Sport Wembley - A representation of English Football?

[Gwadien]

So, on Saturday, I went to see England vs Slovenia, the second time that I went to Wembley, and since we had quite the fitting discussion about hooliganism in the UK, I thought I'd air my opinions on it.

Basically, on arrival, my brother had a bottle of water, which they removed the lid to, the reasoning being 'Someone could stand on it and slip on it' I dismissed that hilarity, and went in the stadium.

Then it continued, the signs that people hold up to make the St Georges flag; a son and dad took the handles out of them and started play-sword fighting with them at half time, a steward came over shouting at them saying 'Joking is how accidents happen.' They tipped their hat to the steward and sat down without protest.

Then I noticed the stewards telling fans to sit down and stop singing, because it was unsettling, (Mind you I was not in the family area, which I had been on the last time that I went.)

Frankly, the whole experience was a massive joke, it was full of middle-class tourists who just went to show Elizabeth and Edmond a football match.

At £40 a pop and even more to get there, I fail to comprehend how poorer families can actually get to go to England matches, and see their heroes play football.

Since Wembley is the gateway for foreign football fans to see the famous English Footballers and even more so the home of Football, it's embarrassing, adding to the fact that the grass was stained with American Football advertisements.

As for the 'hooligan' arguments, home football matches are a chance for hooligans to actually go to football matches, since they're banned from going abroad, and to get a grasp of the destructive English Hooligan, there were no visible police in the stadium from what I could see.

TL;DR - This is a nail in the coffin to say that English Football is a business, not a sport.

 

[caLLous]

Wembley isn't really a gateway to anything. Football is played there what... a handful of times a year?

 

[Gwadien]

Wembley isn't really a gateway to anything. Football is played there what... a handful of times a year?

It is, where do England play all their home games?

It'd be far better if Wembley was just a venue, and England toured England.

 

[caLLous]

If some random tourist came over and fancied watching a game they would be lucky to find one on at Wembley, is what I'm saying. Football is probably a pretty small part of Wembley's revenue stream. They put bloody tarmac down a couple of years ago for some motorsport thing, and big piles of dirt for monster trucks, NFL, concerts etc etc. Hodgson was right to moan about the NFL game, if Wembley gave a toss about them being the home of the England team they wouldn't have lined up an NFL match a week before a Euro qualifier.

 

[Gwadien]

If some random tourist came over and fancied watching a game they would be lucky to find one on at Wembley, is what I'm saying. Football is probably a pretty small part of Wembley's revenue stream. They put bloody tarmac down a couple of years ago for some motorsport thing, and big piles of dirt for monster trucks, NFL, concerts etc etc. Hodgson was right to moan about the NFL game, if Wembley gave a toss about them being the home of the England team they wouldn't have lined up an NFL match a week before a Euro qualifier.

Thing is though, we shouldn't give a toss about a random tourist wanting to watch a game, they're not there to watch a game, they're there so they can say 'look, i saw Chelsea, Arsenal, etc etc,'

Who we should be bothered about impressing is away fans.

 

[TdC]

actually it's pretty damn hard for a major stadium venue to generate enough cash flow to maintain themselves. they *must* diversify or they will go bust. then again I suppose if going to see a match only cost a tenner or so the place would be packed every time you had a match? I recall my growing up all the US expats formed a softball league. They'd play every friday night and it was basically part of the weekend experience really: watch the kids play, have a BBQ, watch the adults play, beers afterwards, everyone goes home happy. What I mean is if you make something part of your weekly regime, then that 10-spot every week is easy to do, no?

If a 20K seat venue hosts a game every week for 10 squids, with a major game once a month for 20, that's earning in excess of 1M per month, besides everything else they have planned. I don't pretend to know what it costs to actually have such a venue in maintainnance but the socialist hippy in me feels that everyone should be free to enjoy sports/arts/activities.

 

[Gwadien]

actually it's pretty damn hard for a major stadium venue to generate enough cash flow to maintain themselves. they *must* diversify or they will go bust. then again I suppose if going to see a match only cost a tenner or so the place would be packed every time you had a match? I recall my growing up all the US expats formed a softball league. They'd play every friday night and it was basically part of the weekend experience really: watch the kids play, have a BBQ, watch the adults play, beers afterwards, everyone goes home happy. What I mean is if you make something part of your weekly regime, then that 10-spot every week is easy to do, no?

