This week football’s simmering issues around multiclub ownership topped the agenda at a Premier League shareholder meeting. Eight clubs voted to block a proposed ban on interlinked clubs loaning each other players, meaning those in favour fell short of the two-thirds majority required to get their way. That means Newcastle United is clear to borrow footballers from the four Saudi Pro League teams owned by the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund when the transfer window reopens in January. The vote itself shone a light on some of the tensions and contradictions within football over these issues. Some of the clubs that backed a ban have clear connections to other clubs, such as Crystal Palace through its shareholder Eagle Football, which also owns Olympique Lyonnais. Yet those that knocked down the rule change included teams that have no external ties, but perhaps have aspirations in that direction — Burnley, for example. The real benefits of multiclub ownership are still a subject o
Stockport’s upward trajectory — they are aiming for a third promotion in six seasons — is one of football’s feel-good stories, given it is only a few years since they were sleepwalking towards potential oblivion. Stockport are six points clear at the top of League Two 18 games into the 46-match season. There are plans to redevelop three sides of Edgeley Park, doubling its capacity to 20,000. A new training ground will also be built, with enough space to accommodate the academy and women’s teams. But it feels like even more of an achievement bearing in mind the challenges of living in the shadow of the two giants just up the road. Their Edgeley Park ground is six miles from the Etihad Stadium, the scene of City’s reinvention as the best football team in the country, even Europe. Old Trafford, where United used to hold that honour, is not much further on the other side of Mancunian Way. The new owner Stockport strayed dangerously close to slipping off the radar altogether befor