THE MILAN derby was a personal triumph for fit-again veteran Zlatan Ibrahimović – two goals and victory over one of his former clubs, but it was also affirmation of the Milanese renaissance that appears to be gathering momentum at the San Siro.

AC Milan ended Inter’s unbeaten run, their first league defeat in those crazy zig-zag shirts, and went two points clear at the top of Serie A. That’s four out of four for Stefano Pioli’s team – not bad for a club that recently announced it made a staggering loss of € 195 million in 2019-20. It should be noted, though, that AC Milan have been the best performing Italian club on the pitch since the lockdown ended.

Open

The 2020-21 season has the potential to be the most open in Serie A for some time. Inter already signalled their intent last year when they finished runners-up to Juventus by one point, losing just four games versus Juve’s seven. With their expensive squad boosted by almost € 100 million of new signings in the last transfer window, including € 40 million on Achraf Hakami of Real Madrid, Inter sent another reminder to the rest of Italian football. The club’s Chinese owners, who have driven revenues up from € 187 million to € 400 million since 2016, want success and after going close last season in Serie A and the Europa League, the pressure will undoubtedly have been increased on Antonio Conte this past few months.

Ibrahimović may be 39 years of age, but the instinct is still there, even if he did get poleaxed by covid-19. He’s netted four of Milan’s nine goals this season. In typical fashion, Zlatan believes nobody can stop him even though he’s now pushing 40 and he thinks Milan can win their first Scudetto since 2011. Not everyone agrees with the confident Swede, though, and most pundits expect both Juventus and Inter to eventually finish above them. By the time Juventus go to the San Siro in January, the position will surely be clearer.

It’s good news for coach Pioli, who was expected to leave the club before the 2020-21 season got underway. Ivan Gazidis, the CEO who divides opinion among fans – “he destroyed Arsenal, now he’s ruining Milan” – wanted to hire former RB Leipzig coach Ralf Rangnick, a bold signing that would spearhead the kind of revolution Gazidis is looking for at Milan.

Projects

The San Siro project will be transformational for both Milan clubs, earning them € 70 million a year each. Both clubs have presented plans for the new stadium and the complete renovation of the surrounding area, a scheme that will cost in excess of € 1 billion but create 3,500 new jobs. Two architectural firms are bidding to handle the project.

The “cathedral” proposal by Populous aims to be one of the most sustainable stadiums in Europe, naturally cooled and topped by panels that generate electricity. The stadium is surrounded by 22 acres of green space and the entire district will be connected to a central heating and cooling system.

The second scheme, by manica/sportium is called “the rings of Milano”, a design that includes two rings, interlocked and set apart. This will also be part of a broader project that reimagines San Siro as a park and entertainment neighbourhood.

There could be further benefits if the proposed link-up between Serie A and CVC Capital Partners and Advent International comes to fruition and devliers a new rights deal worth more than € 1.6 billion. Milan and Inter both voted in favour of the proposals which will see the private equity companies take a 10% stake in a new company managing the league’s broadcasting rights.

This could be a vital transaction because Italian clubs have had a rough time in the pandemic, as evidenced by losses generated by Roma, Lazio, Milan and Inter. Juventus owner Andrea Agnelli, said recently that European clubs could lose between five and six billion euros over the next two seasons. He envisages the full damage will not be known until the autumn of 2021. Juventus reported a loss of almost € 90 million in September 2020.

Time

Milan’s deficit of € 195 million added to the problems inherited from the club’s previous ownership, said their official statement. They gained some mild consolation, however, in declaring that if the impact of the global pandemic is removed, financial performance has actually improved on 2018-19. The club insisted: “It will take time to transform AC Milan, but the club and the ownership share the same confidence in the positive path undertaken.” While the owners have underlined their support of the club to ensure financial stability, Milan has also launched a cost efficiency policy which includes a significant reduction in wages.

Against a background of strict financial management, can AC Milan maintain their challenge at the top of Serie A, or are they merely keeping the seat warm for Juventus? They have some key players who are involved in contract talks, so the club will have to handle things sensitively if they want to keep Ibrahimović, Gianluigi Donnarumma (a Chelsea target) and Hakan Calhanoglu (Juve and Atléti interest).

For students of the game – and non-Juve fans – the reawakening of AC Milan and Inter is a good thing for Italian football. Although neither would admit it, they also need their rivals to flourish in order to spur them on. Milan is, after all, still one of the world’s great football cities.

