In the 1980s, English football was in a terrible state. The hooligan problem that had plagued the domestic scene, spread to the continent and came to a tragic head at The European Cup Final of 1985 at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels, where rioting Liverpool and Juventus fans caused a wall to collapse. The whole night saw 39 fans lose their lives. The postscript was that English clubs were banned from European competition for five years.
Only two weeks before Heysel, the decaying state of some grounds were shown in full horror as over 50 fans died when the main stand at Bradford City's Valley Parade ground caught fire.
Over the next few years policing at football grounds became a lot more sophisticated, but that could not stop another tragedy happening in 1989, when Liverpool fans trying to get in to the F.A Cup Semi Final at Hillsborough, Sheffield, caused a huge crush. With perimeter fencing still around the ground, many fans were trapped, and in the end 96 fans perished.
Post-Hillsborough, a massive enquiry was launched, and in the end the Taylor Report gave the recommendation that all grounds would become all-seater stadiums.
A Brighter Future
In 1990 the England national team managed to reach the World Cup Semi Final against Germany, the interest for the game sky rocketed, and although the team cruelly lost on penalties, the players came back as national heroes. This meant that football became fashionable again, families were starting to come back to grounds, and thanks to policing the games were passing off relatively trouble free.
While this was happening the English Football Association were well on their way to constructing a new 'Super League' which would replace the First Division as it was at the time. This came to fruition in August 1992, and the Premier League was born with a huge television deal with Sky, and pay-to-view T.V football fans were able to watch live games on Sundays and Mondays.
As the 1990s progressed more and more money was being pumped in to the game, and clubs were attracting some of the biggest names from all over the world. In addition , clubs such as Middlesborough, Derby and Sunderland were all playing in new state of the art stadia, while Manchester United added nearly 30,000 seats, as the demand for tickets grew, along with the team's continued success throughout the decade.
The nineties also saw the new format for the European Cup, as it was not only the league winners of the leagues around the continent, but up to four clubs from one country, now taking part. Such is the financial importance of playing in the new 'Champions League', that it was felt that domestic cup competitions began to suffer, with fourth place in the English Premier League now carrying priority over the traditional F.A Cup; also the European Cup Winners Cup is no longer on the calender.
Administration Era
The arrival of the 21st century, saw the financial pressure for success in the English game reach a huge level. Leeds United were in the Semi Finals of the Champions League in 2001, but in just five years, they endured two relegations, and were in financial turmoil, as the strict administration rules, put a fifteen point deduction in place, before a ball was kicked in their first season in League Two. Former Premier League club Southampton also went into administration in League Two, and near neighbours Portsmouth could be heading in the same direction at the time of this writing.
Foreign ownership has become a massive issue in the league as well, as Chelsea became richer, when Roman Abramovich bought the London club in 2003 and thus, more successful than any of their fans could have possibly imagined throughout years of seeing their team struggle. As this season approaches Manchester City are the big spenders, as it seems the richer the owner the more silverware the club is likely to collect. Players wages have also reached astronomical heights, with big names earning £100,000-plus a week, and many fans are now feeling priced out of the game with rising ticket prices each year.
The World Cup in South Africa saw England limp towards the second round, and as they were thumped by a young German team, the brutal English media inquest has thrown plenty of blame to the fact, that many overseas imports are clogging the progression of young English talent who are hardly being looked at by coaches.
So while the dark ages of hooliganism and condemned stadiums may have gone, the threat of money – or lack of it for many clubs – may raise its head for this new season and beyond.
Tony Knott - null
