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In times of all seater stadia and inflated ticket prices, football must revisit the needs of its very own lifeblood

8th April 2015 By Gary Field 16 Comments

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As I approach my fortieth year following the Canaries the length and breadth of England (with a never to be forgotten venture into Wales for a Play-Off Final) I’ve often asked myself what it actually means to ‘support’ Norwich.

Back in the mid-1970s to me ‘support’ meant a quick cycle into Beccles followed by a coach ride to Norwich, in order to arrive a good hour before kick-off and to find a suitable vantage point on the Barclay terrace.

Those of a certain age may recall that back then the facilities at most football grounds were somewhat antiquated. The public address systems were of limited volume and the idea of the pre-match music play-list being offered as entertainment was still a few years away.

None of this mattered to fans though because as the ground started to fill the and the atmosphere stared to build, supporters of both teams would start and repeat – often in response to each other – renditions of their current in-vogue terrace chants.

There were occasions when the atmosphere would be electric before a ball had even been kicked, especially on those then sacred derby days – Boxing Day and Easter Saturday often being truly unique.

It was an era when football truly belonged to the fans.

However, before I get accused of being too gooey-eyed toward football from the 1980s and 90s, let’s not also forget that football was in a bad place at the time. Attendances were on the wane, hooliganism commonplace and football grounds were stuck in a time warp, often with completely inadequate facilities.

Of course, all this changed forever on a fateful day in April 1989, the truth relating to which is now only being properly discovered.

Change was then forced on football by Government, with legislation introduced that required top-flight teams to have all-seater grounds.

And on top of this, the top tier of English football then voted to do its own thing, with the formation of what is now the Premier League.

The age of arriving five minutes before kick-off was now with us, enabling fans to take their pre-allocated seats.

Health and Safety, previously a low priority for many football clubs, was rightly to the fore, and with it came new public address systems that, in some instances, seemed capable of splitting your ear drums – often when you’re least expecting it!

Football changed its image, largely for the better but, in some instances, for the worse. Whether we liked it or not, football suddenly became sanitised. Pre-match entertainment consisted of pre-determined musical play lists. Any chances of a pre-match sing-song between rival fans were often literally drowned out by the public address system.

Add in the factors of restricted ground capacities, plus a new-found popularity for football – probably assisted by the arrival of Sky – and suddenly the age of rising casual ticket and season tickets prices was upon us.

As a consequence, the profile of the ‘typical’ game attending fan changed and with it, dare I say, the nature of the very game itself.

Football clubs suddenly became the new play thing for overseas owners (thankfully not at Norwich) and the game became focused on the commercial ‘revenue streams’ – although not losses – needed to support these new found multi-millionaire players.

The game has literally, in many instances, gone out of the reach of many of its historic supporting base. The latest Sky domestic TV deal, which will see an eye-watering £5 billion bonus pot come the way of Premier League clubs from the season after next, seems to have done nothing so far to make the game more affordable to fans.

However, football, like most things in life, is cyclical. The game simply cannot continue on its current path. It needs to re-engage with fans, otherwise the endless rises in both season and casual ticket prices and will be self-defeating.

Thankfully there is growing of resistance to the current situation. The Football Supporters Foundation is just one example, with its current “Twenty is plenty” campaign, aimed at reducing the price of away tickets for visiting fans.

Our own club has received widespread recognition for its free pricing policy in relation to development squad games.

However, fan engagement needs to go beyond just pricing. It should cover the whole match day experience and be about all aspects of supporting the team.

The Barclay End Projekt is making stringent efforts to open the debate in relation to such issues as safe standing, ticket pricing, songs and goal music. Their aim is simple: for like-minded fans to attend games, congregate together and to create an atmosphere that is supportive to the team.

And, whilst individuals may not agree with everything that stand for (excuse the pun) it should never be forgotten that the game has always been about inclusivity. Such groups should actively be encouraged and engaged with by the clubs.

