard to find an equaliser and were rewarded just before the final whistle when a long ball from Tommy Almond found Murgatroyd who went on to score.
