Book reviews

Accrington Stanley are struggling to stave off the possibility of going bust for a third time. Neil Billingham looks at how the generosity of the Lancashire people is helping them through their latest crisis

To go bust once is unfortunate. To go bust twice is careless. But to go bust three times? In August when Accrington Stanley were given eight weeks to pay an outstanding tax bill of £308,000 or face being wound up the other north-west clubs came together to help. Neighbours Burnley hosted a friendly match against Accrington which saw more than 5,000 fans turn up at Turf Moor, raising £50,000 for the club. Three days later, fans from across the region turned up at Stanley’s League Two match against Darlington to swell the attendance to 3,228, more than doubling the season’s average.

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James Appell looks at Arsenal's struggles with their former ground, now echoing to marketing rather than crowds

On September 24, Arsène Wenger took an afternoon off from fielding questions about Emmanuel Adebayor’s goal celebrations, Eduardo’s lack of balance and such like, and headed down to the site of the old Highbury Stadium. There, lining up alongside a team of other Arsenal greats – Bob Wilson, Frank McLintock, George Graham and, er, Perry Groves – he cut the ribbon to formally open Highbury Square, a new housing development built on the site.

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Brian Simpson reports on a disagreement between Oldham Athletic and Failsworth Dynamos, both keen on new footballing homes

Failsworth Dynamos, a club familiar with success on and off the pitch, have an ambitious plan to find a permanent home for their 27 teams. When it seemed the local council was about to offer the club the lease on a piece of land ideal for its ambitions, the Broadway site, it looked like an excuse for a party. However, the celebration pint quickly went flat with the news that the land had instead been promised to someone else. The irony is that the third party is not a supermarket chain or rapacious developer, but local professional club Oldham Athletic who want to move from their Boundary Park home.

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New legislation is aimed at a lack of homegrown players but, as Andy West reports, the issues are deeper than that

September’s announcement that Premier League clubs will be required to adhere to a “homegrown quota” from the start of next season came as no surprise. The question of whether clubs should be forced to limit the number of overseas players has been openly debated for a long time. In the face of increasing pressure from the government as well as the football authorities, it was sensible for club chairmen to follow the example of the Football League and voluntarily introduce new legislation.

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The digits on the back of footballers' shirts seem to be getting higher and higher. Seb Patrick examines a recent trend

Australia’s Asian Cup qualifier against Kuwait in March of this year drew attention for a number of reasons – namely that the side was made up entirely of A-League players and that it slumped to a shock 1-0 defeat. To the eye of someone with an interest in shirt numbers, however, the game was notable in an entirely different way – as starting winger Daniel Mullen and substitutes Fabian Barbiero and Mitch Nichols took to the field sporting three-digit numbers on their backs.

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