Whether that happens remains to be seen and it’s my personal view that it may take Government intervention again in order for football to get its house in order, both in relation ticket pricing and safe standing. However, it would be wrong to assume that the current status quo will be maintained forever, because, as the old saying goes, “football without fans is nothing.”

The beautiful game simply does not have consumers, it has fans. Football – ignore that at your peril.


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Filed Under: Column, Gary Field

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Comments

  1. Dan R says

    8th April 2015 at 9:02 am

    I agree with most of that Gary, but heavens, surely not more Government intervention. Whats that old cliche, ‘there are few things in life that can’t be made worse by well-meaning Government action…’

    Reply
  2. Stewart Lewis says

    8th April 2015 at 10:03 am

    Gary: a balanced and masterful summary of what’s changed in our game, and what perhaps needs to change now.

    Though Hillsborough was the big catalyst for change, I believe the mood had already been shifted by Heysel in 1985. Big change was inevitable, and I agree with you that’s it’s largely been for the good. My wife certainly wouldn’t have become the committed fan she is, were it not for those changes.

    My biggest regret is the lack of atmosphere 15 minutes before kick-off these days – what a contrast to the old days. I’m not sure that the introduction of ‘safe standing’ would actually help much, and it seems to me to have significant practical drawbacks, but of course the campaign is well-intentioned.

    My earliest memories of supporting the canaries, by the way, involve taking the coach from Gorleston station to Carrow Road, getting home in time for beans on toast and Doctor Who, then going back to the station to buy the Pink Un and re-live the day.

    Ah, wasn’t life simple then?

    Reply
  3. Gary Gowers says

    8th April 2015 at 10:19 am

    Stew (and Gary): Hard to disagree with any of that and I too miss the 15 mins prior to kick-off during which the atmosphere used to build and build until the teams finally came out. That unforgettable 15/20 mins prior to kick-off at the Millennium Stadium (the best pre-match atmosphere I can ever remember) was a glorious reminder.

    Gaz – You’ve tackled the ‘difficult second piece’ with absolute aplomb mate 😉

    Reply
  4. Jim Davies says

    8th April 2015 at 11:34 am

    Yes, the pre-match atmosphere has been ruined, not least by that ridiculously loud piece of music played just before the teams come out – I presume it’s meant to add drama, but we can create our own, thank you very much!

    It was also better when the teams came out separately, before they introduced that ridiculous hand-shake routine, which is meaningless just before you go and kick lumps off your opponent.

    My own early days involved getting a coach up from Cromer, which was then parked on Riverside opposite the Boulton & Paul yards, and wondering if it would still be there after the or if the driver had forgotten to put the handbrake on and it would be at the bottom of the river! Oh, and getting fish and chips from Marcantonio’s on Rose Lane on the way to the ground. The youngsters today don’t know what they’re missing!

    Reply
  5. Gary Field says

    8th April 2015 at 1:07 pm

    @1 Dan R – thank you for your comment. The debate on safe standing usually stalls simply because the legislation prohibits it, hence my observation of Government input being required.

    In my view, Government is unlikely to change the legislation without lobbying from both the clubs and fans. The fans seem willing, the clubs less so.

    On ticket pricing, again clubs seem reluctant to take the imitative, although pressure is building for change from fans. It is a football issue in general and, probably, isn’t an issue that Government would not want to get involved with.

    Reply
  6. Mark says

    8th April 2015 at 1:10 pm

    Stewart (2). What was Gorleston station, bus or train? I used to get on a Caroline Seagull coach on Northgate street in Great Yarmouth in the ealy 80s and then get the Pinkun at Chadwicks in Salisbury Rd at 6 o’clock as soon as I got back on the said coach Perhaps I’m too young but don’t recall a station in Gorleston.

    Reply
  7. Ben K says

    8th April 2015 at 2:00 pm

    But what should be done? What, I ask you. Unallocated seating so people turn up earlier? (That reminds me of another irksome thing: people leaving early.) Safe standing would help, and even though I’d assume ticket prices wouldn’t drop, I think people would be happy to pay knowing they could stand with impunity. Limits on away ticket prices would be a decent start. It would be nice if clubs could price reasonably without intervention, although I don’t see it happening. And goal music should be made completely illegal.

