Should feeder clubs be allowed?

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The Football Supporters’ Federation have opposed this idea which has been raised again recently. They state, ‘We know the answer to that one. Back in January 2012 we polled our members on this very subject after Andre Villas-Boas made a similar suggestion while Chelsea manager.’

‘86% said they opposed the idea of top-flight clubs buying feeder sides. If top-flight clubs tried to force this idea through, and it stinks of self-interest, the backlash would be huge.’

Football as a weakest link game

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The Numbers Game: Why Everything You Know About Football is Wrong has been this summer’s best selling sports title. It is about to appear in an American edition and is being translated into Portuguese (for Brazil), Italian, Finnish and Japanese among other languages.

It was therefore a great pleasure to go down to London this week and talk to American co-author Chris Anderson about the book over lunch. He and David Sally wanted to write a serious piece of analysis, but also a book that would appeal to football fans.

Arsenal profits down, but plenty of cash in hand

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Arsenal saw pre-tax profits drop 81.7 per cent in the 12 months to the end of last season, yet the club remains in a strong financial position due to rising revenues and falling debt.

Earnings before tax were down to £6.7m in the year to 31 May, down from £36.6m. The club pulled in a reduced profit from player sales – £47m, down from £65.5m – while wages climbed 7.7 per cent to £154.5m.

Wimbledon hope to return home

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Wimbledon are hoping to return to their spiritual home at Plough Lane. However, the process is fraught with obstacles and, even if all goes well, it could be some years before they return there.

The initial plan is for a stadium of 11,000, which would be more than adequate for League 2 or even for League 1. However, the proposals include the flexibility to expand the stadium in stages to a 20,000 capacity. They also set out plans for new banqueting and conference facilities as well as around 600 new homes to be built by Galliard Homes, shops and community facilities.

Decoding United’s accounts

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All the attention of football commentators this morning is on yesterday’s 4-1 defeat of Manchester United by Manchester City at the Etihad and what it means for David Moyes. Replacing Sir Alex Ferguson and taking over the reigning champions was always going to be a difficult challenge.