I’m sure Wrexham supporters will not quibble about the motives of their owners – they are just enjoying the ride.
As the article mentions, 4,500 boisterous Wrexham supporters showed up in Coventry a few weeks back to watch their team win 3-2. They were a great bunch and had a thoroughly enjoyable time.
Interestingly, ownership of Coventry had just switched from a Cayman Islands-based hedge fund to an actual human being – albeit with suspected links to said hedge fund. The Wrexham owners are engaged and passionate, mingling with supporters and leaping from their seats upon scoring. This contrasts greatly with the ice queen hedge fund boss who had more interest in seizing control of the stadium in court than the actual club (although to her credit she did attend some games and knew at least some of the players). Coventry supporters would have given anything for the Wrexham approach over the last 10 years or so.
The surge in optimism such changes bring cannot be understated.
Good luck to the new Coventry owner, and I very much hope Wrexham hammer Blades tomorrow night.
Not least because Sheffield Utd are under a transfer embargo due to overspending and not being able to pay the next instalment on a transfer fee.
Harry Phillips
1 year ago
I’m sure Wrexham supporters will not quibble about the motives of their owners – they are just enjoying the ride.
As the article mentions, 4,500 boisterous Wrexham supporters showed up in Coventry a few weeks back to watch their team win 3-2. They were a great bunch and had a thoroughly enjoyable time.
Interestingly, ownership of Coventry had just switched from a Cayman Islands-based hedge fund to an actual human being – albeit with suspected links to said hedge fund. The Wrexham owners are engaged and passionate, mingling with supporters and leaping from their seats upon scoring. This contrasts greatly with the ice queen hedge fund boss who had more interest in seizing control of the stadium in court than the actual club (although to her credit she did attend some games and knew at least some of the players). Coventry supporters would have given anything for the Wrexham approach over the last 10 years or so.
The surge in optimism such changes bring cannot be understated.
Good luck to the new Coventry owner, and I very much hope Wrexham hammer Blades tomorrow night.
Last edited 1 year ago by Harry Phillips
Steve Murray
1 year ago
This Wednesday, the government will introduce legislation into the governance of football, following on from the Tracy Crouch (former Sports Minister) report. Key to this will be rules around ownership and directorship of football clubs to prevent them from being used unscrupulously (offset against tax losses, running them down to then sell off the land) whilst promising the earth to fans only too eager for success. I’m not suggesting this applies to Wrexham, but the danger is in distinguishing between good and bad actors (pun intended!). Bury FC, for instance, went into liquidation as a result of financial malfeasance.
The legislation will also look at greater flow of finances between the Premier League and lower leagues. Just small percentage increases in this would have a hugely protective effect on the survivability of clubs in towns across the country that are of great community value, as the author of this piece describes. The final piece in the jigsaw would be a new, independent regulator to oversee all this, to replace the EFL as a governance body which has proven to be not ‘fit for purpose’ in allowing the boards of its member clubs to overspend and thus become prey to the unscrupulous, whilst failing to properly scrutinise such takeovers.
Does all this matter? Those towns which lose their historic clubs lose something absolutely vital to their identity. The legislation must work, and can’t come soon enough.
I haven’t read the legislation but merely giving lower leagues more money from the Premier League will do nothing to protect them. The teams from bottom two divisions are only competing for players with each other because no other country has such well supported clubs at that level. They’ll just spend any extra money on wages.
No. An independent regulator will rigorously enforce a limit on the amount that can be spent on wages and transfer fees, based entirely on income generated by the club itself, e.g. incoming transfer fees, gate receipts, advertising revenue, shirt sales.
There’s supposed to be limit in place at the moment, but the EFL are too weak to monitor it.
Actually under the Salary Cost Management Protocol donations (but not loans) from owners are currently included in the income calculations.
Under SCMP rules, matchday and commercial income, TV revenue, merit payments based on league position, donations from the owners and injections of equity are included in the EFL’s turnover figure.
L2 clubs can spend 55% of Qualifying Turnover on P1 (players wages) and L1 clubs 60%
Actually under the Salary Cost Management Protocol donations (but not loans) from owners are currently included in the income calculations.
