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Book reviews

Reviews from When Saturday Comes. Follow the link to buy the book from Amazon.

Corporate chaos

Manchester City’s recently departed chief executive was offensive and distasteful, but he was also good at his job, as Tony Curran reports

During his time as chief executive of Manchester City, Garry Cook developed a reputation for making public faux pas. So it was not surprise when this propensity brought him down. Cook, should we need reminding, sent an email that he believed was exclusively directed to colleague Brian Marwood in which he mocked the cancer diagnosis of Dr Anthonia Onuoha, the mother and agent of City player Nedum.

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Buying British

Adam Bate questions the perception that recruiting from the lower leagues is a risk

Paul Merson risked being accused of xenophobia when he expressed the view last season that Arsène Wenger had put too much focus on buying from France or Belgium and not explored the home market effectively. While Merson could have been dismissed as a Little Englander, he found an unlikely ally in Italian football journalist Gabriele Marcotti, who noted: “Scouting in the Championship is something few clubs do well.” But is the 
talent really there?

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Court conspiracy

Roger Titford on the proposal to Oxford United and Reading in the early 1908s

If megalomaniac tycoon and serial football chairman Robert Maxwell had not made two monstrous errors, there could well have been a Thames Valley United in Division Three in 1983-84 in place of Reading and his Oxford United. And, as David Lacey wrote in the Guardian at the time, “as a method of killing off two Football League clubs at a stroke the scheme surely has few rivals”.

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Blood money

Everyone resents forking out for a humilating defeat but Tom Lines ponders if refunds miss the point of being a supporter

Arsenal’s decision to cover the cost of a future game for fans who witnessed their 8-2 defeat at Old Trafford in August is the latest in an alarming and seemingly growing trend where supporters are reimbursed for poor performances by their team.

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Taking initiative

James Eastham on Joe Cole’s encouraging start at Lille

As first impressions go, Joe Cole’s at Lille was about as good as it gets. Just 21 minutes into his debut as a substitute in a league game against St Etienne, Cole recalled his youth. Picking up the ball in the inside-right position, he spun through 360 degrees, set off on a run towards the byline, evaded four challenges and had the presence of mind to pull the ball back for team-mate Ludovic Obraniak to score the third in a 3-1 win.

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