IN those days before the internet, a really good way of following all the latest news from your favourite football team was on Clubcall.

This was a Premium Rate telephone service that was launched in 1986/87 with the unprecedented mantra of “24 Hours A Day, Seven Days A Week”.

The top half a dozen clubs in the country were signed up to begin with and each of them were allocated a specific 0898 phone number that their supporters could ring. 

In effect, Clubcall brought a daily diet of news and interviews from each team plus live updates on every home and away game.

It was run by BT Supercall from a three storey building in Downham Road, Dalston, East London. A network of broadcast journalists provided the content.

If I remember correctly, calls were initially charged at 25p per minute but gradually rose to 60p per minute in later years. These fees were divided between BT and the clubs on a revenue share basis.

By 1987/88, nearly all the remaining First Division (now Premier League) clubs had joined Clubcall.

A further expansion occurred for the following season with most of the other Football League teams being recruited. The leading Scottish clubs were on board by that point too. 

My own involvement began early in 1987 when I had a meeting with a management executive at Downham Road. I suggested that there should be a generic Non-League Clubcall line as there was huge collective interest in clubs outside the Football League.

I was initially met with a firm “Don’t call us, we’ll call you” response.

Then about six months later, Clubcall appointed a new marketing manager called Charles Webster. He was a big supporter of Gravesend & Northfleet FC and he told a management meeting: “We should have a Non-League Clubcall line.”

A totally unique item in my football library at home is a wallet containing a Clubcall card from every club in the country@fcbusiness pic.twitter.com/MisSGSdH9n

— Tony Incenzo - football reporter (@TonyIncenzo) June 20, 2017

The reply was: “Funnily enough, we had a guy called Tony Incenzo come into the building and say the same thing!”

I suddenly received a phone call from Clubcall’s editorial chief Mark Rooney who invited me back for another chat with Charles and himself. The upshot was that I was asked to launch Non-League Clubcall on 1st September 1987.

This was a huge break for me as it was my first voice work role after training as a written journalist on my local newspaper. Non-League Clubcall quickly attracted thousands of calls. 

Mark and Charles were delighted with the success of the service and gave me great help and encouragement. I broadcast Non-League news, interviews and fixtures each day plus all the latest match results on Saturdays and in midweek.

I say “broadcast” but I actually prefer to think of it as “narrow-casting”. I was actually targeting a select group of people who were interested in Non-League football first and foremost. 

Within 12 months, I was put in charge of new official Clubcall lines for the Conference (National League), Isthmian League, Northern Premier League and Southern League.

My overall Non-League portfolio continued to expand after that with other leagues joining such as the North West Counties League and the Eastern Counties League. I also edited Clubcall lines for several Non-League clubs including Barnet and Sutton United.

We even sponsored the Clubcall Cup, which was a knockout competition for the leading Non-League teams. I was invited along to present the trophy after the yearly final took place. 

In 1991, I was head hunted as Clubcall editor for Queens Park Rangers in the top flight of English football. I saw this as a huge honour as they are my local club that I have always supported.

QPR Clubcall reached its peak with the shock resignation of manager Gerry Francis in November 1994. I had a very close working relationship with Gerry and he decided to give me his only interview at the time.

It took 16,000 calls on Clubcall in 24 hours. This was a staggering figure when you consider that QPR’s average home matchday attendance that season was 14,600.

Another interesting anecdote concerns former QPR chairman Richard Thompson. He once rang Clubcall on his car phone to hear my report on an away game.

Thompson subsequently forgot to replace the handset and accidentally left the call running overnight with my voice on loop. The bill topped £500!

Then there was the famous occasion where QPR hammered Manchester United 4-1 at Old Trafford. I got very excited by this and started my post-match Clubcall report in Norwegian commentator style by shouting:

“Bobby Charlton can you hear me? George Best, Dennis Law can you hear me? Mark Hughes, Paul Parker can you hear me? Your boys took a helluva beating!”

