www.manutd.com
The first thing that catches your eye at the Manchester United site is the phrase "Click here for the megastore". It makes no effort to disguise that the club is now a business as much as a football club. (The fact that the Dublin store is right beside a blood donation centre is deeply ironic, by the way). If you wish to contribute to the Man U cause by visiting the site, the archived radio reports of matches are good, particularly their home loss to Liverpool.
www.arsenal.com
The Gooners homepage greets you with a squad list rather than a marketing opportunity, in contrast to Man U's. It's almost as if they remembered that without football there would be no business. The players' biographies are well written and just the kind of thing that young fans love. The diary section is an interesting look at football fandom from a female perspective. The live text commentary on match days also works well.
www.liverpoolfc.net
Liverpool`s homepage is, if anything, a little too busy. But that's better than having too little going on. The A-Z of the club is a good idea, but the history section is far too small for a club with such an interesting past (the fact that Everton played at Anfield before Liverpool, for instance, should be expanded upon). The jobs section is disappointing in that it is for positions like "Chief Technology Officer" rather than, say, "More Reliable Keeper".
www.celticfc.co.uk
To get the most from Celtic's site, you have to register with it, but that takes just a few minutes and it's free. The history section is very good, particularly from the early days. The News Desk area is bang up-to-date and generally has the latest before any other source has it. The Social Charter is admirable and something that other clubs would do well to include both on their sites and in their ethos. A fine, easy-to-use website.
connect.ie/users/shels
Shelbourne's web site, www.connect.ie/users/shels/ shels.htm, has had almost 100,000 visits in just over three years, which is impressive for a National League side. The video clips section is great, though a little out of date. Nevertheless, I could watch Tony Sheridan's unforgettable goal from the 1996 FAI Cup Final replay over and over.(Can you tell I'm a Shels fan?) The news and features sections are good too. Visit the site, then go see a match at Tolka Park.
