Andy Burnham wants tighter controls on club ownership. Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid
The culture secretary, Andy Burnham, has backed Sepp Blatter’s call for tighter rules on club ownership and insists it is vital to restore “confidence” among supporters.
The Fifa president appeared before MEPs at the European Union yesterday when he claimed investment in football was “out of [...]

Kevin Sinfield and his Leeds team-mates celebrate with the Super League trophy. Photograph: John Sibley/Action Images
Leeds confounded the odds to retain their Super League crown thanks to a brilliantly executed game plan which was perfectly suited to the wet and windy conditions this final was played in. Two weeks ago, on a mild, dry evening [...]

The loyalty of supporters should see clubs through these difficult financial times. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/Guardian
Ever since the Premier League boomed into life in 1992, fuelled by Sky’s millions, stubborn prophets of doom have warned it is a bubble that is bound to burst. More measured observers wondered if clubs would be particularly vulnerable to a [...]

Alan Smith has suffered another serious injury. Photograph: Tony O’Brien/Action Images
Newcastle’s crisis-stricken season has taken another turn for the worse following the news that midfielder Alan Smith could be out of action for up to three months.
While the off-field problems rumble on in the fall-out from Kevin Keegan’s resignation as manager, supporter unrest and owner [...]

Ray Wilkins is set for a return to his former stomping ground. Photograph: Nick Potts/PA
Chelsea have appointed Ray Wilkins as the club’s new assistant first-team coach following the departure of Steve Clarke to West Ham.
Wilkins, who made nearly 200 appearances for Chelsea in the 1970s, embarks on his second coaching spell with the club, having [...]

Ibrahim Afellay starred for PSV at the weekend. Photograph: David Rogers/Getty Images
While England watched Chelsea take on Manchester City in a match-up between natural gas and crude oil (natural gas won 3-1 on this occasion), Holland saw a far more amusing bout between AZ manager Louis van Gaal and his own mouth.
Having just witnessed [...]

Cristiano Ronaldo took a full part in training ahead of the Champions League match. Photograph: John Peters/PA
Cristiano Ronaldo returned to full training with Manchester United this morning and will return to the first team squad for the Champions League match against Villarreal tomorrow. The Portuguese forward has not played this season after undergoing ankle surgery [...]

Gareth Hock celebrates after his second-half try for Wigan. Photograph: Lee Mills/Action Images
Wigan’s rugby league team may have lost the clout to play big matches on their home ground, but they do at least remain on the road to Old Trafford.
Trent Barrett, their high-pedigree Australian stand-off who is on the way home himself at the [...]

Joey Barton played the final few minutes of Newcastle’s match against Arsenal. Photograph: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
Joey Barton’s agent has accused the press of hounding his client following reports that the Newcastle United midfielder jumped a red light as he drove to meet his probation officer. Pictures in the Daily Mirror show the Newcastle United star’s [...]

Can Dimitar Berbatov provide a cutting edge to the United attack? Photograph: John Peters/Man Utd via Getty Images
Two interminable Old Trafford summer transfer sagas: two happy endings for Alex Ferguson. The signing of Dimitar Berbatov from Spurs was the final - and pretty much the only – positive act of a three-month transfer window campaign [...]