The idea of the poet laureate or the artist in residence is meant to convey a sort of cultural commitment to fostering supporting art.

We typically think about laureates in the context of states or other more “official” institutions.

But increasingly, football clubs develop ongoing relationships with members of the arts and letters crowd.

Very rarely is there an official position created. It’s more of an ongoing, unofficial, yet mutually beneficial relationship between an artist and the club.

The most obvious example is probably Nick Hornby and his deep ties to Arsenal.

The Gunners' form an indelible part of Hornby’s written work, as both an expression of his love and as a means of exploring complex themes in his fiction.

Yet Arsenal is not the only club with its own unofficial relationship with an artist/fan.

There’s Elton John and his ties to Watford. Oasis and their deep, abiding love of Manchester City. Daniel Craig - James Bond himself - and his connection with Liverpool.

When a club has been around long enough, at least some of their fans are going to be cultural luminaries.

Even our humble League Two outfit has its own writer-in-residence in John Green.

Indeed, the Dons could do much worse than a New York Times bestselling author.

If there’s one imperfection, it’s that most clubs don’t have more of an official relationship with their prominent artists.

It won’t make sense for every team, but I think there’s something to be said for clubs developing deeper ties with their creative braintrust.

Much like governments do with poet laureate positions.

After all: football, like art, is just beauty expressed discretely.