Under SCMP rules, matchday and commercial income, TV revenue, merit payments based on league position, donations from the owners and injections of equity are included in the EFL’s turnover figure.
L2 clubs can spend 55% of Qualifying Turnover on P1 (players wages) and L1 clubs 60%
No. An independent regulator will rigorously enforce a limit on the amount that can be spent on wages and transfer fees, based entirely on income generated by the club itself, e.g. incoming transfer fees, gate receipts, advertising revenue, shirt sales.
There’s supposed to be limit in place at the moment, but the EFL are too weak to monitor it.
I haven’t read the legislation but merely giving lower leagues more money from the Premier League will do nothing to protect them. The teams from bottom two divisions are only competing for players with each other because no other country has such well supported clubs at that level. They’ll just spend any extra money on wages.
Steve Murray
1 year ago
This Wednesday, the government will introduce legislation into the governance of football, following on from the Tracy Crouch (former Sports Minister) report. Key to this will be rules around ownership and directorship of football clubs to prevent them from being used unscrupulously (offset against tax losses, running them down to then sell off the land) whilst promising the earth to fans only too eager for success. I’m not suggesting this applies to Wrexham, but the danger is in distinguishing between good and bad actors (pun intended!). Bury FC, for instance, went into liquidation as a result of financial malfeasance.
The legislation will also look at greater flow of finances between the Premier League and lower leagues. Just small percentage increases in this would have a hugely protective effect on the survivability of clubs in towns across the country that are of great community value, as the author of this piece describes. The final piece in the jigsaw would be a new, independent regulator to oversee all this, to replace the EFL as a governance body which has proven to be not ‘fit for purpose’ in allowing the boards of its member clubs to overspend and thus become prey to the unscrupulous, whilst failing to properly scrutinise such takeovers.
Does all this matter? Those towns which lose their historic clubs lose something absolutely vital to their identity. The legislation must work, and can’t come soon enough.
Last edited 1 year ago by Steve Murray
JOHN KANEFSKY
1 year ago
My team (Exeter City) have been majority-owned by our Supporters Trust for two decades now.
This means we cannot try to buy success like some other teams who have rich owners, but it does mean we cannot be shafted by them losing interest and stopping putting millions of pounds a year in to sign and pay for better players.
We have relied on transferring players to richer clubs, but this has enabled modest progress and significant improvements to the ground and training complex, which is the workplace of the players.
Our fans do sometimes ruminate that we might be more successful if we had a rich patron (who would put in cash to the playing budget and might or might not want to own the shares) but we have now got to mid-table in League 1 which is perhaps our sustainable best position but is OK as far as I’m concerned.
JOHN KANEFSKY
1 year ago
My team (Exeter City) have been majority-owned by our Supporters Trust for two decades now.
This means we cannot try to buy success like some other teams who have rich owners, but it does mean we cannot be shafted by them losing interest and stopping putting millions of pounds a year in to sign and pay for better players.
We have relied on transferring players to richer clubs, but this has enabled modest progress and significant improvements to the ground and training complex, which is the workplace of the players.
Our fans do sometimes ruminate that we might be more successful if we had a rich patron (who would put in cash to the playing budget and might or might not want to own the shares) but we have now got to mid-table in League 1 which is perhaps our sustainable best position but is OK as far as I’m concerned.
Billy Bob
1 year ago
Of all the crooks, chancers and charlatans involved in British football, and the amount of clubs teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, Ryan Reynolds seems a strange target for an article on the subject.
They seem to be genuinely good for Wrexham, and have brought financial stability and a buzz to a club and town that seemed destined for terminal decline.
Of course if they ever got bored and withdrew the funding then it could leave Wrexham in trouble financially, but the same could be said for 90% of Premier League clubs, let alone those further down the pyramid.
If there were more people like Reynolds owning clubs English football would be in a much healthier state
Billy Bob
1 year ago
Of all the crooks, chancers and charlatans involved in British football, and the amount of clubs teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, Ryan Reynolds seems a strange target for an article on the subject.
They seem to be genuinely good for Wrexham, and have brought financial stability and a buzz to a club and town that seemed destined for terminal decline.
