The Football Fan

What’s the big idea?

A new season and new attempts to ruin a simply beautiful game. Welcome back!

Aug 28 • 

Martin Cloake

18

4

July 2025

Rules, damn rules and Crystal Palace

Multi-club ownership is at the heart of the dispute between Crystal Palace and UEFA, and everyone has questions to answer

Jul 25 • 

Martin Cloake

5

4

June 2025

The game versus the crowd

There is a tension in football that is bubbling under, and smart leadership is needed to deal with it.

Jun 26 • 

Martin Cloake

7

May 2025

Waka waka eh eh – Winning it in Bilbao

Part two of the view from inside the fan experience at a major European final.

May 30 • 

Martin Cloake

6

4

On our way: A Bilbao odyssey

What does it take for a fan to get to a European final? This is the story of my trip to the Europa League Final 2025 and an effort to shed light on…

May 29 • 

Martin Cloake

5

11

Kogan’s run

So David Kogan is going to be the chair of the Independent Football Regulator …

May 8 • 

Martin Cloake

6

2

April 2025

How to make change

Fans are facing the challenge not only of how to organise effectively, but of how to maintain wider faith in the benefits of organisation.

Apr 25 • 

Martin Cloake

7

1

March 2025

The other Premier League story

There is more than one way of looking at the economics of the English Premier League.

Mar 27 • 

Martin Cloake

8

1

February 2025

Changing the conversation on ticket pricing

One of the stories of this season has been the growing revolt from fans over pricing policy. So what does it mean and where do we go now?

Feb 19 • 

Martin Cloake

5

1

January 2025

Desperate times, desperate measures

The Premier League is conducting an increasingly unhinged campaign against the football regulator, and parachute payments are proving to be a key…

Jan 28 • 

Martin Cloake

8

1

December 2024

Tis the season …

Farewell to 2024 and roll on 2025, a brief roundup of some of the season's rolling stories.

Dec 18, 2024 • 

Martin Cloake

2

November 2024

More tales from the product frontline

Why the time has come to push harder on ticket pricing, Governance Bill battle lines become clear, and that Spurs brand revamp

Nov 19, 2024 • 

Martin Cloake

1