In total, Clubcall made a profit of nearly £1.25 million for Queens Park Rangers FC during my 14 years as editor. I am very proud of this amount as it came at a time when the R’s didn’t have huge financial resources.

Since then though, the rapid growth of the internet has killed off the viability of football’s Premium Rate telephone market. As a consequence, none of the 92 League clubs still have an official Clubcall line. 

But the concept was a fabulous money spinner while it lasted.

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*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to @TonyIncenzo*

 

FIRST PUBLISHED: 27th July 2022

• The England boss is a divisive figure, with many claiming he’s too cautious

• Blessed with an exciting crop of talent he has over-looked or under-used some

• These five deserve more game-time or bigger roles to play at the World Cup 

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Though Gareth Southgate has guided England to a World Cup semi and a Euro final during his time as an international manager, and though his team are among the favourites to lift the World Cup in Qatar, he remains a divisive figure, with some insisting his conservative ways hold back an exciting generation of talent.

Certainly, these five players can feel somewhat aggrieved since he took the reins because for differing reasons, and to varying extents, the waistcoated gaffer is not getting the best out of them.

Trent Alexander-Arnold

By a strange quirk of fate, the Three Lions have been blessed with a long litany of well-equipped right-backs who are all flourishing in the same era.

By an equally strange quirk, Gareth Southgate routinely decides to leave the best of them at home, kicking his heels.

Cherished by Liverpool for his attacking forays, the 23-year-old’s sense of adventure and cultured touch resulted in 19 assists for his club in 2021/22, a remarkable figure for a full-back.

Well done to @TrentAA on being named in the @PFA Premier League Team of the Year! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/l58JU4eNLi

— England (@England) June 9, 2022

It’s a return that has impressed even the great Cafu, who recently claimed ‘TAA’ is one of the best in the world at his role.

For England however, the player is too often over-looked, with Southgate distrustful of his defensive capabilities.

Having Alexander-Arnold in England’s opening eleven in Qatar would be a statement, an overt intention to win the competition, not merely avoid defeat. Don’t expect it to happen.

Ben Chilwell

The Chelsea star only has four caps fewer than Luke Shaw yet it’s still strikingly apparent that their international manager prefers the Manchester United left-back, especially for the big occasions.

In a similar vein to Alexander-Arnold, this is presumably because Chilwell’s biggest strengths lie in the offensive third with the former Leicester man contributing to so many of the Blues’ most meaningful attacks last term until injury struck.

Flying down the left flank for any other nation, Chilwell would be lauded to the rafters. For England he is merely a peripheral figure, under-valued and criminally so.

Phil Foden

That this generational talent isn’t a guaranteed starter for the opening game v Iran speaks volumes, those volumes consisting of millions of fans voicing their frustration.

Having sensibly introduced Foden to the international stage in increments, there can be no real complaints about the game-time afforded to the midfield prodigy to this point. Sixteen appearances at the age of 22 is fair, however you view it.

The problem rests on how Foden is deployed, nullified of his ability to glide past opponents and cast in a role that plays second fiddle to Kane and Sterling.

Build your team around him please Gareth. An extraordinary player like this doesn’t come along often.

Jack Grealish

There has always been a terrace favourite annoyingly unfancied by an England gaffer and we can go all the way back to the Seventies for evidence of this, with Stan Bowles and the like deemed to be mavericks by the schoolmasterly bosses of that era.

Fast-forward to the present day and it is Grealish with the catapult in his back pocket while Mason Mount brings a shiny apple in every day for teacher, and if the Manchester City star’s natural flair has been sparingly used by Southgate to this juncture, then so be it. Should it continue however, it may start to look a little personal.

That’s because, after a year’s intensive tuition under Guardiola, Grealish is expected to excel this year, balancing out his extravagant creativity with productivity and discipline.

The Premier League Odds has City down as clear favourites to claim another title and that would make the midfielder a two-time title winner too.

Tammy Abraham

No-one is suggesting that Abraham can directly challenge Harry Kane for a regular starting berth up front. Given the Tottenham forward’s record with England that would be ludicrous.

