Man of the week

Balram Chainrai - Portsmouth's ex-owner and biggest creditor - revealing why his firm Portpin plans to block a fans' takeover: "We will not agree a sale to a party who has no ability to fund the club going forward … Portpin have the club's best interests at heart." (June 2011: Portpin sells Portsmouth to Vladimir Antonov's CSI - "a strong, able and willing group".)

Club of the week

£27m: Fee secured by Spurs for Luka Modric, which they tried to spend on João Moutinho. £27m: Public money secured by Spurs in January for their new stadium project. The offshore-owned club threatened to leave the borough unless "the correct amount" of public money was in place to make the project "more viable": "We cannot be expected to do this single-handedly."

Quote of the week

Julio Grondona – president of Argentina's FA since 1979 – reacting to news of a government-led inquiry into an alleged "deep-rooted culture of tax evasion and money laundering" in Argentinian football, with 146 player agents suspended and multiple clubs under investigation, including top-flight Arsenal de Sarandi, which he owns. Grondona: "I welcome it. Transparency is so important."

PR news: revitalising

£1,000: Monthly prize in the relaunched Barclays Community Sports Awards scheme – part of the bank's "global commitment to use sport to revitalise disadvantaged communities". £8.6m: Pay deal for its new chief executive – tasked with "restoring Barclays' reputation".

Window highlights

• June: Moussa Dembélé: "I'm very happy at Fulham, especially because of the boss. He gives me a lot of confidence – that's why I feel I owe it to the gaffer. I go to work every day with joy. It's a fantastic club: I'm in no hurry to move." August: Moves.

• July: Richard Wright cancels a one-year contract with Preston after one week. "I've only been away from home [East Anglia] for a few days and I know already that I cannot live that far away from my family. I think it's only fair to be honest now rather than down the line." Preston manager Graham Westley: "It takes a brave man to be honest in a difficult situation like this." August: Joins Man City.

• Plus: not playing the game – Júlio César, joining QPR: "I'm not a hypocrite and I can talk openly about this. Inter suggested I reduce my salary. My representative and I thought QPR was a good choice."

Principled stand of the week

€423,000-a-week Dagestan-based Samuel Eto'o – refusing to return to the Cameroon side eight months after leading strike action over the FA's failure to pay €1,500 appearance fees. "I will not participate. The national team is still made up of amateurism and bad management, which does not suit high-level sport."

Managers: best exits

• March, Chesterfield chairman Dave Allen: "People have been calling for John Sheridan's head and I've said no, no, no, no. I'm a great believer in business that if you've got the right man, you back him. I gave him a four-year contract this year because he's the right man. I'm not for sacking managers." August: Sacks him.

• 4: The number of months before firing Andy Thorn that Coventry's chief executive Tim Fisher set out his plan for rebuilding: "It would be really easy to have the knee-jerk reaction … but that's not what this is about. The one thing we have lacked over a number of years is a bit of stability … This is where we need to draw a line in the sand and say enough – enough of firing managers. We need to get out of that habit."

Loulou's week

France: Montpellier owner Louis "Loulou" Nicollin on his club's start to the season: "I'm disappointed. You can always turn round a bad start if you have smart players, but three-quarters of mine are morons, so that won't work."

• Plus: on a rumoured bid for his player Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa by the bald-headed Milan chief executive Adriano Galliani: "Kojak never phoned me. It makes me laugh. Those guys at AC Milan leave it so late, they've just sold some bloke for €45m to PSG and the next thing they want to nick your best player. If they give me 25 or 30, OK, but they're offering me 5 or 6 … Go and shoot your films Kojak and don't piss me off."

Plus: sad news

Argentina: Model Claudia Ciardone says links with two players, including Independiente Rivadavia's Cristian "The Ogre" Fabbiani, are "unsettling". "There's nothing doing with The Ogre. I have no such desires. You know, I've come to learn something: footballers are dreadful. I'm leaving this game behind."