ROB BRADLEY ON THE CRUCIAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN A CLUB AND THEIR SUPPORTERS...
AN EXPERIENCED pro at a club might view a cocky young player, new to the squad, with some scepticism. Whilst he’s been there and done it, and got the scars to show for it, the thought of as someone who’ll be here today and gone tomorrow. Especially when the going gets tough.
And so it is in the unwritten hierarchy of fandom. We’ve all seen it. Your club has some success and suddenly attendances increase. You’ve been there through thick and thin, mostly the latter, and now, with the team winning, you’re surrounded by enthusiastic people with grins on their faces and newly-bought scarves around their necks.
From a football club’s perspective this is a welcome phenomenon, but it’s one that needs to be captured, especially in business terms. There’s a big difference between support and core support. More bums on seats when you’re winning is great, but making sure new fans don’t drift away when you’re not is another matter altogether.
Lots of clubs do a lot of work on fan engagement. They try to make sure the emotional attachment that their supporters have manifests itself into a long-term allegiance where success isn’t the only attraction.
The best clubs recognise that fans are the moral owners of their club and are just as important as the literal ones, if not more so.
A lot of fan engagement involves information sharing. Supporters are represented within the club, fans are invited to events to meet the manager and the board, and supporters’ groups including trusts are respected and listened to.
How a club works, explaining why things are done the way they’re done, and hearing feedback are very important for all parties. Making a fan feel a part of their club is good socially - we all have a better time - and is good in business terms, too.
More clubs are engaging with their supporters because, as someone famously said, ‘football is nothing without fans’. For a chairman or chief executive to think they know better than the people in the stands isn’t wise at all. The clubs who plough on regardless do so at their peril.
So it’s OK if your team has been hammered yet again and you’re walking out the ground cursing and fuming. If, however, you know that when you calm down, your club cares about you and you’re a vital part of it, you’ll feel better.
More especially, you’ll have become part of that very important ‘core support’ that your club so urgently relies on, and the more any club has of them, the more likely they’ll be able to bring back the good
FIVE points from their opening 18 nightmare. - most. - - - - - - their promotion from the the team. -
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BILLY Wright passes to Stanley Matthews. The Maestro’s little jink takes him beyond Carapellise. Then, he sidesteps Grezas and Eliani before spotting Stan Mortensen making a deep run into the opponents’ half.
Matthews sends a long pass for Morty to run on to. Without breaking his step, Mortensen collects the ball but defenders force him wide, away from goal.
Suddenly, the Englishman unleashes a He has moved slightly to his right away from his near post anticipating a cross.
Consequently, there is a slight gap to his left which Mortensen miraculously net. After four minutes, England are 1-0 up.
It is May 16, 1948, and England are facing their toughest test abroad since the war, possibly ever. Italy are the continent’s strongest team. Ten years previously they had won the World Cup, teams. into the Communale Stadium in Turin, expect - nay demand - a home victory. Italy’s manager, Vittorio Pozzo, has negotiated a 100,000 lire bonus for his players should they beat the Old Masters.
Turin is welcoming fans from across the country for a game which has been inevitably dubbed, ‘The Match of the Century’. Interest is at fever pitch for this clash of football’s titans for England are still seen as the team to beat.
It’s boiling hot as the teams walk out into this cauldron of Italian expectation.
From the point of view of the English press, this will be the game that con - team had defeated The Rest of Europe 6-1 at Hampden Park. Soon afterwards, England hammered Portugal 10-0 in Lisbon. A win against Italy would be the supremacy.
England, that day in Turin, boasted It consisted of Matthews, Mortensen, Tommy Lawton, Wilf Mannion and Tom Finney.
In goal was captain Frank Swift, a larger-than-life character who could inspire his team-mates even from his goal-line. The team also included such Franklin.
Derby County’s Jack Howe, making his England debut at left-back, won a play for England wearing contact lenses! defence and were led by star forward Valentino Mazzola. Their team was centred around the great Torino side which had won four Italian league titles.
Tragically, seven of Italy’s players from
Torino were to lose their lives a year lattwist of fate, Swift also lost his life in an air crash in 1958 at Munich, when he was a reporter covering Manchester United’s ill-fated European Cup campaign.
A long-standing ‘headache’ for England’s selectors had been whether to pick Matthews or Finney as they were both world-class right wingers. The solution for the game against Portugal in 1947 had been to switch Finney to the either foot. This was also the decision for Turin.
