Abstract
In this essay we set out to rectify the failure of the English Football League to monitor the consequences of the three points for a win reform it introduced in 1981. We begin by identifying the conditions leading to its introduction before going on to present the before and after goal‐scoring patterns at the highest level of English football. We also compare the English situation with the impact the reform has had upon the elite level of Italian and Spanish football. We assess these processes from a figurational perspective and make specific use of Elias’s games model approach. We conclude that football administrators have yet to absorb the lessons that an understanding of these processes has to offer. ‘All the management know something is wrong – we are not idiots. But don’t ask me the solution’ (Jack Dunnett, President of the Football League, 1981).1
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