If a 20K seat venue hosts a game every week for 10 squids, with a major game once a month for 20, that's earning in excess of 1M per month, besides everything else they have planned. I don't pretend to know what it costs to actually have such a venue in maintainnance but the socialist hippy in me feels that everyone should be free to enjoy sports/arts/activities.

It wasn't full though, full to capacity, that's the issue.

I'm happy for 'Wembley' to be a multi-purpose stadium, but let England tour around England so you know, English people can actually see them play?

My point is that when you go to a normal match, it's a fucking excellent atmosphere at most stadiums, but Wembley has none, mostly because they're so nazi on telling people to stop enjoying theirselves because you might offend the middle-class spectators who have never been to a football match in their lives.

In all honesty, I'm pretty sure if you catered for the fans around the stadium, and you actually sold them decent beer and such, then people will actually stay around and make money for the stadium, and generally speaking, not a lot of trouble will be caused, I mean, London doesn't burn every time the local teams play each other does it?

As I said in my OP, it's all about money, and I think that's the general issue, that they're so hell-bent on making a good turn around for the stadium, and in return sacrifice the enjoy-ability and atmosphere in the ground.

 

[Moriath]

It wasn't full though, full to capacity, that's the issue.

I'm happy for 'Wembley' to be a multi-purpose stadium, but let England tour around England so you know, English people can actually see them play?

My point is that when you go to a normal match, it's a fucking excellent atmosphere at most stadiums, but Wembley has none, mostly because they're so nazi on telling people to stop enjoying theirselves because you might offend the middle-class spectators who have never been to a football match in their lives.

In all honesty, I'm pretty sure if you catered for the fans around the stadium, and you actually sold them decent beer and such, then people will actually stay around and make money for the stadium, and generally speaking, not a lot of trouble will be caused, I mean, London doesn't burn every time the local teams play each other does it?

As I said in my OP, it's all about money, and I think that's the general issue, that they're so hell-bent on making a good turn around for the stadium, and in return sacrifice the enjoy-ability and atmosphere in the ground.

Part of the repayment and viability is that England play their games there as well as the cup finals etc. I doubt any stadium would be full at the moment with the apathy about the national team at the moment.

 

[DaGaffer]

It wasn't full though, full to capacity, that's the issue.

I'm happy for 'Wembley' to be a multi-purpose stadium, but let England tour around England so you know, English people can actually see them play?

My point is that when you go to a normal match, it's a fucking excellent atmosphere at most stadiums, but Wembley has none, mostly because they're so nazi on telling people to stop enjoying theirselves because you might offend the middle-class spectators who have never been to a football match in their lives.

In all honesty, I'm pretty sure if you catered for the fans around the stadium, and you actually sold them decent beer and such, then people will actually stay around and make money for the stadium, and generally speaking, not a lot of trouble will be caused, I mean, London doesn't burn every time the local teams play each other does it?

As I said in my OP, it's all about money, and I think that's the general issue, that they're so hell-bent on making a good turn around for the stadium, and in return sacrifice the enjoy-ability and atmosphere in the ground.

The FA owns Wembley. The FA is debt up to the eyeballs because of Wembley. No way will England play home games anywhere else because of that. Its also the reason for the FA Semis being there (despite no-one wanting that), and a cynic would suggest the whole play-off model is entirely based around generating cash for Wembley as well. The place is a millstone around the neck of English football. And I'm off there for a party on Friday.

 

[Gwadien]

Part of the repayment and viability is that England play their games there as well as the cup finals etc. I doubt any stadium would be full at the moment with the apathy about the national team at the moment.

Nope, it would, if you played at Old Trafford and sold tickets at say £20, people would flock there, not if they sell them for £60 for a fucking Slovenia game

 

[Moriath]

Nope, it would, if you played at Old Trafford and sold tickets at say £20, people would flock there, not if they sell them for £60 for a fucking Slovenia game

They wouldn't sell tickets for twenty quid at old Trafford tho. Moot point. It would be sixty quid but at a different venue.