    At the very top of all things bad about modern football is FiFarce. Any self-respecting football fan, or indeed human being, should have no truck with Qatar in 2022. A completely corrupt award of the tournament; stadiums being built by slaves; a country with appalling human rights records; a place where homosexual people have no rights; all in a country about the size of Norfolk that has stability issues.

    Reply
  8. Stewart Lewis says

    8th April 2015 at 4:18 pm

    Mark (6): I’m a bit older than you – my early supporting days were in the Sixties. Gorleston had a thriving train station, on the line from Lowestoft to Yarmouth Southtown. Memory plays tricks, but I recall trains packed with holidaymakers from London.

    It must have closed during the Sixties withe Beeching cuts – others may have the details to hand.

    Caroline Seagull is definitely a memory we share, though!

    Reply
  9. Paul Francis says

    8th April 2015 at 5:33 pm

    Gorleston Station was a train station. My earliest games were getting a caroline seagull coach from Gorleston Station Hotel with my dad (although the train station was closed by then). And again we would go back to Gorleston station to get a Pinkun later that evening.

    I don’t see anything changing in the near future. Carrow Road is sold out most games so who needs to change anything.

    Looking back the matchday experience was totally different. I do look back at it with fondness. But overall I don’t think anyone could argue against the fact things are much better today.

    I attend games with a disabled friend who is able to sit in the stand without any assistance, back in the day he would have been stuck in a blue van in front of the river end.

    Reply
  10. Cosmo P. says

    8th April 2015 at 7:58 pm

    To all those of a teary, nostalgic bent, can I recommend *The Lost World of Football* (2013) by Hammond & Silke – jumpers for goalposts with knobs on. No mention of Gorleston station (closed in 1970) in it though, but some nice pics here:
    http://www.berneyarms.co.uk/html/yarmouth/rail/gorleston_on_sea/gorleston_on_sea.htm

    Reply
  11. Dan R says

    8th April 2015 at 8:35 pm

    Shouldn;t it be ‘railway station’, chaps, not ‘train station’.

    Reply
  12. Flicky Licky says

    8th April 2015 at 10:24 pm

    This site spouts out some terrible drivel at times and this article does little more than state the obvious. But it needs to be stated and restated again and again. I no longer go to EPL games, I cancelled Sky Sports 5 years ago. I can do no more to voice my objections to the model we see today.
    Please print this article four times a year until somebody ****ing listens

    Reply
  13. Stewart Lewis says

    8th April 2015 at 10:43 pm

    Oh dear. Don’t recall anyone saying this site ‘spouts out terrible drivel’ before I started writing for it…

    Reply
  14. Andy W says

    9th April 2015 at 3:20 am

    I have been really worried by a lot of the developments in the game over the last twenty years. I kept thinking that the bubble would burst and that football would realign itself on a more sensible basis. That does not seem to be happening and the recent Premier League TV deal would seem to confirm more of the same.

    I am fully behind the campaign to lower ticket prices and get fans more involved in the clubs,but thing I would not go back to though is standing. All seater stadiums are much safer and make the game more inclusive. I stood in the River End for many years and although I can get as nostalgic as anyone, that is one thing I have never missed.

    Reply
  15. Gary Gowers says

    9th April 2015 at 7:23 am

    Please don’t take it to heart Stew (12) – Dear old ‘Flicky Licky’, from behind the comfort of a pseudonym, has been taking pot shots at this site for some time. So much so it never fails to amaze that he/she even bothers to read the ‘garbage’ posted on here tbh 😉

    Reply
  16. llamaman says

    9th April 2015 at 3:46 pm

    Good, thought-provoking article Gary. For me, #1 priority is to get the ear-splitting pre-match and half-time muzak turned down so that we can actually speak to our fellow fans, now that is something we could lobby the Club to change.

    Reply

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