Fans worried Wembley will lose its soul

TOTTENHAM and Watford supporters on Wembley Way insisted last night that the FA must provide reassurances that the football traditions of the national stadium will be protected if Wembley is sold to Shahid Khan. In the first match at Wembley since the details of a possible sale were revealed, Sportsmail canvassed the opinions of supporters as they made their way into the stadium. Pakistani-American entrepreneur Khan — the Fulham owner and billionaire proprietor of American football franchise the Jacksonville Jaguars — insists the continued presence of England at Wembley is vital to the stadium’s value. ‘We want the FA to be there, we want the England football games,’ he told the Daily Telegraph. ‘Other than that the steel and the concrete is not worth £600million-plus. (England) have to be part-and-parcel.’ Speaking to fans revealed a generational divide, with some older supporters passionately opposed to the sale while Millennials were either unaware or did not care. Raymond Fuller, a 77-year-old Tottenham fan, highlighted that £40m of taxpayers’ money and £120m in National Lottery funding was spent to build the stadium. ‘What happens to that public money?’ Fuller asked. ‘Wembley belongs to the England fans. It’s English. It has got to stay English. We can’t have an American owner, oh no no. Mark my words, he will be changing the name of the stadium within two years. I first came here to see Bill Nicholson’s Tottenham lift the FA Cup in 1961, it is a special place. ‘If they do wrongly sell it, we need clear guarantees it remains the national home of football for England and the cup finals.’ Watford supporter Andy Cook, 51 said: ‘The biggest problem for football is the lack of funding for grassroots facilities. If this move unlocks cash for that, then I’m in support. ‘There’s nothing special about the new Wembley. The old one with the Twin Towers and that walk down Wembley Way was spine-tingling and iconic. But this one is soulless. However, there must be a transparent contract — at least 100 years long — that guarantees cup finals and play-off finals are played here.’ A Tottenham fan, who asked to remain anonymous, said: ‘The good thing is it means the England team will go on tour away from Wembley. Fans should be able to watch England without trekking down to London.’ Khan also admitted he would look at building a retractable roof over Wembley, saying: ‘There are now all kinds of plastic roofs so if you could do that you could control the climate. ‘With the (current) roof there are two sliding parts that move but the rain can still come in and if you are looking at a winter concert, for example, would it be comfortable for people?’