For over seventy years, terracing was prevalent throughout football stadium’s it was the culture I grew up in, best described as a cheap working class male environment. During the period before the 1990’s many a record attendance was set, whereas millions upon millions of football supporters stood every Saturday to watch their favourite team with great passion and vigour. However, this culture did not suit the ever powerful controlling establishment of the UK. Hence the Taylor report following the aftermath of Hillsborough. But why was terracing banned? Taylor report: The report stated that standing accommodation is not intrinsically unsafe, but the government decided that no standing accommodation was to be allowed at all. Blame for the disaster of April 1989 laid with several causes, fencing and police control as a highly noted few factors. Yet before the introduction of fencing there had only been one disaster notable as a result of crushing when 33 people sadly lost their lives at Bolton, it was then 43 years later that 96 people never returned home from a game safely - as i watched events unfold, even then the media initially wanted to incur it was football violence unfolding, it was not, it was people trying to escape the crush with their lives at stake. It was fencing that got the blame for this, not terracing, clearly as the report stated it is not intrinsically unsafe. So how did fencing come about, it was mainly due to football violence around 35 years ago during the 70’s but this was more than about football it was a social issue, during 1973-1975 the UK went through an economic recession. Edward Heath attempted a faceoff with the miners, this eventually carried into Margaret Thatcher’s reign in 1979 and her attempt at social cleansing by setting her class warriors against them. The Wicked Witch of the West happy with her victory had created an underlying disease which led to questions on what affect did previous events have in Sheffield on that infamous day aided by the government propaganda machine that is called the media, the ever present Sun & Daily Malice waiting to tell its next pack of lies and feeding its readers negativity rather than positivity about the millions of decent supporters out there. This despite a new breed of supporter being born as the pricing of football went up as new stadiums were built along with the ever controversial all seating. Football then became infected with the 1992 virus and a whole new influx of armchair fans. At the time this is being wrote, I expect the booing supporters of Manchester United yesterday will soon be donning their Foxes shirts. Health or Safety is always the measure used when questions are asked about legislation, whether that be from the level of taxation on cigarettes and alcohol, or the price of attending a match. The establishment have created a divide and rule and done it very cleverly that in the modern generation it has become the norm. The arguments of previous events are now laid bare, because we have bubble matches - we have safe standing, games mainly all ticket, along with an unprecedented steward control. Alcohol is banned from seats. To not even being able to have a smoke, we are not treated like adults anymore unless you abide by the ever growing pampered health freaks who want to live to become senile. In fact if supporters dare breath to question authority they are likely to get arrested. I often hear the debate at my own club about a new stadium, when we cannot even fill our existing one, it appears most the dream is for the future and Premiership football which I despise. Time to bury Thatcher once and for all and give us back our game, but sadly I think it is too late as the marketed masses have already been cloned. Everything now from the introduction of goal line technology because people want to feel like they are sitting at home watching the instant replay, or watching a formula one machine go round in endless circles where the excitement and anguish has been killed, rather than having the what if, and we was robbed, to no, we cannot have terracing back due to the myths that were bred. I’ve been a supporter for over 40 years seen the good and the bad but all I see today is the ugly controlled expensive glorified marketed environment rather than one that belonged to the less well off, replacing a social class with a plastic and glory hunting variety, I give you Old Trafford yesterday as another obscene example, when I saw that woman’s face all I thought was go support another team you silly person, well words much stronger - because i'm a lower league supporter and proud to be along with my social roots and i will always speak up against the establishment to my own dying breath...debate;
Thought provoking piece I enjoyed the read and I too would love to see the return of terracing to football stadia everywhere. I think that we are on different sides of the political debate, but I have never been a particularly political person and certainly have no desire to discuss politics on a football forum, but I will take issue with a couple of your points; The smoking ban is nothing to with football and I am pleased that I no longer have to sit alongside smokers in any establishment whether that be pub, coffee shop or football stadium, and I can understand the ban on alcohol sales as that is still linked in many peoples to eyes to the many football based violent atrocities of the 70s and 80s, but I do think that the world has moved on and if we are keeping seats then allow beer in the stands. As for goal line technology I cant believe anyone is not in favour, this is all about getting the correct decision for the most important event in a match, the scoring of a goal, the difference between winning and losing and so what if creates a bit of additional theatre if we get the right decision then thats fine by me.
Thank you AshfordGill for taking the time to read and respond. I could probably write war and peace on the whole political side of football, so saved you some sufferance, although maybe one day when i'm retired i might find the time to do so...a book beckons! But no more seriously, I fully understand your points about smoking even being a smoker myself. However, what is not portrayed in my write up maybe so much then, it is more the political angle that i'm coming from with it. ie should i be allowed to smoke sitting next to you, quite simply no. My angle is more of social cleansing, where you join football, alcohol, cigarettes as a whole, and in coming decades you will see fast food thrown into that package too or maybe we have long already seen the move towards that with VAT. To clarify my thoughts on smoking better, you wouldn't expect a vegetarian to be allowed to make it illegal to eat meat, its about freedom of choices and merely that, yes, how it affects others i have no objection too as long has it is based on factual evidence and not myths or lies and I really don't want the health conscious to jump on that one, just look at the points deeper from a political agenda as put in the OP. In regards to goal line technology i might be the one and only supporter totally against it, but that's more about my opinion cloning games to perfection, I gave F1 as an example of that. But like i say AshfordGill thank you for taking the time to respond, just wished we could get a few more to join the debate, as varied and differing opinions bring learning and understanding from many angles
