"Every year, it feels, [the European Super League] comes closer. If access to it starts to be determined on such criteria as “historical merit”, it becomes a de facto franchise system and the beautiful sense of organic growth and one enormous interconnected pyramid that has sustained European football for so long will be lost."

In a short Episode 51 we bring you the Editor's Note from the upcoming Issue Twenty Two. Later this week we hope (technological incompetence not withstanding) to bring you a full episode of audio from our Q&A event at the Manchester Football Writing Festival, where a panel of Jonathan Wilson, Rory Smith, Philippe Auclair and Jack Pitt-Brooke will be answering your questions on a range of footballing topics.

Issue Twenty Two is available to pre-order now from www.theblizzard.co.uk, and is released on 5th September (12th September on general, pay-what-you-like download sale).