China could qualify for the World Cup, and Haydn Parry credits their success to their surprise training schedule in England

A balmy morning in Mitcham, deepest South London, and the air is punctuated by coarse groans in Cantonese. This is the training ground of Crystal Palace, the latest stop in a very low profile, ten-day tour of England by the International squad of the People’s Republic of China. The game behind closed doors is not going well – two-nil down at halftime to a fresh faced bunch of ‘Eaglets’ keen to impress Steve Coppell, who is pacing the sidelines.

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The art of photography at football grounds could be a dying art, says Tony Davis

At a time when football is getting the most media coverage it has ever had, freelance photographers are finding it nigh on impossible to work at grounds thanks to restrictions placed by the big clubs.

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Journalists' freedom to write is being restricted by power-hungry football clubs, says Martin Cloake

Having access to football clubs is very important for national newspapers, and for local papers it’s often vital. Football clubs know this, and exploit the situation to minimize unfavourable coverage. WSC has carried several stories over the past year about journalists being banned from clubs, or threatened with bans, because the club doesn’t like what’s being written.

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Supporting your club is now becoming more of a difficult task, argues Joyce Woolridge, due to the media's fake portrayal of football

“We’re trying to do something different with this show – to speak for the ordinary fan,” said the pleasant bloke from Wire TV which, several years ago, was one of the new cable stations. This proved to be an irresistible line. The idea that I had something to say allowed me to delude myself that the reason I was just popping down to the studios (in this case on the top floor of a shopping centre) was because I was going to make a difference. Quite what I was going to make a difference to I had no idea.

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The introduction of pay-per-view television is a sign, Martin Cloake warns, that the media is changing football as we know it

“Pay-per-view is a good thing, because for years fans who pay at the gate have subsidised entertainment for armchair fans. Now those people are going to have to pay just the same as we do, and the clubs can make some money.” That was the view of one fan I spoke to last season, and there are plenty more who share it.

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