For clubs in trouble, bringing the fans on board can help stabilise a crisis and renew confidence. Ken Gall reports on the experiences at the Sixfields Stadium and Tannadice

In a world of Russian billionaires, Franchise FC and “living the dream”, it’s not hard to see why greater supporter involvement in the boardrooms of UK clubs is to be desired. The rise of the supporters’ trust move­ment and the arrival of fans – elected or otherwise – as directors has been a wel­come development and one of the few beneficial consequences of the financial shambles that is UK football.

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Liverpool seem bedevilled by uncertainty. Reds fan Robert Fordham wonders why

Too often, a book about one season at a club suffers from being out of date the moment it is published. It no doubt upsets John Williams no end that Liverpool are the same gutless and passionate, half-decent and diabolical, outdated and forward-thinking collection of skilled players and hopeless ones that they were in 2002-03. It certainly upsets me.

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Jon Spurling examines what's afoot at Arsenal in the light of some new books

In recent months, there has been a growing feeling among Arsenal fans that the club has slipped into a “house of cards” existence. The Glorious Game, Alex Fynn’s latest tome – co-written with The Gooner’s Kevin Whitcher – does little to assuage those fears. One is left feeling that if a single ace in the pack, namely Arsène Wenger, Patrick Vieira, or Thierry Henry, were to depart – or if the proposed move from Highbury is mishandled – then the whole fragile edifice could come crashing down. As an analysis of Arsenal’s current status in English football – and a portend of things to come – The Glorious Game is as good as it gets. Granted unprecedented access to David Dein, youth development officer Liam Brady and most intriguingly Wenger himself, the interviews with the club’s prime movers and shakers reveal a great deal.

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Red Devils fan Ashley Shaw considers the problems facing Manchester United, with the help of a recent book

The decline of Manchester United has never been more apparent. The club’s hegemony is chal­lenged on and off the pitch by richer rivals and would seem to have all but disappeared following the recent loss of key personnel at all levels. When one factors in the date with calamity suggested by the civil case brought by the manager against the largest shareholder and the continuing spat with the Football Association over Rio Ferdinand’s memory lapse, it seems harder not to reach for cliche and file United under “club in crisis”.

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Winston Bogarde has picked up a £2.1m annual salary at Stamford Bridge without playing a game since December 2000. Ernst Bouwes  met Dutch football's forgotten man

In the week when Dutch football was in a state of  panic – there were serious doubts that we could beat Scotland – a new TV sports programme, Wachten op Holland Sport, had a remarkable item. Host Matthijs van Nieuwkerk praised Winston Bogarde, said he should be back in Dick Advocaat’s squad and recounted the depressing situation Bogarde is in at Chelsea. “Bogarde is a forgotten hero,” said Van Nieuwkerk.

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