Of course if they ever got bored and withdrew the funding then it could leave Wrexham in trouble financially, but the same could be said for 90% of Premier League clubs, let alone those further down the pyramid.
If there were more people like Reynolds owning clubs English football would be in a much healthier state
Christopher Barclay
1 year ago
Reynolds seems to understand that Wrexham football team is not a franchise but a club rooted in a community from which it draws its entire support.
Who knows what the future holds? It is difficult to believe that a Hollywood actor won’t tire of travelling to North Wales. Perhaps he will sell the club once its reality TV potential has been used up. Even if he did that, he would have given the club the chance to recharge and regain its football league status. A permanent uptick in its fortunes. Or he may prove me wrong and move Wrexham FC to a city that needs a winning football club. Somewhere like Cardiff.
And just how, may I ask, would he move Wrexham to another city?
Christopher Barclay
1 year ago
Reynolds seems to understand that Wrexham football team is not a franchise but a club rooted in a community from which it draws its entire support.
Who knows what the future holds? It is difficult to believe that a Hollywood actor won’t tire of travelling to North Wales. Perhaps he will sell the club once its reality TV potential has been used up. Even if he did that, he would have given the club the chance to recharge and regain its football league status. A permanent uptick in its fortunes. Or he may prove me wrong and move Wrexham FC to a city that needs a winning football club. Somewhere like Cardiff.
james elliott
11 months ago
To be honest, Reynolds owning Wrexham has been fantastic for the club – and the Wrexham story has been one of the best aspects of football in the UK for a number of years.
Along with the rise of clubs like Brighton and Brentford to lofty positions in the Premier League.
Chris W
1 year ago
For many years I supported my local league side in the fourth division. I think they were at the very bottom for many successive years but there was no relegation. Many teams have lost a local club – Chesterfield, Wrexham, Chester, Oldham, Stockport – but many towns have gained a club as well. Why is this bad? The losers of clubs tend to be towns which are very close to the biggest cities or in the most depressed areas – Labour controlled towns perhaps.
This flow from depressed to less-depressed is natural, surely. The young people leave, the old people die and the rest are looking at their computer screens.
The clubs are still there, they’re just not in the football league anymore. They still play on Saturday afternoons and Tuesday evenings like everyone else, just at a different level. Fans of the club or those just interested enough will continue to go and see them play.
I disagree on your assessment, the most vocal and passionate (at least in terms of expression) at these clubs are usually younger fans. They clearly care about the club and more or less by default, the area too, even if they’re fairly powerless to make the necessary changes.
One thing I think might help would be to enable fans who do move away to buy tickets on websites like iFollow. As things stand, I have to get a VPN and pretend I’m abroad if I want to watch my team at 3pm on a Saturday as I live too far from the town in question to go regularly. That can help rebuild a connection with clubs and those native to the towns and cities in question.
The clubs are still there, they’re just not in the football league anymore. They still play on Saturday afternoons and Tuesday evenings like everyone else, just at a different level. Fans of the club or those just interested enough will continue to go and see them play.
I disagree on your assessment, the most vocal and passionate (at least in terms of expression) at these clubs are usually younger fans. They clearly care about the club and more or less by default, the area too, even if they’re fairly powerless to make the necessary changes.
One thing I think might help would be to enable fans who do move away to buy tickets on websites like iFollow. As things stand, I have to get a VPN and pretend I’m abroad if I want to watch my team at 3pm on a Saturday as I live too far from the town in question to go regularly. That can help rebuild a connection with clubs and those native to the towns and cities in question.
Maybe the new demographic in those Labour controlled towns are busy with other pursuits and not too interested in footy.
Chris W
1 year ago
For many years I supported my local league side in the fourth division. I think they were at the very bottom for many successive years but there was no relegation. Many teams have lost a local club – Chesterfield, Wrexham, Chester, Oldham, Stockport – but many towns have gained a club as well. Why is this bad? The losers of clubs tend to be towns which are very close to the biggest cities or in the most depressed areas – Labour controlled towns perhaps.
This flow from depressed to less-depressed is natural, surely. The young people leave, the old people die and the rest are looking at their computer screens.