@GameofthePeople

Photo: PA

Categories: Italy

Tagged: AC Milan, Europe, European football, finance, Inter Milan, Italy, Juventus, Milan derby, Serie A, Zlatan Ibrahimovic

The myths surrounding home-grown football talent

GOTP Editorial Team

Posted on October 16, 2020

IN A UPTOPIAN world, football clubs would represent the towns they come from and their players would be locally-reared, devoted to their places of birth and loyal to their clubs. The world has changed: in Victorian England that may have be the case, an age where someone from a neighbouring town would be treated much the same as refugees are viewed today by some of the more insular sections of society.

As football evolved, local rivalries were a key feature of the game’s culture, especially when clubs most definitely had local identity.

In a weekend that includes the Merseyside derby, the Scottish “Old Firm” clash and the Milanese Derby della Maddonina, three of the most passionate of all local skirmishes, has the modern football industry diluted the meaning of such games?

The fans, of course, still revel in getting one over on their opposite numbers and this is really the last remaining essence of the “derby”. Players on both sides only appreciate the historical relevance of the games, but does it really matter to a hired hand in the Liverpool line-up if Everton win?

Searching

The fact is, rarely have teams comprised players who have been born within a goal-kick from the club they play for. Very few successful teams have been home-grown. Professionalism, going right back to the first league champion, Preston North End has decreed that clubs search high and low for new talent. The 1889 regular “Invincibles” included just two players, Bob Holmes and Bob Howarth, who were born in Preston.

Similarly, when Sunderland were the major force in the game in the late 19^th century, their squad was almost entirely Scottish (14 of 17 players). The only two Englishmen were Tom Porteus from Newcastle and John Oliver of Sunderland. Newcastle’s 1905 side that went close to winning the double was also drawn from many sources – six of their regular 11 were Scots, while only three were from Tyneside.

Scotland played a big part in the development of professional football in England and right up until the 1970s, most successful teams included at least one Scot. Since football went global, the number of Scottish, Irish and Welsh players in English squads has declined significantly.

By the 1930s, clubs were becoming more and more ambitious in their quest for talent, employing scouts to scour the country. Generally, though, players stayed within their comfort zone, although the increased wages and glamour of London meant the dressing rooms of teams like Arsenal and Chelsea would echo to the sound of regional dialects.

The second world war depleted the stock of footballers and also put pressure on the business models of professional clubs. Some clubs decided it was time to develop young players to create a sustainable flow of talent and remove the need for transfer fees. Manchester United, a club that suffered more than most during the war, began a programme that would yield spectacular results. Under Matt Busby’s guidance, a string of outstanding young players were developed. When United won the league title in 1956 and 1957, their line-up included up to nine who had come through the club’s youth system, including the likes of Duncan Edwards and Bobby Charlton. Tragically, most of that team, which had still to reach its peak, perished in the snow at Munich airport in February 1958.

Benefits

Other clubs saw the long-term benefit of home-grown players, including Burnley, Chelsea and Leeds United. Burnley in 1960 won the league title with a team that had just one player that had cost a fee, Alex Elder. Chelsea were never quite as successful, although they were a dominant force in junior football.

Bill Shankly’s Liverpool of 1964 and 1966 had a core of locally-born players who had come through the club’s youth set-up, including Gerry Byrne, Chris Lawler, Ronnie Moran, Jimmy Melia and Ian Callaghan. However, key man like Ron Yeats, Ian Callaghan, Willie Stevenson and Ian St. John were all signed from other clubs. Liverpool’s rivals, Everton, won the title in 1970 with a team that was around 50% drawn from their youth development and signings from northern clubs, such as Alan Ball and Gordon West (Blackpool), Howard Kendall (Preston) and Keith Newton (Blackburn).

At the same time, Leeds United, under Don Revie, were a rising force and were dependent on a group of young players who would keep the club at the top for the best part of a decade. While most of them came through the ranks at Leeds, only one, Mike O’Grady, was from Leeds although he was signed from Huddersfield Town. The only other significant signing was Sheffield United’s Mick Jones.

