Search: ' Giovanni di Stefano'

For clubs in trouble, bringing the fans on board can help stabilise a crisis and renew confidence. Ken Gall reports on the experiences at the Sixfields Stadium and Tannadice

In a world of Russian billionaires, Franchise FC and “living the dream”, it’s not hard to see why greater supporter involvement in the boardrooms of UK clubs is to be desired. The rise of the supporters’ trust move­ment and the arrival of fans – elected or otherwise – as directors has been a wel­come development and one of the few beneficial consequences of the financial shambles that is UK football.

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Dan Brennan wonders whether a Columbian who spiced up Tyneside but is still looking for will ever return to England, either to play football or open a nightclub

Tino Asprilla will long be remembered by Newcastle fans, not least for a dazzling hat-trick against Barcelona in their team’s first Champions League campaign, coun­ter­pointed by one of the most spectacular fouls ever seen in these parts – an elbow-head­butt combination against Keith Curle in a match with Manchester City. In two years on Tyneside, the gun-toting, porn­star-fancying, moped-riding, poodle-loving Col­ombian also spiced things up off the pitch. But in 1998, his off-the-wall antics finally proved too much for Kenny Dalglish and he was sent back to Parma for £6.5 mil­lion – £1m less than Kevin Keegan had paid for him.

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Monday 1 On transfer deadline day, Chelsea finally snap up Claude Makelele from Real Madrid for, ooh, £80 million or so. Everton fans might be pleased by the arrival of James McFadden from Motherwell, but possibly less excited by that of Kevin Kilbane and the return on loan of Franny Jeffers. Among other loan deals, Marcus Bent leaves impoverished Ipswich for Leicester and Portsmouth take Jason Roberts from West Brom.

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As he has a contact book that reads like George W Bush's most-wanted list, Giovanni di Stefano's decision to take over Dundee has raised some eyebrows, including those of Ken Gall

The arrival of Giovanni di Stefano on the board of directors at Dundee FC marks, depending on one’s viewpoint, either a slightly sinister turn of events for Scottish football or a unique opportunity for a provincial club to match, if not surpass, the Old Firm in financial clout. (A third possibility – that Di Stefano is in the process of perfecting some kind of alternative comedy routine – cannot be ruled out, as we shall see.)

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Friday 1 Manchester United are fined £1.6 million by the Office of Fair Trading for price-fixing replica shirts. One of the other ten businesses to be charged are… the FA who will have to pay £158,000 for selling overpriced England shirts on the internet in 2000-01. Tangled web-weaver John Fashanu says he has resigned as chairman of Barry Town, though there is some doubt whether he ever really held such a position. Jody Craddock leaves Sunderland for Wolves, who are also to sign Senegalese striker Henri Camara and Spurs’ Steffen Iversen.

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