Steve Tongue

Steve Tongue is a Football Correspondent for The Independent.

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Petr Cech is unmoved by Chelsea's revolving door policy

The Blues goalkeeper values consistency on the pitch more than in the dugout

Wigan Athletic 2 Tottenham Hotspur 2 match report: Both teams lose out in game they had to win

Tottenham and Wigan rue vital missed points for a Champions' League place and survival

Outside the Box: It's not MyFootballClub any more as support ebbs away

The news that MyFootballClub have decided to give up their shareholding in Ebbsfleet United brings to an end a brave, if flawed, experiment in supporter participation. Readers may remember MyFC was launched online in 2007 with the aim of buying an English club. Some 27,000 paying members from 70 countries eventually acquired 75 per cent of Ebbsfleet, and were given a voice in all matters affecting the Conference club. Originally promised a say in team selection, they later voted to leave that to the manager, but did vote at one point on whether to accept an offer of £150,000 for the star player (who was duly sold to Bristol City). Numbers eventually dwindled to around 1,000, as did attendances, and Ebbsfleet have just been relegated from the Blue Square Bet Premier. MyFC's shares have now been offered to the club's supporters' trust, but £100,000 is needed in the next couple of weeks to avoid administration.

Major players? Last season QPR’s ratio of wages to income was 91 per cent while Norwich’s was less than 50 per cent

The only way is down for Queens Park Rangers

All but relegated, QPR provide a valuable lesson in how not to run a club with Premier League aspirations

2005: Arsenal were 12 points behind

Nine years without a trophy means you better mind the gap, Arsène Wenger

Lose today and Arsenal will be as far off the top as at any time since 2004

Roy Hodgson plays the waiting game in John Terry fiasco

England's head coach, Roy Hodgson, will wait for personal notification of John Terry's intentions before deciding whether to welcome him back into the international set-up for the season's two remaining games. As Hodgson travelled to Newcastle for last night's game against Liverpool, the Football Association's official position was that the national team's former captain "is still internationally retired".

Four star: Robert Lewandowski is said to want a move to the Premier League

Alex Ferguson closes in on Borussia Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski

Multi-million pound commercial deals give Manchester United the muscle to bid for Polish international

Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud saw red for a late challenge in the game against Fulham`
Arsenal celebrate Per Mertesacker's goal

Fulham 0 Arsenal 1 match report: Steve Sidwell’s red lifts off-colour Arsenal in top-four race

Fulham player marks return from ban with a sending-off and helps Gunners return to third

Day In a Page

'There is a battle going on inside us that is never discussed'

Masculinity in crisis?

'There is a battle going on inside us that is never discussed'
The price of pacifism: Refusing to go to war is finally being recognised as a brave act

The price of pacifism

From the Second World War refusenik to the 19-year-old Israeli, Holly Williams talks to five people who risked shame and suffering to take a stand as conscientious objector.
'It was mass hysteria': Jason Isaacs on groupies, theatre bores and snogging James Bond

Jason Isaacs: Groupies, theatre bores and James Bond

To millions, Jason Isaacs is one of Harry Potter's arch enemies – but his wife prefers him as a Scottish TV detective.
Notes from a small island: Is Sealand an independent 'micronation' or an illegal fortress?

Sealand: 'Micronation' or illegal fortress?

Thomas Hodgkinson spent a week at the tiny platform off the Suffolk coast to find out.
Not a bad bone: Mark Hix cooks with cutlets and ribs

Mark Hix cooks with cutlets and ribs

If you ignore cutlets and ribs, you'll risk missing out on some delicious and easy meals, says our chef.
The experts' guide to summer: From getting fit for the beach to recreating that Olympic buzz

The experts' guide to summer

From getting fit for the beach to recreating that Olympic buzz
Sex, drugs and fast cars: The legend of James Hunt has set Hollywood hearts racing

Legend of James Hunt has set Hollywood hearts racing

Early glimpses of Ron Howard's film Rush suggest it will portray Hunt as a high-living lothario, with an insatiable appetite for partying.
Macklemore: 'I don't have moderation when using drugs and alcohol. It was hurting my life'

Macklemore: 'I don't have moderation'

The next Vanilla Ice or the next Eminem? Macklemore doesn't have a record contract – but he does have the UK's biggest-selling single of the year.
Don't be shy: Bill Granger's Sri Lankan recipes

Don't be shy: Bill Granger's Sri Lankan recipes

Sri Lankan cuisine is light, sunny, wonderfully spiced – and so easy to cook from scratch. Just as soon as you've broken into the coconut, that is.
Sir James Dyson’s latest project: Cleaning up hospitals

Sir James Dyson’s latest project: Cleaning up hospitals

Doctors are hailing the revamp of a Bath neonatal unit, where babies sleep more and feed better, as the model for patient care
One man returns to Argentina's town that drowned

One man returns to Argentina's town that drowned

Epecuen was submerged under 10 metres of water in 1985. Now the floods have gone – and 83-year-old Pablo Novak has moved back in
The real thing? Historian publishes Coca Cola's 'secret formula'

The real thing?

Historian publishes Coca Cola's 'secret formula'
Gordon Ramsey's worst nightmare: A restaurant he cannot save

Gordon Ramsay's worst nightmare: A restaurant he cannot save

The pugnacious chef finally met a shambolic restaurant he couldn't save. John Walsh on when TV makover refuseniks fight back
Join Ryanair! See the world! But we're only paying you for nine months a year

Join Ryanair! See the world! But we're only paying you for nine months a year

Glamorous myth of the flight attendant lifestyle undermined by angry employee's claims of 'exploitation'
Braising saddles: Did the recent furore scupper sales of horse meat? Neigh, far from it!

Braising saddles: How to cook horse meat

Did the recent furore scupper sales of horse meat? Neigh, far from it! Will Coldwell hoofs it to the kitchen.