Book reviews

Allowing the biggest clubs to loan out their developing players could be distorting competition, says Simon Cotterill

The existing laws on player loans between Premier League clubs need urgent revision. In their present form they allow points to be bought and they are increasing the speed at which the league moves towards being a competition almost entirely devoid of, just that, competition. However, neither the bigger clubs, who use the loan system to farm out future stars, nor the smaller clubs, who use it to bolster their squads, see rule changes as being in their short-term interests. And sadly, the short-term seems to be as far as English football looks these days.

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Macclesfield Town fan Andrew Fraser tells how, despite the famous surname, one former player failed to live up to expectations

Making a name for yourself in football can be a struggle, but when that name has already been made for you things can be trickier still. Nineteen-year-old John Rooney, brother of Wayne, spent two weeks of August in the US having turned down a new contract with League Two Macclesfield Town. Aiming to win a place in the MLS Superdraft and secure a central contract, he trained with both the Seattle Sounders and Portland Trailblazers and his name prompted a flurry of excitement among the American media. For fans of Macclesfield, it looked very much like a last throw of the dice for a young player who has long carried the weight of expectation.

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Empty plastic seats are a common feature in top-flight football in 2010. Adam Bate wonders why one region isn’t reacting to success

On the face of it these are heady days for West Midlands football. West Bromwich Albion’s promotion from the Championship has resulted in the region’s four biggest clubs all enjoying top-flight status for the first time since the 1983-84 season. Wolves have just achieved their highest league finish for 30 years while Birmingham’s ninth place last time out was their best effort in over half a century.

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Ian Rands looks at the mixed results of the extensive efforts to export the Sheffield United brand around the world

If I was to tell you that there is an English football club developing a global brand that currently encompasses five clubs on three continents, including the first foreign investment in a Chinese team, I suspect that Sheffield Utd will not be the first club that comes to mind. You might also be surprised to hear that other interests include sponsorship of an Indian football academy and an advisory role with the Syrian FA. Over the last four years this “global Blades family” has developed apace, but not without a few problems along the way and a lingering degree of cynicism among United fans.

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Ed Wilson looks at Coventry fans’ reactions to the signing of Marlon King, recently released from jail

It’s an understatement and a platitude to say that most football supporters identify strongly with our club. If that club is successful, we claim a little reflected glory for ourselves. And if it fails, or behaves in a way that’s embarrassing, or shameful, that shame seems to rub off on us a little, too.

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