Mortensen’s amazing goal had come despite Italy making the better start. In fact, apart from conceding, Italy had
Their approach play had dazzled England’s defenders and only heroics in goal by Swift kept them at bay. Time after time, he was called upon to make great saves.
Italy actually had two ‘goals’ disal
lowed for offside. Even when Swift was beaten, Laurie Scott was on hand to clear the ball on the goal-line.
Then, in the middle of this onslaught, England broke away to score a second on 24 minutes. A Neil Franklin pass found Matthews who, again, fed Mortensen.
Despite being shepherded by two Italian defenders, Mortensen evaded them with an impressive burst of speed and pulled a cross back for Lawton, who hammered his shot into the Italian net. Again, the goal had been against the run of play but England were not complaining!
The Three Lions reached the interval still 2-0 up despite continued Italian pressure. And, far from being demoralised, the Italians continued to press at the start of the second half.
But, yet again, it was an English counter-attack which paid dividends. Swift threw the ball out to Scott and the ball and then to Lawton. He, in turn, found Finney, who danced around a defender before volleying into the net.
With that third goal, the Italians visibly wilted. Soon afterwards, Finney had added his second and England’s fourth to wrap up a convincing 4-0 triumph.
England had provided a masterclass in soaking up pressure and striking on the counter-attack. It was a momentous victory and meant England could still claim to be the masters of international football.
Pre-match, England had been subjected to some rigorous training at their Stresa lakeside camp by manager Walter Winterbottom. Wright was to claim that this had given the England players to cope with both the Italian pressure and the searing heat.
England had certainly brought a great professional spirit to the game.
Skipper Swift was thoroughly delighted. “You’ve made me the proudest man in the world,” he told his team-mates in the dressing room after the game. “I’ll always remember this victory.”
Sadly, England’s dominance would not last long. On September 21, 1949, England lost their unbeaten home record to ‘foreign’ teams by losing 2-0 to Eire (the Republic of Ireland) at Goodison Park. England’s 1950 World Cup campaign in Brazil, losing 1-0 to the part-timers of the USA.
Even worse came in 1953 and 1954 when England suffered thumping defeats (6-3 and 7-1) at the feet of the Magical Magyars. the shroud of England’s soccer supremacy had been ripped apart. It was not to re-emerge - and then only on a temporary basis - until 1966.
Yet the writer is proud to claim that when he was born (February 1949) England were still top dogs.
British Football’s Greatest Grounds - One Hundred Must-See Football Venues, by Mike Bayly, published by Pitch Publishing, Price: £30
MIKE Bayly has put together a splendidly eclectic collection of 100 British football grounds with a rich commentary and high-quality photographs.
The book covers a breathtaking range of ground types from the humble homes of the Non-League minnows to the mega-stadiums of the Premier League.
The list was compiled from a fan vote which was gathered from a blog of the project and publicised by the Football Association, the Football Supporters’ pporters Association, Groundtastic magazine, podcasts and programme editors as well as a talkSPORT radio programme.
The list may draw criticism from fans of clubs whose grounds were not included but this is not a vanity project and the grounds have essentially been included because of their uniqueness.
For example, Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge hasn’t made the top 100 but Chorley’s Victory Park is included because it provides us with a glimpse of England’s football past.
These are grounds in remote settings with listed or distinctive structures, grounds with stunning backdrops or brilliant food. These are the remarkable stories of the best-loved grounds with colour photographs by acclaimed sports photographers.
Rather than just being a stadium guide, Bayly provides a potted history of each ground with personal observations and interviews. It may not be historically exhau haustive but the author has unc uncovered some new informa mation on the lesser-known gro grounds.
H He also challenges som some of the conventional wi wisdom, based on investig tigation by long-standing su supporters and historians. Bayly makes some exce cellent observations in his co commentary. A recurring th theme is that the popula larity of grounds is often rooted in the past. Nostalgia is addictive and generational. Modernisation of our game means that older grounds will occupy a tender place in our hearts.
Fulham’s Craven Cottage is one of the best-known grounds which manages to encapsulate most of the characteristics of a special ground. History, architecture, location, atmosphere and individuality make it a football ground dear to the heart of Britain’s public.
This exceptional book emphasises the sheer scale and diversity of football in the British Isles from the extremes of the Ewe Camp on the remote Isle of Arran to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.