Yet it is pragmatic to say the least to have an established back-up in place, should injury befall Kane, and in recent times Southgate has oscillated with this aim, going with Calvert-Lewin, then Watkins, then Abraham, his choice usually determined by form.

It is the latter however who should be stuck with, through lean times and good. The football odds price Roma up as fourth favourites to win the Scudetto this season.

A sizable reason for that is down to the 24-year-old’s impact in the Italian capital.

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*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*

 

FIRST PUBLISHED: 26th July 2022

Much has changed for Manchester City in recent years but @SteTudor123 takes us on a journey back to Maine Road and the club's roots...

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• The Etihad Stadium has seen sustained success in modern times

• It is a stadium synonymous with Manchester City’s domestic dominance 

• But Maine Road will always be the club’s spiritual home

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The latest Premier League Odds has Manchester City down as firm favourites to win the league this season, an unsurprising upshot of Pep Guardiola’s Blues securing four titles in the last five seasons.

It is a domination of English football that has taken place at the Etihad Stadium, otherwise known as the City of Manchester Stadium, that was erected for the Commonwealth Games, held in 2002.

Soon after, the Cityzens moved in and soon after that their fortunes were transformed seismically by a takeover that furnished them with enormous wealth and potential. A good many trophies followed.

It is somewhat inevitable therefore that this modern edifice, plonked like a spaceship in the middle of Beswick has become synonymous with the very best of Manchester City, housing trophy-lifts from club legends like Vincent Kompany and staging the brilliance of Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva.

By extension and by comparison, the club’s former home Maine Road is viewed in an altogether different light, it being slightly down-at-heel and largely associated with periods of plight.

After all, a swathe of fans who attend the Etihad now went to Maine Road in their youth, and they would head to games excited and usually leave disappointed. In City’s last eight years at the ground, they endured three relegations.

‘Fans would come up to me, close to tears, saying they didn’t want to leave.’

The Etihad, home of Man City, is turning 20.

So much has changed - but don’t forget Maine Road’s part in City’s history either. I had a tour of both places. #MCFC 👕 https://t.co/Lh1HUyY7JH

— Daniel Taylor (@DTathletic) July 17, 2022

In a much broader context however, this amounts to nothing more than recency bias and that’s because the overall truth is that this unique and distinct ground, constructed in 1923 amidst a latticework of Moss Side housing, and sadly torn down eighty years later, gave the game memories like few others ever have.

It is 1934 and City are playing a Stoke side complete with the great Stanley Matthews in a FA Cup clash.

The Blues would go on to win the cup that year, adding to their trophy-haul two years later with a league title courtesy of a vintage team illuminated by sporting behemoths, including Matt Busby, Sam Cowan and a keeper in Frank Swift whose hands were so large they were compared to frying pans.

An astonishing 84,569 turned up that afternoon as Stoke were defeated 1-0, a record attendance for a club side that lasted for 82 years until a thousand more saw Spurs play Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League.

A few years later, City’s big rivals Manchester United shared Maine Road, following bomb damage inflicted on Old Trafford during the war, and a few years later still, along came the most magnificent City side of them all, an exuberant, title-winning collective headed by the club’s famed triumvirate of Bell, Lee and Summerbee.

Despite stylishly plying his trade in midfield, only three players in the club’s history have ever out-scored the peerless Colin Bell.

City weren’t exactly bad in the Seventies either, challenging Liverpool for the league, and these celebrated players, and special teams exhibited their brilliance always in front of enormous crowds, high numbers that persisted even when seating was introduced in the Fifties.

That’s because down one side of Maine Road stood the mighty Kippax, the longest single terrace in English football. The Kippax was a legendary place, vast and tribal. In there a multitude of stories were born.

Aerial view of Maine Road before the Kippax and Scoreboard end had a roof, it’s easy to see how away fans got confused on those side streets. 👕 pic.twitter.com/dSs95yO0MH

— Wozza (@wozza64mcfc) July 25, 2022

Across stood the main stand, with its curved white roof, and next to that, behind one goal, was the cantilevered North Stand, beautiful in a fashion.