 

[Job]

I can safely say that when visiting London, Wembley would be the very last place I would visit...unless it was topless dirt bike racing.

 

[Hawkwind]

This is a nail in the coffin to say that World Football is a business, not a sport.

Corrected, professional sport all over the world is a business, big business! From Game Fishing, Rally Driving to Football, it's all about making money and selling TV rights etc.

 

[Moriath]

Corrected, professional sport all over the world is a business, big business! From Game Fishing, Rally Driving to Football, it's all about making money and selling TV rights etc.

Of course it is. How else would they afford 80mil for a player etc etc. that's nothing new.

That's why no one plays sport without sponsors. Even the supposedly amateur athletics people. They all get money to not work from one side or another.

 

[Draylor]

£40 a ticket doesnt seem that bad compared to ticket prices for domestic football - or other forms of entertainment generally. For comparison tickets are £55+ for the Scotland/England game on Tuesday night - a meaningless friendly.

Other than that you've realised that stewards at football exist to take drinks away from kids and make sure noone has too much fun - as doing their fucking job without getting in the way is too difficult for them. Nothing new there - happens every weekend at stadiums throughout the country.

 

[Job]

The reason crowds are kept so under control is because in the 70s and 80s the football fan was the scum of the Earth indulging in wanton destruction and violence..throwing darts and sharpened metal into each other stands then going on mob rampages around the towns.

 

[Raven]

Its not just the ticket to get in its the transport there, to watch a game at Wembley you're talking £100 give or take. I wouldn't pay that to see the current crop casually kick a ball around.

It wont be changing any time soon, England football has too much invested in Wembley for it to change.

 

[Olgaline]

The NFL owns Wembley..

There, fixed that one for you

 

[Hawkwind]

40 GBP for a ticket to a national game is not that bad. Try the Rugby World Cup - costing me 350 GBP x 2 for me and my son to watch Eng v Wal at Twickers during the rugby world cup. Obviously another grand on airfares to get there.

 

[DaGaffer]

The reason crowds are kept so under control is because in the 70s and 80s the football fan was the scum of the Earth indulging in wanton destruction and violence..throwing darts and sharpened metal into each other stands then going on mob rampages around the towns.

Ah, Good Times.

 

[Gwadien]

40 GBP for a ticket to a national game is not that bad. Try the Rugby World Cup - costing me 350 GBP x 2 for me and my son to watch Eng v Wal at Twickers during the rugby world cup. Obviously another grand on airfares to get there.

Bit different - Rugby IS a middle class sport.

 

[Hawkwind]

Bit different - Rugby IS a middle class sport.

See football going the same way tbh. Doubt low income people could afford a season ticket at the top clubs these days. I expect the FA is quite jealous that RFU can charge 80+ for a twickers ticket.

Actually much cheaper to watch a Premiership rugby side these days.

 

[Gwadien]

See football going the same way tbh. Doubt low income people could afford a season ticket at the top clubs these days. I expect the FA is quite jealous that RFU can charge 80+ for a twickers ticket.

Actually much cheaper to watch a Premiership rugby side these days.

Exactly, that's why it's wrong, and it's frankly pretty disgusting, Football was a reason to go out for the weekend, regardless of peoples opinions of it, now low-income families just sit around all day, or at best go to the pub and watch the games.

It's not that they don't want to go, they do, they just can't.

 

[Moriath]

Exactly, that's why it's wrong, and it's frankly pretty disgusting, Football was a reason to go out for the weekend, regardless of peoples opinions of it, now low-income families just sit around all day, or at best go to the pub and watch the games.

It's not that they don't want to go, they do, they just can't.

You don't have to go to a premiership game you know. Think it's like twenty quid to go see Stevenage borough and don't have to travel that far . Well for me.

 

[Raven]

See football going the same way tbh. Doubt low income people could afford a season ticket at the top clubs these days. I expect the FA is quite jealous that RFU can charge 80+ for a twickers ticket.

Actually much cheaper to watch a Premiership rugby side these days.

Yeah its pretty cheap to see the Saints, compared to a premiership football side.