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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Drug taking may be a problem in English football, but Tim Springett wouldn't recommend random testing

A further wave of revelations of professional footballers in England testing positive for drugs is, predictably, leading to a clamour for the football authorities to get tough on drug use and follow the example set by the International Amateur Athletics Federation. It is to be hoped that, instead, the FA and their international counterparts learn from the IAAF’s mistakes.

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