Could this be the end of the road for Oldham Athletic? Steve Ragg explains how a promising season suddenly went so wrong
From the brink of promotion to the edge of extinction in what seems like no time at all. While hopes of Division One football died with the play-off defeat at QPR, Oldham Athletic may be killed off altogether if a solution to our latest crisis isn’t found very soon.
Adam Powley finds out what changes in the transfer system will mean for clubs
Barely a day goes by without some doom-laden tale warning of financial disaster for football. Welcome news of a sort therefore came with the announcement last month that Premiership clubs have agreed changes in the transfer system that promise to bring much needed stability to a very jittery market.
It could be far worse than Murdoch, writes Ken Gall
European Union policy on anti-competitive practices may not be the topic du jour for most WSC readers, but the keen interest shown recently by commissioner Mario Monti in the Premiership’s cosy TV deal with Sky may yet have implications for the game at all levels. And anyone who deplores English football’s alliance with Rupert Murdoch might have to face an alarming possibility: that the alternative might be far, far worse. Any departure from the current collective agreement could result in the bigger clubs selling the rights to their games individually, leaving clubs at all levels – along with grass-roots projects such as the Football Foundation – facing a shattering cut in revenue.
Dianne Millen explores the potential pit falls of a groundshare bewteen two rivals
Groundsharing controversies – you go years without them and then two come along at once. After the Falkirk saga comes the controversial announcement that Hearts and Hibs are proposing to sell their grounds, both in traditional working-class areas of the city, to fund a purpose-built stadium miles out of town in Straiton, an area currently best known for hosting the local Ikea.
Dave Hannigan tells the story of the Irishman who's been around the world and back
Just four summers have passed since the then Juventus manager Carlo Ancelotti introduced Ronnie O’Brien for the last 13 minutes of an Intertoto Cup semi-final against the Russian representatives Rostelmash. Making his third cameo appearance in the competition, the 20-year-old Irishman slotted in comfortably alongside Edgar Davids, Alessandro Del Piero et al. A matter of months after Bryan Robson had shown him the door at the Riverside Stadium, while very publicly dismissing his chances of ever making it at the highest level, he was pulling that famous zebra-striped jersey over his head and trousering £3,000 a week. Life was good and the unfortunate Liam Brady comparisons were far too plentiful.