When the hub of Leeds’ squad aged, Liverpool took over as the dominant force in the mid-1970s and almost the entire 1980s. But this was not a squad that was built on Merseyside. The big stars in Liverpool’s side, Kenny Dalglish, Ian Rush, John Barnes, Peter Beardsley and Kevin Keegan were not developed from a young age. As the Premier League emerged in 1992, the age of chequebook team-building became the defining feature of success. Not for the first time, Manchester United stumbled across a group of players from within their system that could form the nucleus of their first team for 10 years, the so-called “Class of ’92”.

With such rare talent as Ryan Giggs, the Nevilles, Paul Scholes and David Beckham, United also had the financial clout to dominate English football for almost two decades. Arsenal also emerged as a monied club who could draw on the contacts of French coach Arsene Wenger to attract some outstanding individuals. These clubs pulled away from the rest but it is arguable the power of this duo gave birth to a new type of investor in football. Very few people have ever posed the question, but did the power of Arsenal and Manchester United create the environment that brought Roman Abramovich and Abu Dhabi to the Premier League?

Manchester United and Arsenal were soon usurped by Chelsea, whose new owner had the ability to spend large in one foul swoop. Chelsea were not only able to compete in the transfer market for the first time, but they also hired football’s most dynamic and coveted coach in José Mourinho. Chelsea’s ability to sign whoever they wished came at a cost to their youth system. John Terry was the only player to come through for over a decade and even though the club produced some strong candidates and dominated the FA Youth Cup, mostly the players developed at their training centre would become assets that were traded and loaned in the market. Chelsea, effectively, only blooded their youngsters when they had to, notably in 2019 when they received a transfer ban for one window.

The clubs are all alike, regardless of how much they preach a commitment to youth. Nobody has the patience to nurture players, managers are the world’s highest-paid temporary employees and don’t have the time to invest long term. Hence, they buy ready-made products that can give them instant results – they have no choice because clubs do not give them the benefit of the doubt.

Always buy

Look at the most recent champions in the Premier League. Liverpool’s regular squad cost transfer fees of around £ 450 million in 2019-20 and only one, Trent Alexander-Arnold, was from the city of Liverpool and developed by the club. In 2018-19, Manchester City’s main squad, costing over half a billion, had no home-grown players. Phil Foden, who came though the youth programme, made 13 Premier League appearances.

So, it is clear: champions have almost always bought success, some by spending vast sums and others by investing modestly. The modern trend is for large sums being paid for top talent to build an instant all-star side. Clubs still scout for young players, but they cast their nets far and wide, both domestically and internationally. The age of the “local” team has gone, apart from in the non-league world. And a good scouting network does not mean that young players will find their way to the club – income from player sales has become an important part of the balance sheet. Young footballers have become a trading commodity.

When the 22 players run onto the pitch at Goodison Park and Celtic Park, very few will have much affinity with the cities their clubs come from. The globalised game has given us more options in building a football team – players are transient, here today, gone tomorrow, and a club is an employer. In such an environment, the local derby has become fan versus fan. When all is said and done, players and managers come and go, but the supporters are the one constant body in modern football.

@GameofthePeople

Photo: PA

Categories: Culture

Tagged: Burnley, Leeds United, Liverpool, Manchester United, transfer market, youth development

Non-League’s rainy day… time to crisis test and change the constitution

GOTP Editorial Team

Posted on October 14, 2020

THE late Alan Hull of Lindisfarne once wrote a tune called “The Money Game” and sang that he could “smile when it’s a rainy day”, implying that he didn’t have to worry about cash when things were bad. Sadly, modern lifestyles and mass consumerism have left many people without a proverbial pot to pee in, personal debt is high and many folk are one missed pay day away from disaster. In some ways, non-league football reflects that scenario and the game at that level could be facing a rainy day like no other.

At this precise moment, clubs at steps three and beyond are allowed to admit spectators, but the signs are not good. Already, in response to rising cases of the covid-19 virus, the UK’s floundering government has started to restrict normal activity once more. While pubs, restaurants and shops have been affected for some time, this latest clampdown could spell disaster for many if it morphs into another lockdown.

We all missed football when there was none and the sheer joy at being allowed back into non-league games was there for all to see. But there were some examples of spectators and players failing to adhere to the rules – notably a much-publicised game involving Hashtag United. The club’s timing could not have been worse, it was screened on the BBC and made most newspapers, just a day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson fist-pumped his latest instructions.

If the game at Pitsea witnessed such scenes, is it possible that others that were not so much in the public eye also had examples of the rules and precautions being ignored? There is a distinct chance that non-league football could be stopped in its tracks if the game doesn’t work out a way to prevent a repeat performance.

