Barney Ronay scrolls through the list of Britain's highest earners and finds it an incriminating document in the case against football's economic competence

Benito Carbone, Mark Bosnich and Winston Bo­garde have something in common. Draw up a list of controversial transfers, and all three would un­doubtedly feature. But Beni and the boys appeared on another list this month: the Sunday Times Pay List 2002, which sets out the 500 highest earning individuals in Britain. The List includes 46 footballers, only one of whom – Steve McManaman at No 213 – is em­ployed outside the domestic leagues. At first glance the temptation is merely to gawp at the presence of such high profile failures as Fabrizio Ravanelli and the notoriously overpaid cheeky boys of Chelsea.

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Tranmere Rovers may be on the verge of a possible takeover, but as Tony Morris discovers, it is not want the fans were hoping for

On Halloween, frightening rumours began circulating among Tranmere fans that Chester City’s owner Stephen Vaughan was about to buy Rovers, leading to a groundshare at City’s Deva Stadium and a merger of the two clubs. The next day’s papers reinforced fans’ fears. One claimed Tranmere would be forced to sell its Prenton Park ground to pay the £5.3 million the club owes to its owner Peter Johnson. Another confirmed Vaughan’s interest in pur­ch­asing Rovers, claiming a deal could be struck in days.

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Proposed new rules will mean players under a certain age with dual nationality will be able to choose who they play for. Matthew Taylor looks at the benefits of this scheme

Since 1964, FIFA’s eligibility rules have been based on the principle that, once chosen, a player’s footballing nationality is set in stone. That could change if a proposal to allow players with dual nationality under the age of 20 or 21 to switch the country they represent is ap­proved by the world governing body.

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Arsenal have a new business venture. Al Needham has a go at Arsenal Monopoly

Monopoly is a board game that extols the virtues of avarice, greed and per­sonal gain to the detriment of everyone else. “The game reflects the essence and spirit of Arsenal football club,” says a spokesman for the makers of Monopoly, who have launched a new version of the Sunday afternoon pursuit of driving other members of the family into bankruptcy with the help of a couple of dice and a Get Out Of Jail card.

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Holland's version of the FA Cup is so underappreciated, many teams field their reserve squads to compete as well. Ernst Bouwes investigates

If the FA Cup is the best and most exciting cup competition in the world, the Amstel Cup, org­anised by the Dutch FA (KNVB), has to be a contender for the worst. Nowadays, the clubs playing in European competitions are given a bye as far as the last 16. This is only fair, according to the KNVB. “We need our best clubs to do well in Europe to gain points for us in the UEFA ranking,” says the KNVB’s Henk Kesler.

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