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What would you change about football? WSC writers look ahead to 2009 and ask, sensibly enough, for preparation for a global dystopia and for players to learn the laws, which will never catch on

After sneaking an away win at Bristol City a few years ago, Brentford created a minor stir by warming down on the pitch within minutes of the final whistle. Home fans regarded the winners’ touchline-to-touchline trudging to be “unnecessarily provocative” and, via a flurry of letters to the local paper, demanded an apology from the club.

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Tom Davies looks at the fortunes of three clubs struggling with finances

Suddenly, football ownership is all about selling, with predatory would-be owners outnumbered by chairmen seemingly desperate to offload – and not being able to. Portsmouth and West Ham’s travails have had the highest recent profile, while at Newcastle Mike Ashley’s decision to withdraw the club from sale has rekindled some of the fan anger of earlier in the season, sparking long-awaited stirrings of organised supporter activity.

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Clubs struggling in the current financial crisis by Tom Davies

The financial crisis has inevitably brought with it a swirl of speculation about how football clubs will cope with the first recession since the Premier League breakaway, but given the messes so many got into during the boom years it’s tempting to wonder whether we’ll notice much difference. But there’s no doubt many will find life more precarious.

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Is it possible for Jamie to comment fairly on Harry?

It was no surprise that Harry Redknapp’s appointment as Spurs boss a few days later met with almost universal approval in the press. Most football journalists seem to love Redknapp – while many managers treat reporters with varying degrees of suspicion, he’s affable, talkative and funny, a constant source of good copy. In among the many phone calls he apparently made in the hours after his departure from Portsmouth around midnight on Saturday was a characteristic quip, reflecting on the £5 million compensation agreed with his ex-employers: “Pompey couldn’t sell a player in the window so we sell the manager.”

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John Toshack’s reorganisation of Wales’ youth teams under Brian Flynn has paid dividends, as Paul Ashley-Jones explains

It’s typical that when Wales finally escape a qualifying group it leads to a play-off rather than the tournament itself. It’s also typical that, despite finishing top of our group, we draw a side as strong as England in the play-offs. Nonetheless, being so close to the 2009 European Under-21 Championship finals is a huge moment, for players and fans. Participation in such a tournament would help towards changing a losing mentality that Welsh players, at all levels, have had for a very long time.

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