Most grounds at step three, for example, should be able to accommodate a restricted crowd at a safe distance. Indeed, the demographic at most stadiums comprises fans simply not interested in jumping on each other for fear of a dislocation, sprain or break. The average stadium utilisation rate in the Southern League Central Premier, for example, is just 11%, meaning that there’s a lot of unused room.

Nobody should underestimate the damage that abandoning another season will do to the very fabric of non-league. Matchday revenue is a huge part of a club’s income, there is no broadcasting money to compensate. Clubs have become very vulnerable.

Can they do anything about it? Non-league has to take a long hard look at itself and its economic model. Players’ wages have to be limited and not consume a huge part of total revenues. Clubs need to have a fighting fund to pay for that leaky roof, broken perimeter fence or dressing room refurb. Spectator comfort and safety should be the top priority. Clubs need to be stress-tested.

There also has to be more thought given to making the supporters – essentially the only people who truly care about the club’s longevity – have to become true stakeholders. This requires a nation-wide movement to change the constitution of semi-professional and amateur clubs. The notion that your local club is effectively Manchester United in short trousers has to end – the big time is corporate football, the small time is community football.

This may sound like a pipedream and a threat to their current status, but when small clubs call for bail-outs and supporter money to keep them afloat, something needs to be assessed – how many clubs are really financially viable?

Moreover, if clubs rely on charity, the supporters need to receive something in return that validates their contribution. Yes, the time of fan-owned clubs is upon us.

Whether a second lockdown comes or not, it is the right moment to change how non-league clubs sit in the community. There’s a lot of talk about “community clubs” but this should surely be a two-way street, not merely a license to gain grants and kudos. Make the fans true stakeholders, not merely a revenue stream to be tapped when times are hard.

This really is non-league football’s tipping point. There’s a huge opportunity out there to pick-up new audiences and fill a gap for live football. Screw it up and when this crisis passes for us all, we may find that the club in the heart of town has been boarded up.

@GameofthePeople

Photo: PA

Categories: Non-League

Tagged: covid-19, fans, finance, Non-League, Stakeholders

Râducanu, the mystery entertainer in black

GOTP Editorial Team

Posted on October 13, 2020

IN the days when any team from behind Communist Europe was treated with a great sense of curiosity, any player resembling a larger-than-life figure contradicted all preconceived ideas about football in countries such as Bulgaria, Czechoslavakia and Romania.

Eastern European Communists were meant to be dour and mechanical and prioritised function over artistry. That was the myth, for amid well-drilled and super-fit teams, there were some genuine characters.

Ricâ Râducanu, or Necula, as he was also known, was one such player, a 6 feet 3 inch goalkeeper who entertained and fascinated football crowds within Romania as well as outside his own nation. Tall, angular, hawk-nosed, often dressed in a black and frequently noisy, he stood out among his Rapid Bucharest team-mates.

Flamboyant

He was, apparently, something of a playboy figure who enjoyed a night or two out on the town. His flamboyant style of dress got him noticed, but he was also outspoken and always keen to be the centre of attention.

Born on May 10 1946, just as the fascist regime that ruled Romania between 1940 and 1944 was brought to justice, Râducanu grew up in Vlâdeni in Ialomita county, a small village where everyone worked in the agricultural industry.

Râducanu was a foreman on the state railway and Rapid Bucharest were the team of the railway workers. He was 19 when he joined the club in 1965 and within two years, he had won his first international cap for Romania. This was a golden period for Rapid and in 1966-67 they won the Romanian league championship and Râducanu was a pivotal figure as his team conceded 21 goals in 26 games.

Râducanu was often brilliant, but he was also prone to making errors that would cost Rapid or Romania. He considered himself to be braver than most goalkeepers, especially those in England. “English goalkeepers don’t come off their line, they have no courage. Me, I’m not afraid to go out looking for the ball,” he said in 1971. Such an adventurous spirit would sometimes be his downfall, either by getting caught off his line, or through straying too far from his penalty area. The bizarre could happen with Ricâ, such as in 1978 when he turned away from a cross he felt was sailing wide but it struck him on his back and stayed in play, falling for an opponent to score.