Outside were a maze of ginnels, and a faint hint of smog on an autumn day, and the bellows of men selling the Football Pinks. All around were sights and sounds that were so intrinsically Manchester.

The football odds have City down as favourites this term while the Etihad has become synonymous with success.

But the very best of Manchester City is now a bunch of flats standing in Moss Side. It was once a home to football, the likes of which it was a privilege to see.

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Match Information

• Mundford 4-3 Ely City

• When: Saturday 16th July 2022

• Kick-off: 2pm

• Where: The Glebe, St Leonards Street, Mundford, Norfolk IP26 5DW

• Competition: Pre-season friendly

• Attendance: 57

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My latest groundhop was to a club in the Anglian Combination. This league caters for teams in Norfolk and the northern part of Suffolk.

Obviously this is a very picturesque part of the country and some of the football grounds are real gems. The precise catchment area is for member clubs within a 50 mile radius from Norwich city centre.

In years gone by though, the Anglian Comb was out on a limb geographically in terms of being part of the Non-League Pyramid. Yes it is a Step 7 league with promotion to the Eastern Counties League Division One at Step 6.

But this was not an attractive proposition for Anglian Comb clubs as the geography of the ECL meant that some games were right down in Essex.

This would have entailed round trips from Norwich of up to 240 miles that could easily have taken in excess of two and a half hours each way. Not a good scenario – especially for midweek fixtures.

So very few teams sought promotion from the Anglian Comb. However, the restructuring of the Non-League system saw a Division One North formed in the ECL in 2018 covering the northern part of East Anglia.

Therefore the travelling problem was solved immediately and a steady stream of Anglian Comb clubs have progressed up to the ECL since then including Mulbarton Wanderers, Harleston Town, Sheringham, University of East Anglia and Heacham.

Result of my pre-season friendly in Norfolk today :@MundfordFC 4@ElyCityFC 3

Attendance 57 (my headcount. Football grounds visited - 2,452@fcbusiness @nonleagueshow @NonLeagueCrowd @FootballNorfolk @NorfolkCountyFA @AnglianCom pic.twitter.com/PXQ0CAeows

— Tony Incenzo - football reporter (@TonyIncenzo) July 16, 2022

This situation has showcased the strength of the Anglian Comb as three of those sides – Harleston, Mulbarton and Sheringham - have subsequently been promoted again to the Premier Division of the ECL.

One of the requirements for Step 6 is a floodlit home ground and it is interesting to note from their online directory that several of the current Anglian Comb clubs already have lights in place – Aylsham, Beccles Town, Bungay Town, Cromer Youth Old Boys, Dussindale Hellesdon Rovers, Holt United, Mundford, North Walsham Town, Watton United and Wells Town.

With all this in mind, I decided to visit Mundford FC who play in a Norfolk village with a population of just 1,500. The club have a proud history in local football dating back to their formation in 1907.

Ground Description

I parked up next to Mundford Village Hall and walked across ‘The Glebe’ playing field. I passed a cricket match that was in full swing before reaching the railed off football pitch.

I liked the solid-looking John Marston Stand which has the initials MFC set in the brickwork and provides covered standing for maybe 60 spectators.

It is named after the club’s former groundsman who died in 2020 at the age of 76 having given loyal service to Mundford FC for 50 years.

This stand was quite well populated at my match as people sought some shade from the baking sun on a very hot day.

It was adjoined by the Stags Tea Hut which reflects the club’s nickname and did a roaring trade in cold drinks on the day. The floodlights have been in place since 2016 and have a 200 lux rating.

The Match

Very entertaining and a real ding-dong affair. Mundford edged this seven goal thriller and claimed a decent pre-season scalp against their opponents Ely City who play two steps higher in the ECL Premier Division.

So overall, prospects are looking good for Mundford on and off the pitch. I will eagerly follow their fortunes in the future to see if they are the next club to move upwards from the Anglian Comb.

