Book reviews

Some are wild cards, some club stalwarts. Jon Spurling looks at the life of the acting manager

Newcastle and Sunderland rarely admit to having anything in common, yet the clubs’ recent moves to formalise the positions of Joe Kinnear and Ricky Sbragia represents a rare moment of triumph for caretaker managers. The fact that both clubs hankered after bigger names suggests that neither man’s position is secure, but at least they are likely to emerge with their self respect intact, unlike many hapless interim appointments.

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Clubs such as Plymouth need new fans to grow, but regulars don't always welcome them. Josh Widdicombe reports on the divisions a Cup tie caused

Like any fan of a club that has no chance of winning the FA Cup would be, I was delighted when Plymouth Argyle were drawn away to Arsenal in the third round this season. While no one more than me enjoys saying they have little time for the Big Four and their smug world of Super Sunday’s and big European nights, I was soon getting excited about visiting the Emirates, with all its leg room and upper-circle views. It felt like being asked out on a date by someone unspeakably annoying but unbelievably attractive; you know it is wrong but you just can’t help but be delighted.

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There's a new man at the helm at Arsenal, and he's all the way from the US of A. Ian Plenderleith checks out Ivan Gazidis

Those questioning the appointment of Arsenal’s new chief executive Ivan Gazidis, who comes directly to the club from his post as Major League Soccer’s deputy commissioner, may see it as a risky move from a small-time league on a tight budget into the big-time world of football’s rich elite. Those who have seen Gazidis at work over the past decade will take the more generous view that Arsenal have landed an intelligent and articulate man largely responsible for steering MLS from near-bankruptcy to being an expanding, viable concern. With Arsenal at a crucial juncture both as a football club and a sports business, the steadily radical Gazidis could be the perfect fit.

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Viewed as romantic story in the FA Cup, Team Bath are considered very differently at league level. Tim Lezard explains why they are attracting hostility from their opposition

You probably remember Team Bath FC as the plucky students who lost to Mansfield Town in the FA Cup back in 2002, in front of 5,000 fans.

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Few promotion parties have been as damp a squib as Lewes' and, as Joel Abraham explains, it's been all downhill from there

How do you reward a promotion-­winning team? In Lewes’s case, you sack the manager and sell the entire squad. The Rooks’ first ever Blue Square Premier game against Kidderminster Harriers saw ten of the starting XI making their debuts, led by a manager who had never managed before. Four months and 12 defeats later, they are rock bottom of the league, and will in all likelihood be returning to the Blue Square South considerably worse off than when they left it.

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