1970

Nevertheless, Râducanu was selected for the 1970 World Cup after helping Romania qualify from a tough group that included 1966 semi-finalists Portugal. But despite playing most of their group games, he managed only 72 minutes in Mexico. Why? He was due to line-up in Romania’s opening game against England, but was suspended after breaking the team’s curfew, preferring to enjoy a night on the town in Guadalajara. The Romanian national team coach, Angele Niculescu, was livid with his goalkeeper and told the media: “Râducanu has been taken from the list of the team nucleus for disobedience,” he said.

Râducanu was deprived the chance to play against his hero, Gordon Banks. He had already made his mark with England’s players earlier in his career. Jack Charlton, for example, described him as “the most remarkable goalkeeper in the world” and added he was “a kind of Len Shackleton (another flamboyant figure) between the sticks.” He could be over-emotional, too, as witnessed when he threw the ball into his own net after accusing his Steaua team-mates of lack of effort.

But his only appearance in the World Cup came in the 27^th minute of the third group game against eventual champions Brazil. Stere Adamache, who started the game in goal, had conceded twice, once from Pelé and Râducanu became the first goalkeeper substitute in World Cup history. Romania lost 3-2 and went out of the competition.

In 1971, Râducanu and Rapid were drawn against Tottenham Hotspur in the UEFA Cup. He captained the team and was generally the first person the British media turned to in the build-up to the first leg at White Hart Lane. “I have a big voice, I shout like a madman,” he said when questioned about the suitability of a goalkeeper as skipper.

The game provided an opportunity for Râducanu to entertain the crowd. But not everyone appreciated his antics. “An astonishing exhibition of clowning casualness,” said one UK newspaper.

Tottenham won 3-0 but Râducanu’s display, trapping shots on the line, catching crosses one-handed, juggling the ball with feet, thigh and chest, was the talking point from the game. Pat Jennings, the Spurs keeper, commented: “He’s a good goalie but insists on taking the complicated way out of trouble…it was worth the entrance money just to see him, but he wouldn’t try that sort of clowning in the Football League. I don’t know how he got away with it.”

He didn’t really and was caught napping when Spurs’ netted their first goal by Martin Peters after just 20 seconds. And when Martin Chivers made it 2-0, Râducanu protested and created a scene that held the game up.

Battle of Bucharest

Spurs were as good as through but had to negotiate the second leg in Bucharest. Bill Nicholson described the game as the dirtiest he had been involved in as manager. Spurs won 2-0 but Râducanu landed himself in hot water when he threw the ball at the referee’s back after the second goal. He didn’t receive any punishment for his act of belligerence.

Râducanu won the Romanian Cup in 1972 when Rapid beat Jiul Petrosani in the final 2-0 in Bucharest’s 23 August stadium. This was the last major honour of his club career, although he went on to win 61 caps for Romania. He never got to appear again at a major tournament.

He left Rapid in 1975, playing for Sportul Studentesc (nicknamed the crazy gang) and then briefly for Steaua before hopping across a number of clubs until the end of his playing days in 1982. It should be noted he scored seven goals in the Romanian league for Rapid.

At the time, the appearance of Râducanu left journalists and fans expressing their surprise that a player from the old eastern bloc had such a personality: “The complete opposite of all you expect from an Iron Curtain footballer,” said one scribe. He was indeed, Necula Râducanu was a one-off.

@GameofthePeople

Photos: PA

Categories: players

Tagged: Bucharest, Necula Raducanu, Rapid Bucharest, Romania, World Cup 1970

Big Picture thinking: From the land of closed leagues and franchises?

GOTP Editorial Team

Posted on October 13, 2020

WHOEVER advised Liverpool and Manchester United to propose a reset of the Premier League/EFL couldn’t possible have known too much about the culture of football in Britain, indeed Europe. Why on earth did these clubs, supposedly two of the most emotionally-driven football institutions in the world, think they would get away with launching a power grab in the middle of a global crisis?

It’s a shame, because there are some positives in Project Big Picture, but the outrage, the audacity and the self-interest wrapped in the cloak of the philanthropist will overshadow any good samaritanism it might do.

Gestures

We all knew football had problems before covid-19 descended upon us, huge financial imbalances, the culture of greed, the scent of Wall Street and those ludicrously-paid players at the very top level. Football has never been more detached from its audience in terms of affinity, common agendas and appreciation of its audience. Oh yes, “hearts and prayers”, letters to fans from departing players, emojees and physical gesturing all imply a caring, sharing game, but the law of the jungle prevails.