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*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to @TonyIncenzo*

 

FIRST PUBLISHED: 25th July 2022

Former Manchester United and England winger Lee Sharpe believes the early signs are very encouraging at Old Trafford since the arrival of Erik Ten Hag.

"Can United close the gap on City and Liverpool? That’s the million-dollar question isn’t it. Certainly, in the first couple of games, already you can see a change.

"The team is working harder and they’re on the front foot. In the Liverpool friendly, I saw one of the central midfielders play a first-time ball straight over the top and turn the team around and we’ve not seen that for quite a while.

"Ten Hag has a structure and demands discipline. He’ll let everyone know their role in the team and if they’re not doing it, they won’t play.

"He’s making some strong signings and obviously he likes to score goals, coming from a team in Ajax who has reached a Champions League semi by scoring loads of goals. At the moment everything is positive and let’s see how we go."

Yet still, for all the optimism, the Reds remain an awfully long way behind both their neighbours City and their archest rivals down the M62.

If a title challenge therefore is beyond them, what does Sharpe hope to see this term as a bare minimum, from a club who used to win league crowns as the norm back in his playing days?

"Number one, they need a stronger work ethic. One of the most disappointing things from last year was the numbers that showed their running was well below par.

"The first thing you ask of a player is even if you’re not playing great, you work hard and make it difficult for opponents. That wasn’t happening enough last year. So, if the work ethic is there then there’s enough quality in the team to produce results."

Or perhaps not, because one of the biggest transfer stories of this summer has concerned United’s chase for Frenkie De Jong, a saga that has run and run.

Joan Laporta tells @carodelas: "Frenkie de Jong is our player, we really like him. We received some offers for Frenkie but we didn't accept as of now, as we want to talk with him and know exactly what he wants" 🚨🇳🇱 #FCB

"We need to clarify some aspects of his situation". #MUFC pic.twitter.com/TM1hwyHzVu

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 24, 2022

Indeed, amidst accusations that they have overly prioritized a seemingly unattainable player throughout this window, just why have the club placed such emphasis on securing the Barcelona ace?

"The manager knows and trusts De Jong, and that connection from taking the ball off defenders and delivering it to forward players is such an important and tough role.

"McTominay and Fred have done decent jobs but there has been inconsistency and De Jong brings that calmness and coolness on the ball, largely because of his decision-making. He is the class in midfield that can drive United on."

Speaking of class, one signing the 13-time Premier League champions have got over the line is Christian Eriksen, with the twinkle-toed Dane officially unveiled last weekend. Does Sharpe think he’s a shrewd addition?

"With Juan Mata going, Eriksen brings a wealth of experience. He’s 30 years old and must be fit enough after his incident to have passed his medical.

"He brings creativity that will be sorely needed in tight areas, because if United play like we expect them to, then a lot of teams will park the bus with two banks of four and five.

"They will be hard to break down and he can see a pass and score a goal. He keeps a calm head in pressurized situations and I think he’s a great signing."

If Eriksen can offer some ingenuity in the final third, another welcome source of creativity may come from a player already well established in their ranks.

Last season, Anthony Martial scored one goal in eight before being loaned out to Sevilla, with his time in the North-West appearing to be over and widely considered a failure.

Some decent showings in pre-season however, have led some to suspect the French winger might reignite under new management and this would certainly delight Sharpe.

Now residing in Spain and watching United’s friendlies keenly from afar, the 51-year-old is evidently a fan of the divisive star.

"I think Martial on his day is unplayable. He’s that good. That’s what frustrates fans, knowing he’s that good but not doing it week in, week out.

"I don’t know the lad personally so I’m unsure whether he is happy playing out wide, or if he prefers playing as a number nine.

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"If he wants to be a number nine, and Ten Hag is happy for him to be there, and if Martial puts the work in, then United have a surprise package.

"A £50-60m new player if you like because on his day he’s unbelievable with quick feet. He can score goals and create for others and he’s a fantastic talent."

