THIS SEASON (which apparently is a unique one according to the media), I have decided to lend my support to clubs that need a helping hand. It is very clear that the pandemic, like all crises, has hit the poorest in society and football is no exception. Although all clubs have had to bite the bullet in some way, those at the bottom end of the food chain have been hit the worst. Therefore, they need more support than the elite clubs who will always survive and even prosper.
While some big clubs, like Barcelona, have got themselves into dangerous waters, it is hard to sympathise given the amount of money the big clubs pay to their players. Wage bills have, for some years, spiralled out of control, but the clubs perpetuate the problem. Similarly, transfer fees have become ridiculous, yet very few small clubs seem to get a decent slice of the pie. Many transfers are simply being conducted among the top clubs, making agents every wealthy.
Money should be no problem for the behemoths of the game, yet the selfish pursuit of more cash continues, with grand schemes like the European Super League, the somewhat dubious growth of crypto currency and dangerous link-ups with very questionable owners. Football creates it own controversies and its own drama – just look at the financial chaos that exists in the Championship as an example, with wages rocketing beyond income.
Away from this, there are hundreds, indeed thousands, of clubs around Europe that are a million kilometres away from this self-serving model. As a Chelsea fan for more than 50 years, I have moved beyond the stage in life where their results make or break my day or weekend. Chelsea of today are not the club I adopted at the age of eight years old. I am not prepared to pay exploitive prices for tickets at any ground, although like many, I have been forced out of regular Premier action by lack of availability. I refuse to feed the beast and would encourage fans to show their contempt for pricing in the most effective way – by not buying them. Of course, this won’t happen, because fans are frightened of losing their place in the queue. Clubs with waiting lists have no motivation to lower prices, but the fans line-up to shovel more money into the well.
If we all love football, then we should care passionately for the state of health of the so-called eco-system. By neglecting the system, we actually push the big clubs further towards that super league and also damage the structure of the game. There’s few things in sport that are sadder than a closed or derelict football ground.
Part of football’s charm is its aspirational aspect, the possibility of something unexpected happening, be it promotion, relegation, cup shocks or romantic player development stories. The latter is moving into the hands of major clubs, who sweep-up every available young talent and by doing so, deprive smaller clubs from unearthing their own jewel. And then, the young players are rejected and they end up playing in the Isthmian or Southern leagues.
Given there are more fans of big clubs than available tickets, is it not a good idea for those fans who have little chance of gaining a place among the 40,000 at Stamford Bridge or 60,000 at the Emirates to adopt their local football institution as a second eleven? I’m not talking about special “non-league days” or “pay what you want” occasions, but on a regular basis? This not only allows the “fan” to watch live action instead of being glued to TV or social media, but it also pumps more money into the lower leagues of the EFL or non-league.
This is partly why I have decided that in 2022-23, I will be attending League One and League Two as well as women’s football and my local non-league club. I have been something of a portfolio fan for about 10 years, watching the game abroad on a regular basis and also visiting grounds up and down the country (85 of the 92). I won’t pretend this has its downside as I have certainly lost any remaining element of myopic partisanship, but at 63 years of age, I can live with that. But I do feel that it is very beneficial to connect with the very essence of the historic roots of British football. I would add that my next book will be all about the towns and cities in which the game is played across the United Kingdom!
So 2022-23 is a unique season for me and I am actually looking forward to smaller crowds, less hype and some honest endeavour. I would also like to think that crowd behaviour can take a leaf out of the women’s game. I was at Wembley for the final and I have never witnessed a near-90,000 crowd behave with such dignity or respect. It can be done!
This article first appeared in Football Weekends magazine.
GAME OF THE PEOPLE 
Enjoy your season, Neil. I look forward to reading more about it.
I am a little older than you(70 this year) but like you I was only 8 years old when I fell for the uniqueness of my clubs name – Tottenham Hotspur) not a City or United or even an Albion. HOTSPUR. MY Dad was a semi regular at the old Boleyn ground but I as a stubborn 8 year old persuaded him to aim a little bit more north the other side of Hackney Marshes. I was soon hooked and so was he! Gilzean and Greaves- who would not have been!
So my first love and still the first result I look for even though I gave up my attendance at their live matches home and abroad after the ‘91 cup final. A hollow victory over Notts Forest with a a reckless Gaza nearly ending Charles career as his own. For me the writing was on the wall. The premier league was coming; the country was going nowhere and the ownership of Tottenham’s football club even less far. I gave up my season tickets: and moved to Kenya for work.
That led to South Africa and then Portugal where I could not resist visiting the two Lisbon clubs and choosing the underdog -Sporting – to be my regular live fix. Big old style cement lock standing terraces : more match time spent by players feining injury than kicking a ball but great fun and support where it was needed. From there I moved to Asia and saw yet a different kind of footie. All under floodlight( too hot during the day) ex British and European “stars” earning their last playing dollars. But again great endeavour and fun. Eventually I found myself in Southern France. Choice of two league 1 teams Montpellier and Marseille.
One was a brilliant atmosphere taking me back to the eighties in North London. The other a soulless built for the World Cup ground lacking support and atmosphere. But 60000 regulars in Marseille did not need me and I did not need sterile Montpellier. So I opted for the local league 2 side Nimes instead and again found that professional football could still be fun. Saw some great cup runs and Giant Killings; promotion , relegation crowds upto 16000 and down to 2 or 3000!
But this peripatic football journey showed me how it is so important to help( support) your neighbours. I now live back in the UK on the Isle of Wight – so relatively easy to get upto the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. But I’m not giving them any more money ( we’ll Enic) so now my cheering is reserved for the plucky amateurs who turn out for West Cowes. Win lose or draw its much more fun than the angst of waiting to see if a billionaire Spurs teams can scape a fourth place finish in the EPL so they can get even richer in the Champions League.
Good slogan. Great Article Thank you for writing it.
HELPING OUR FOOTBALL NEIGHBOURS.