‘For those Highbury fans protesting about their new stadium being saddled with a sponsor's name, there is the comfort that at least the club are still called Arsenal. In football these days, everything seems to be up for sale, and Emirates United has a certain ring to it that would cheer up a few oil sheikhs.
‘So, to the contentment oozing out of Arsenal over their inability to lose a match has now been added the financial satisfaction of a spot of good housekeeping. As for the complaining fans, there's nothing to stop them calling the new ground Highbury among themselves, and if they want to be really rebellious they can fly Gulf Air.
‘Supporters of Manchester United, meanwhile, are engaged in a much more aggressive revolt over the approaches of Malcolm Glazer, the American multi-millionaire who owns the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and now fancies taking control of United.
‘With a name like Glazer you'd have thought he would have been more interested in Crystal Palace, but we can be assured that there's nothing remotely poetic in his approach, nor does he have the remotest knowledge or love for football. It's the sight of United's balance sheet and the sound of the turnstiles and the merchandising tills tinkling merrily away that attracts him.
‘The main worry is that Glazer would have to mortgage the club's future in order to raise the money required to complete the takeover. He could then plunder the profits. If he was another Roman Abramovich, and could arrive throwing ten of millions into the transfer market, he could be assured of a warm welcome, but asset strippers they don't need.
‘No matter how much the game has suffered from tycoon attacks we still have no defence from financial predators. I hesitate to class Glazer as such, because for all we know he might bring in a new idea or two. Perhaps he will help us get rid of agents, whose dealings with clubs were last week described by a judge as a "pretty murky world". Even if his motive was pure profit, would that make him any different from the plunderers already in situ?