However, whatever the size and location of a ground, the connection between the fans and the ground is always an emotional one.
This captivating publication has clearly been a labour of love and it will be enthusiastically received by football fanatics everywhere. It will surely provide a catalyst for many football fans to start a want to visit in the near future.
Rating out of 10: 9
end, I’d lost count of the operations, injections, physio sessions, and consultations, the constant rehab that seemed never-ending. Twenty years of development he said.
After his retirement his life spirals downwards into depression, alcoholism and Valium addiction.
He reaches rock bottom: “Breaking down in front of your boss, your brother calling you an embarrassment, your mum crying in your living room every day.”
He suffers a near-death experience and is admitted into the Sporting Chance clinic - mons and turns his life around setting up the FSD Academy to help others achieve their potential, working for Radio Leicester and producing his own podcast.
It is ultimately a positive story of adapting to change when a professional footballer’s life goes desperately wrong and how he achieves redemption.
This is a story that should be read by other professional footballers but it is also a universal story of how a desperate situation can be transformed for a better future.
Rating out of 10: 8
For the love not the glory, by Dave Worton, published by Led Astray Press (www.ledastraypress.bigcartel.com), Price: £10
IT’S fair to say the last few years have been pretty spectacular for Harrogate Town – so it’s just as well Dave Worton has captured the story.
Four-and-a-half years ago, Worton attended a Harrogate Town match with his daughter Molly expecting it to be a one-off. The only snag was that they fell in love with the club.
A couple of years later the Yorkshire club won promotion to the National League and Worton decided to write an article about their journey. It caught the attention of the Harrogate Advertiser and thus began his weekly column in the local paper.
The thing is, it’s not a blow-by-blow account of the games. It’s about being a fan, the highs and lows, the passion, enthusiasm, going to the match and sharing the experience with his daughter.
“It just so transpired that Town happened to be in the form of their lives,” he explained. “I guess you could say I was in the right place at the right time.”
When he pasted his Advertiser articles into one document in lockdown, he realised he easily had enough for a book. It proves an entertaining read as Worton tells the story, including the travails of lockdown, from a fan’s perspective and with a sense of humour.
Rating out of 10: 8
IT’S often asked of footballers if they can ‘do it on a cold rainy night in Stoke’, but not a thought is spared for the stewards working the cold wet turnstiles outside the bet365 Stadium. The job isn’t glamorous, although fans often presume that being a steward is easy. It is simply fake news that you can watch the game and be paid for doing so.
Nothing could be further from the truth – and I know. I have worked as a football steward for over two years.
The majority of stewards do not have a view of the pitch, they are manning emergency exits or are placed in positions outside the stadium.
Meanwhile, those lucky enough to be inside the ground are under strict instructions to face the crowd at all times, and if you’re placed pitch-side you have the added dread of being hit by a stray shot or pass. enough to face the onslaught of a British winter, and yet the jacket is too warm for the summer months.
If you’re outside, you’re in constant fear of being rained (or worse snowed) on, and in the winter the only way to keep warm is to double up on every item of clothing.
This is without the trouble that spectators can cause. From the trivial - such as under the stadium’s prohibited item list, to dealing with serious incidents of racism and homophobia.
It’s important to remember that if things go wrong, it is the job of the stewards to ensure that spectators are kept safe, and that they are trained to deal with a range evacuations.
They’re not jobsworths who won’t let you drink alcohol in view of the game, they’re vital workers who ensure that spectator safety legislation is followed to the letter.
As those who work in the segregation lines between the home and away sections will know, fans can be horrible to those who are only trying to ensure everyone remains safe. Often, abuse is hurled, alongside coins and other projectiles.
Nobody should be going to work in fear of injury, and it is a sad state of affairs that often stewards have to wear safety goggles and helmets to ensure their own safety, when all they want to do is ensure yours.
Regrettably, it is well-known what terrible consequences can happen as a result of failure to follow proper safety procedures, yet stewards receive dog’s abuse for following protocol and some fans are all too happy to ignore stewards’ instructions.
However, it is important to note that it’s not all doom and gloom. Ultimately, the job is incredibly rewarding. You’re part of something bigger- you get to be a cog in the wheel of the matchday experience for thousands of fans, and your work helps to ensure that they remain safe.
When supporters gradually return to football, let’s appreciate the role that stewards play in providing fans safe access to football. Without them, football simply would not be the same.