Sharpe is equally as effusive about Jadon Sancho, insisting the England wideman will flourish under Ten Hag’s guidance, but here alas the positivity must end, because it simply wouldn’t be Manchester United in the current era without at least one fly in the ointment.

Presently, the future of Cristiano Ronaldo, their megastar in a squad full of superstars, is unknown, with the player first stating he wishes to leave, but now claiming he is staying put.

It is a distraction the club – not to mention Ten Hag – can well do without as they seek to start anew and once again if feels like the soap opera that is CR7 is taking the headlines.

👀 Cristiano Ronaldo wants to LEAVE! - Behind the Scenes:

✍️ @FabrizioRomano discusses his position at Old Trafford and what #MUFC must do to keep him at the club...https://t.co/WFKxwruWbr

— 888sport (@888sport) July 4, 2022

What does Sharpe make of it all?

"If Ronaldo wants to spend the rest of his career in the Champions League, he knew months ago that United aren’t in it. He could have come out and said something then, at the end of last season, but he hasn’t.

"He’s said something at the start of pre-season and this led me to believe that he had a couple of interested clubs up his sleeve already. It turns out that he hasn’t.

"I appreciate that the hardest thing to do in football is score goals, and he is one of the best at it. He’ll bring you that. But it’s what he takes away from the team in other areas, that’s what concerns me.

• What can we expect from Man United this season? Read our season preview to find out!

"I don’t think at the age of 37 he can play Ten Hag’s pressing game or want to do that. And while he’s in the team he’s stopping Martial from shining or a young player getting a chance.

"So, I wouldn’t be disappointed if he left, and I’d be slightly concerned if he does stay because he’s a little bit too powerful in the dressing room."

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Our man @SteTudor123 gives his take on the most annoying online fanbases in the Premier League - do you agree with his selections?

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• All clubs have annoying fans, but some have many more than others

• A surprise high entry is a club that looks to the past

• The most annoying online fanbase is let down by thousands ‘over-compensating’

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We’ve all done it. A rival fan tweets something derogatory about our club and instinctively we’ve ‘bitten’ and replied in a manner that is anything but cordial.

At no point do we consider whether there is any substance to their claim. Their bio pic of a rival player is sufficient in telling us they are absolutely in the wrong and, furthermore, that our club’s good name needs defending at all costs.

If social media has weaponized us all – to an extent – as individuals, then the same is true of fanbases and sadly this has resulted in online platforms becoming toxic, tribalized playgrounds for the unreasonable and the obstinate.

It’s a virtual war played out daily, and there will never, ever be a winner.

Yet if no fanbase is without sin, some naturally are far worse than others, and even if of course there are some good eggs among them, these hateful eight especially should be approached with extreme caution at all times.

8) Manchester City

The only supporters to make it onto our top ten best online fan’s list and this rogue’s gallery, perhaps their inhabiting of both extremes is a reflection on how City fans are still struggling to adapt to their transformative takeover in 2008.

While the old school tend to keep it real, the younger collective, who only know anecdotally of City’s sustained periods of rubbishness pre-takeover, are typically a rowdy and entitled bunch who believe the world and his dog is against them.

An eight-page newspaper pull-out to mark their latest title success? That’s an ‘agenda’ because Liverpool would have got at least ten.

We caught up with some fans at our fan park ahead of today's game! 🇺🇸#ManCity | @Midea pic.twitter.com/FyJNJN1fLp

— Manchester City (@ManCity) July 23, 2022

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7) Wolverhampton Wanderers 

It’s hard to know what to expect of Wolves this coming season, with Bruno Lage’s squad undergoing a mini-overhaul as they attempt to address inconsistencies that cost them in 2021/22.

Ultimately finishing mid-table, they could be brilliant and terrible from one week to the next.

What we can anticipate is that a horde of online warriors will take great exception to anyone who dares question the ethics of their club’s close affiliation with Portuguese ‘super-agent’ Jorges Mendes.

Others, meanwhile, rail against the playful nickname of ‘Portugal B’ given to a team heavily populated by players from that country.

They’re a touchy lot, basically. Not the worst out there by any stretch, but touchy all the same.

