Terry Venables still doesn't have full control of Portsmouth, but Sarah Gilmore explains why his popularity is soaring

Late night shopping has never thrilled me. So you can imagine how I felt to be faced with a mass of families packed into Portsmouth city centre, eagerly responding to the local radio DJ’s attempts to whip up some enthusiasm for the Christmas lights’ switch-on. Expectation was in the air as I shoved my way through the throng of three thousand people. The DJ squawked his way to an hysterical climax interrupted by huge roar for the celebrity switcher: “Ladies and gentlemen… Mr Terry Venables!” The only sound of dissent amidst the cheering, and stamping came from the man squashed next to me. “Bloody second from bottom,” he said – as he clapped enthusiastically.

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Football is changing due to a new breed of chairmen. David Conn, author of The Football Business, outlines how the game is being affected by those who own the clubs

Beneath the high-pitched hype, English football presents some stark realities. Sir John Hall, former tireless warrior of the ‘Geordie nation’, made £100m for himself and his family out of Newcastle United when it floated on the Stock Market in April. He is now living mostly in Spain. Martin Edwards, chief executive of Manchester United plc, bought into United for £600,000 in 1978. He has recently made £33m cash from selling some of his shares, and retains a 15 per cent stake in United, worth around £60m. 

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Davy Millar's favourite football landmark is not one that you will have heard of, as he explains

Moira is a small village with very few claims to fame. It is the site of an historic battle but, this being Northern Ireland, the locals decided that their village needed something else to distinguish it from everywhere else in Ulster. So, they planted award-winning floral displays, a novelty in a country normally disinterested in flower beds unless that’s where the Semtex is currently hidden, but these have been surpassed by another local attraction – the roundabout.

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Helenio Herrera passed away recently leaving a legacy of defensive football behind, but Cris Freddi argues that the iconic manager was schooled in Total Football too

According to Channel 4, some of the Italian press have been calling him ‘the first real football coach’, which is bollocks but shows the right respect. If you’re an Inter fan, and aren’t we all, HH was the only coach.

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Clubs are slowly starting to launch their own independent television channels. Patrick Harverson wonders what this could mean for fans

Here we go again. Premier League clubs are falling over themselves in their hurry to sign deals with broadcasters to establish their own television channels, just as they flattened everything in sight in their stampede to the stock market during the past year.

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