The plans to restructure the Welsh Premier league have been met with an equal amount of support and opposition, as Paul Ashley-Jones reports

In May the Football Association of Wales (FAW) published plans to restructure the Welsh Premier (WP). The move, the greatest change in Welsh domestic football since the WP (previously the League of Wales) was created in 1992, proposed a cut from 18 teams down to ten by the end of next season. This plan didn’t come as a shock and had been endorsed by the clubs themselves some time ago. What did surprise them was that the FAW rejected a ten-club second division.

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With Carlisle Utd facing an average away trip of 257 miles, their chairman is calling for League One and League Two to be merged on a regional basis. Roger Lytollis reports

Carlisle United managing director John Nixon wants fixtures played on Christmas Day and supporters issued with rattles and rosettes as they enter Brunton Park. Well, possibly not. But many would hardly be surprised, having heard Nixon argue that the Football League’s bottom two divisions should be regionalised, 51 years after Division Three North and South were scrapped.

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Cameron Carter sits through Goal III

A quick fast-forward to the end credits of a film will tell you all you need to know about the project. In the case of Goal III, the third in a footballing trilogy – let us hope it is a trilogy – the character list is an absolute giveaway. “Mad Film Director”, “Cute Masseuse”, “Old Masseuse”, “Irate Skoda Driver” and “Bucharest Boiler” all point towards an artist that employs, shall we say, broad brush strokes. On actually watching this film it would appear that the holders of the brush are a FIFA committee and a couple of Hollyoaks writers.

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Is football in Britain any less corrupt than in other countries?

Some football clubs are immune from the global recession. One is Real Madrid who seem to be set on buying up the best players from the main Champions League rivals, another is Manchester City who are apparently prepared to pay Samuel Eto’o a basic £250,000 per week. If Eto’o’s potential employers can afford that sort of salary is of course entirely their business, although it might also be reasonable to wonder just how much money anyone needs to earn. In view of the huge amount of money sloshing about in the sport, you could also wonder why anyone would feel compelled to top up a handsome salary with extra undeclared income. The answer might be that they do it because they can.

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The new WSC contains an illustrated history of football calendar for the new season, and our 'Surviving the crunch' 2008-09 season preview featuring every English league and SPL team.

Both are available with the latest issue of WSC on sale now.