The Premier claimed its top clubs were going to make huge losses through the crisis, but the transfer market blazed away during the window and now an idea, almost certainly constructed in Boston and Florida, which tables a third of a billion coming from the Premier to the cash-strapped EFL, confirms what we already knew –there is no need to worry about the bank balances of the top clubs. It’s nonsense to weep over clubs having to cut their cloth accordingly.

The project may act as a bail-out to the EFL clubs, but it comes at a sizeable price – the “club” at the top of the game with its six heavyweights and invited guests, will have more of a say in how football is run. That includes preventing any “undesirable” new owners and any change in TV deals. When clubs other than the establishment started to get rich, the biggest complainers were Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United. Basically, their position as the game’s hierarchy was under threat. Having adjusted to the new world, which weakened all three clubs, with only Liverpool coming back strong, this latest attempt at moulding the game would possibly stop any further erosion of the power base. Interestingly, there was talk that the failed attempt by Saudi Arabian investors taking over Newcastle United was partly due to certain clubs sticking their boots in with the Football Association.

The Premier League’s influence trickles down the pyramid, going as far as non-league football. The Championship, the biggest basket case we have, is a game of dancing on a volcano, where wages outstrip income as clubs crave the financial rewards of the Premier. League One clubs hanker for the Championship and League Two wants to stay away from the drop zone into non-league football. The non-league game, awash with former Football League clubs or clubs with FL heritage, lives beyond its means with some clubs full-time and most part-time. Lower down, clubs that play in front of 350 people have wage bills of two, three or four thousand pounds a week. It’s a crazy world where the heart rules the head.

Wrong

The virus, we were told, was an ideal time to recalibrate many aspects of modern life. We needed to slow down, appreciate what we have around us and smell the flowers. But we also needed to smell the coffee – too much of football depends on everything going as planned, no hiccups, now scope for error. In other words, when things are ok, most clubs get by. When the world is turned upside down and enters a sci-fi environment, everyone is running for the exit and seeking bail-outs, fan assistance and local authority understanding.

The LivMan idea of £ 350 million heading the way of the EFL is to be applauded, but this is also a form of acknowledgment that “actually, things have been wrong all along”. Henry Winter in the Times noted the “big six” are basically offering what they paid to intermediaries and player agents in 2019. Interestingly, the idea leaked just after Liverpool were humiliated 7-2 by Villa and United were thrashed at home by Spurs. A case of “look, we have a competitive product that can only get better”. If ever there was a time to claim all things can happen in our league, it was these bizarre results!

Nobody is going to admit to being paid too much, hence it will not be given by kindly benefactors wishing to help their poorer neighbours, a form of sporting paternalism. This is where it all goes wrong, for creating a structure that effectively has the rich running the game rather than a governing body, is another example of tails wagging dogs. Big, monied dogs, admittedly.

It all adds up to a very poor week for the Premier League members. First we had the pay-per-view idea of existing subscribers paying £ 15 for certain games on TV. This came as Premier clubs spent another vast sum of money in the transfer window when other leagues were tightening their belts. We also saw a huge green dinosaur, the lovable Gunnersaurus being made redundant by Arsenal when the club had just shelled out a big fee for a player. Alright, the last example was relatively unimportant (although not to the man who had lost his job), but it showed that somehow, football has lost its heart and soul.

Although many fans would disagree, the pandemic should provide an opportunity to rationalise top level football. Reducing the Premier to 18 teams is a logical move, but let’s look at the agenda that is underpinning it. At some stage, the subject of a European Super League will emerge once more, with the continent’s top clubs holding UEFA/FIFA to ransom. The proposals, such as a smaller league and the abolishment of the EFL Cup, will allow for more lucrative European football.

Consolidate

Outside the elite bracket, English football needs to consolidate and reduce its 92-club structure where too many clubs have lived hand to mouth. Part-time football needs to be introduced at a higher stage and the non-league world has to revert to amateurism below a certain level. The chances are, the LivMan proposal will spur the FA into action and come up with a plan, which may be the Big Picture’s intention all along.

EFL clubs will, naturally, be seduced by the idea of £ 350 million solving all their problems in one hit, but the longer-term result would change the face of British football and create a competition that really isn’t competitive. The Premier and EFL would, in theory, be closer than at any point in the last 28 years, but read the small print (and it is not that small) and the reality will be an industry run for the big clubs by the big clubs. No longer a game of the people, but a game for the shareholders. The hypocrisy will kill us.

