Down at the bottom of the First, something is stirring. Chris Eldergill reports on Steve Coppell's attempts to keep Brighton up with no visible means of support

When Steve Coppell took on his latest quest in man­agement at Brighton & Hove Albion, there were more than a few eyebrows raised. Coppell was taking over a team that sat rock bottom of the First Division, having lost ten games in a row and still with no permanent home. Brighton were employing a man who had managed their greatest rivals, Crystal Palace, on and off for over a decade. Supporters even had a terrace chant dedicated to him.

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Life is complicated at both ends of the First Division. Norwich's chief executive Neil Doncaster explains how the Canaries are trying to plan for all eventualities

How well off are Norwich compared to other clubs in the wake of ITV Digital?
We certainly weren’t the worst hit, but we weren’t the lightest hit either. There are a number of clubs in the First Division whose aspirations year-to-year are not necessarily promotion and who had not pushed the boat out quite so far in terms of player salaries. Our wage bill this season of £5.5 million was budgeted for on the basis that we would receive £2.5 million income from TV. Even receiving it we expected to make a loss of £2.5 million over the year, so when the ITV Digital situation arose, you’re then looking at a budgeted loss of £5 million – which is why we had to go down the route of the share offer very quickly over the summer.

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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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