Television the Drug of The Nation

There was a post that was widely shared across social media a couple pf years ago, which said ‘Don’t let you kids grow up thinking football in a TV show’ the picture that came with it was a young lad watching a non league football match. I liked it and shared it. I was taken to my first match by my Dad when I was six, I took my son when he was only a baby, for three generations we have grown up watching our local teams play football. Televised games higher up the ladder were just an added side show, not the main event.

Three months after most football came to a halt in the UK due to COVID 19, the Premier League & Championship have returned in England, following the example of Germany, played out in empty stadiums, but broadcast live on TV or via the internet.  Football has now become just a TV show.

There seems little hope for a return of football below the top two levels in England in the near future, clubs at that level are still mostly reliant on match day income rather than the revenue from TV rights and no fans through the turnstiles means no money. On top of that there is the cost of COVID 19 testing all the players and staff, estimated at around £140 per person, this is way beyond most clubs if required one or twice a week for a squad of 20plus. Even if this hurdle is overcome you are then faced with the problems around hospitality, bars and food outlets. All of which bring in vital income, plus the restrictions on attendances and how to administer tickets and imposing the distancing regulations.     

The current situation is a TV broadcaster’s wet dream, a captive audience, only able to access their football fix via TV, with simulated crowd noise and plastic pre match hype. The ban on screening games at 3pm on a Saturday has now been lifted and even when/if clubs lower down the pyramid return this will have a negative impact on their gates. The casual fan will be far less likely to leave their own home or pub to go to see the local team play of ‘their’ team is playing live on TV at the same time. This has already been shown by the reduced crowd numbers for midweek games when the Champions League matches are broadcast.

By the time we are back to any kind of pre-COVID 19 normality in lower league football there is a very real prospect of a large numbers of clubs not making it through, or if they do make it hitting the financial wall further down the line. The assistance and advice from the footballing authorities at the top of the game to keep the grass roots strong? Zilch. They are not just pulling up the ladder, they are setting fire to it.      

The football authorities have their cash cow back in the Premier League, the Champions League is scheduled to return and so is international football, all in empty stadia, but all live on TV. With the fans all meeting up on Zoom in their brand new replica shirts and making enthusiastic gestures when prompted to. With numerous food outlets now offering delivery and home now being the new office for many, there is no need to ever go out again. It’s dangerous out there, as someone smarter than me predicted back in 1990: Shut up, stay home, be happy, everything is done for you….  

Col.       

Hayes Lane - Home from Home Part 2

The old wooden main stand was destroyed by fire in 1992, leaving Bromley homeless for a year before the new stand was opened in October 1993 and re-named the John Fiorini Stand in 2002 in honour of a fine club man who had passed away the previous year. Then to comply with National League seating regulations the iconic benches end was demolished in 2018, replaced a year later by the shiny new Glyn Beverly Stand, (another club legend) with it’s 1,300 seats. As much as I see that it was progress for the club, it was still heart wrenching to see such a unique structure go. The other two sides are still terraced, they have new crush barriers, the pitch is now 3G and the facilities have had a facelift, but still keep the character and feel of a traditional large non league football ground.

Bromley moved to the current location of the ground in 1938 having played at various places around the town prior to that, including Queensmead, Plaistow Lane, White Hart Field, Glebe Road and on a pitch close to the main road almost directly opposite Ravensbourne School. The club made the wise move of buying the ground and the area around it, which includes a covenant that states it can only be used for sport, without doubt this has helped them stay there for so long. There was a period in the mid 90s when the club lost ownership, but this was resolved not long after former player Jerry Dolke took over ownership of Bromley FC in the early 2000s. Under Jerry, new bar facilities were built at the back of the stand and practice pitches were installed. Later a full size 3G pitch and two 6 a side pitches were put in behind the ground. Initially the ground capacity was 15,000, the closest that came to being tested was in 1950 when Bromley played Nigeria in front of just 2,000 short of that number and there was also a bumper crowd for the opening of the floodlights against Japan in 1960. These days the official capacity is a more modest 4,999, but regulars can confirm that anything over 3,500 and it feels very snug on the old terracing!      

My Mum took me to the majority of the Saturday matches I watched as a very young kid until at around 10 or 11 when I started to go on my own. By this time I discovered that Bromley also had a Reserve team that played in the Suburban League at Hayes Lane when the first team were away so I started to watch them also. The reserve team at that time were exceptional, winning the league and county cups on many occasions, at one stage the team included three players who went on to play in the Football League in Steve Galloway (Palace), Carlton Fairweather (Wimbledon) and Emeka Nwarjobi (Luton). The reserve team was eventually dissolved in 1998 when Cray Wands moved in, they were resurrected a few times playing at Oxford Road and then in the midweek Capital League, but never for very long.    

By 1985 the allure of away games became too much to resist though and I went to the majority of Bromley first team games home and away, a pattern that continued right up until 2010. On top of that from 1998 I fitted in as many Cray Wanderers games at Hayes Lane as well, either midweek or on Sundays. After my son was born I was lucky enough to have Wednesdays off to look after him and that opened up another chance to watch football there. With the Academy team playing there in the afternoon I’d take him down there, he would have the run of the place and get a feel for the place and I also got to watch a game and catch up with some good people.

Whenever I walk into the ground on a non match day I always have a quick look at the pitch and pause to think about the good things I have seen there. Four promotions and two county cup wins for Bromley, three league titles for Cray Wands and one play off final victory, plus countless fantastic goals and victories. Last minute winners, escapes from relegation, games played in front of a handful of fans and game splayed in front of nearly 4,000.       

Today I am privileged to be able to go to see with Bromley home matches with my son and Cray Wands games with three generations of the family as we sit with my Dad in the main stand.  Away from football it’s hosted many birthday parties, fund raising gigs, quiz nights and wedding receptions, including my own, and I’ve made so many good friends there. The ground has a special place in our family’s hearts and I hope that continues to host football for years to come…

Col.