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6) Chelsea

If any fanbase needs a PR makeover it’s Chelsea’s, with several prevailing perceptions saddled to their reputation, rightly or wrongly.

Viewed as a whole, do Chelsea fans go to any great lengths to distance themselves from such charges? Alas, no.

In the main, they double-down on the discord, tweeting and posting like a belligerent uncle who rarely gets invited to Christmas dinner for fear that he brings up politics.

For balance, it should be stated that Chelsea gets a seriously unfair ride from the media. How they are defended however, by their own, sometimes leaves a lot to be desired.

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5) Tottenham Hotspur

The latest football odds have Spurs down at 14/1 to win the title this year, making them an optimistic shout.

This feels fair given they have signed shrewdly in the transfer window yet remain a significant distance behind Manchester City and Liverpool.

To add historical context meanwhile, it’s pertinent that Tottenham haven’t won the league since 1961, with clubs such as Ipswich, Derby, Nottingham Forest and Leicester winning it since. Indeed, they last lifted a trophy in 2008.

Could someone please inform the Spurs faithful of these home-truths because they appear to be under the impression they are London’s biggest club, matching the very best around for silverware.

Or at least that’s how they tweet and post, with a sense of delusion that is almost admirable.

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4) Manchester United

‘We’re Man United, we do what we want’.

This unsavoury chant, that smacked of arrogance and stunk to high heaven of entitlement, was prevalent among the Reds fanbase throughout their heyday and even if it’s an era of dominance that is increasingly sepia tinged in the past, that sense of self-importance still comes across loud and proud online today.

A tweet from a United supporter at times reads like a fading actor demanding the best table at a restaurant.

An odd obsession with their club supposedly possessing an ‘attacking DNA’ also grates, when the reality is that a whole bunch of other teams can say the same.

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3) Aston Villa

At first glance a surprisingly high entry but it all makes sense when you dig a little into Villa’s past and circumstances.

First off, the Villans aren’t called the ‘Manchester United of the Midlands’ by their local rivals for nothing, nor are they called it in a complimentary manner.

Regarded as being above their station by the many outfits who operate within a fifty-mile radius of Villa Park, theirs is a supercilious attitude that annoys.

Beyond the region meanwhile, Villa fans are under the firm belief their club resides among the elite, largely because they won a European Cup in our lifetime, but the grim reality at present is that ‘bigger’ clubs can cherry-pick their finest talent at will.

This leaves the fans online with two distinct means of response, either accepting that football is constantly in flux and right now theirs is a selling club, or they can get very, very bitter about it.

Regrettably, more times than not, the latter option is picked.

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2) Arsenal

It is tempting to simply write ‘Arsenal Fan TV’ and be done with it. Anyone who has been subjected to the silly hysteria that is rife on that channel will surely understand why.

That though would be huge disservice on the rest of the Gooner fanbase because the truth of the matter is that a great many of them are infinitely worse than Troopz and company.

A jarring hypocrisy lies at the heart of why Arsenal fans agitate online. On the one hand, they vociferously demand that their board gets the chequebook out and buys, buys, buys.

On the other, they take inordinate pride in being the net spend champions of the modern era, lording it over rivals, as if football is played in accounting ledgers, not on a lush green pitch.

The Arsenal fans are buzzing! 😍 pic.twitter.com/N3q7FWp3Uw

— Arsenal FC News (@ArsenalFC_fl) July 23, 2022

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1) Liverpool

A match-going Liverpool supporter is always worth a follow on social media. They’re typically objective and to lean on local jargon, they’re ‘sound’.

The problem is that the Merseyside giants have an estimated 100 million followers online who post regularly or otherwise, and Anfield only holds 54,000.

This, you could argue, is a disparity that can be applied to all clubs but then it’s acknowledged that supporting Liverpool seems to be a heightened cause for many.

This means more. Wasn’t that a slogan recently spewed into existence by the club’s marketing department?

