In the blue-and-white striped corner, Dave Allen; fresh out of the blue corner, Ken Bates. Graham Lightfoot reports on a ding-dong of a contest for ownership at Hillsborough

You can say what you like about Ken Bates, but he certainly draws the media in like wasps to a jam pot. His recent interest in buying into Sheffield Wednesday has meant that once again supporters can read about their club in the national press. For the past four years the club have slowly disappeared from main-stream media coverage. Languishing in mid-table in the Second Division there is no certainty that their matches will even get a few lines in the broadsheets’ divisional round-up column these days.

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After years of belt-tightening regimes, Cardiff City have been on one long spree lately and Andrew Turton wonders what Sam Hammam's numbers will add up to in the end

Tony Clemo struggled for years to keep it under control. Rick Wright wouldn’t even consider it. Samesh Kumar made sure it never got out of hand and Steve Borley used his own money, rather than risk its effect on the club. Yes, we’re talking about debt; more specifically, Cardiff City’s debt. In years gone by, we used to worry if the club’s borrowings reached a few hundred thousand. Now, after a decade of chair- men keeping a tight grip on the purse strings, Sam Ham­mam’s policy regarding debt is quite the opposite.

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While many Manchester United fans were greatly exercised by Alex Ferguson's battle over Rock of Gibraltar, Adam Brown argues that the stallion belonged in a sideshow and that the real contest is only just beginning

Doom-laden predictions of the end of a footballing epoch are treated with some disdain at Old Trafford, but recent events off the pitch have generated far greater concern. Two Irish racehorse tycoons and an American sports businessman have entered the stage left vacant by BSkyB’s failed bid in 1998-99. But what of the reaction of fans and shareholders?

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Matthew Brown looks at what London clubs, particularly Arsenal and Chelsea, do for their local communities

As a lifelong Arsenal fan there’s a certain downside to Desmond McDonald’s job as a drugs and youth worker in Wandsworth, south-west London – he has to wear a Chelsea kit every day. But even he will admit it’s a small price to pay for the Blues’ involvement in his organisation’s work with young people on three of the most deprived wards in Battersea.

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The recent racism row between Millwall and Burnley overlooked the work both clubs do to improve community relations. Glen Poole reports from the Lancashire town on their current equality projects

What are Burnley doing to tackle racism? Alastair Camp­bell sparked a major incident in March when he accused Millwall fans of racism towards Burnley players in his Times column. Stan Ternent, Theo Paphitis and even former Radio Four bad-boy Rod Liddle waded into the fight. But Campbell – a lifelong Burnley fan – had raised an important point that was lost amid the sound of handbags clashing. It isn’t just clubs that have to take responsibility for the problem, but also fans and communities. The issue of racism beyond the terraces is particularly pertinent in Burnley, where the disturbances of 2001 and the subsequent BNP electoral gains have placed the town in the media spotlight. 

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