@GameofthePeople

Photo: PA

Categories: Football politics

Tagged: Fenway, Glazer, Liverpool, Manchester United, Politics, Premier League, restructuring

Nostalgia ain’t what it used to be

GOTP Editorial Team

Posted on October 11, 2020

I RECENTLY entered a football ground for the first time since early March, but it was not to see a match, it was to take part in a tour of Tottenham Hotspur’s outstanding new stadium. This remarkable structure, which resembles a space ship landing in urban north London, is arguably the best arena I have been inside, in both the UK and abroad. Until it was opened in 2019, Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium was probably the best, but now this part of the capital has two of the best football grounds in Europe.

As our party walked round, even the oldest “I’ve seen it all” Spurs fan had to admit that this slick, futuristic building was impressive, but one White Hart Lane veteran, who had donned his best clothes to pay homage to the stadium, still claimed the old ground, the stage for so many great nights in the club’s history, will forever be the best.

It’s popular among fans of a certain age to hanker for the “good old days”, but what was so marvellous about the football experience of the 1970s and 1980s? Certainly, going to a match back then was very different than it is today. It’s safer now, for a start. Increasingly, people are calling for a return of the terraces and some clubs, Tottenham being one, are factoring this in to their ground plans.

I could name a dozen aspects of going to the match that are much better today than they were in the 1970s: catering, toilets, comfort, exits and access points, pitches and spectator safety. Crowd trouble inside a ground is rare compared to those feral days. One of my first games after leaving school was an Anglo-Scottish Cup tie at Chelsea when Bristol City were the visitors. As I made my way to the North Stand turnstiles, a scuffle broke out between a Chelsea and Bristol City fan. It ended with the former stamping on the face of the latter and the Chelsea lad screaming “leave him, leave him”. Minutes later, an ambulance arrived and ferried the casualty away. As a 16 year-old, I was shocked and it really set the tone for the next five years of following Chelsea home and away. I could never relax on matchdays. There was always an air of tension. Not so today, at least it is not as visible.

Like many fans who frequented the terraces, there were times when urine flowed down the steps like a burst water pipe. Indeed, with very few toilets and very spartan conditions in those that existed, it was not unusual to see fans emptying their bladders in a corner of the standing area.

Terrace life could be brutal. Notwithstanding the occasions when a visiting club’s fans would try and “take” the home end, there was a mercenary approach to getting your best spot on the crumbling concrete steps. Don’t be fooled by stories of a united mass of supporters looking out for each other, you could quite easily get a clout from your own fans when that sea of humanity started to move. Take a look at some of the TV footage from the mid-1960s and you’ll see Anfield’s organic Kop singing Beatles songs and moving in unison with the action on the field. I was in Chelsea’s last 60,000 crowd at Stamford Bridge in November 1970 against Tottenham and I remember to this day my feet being stranded in mid-air for much of the game. When you’re 12 it’s all very exciting, but imagine that today – it just wouldn’t be allowed.

Back in the 1970s, getting away from a ground could take a while given most London Underground stations had small entrances. Upton Park station, for example, was hopelessly inadequate, while getting into Fulham Broadway was a game of push and shove all the way along Fulham Road. Crowds are better marshalled today, even though we rarely appreciate the logistics of dispersing thousands of people in a timely and efficient fashion.

I recounted to that blazer-wearing White Hart Lane nostalgist that I was present when Spurs won the 1972 UEFA Cup against Wolves and how our coach, which had come from Grays in Essex, had been jammed in the traffic for miles. I liked White Hart Lane and the atmosphere it created on big matchdays, but the old ground looked tired, had fallen behind other new constructs and was no longer fit for purpose before it was demolished. I would wager the new ground has better sight lines, better access points, considerably improved catering and overall, will provide a better customer experience. Cloth cap nostalgia may be a popular pastime for those with rose-tinted spectacles, but the days of corrugated metal, damp wood and rusty roofs have long gone. Want a glimpse of the future? Take a trip to Tottenham Hotspur’s gleaming new home. I did, and it was good to be in a stadium once more!

Photo: PA

@GameofthePeople

This article first appeared in Football Weekends magazine.

Categories: Culture

Tagged: Chelsea, hooliganism, stadiums, Tottenham Hotspur

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