What it certainly means is that everyone, from the club’s left-back to their kitman is estimated to be the very best in the world while the passionate nature of their support becomes zealous to put it mildly.

Alas, an inevitable extension of this is that the internet is clogged up by accounts called @Salahisgod3542 or similar who feel the need to overcompensate for their lack of match-going experience by being super-duper-uber-fans.

And very often they’re anything-but-objective, and sometimes not even sound of mind. The Premier League odds suggests another runner-up spot for the Reds in 2022/23. There could be trouble ahead.

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FIRST PUBLISHED: 25th July 2022

Tony Incenzo (@TonyIncenzo) goes back in time and pens his thoughts on football inflatables and the A-Z scoreboards in use at stadiums around the country...

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Football Inflatables

FOOTBALL INFLATABLES were very fashionable at League grounds in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s.

Legend has it that the trend started at Manchester City’s old Maine Road stadium.

A supporter called Frank Newton visited his friend Allen Busby during the summer of 1987 and spotted a five foot inflatable banana amongst Allen’s extensive toy collection. So Frank borrowed the banana to take to a match in August that year.

The Maine Road crowd’s reaction was favourable as the huge yellow object was greeted with laughter. Being a hot afternoon, Frank decided to remove his Manchester City replica shirt and drape it over the banana.

Queueing to get in Maine Road back in the inflatables era. pic.twitter.com/FaUnZEX7sV

— Brian Carter (@biffo60) July 23, 2018

Within a few minutes, a face had been drawn and a bobble hat was added. In effect, the banana had taken on a character of its own.

Frank subsequently followed his team to matches all over England and took the banana with him. Other Man City fans started to have their own versions made.

Soon, shops in the Manchester area spotted this booming demand and began to stock the inflatable novelties.

The 1988/89 season saw a nationwide explosion in this craze. Supporters of every club in the country had latched on. They carried inflatable toucans, sharks, referees, penguins, gorillas and literally thousands of bananas.

Some teams had their own unique themes. Stoke fans adopted inflatable pink panthers, Oldham had inflatable dogs, Bury displayed blow-up black puddings, Grimsby had giant fish and West Ham had inflatable hammers.

But the fad fizzled out almost as quickly as it began. Some clubs banned inflatables as they could block the view of the pitch. Also, many of the inflatables were of poor quality and so they didn’t last more than a few months before becoming punctured.

On a personal note, I still have an inflatable referee that I bought at a London ground more than 30 years ago. It is about five feet tall with a big beaming face like a caricature. 

In fact, I blew it up the other day and marched it into the living room where my wife got a real shock and started screaming due to the huge size of the referee’s head!

A to Z SCOREBOARDS

MODERN supporters who go to a match can follow all the football scores on a Saturday by using the internet on their mobile phones. Details from other games will flash up on the stadium big screens too.

But when I was a kid in the 1970’s, none of these methods were available. So football clubs would utilise a basic A to Z half-time scoreboard.

What happened was that the key fixtures from that day would listed in the matchday programme with letters next to them. 

For instance…

A - might be Arsenal versus Manchester United.

B - Burnley versus Spurs.

C - Chelsea versus Liverpool.

D – Derby County versus Leeds United.

And so on through the alphabet.

Then there were letters from A to Z spaced out on the perimeter hoardings around the side of the pitch. Each letter represented a match. 

At half-time, a little dishevelled man would suddenly appear with a set of wooden numbers and he would carefully place these numbers next to the letters.

As an example, next to A he might put ZERO then ONE. So everyone would check their programme and realise that Arsenal were trailing 1-0 at home to Manchester United

B - TWO and THREE, Spurs were winning 3-2 at Burnley.

C - ZERO and ZERO, Chelsea and Liverpool were drawing 0-0.

D - ONE and ZERO, Derby were 1-0 up against Leeds.

This was a very simple system but much appreciated by the fans who went out to watch football on a Saturday. And it raised money for the clubs too as everyone in attendance had to buy a matchday programme to check the half-time scores.

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*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to @TonyIncenzo*

 

FIRST PUBLISHED: 21st July 2022