Graeme McNeil
1 year ago
How long before some enraged commenter thunders about football being ruined by Ryan Reynolds and the “woke” brigade? Not long I’d say!!!
Somewhat more time than it took you to post a pointless troll comment complaining about people complaining about the “woke” brigade.
You have to get up pretty early in the morning to beat you, Graeme.
Somewhat more time than it took you to post a pointless troll comment complaining about people complaining about the “woke” brigade.
You have to get up pretty early in the morning to beat you, Graeme.
Graeme McNeil
1 year ago
How long before some enraged commenter thunders about football being ruined by Ryan Reynolds and the “woke” brigade? Not long I’d say!!!
He’s a big-time Hollywood actor as any kind of search will show… but relevantly, I’ll use this opportunity to answer the question posed in the title of this piece: No he probably doesn’t understand football beyond a basic level. As a longtime American fan I readily confess that there are important aspects of English football which will remain mysterious to me to the end of my days.
As a Canadian Ryan understands football (played in Canada first – both American and Canadian), soccer (very big in BC), basketball (invented by a Canadian), hockey (he is projected to be part of the new ownership of the Ottawa Senators). Baseball, not sure if he is a Blue Jays fan.
As someone born in Canada who played several years of “soccer” as a youngster I think you’re right that Canadians have more knowledge of the game than Americans, on average, and more interest in the World Cup, for example.
But in the show “Welcome to Wrexham” both Reynolds and McElhenney admit that they are mystified by certain aspects of that game (and surrounding culture), such as details of the off-sides rules–which even some of the diehard Wrexham fans admit they don’t fully understand!
With plenty of exceptions, most Canadians don’t care for or “get” baseball to the degree Americans do, certainly not like they get and love hockey. That’s the anecdotal input of one Americanized dual citizen, SF Giants diehard, and fan of “Welcome to Wrexham”.
As someone born in Canada who played several years of “soccer” as a youngster I think you’re right that Canadians have more knowledge of the game than Americans, on average, and more interest in the World Cup, for example.
But in the show “Welcome to Wrexham” both Reynolds and McElhenney admit that they are mystified by certain aspects of that game (and surrounding culture), such as details of the off-sides rules–which even some of the diehard Wrexham fans admit they don’t fully understand!
With plenty of exceptions, most Canadians don’t care for or “get” baseball to the degree Americans do, certainly not like they get and love hockey. That’s the anecdotal input of one Americanized dual citizen, SF Giants diehard, and fan of “Welcome to Wrexham”.
As a Canadian Ryan understands football (played in Canada first – both American and Canadian), soccer (very big in BC), basketball (invented by a Canadian), hockey (he is projected to be part of the new ownership of the Ottawa Senators). Baseball, not sure if he is a Blue Jays fan.
He’s a big-time Hollywood actor as any kind of search will show… but relevantly, I’ll use this opportunity to answer the question posed in the title of this piece: No he probably doesn’t understand football beyond a basic level. As a longtime American fan I readily confess that there are important aspects of English football which will remain mysterious to me to the end of my days.
I’m sure Wrexham supporters will not quibble about the motives of their owners – they are just enjoying the ride.
As the article mentions, 4,500 boisterous Wrexham supporters showed up in Coventry a few weeks back to watch their team win 3-2. They were a great bunch and had a thoroughly enjoyable time.
Interestingly, ownership of Coventry had just switched from a Cayman Islands-based hedge fund to an actual human being – albeit with suspected links to said hedge fund. The Wrexham owners are engaged and passionate, mingling with supporters and leaping from their seats upon scoring. This contrasts greatly with the ice queen hedge fund boss who had more interest in seizing control of the stadium in court than the actual club (although to her credit she did attend some games and knew at least some of the players). Coventry supporters would have given anything for the Wrexham approach over the last 10 years or so.
The surge in optimism such changes bring cannot be understated.
Good luck to the new Coventry owner, and I very much hope Wrexham hammer Blades tomorrow night.
Not least because Sheffield Utd are under a transfer embargo due to overspending and not being able to pay the next instalment on a transfer fee.
Not least because Sheffield Utd are under a transfer embargo due to overspending and not being able to pay the next instalment on a transfer fee.
I’m sure Wrexham supporters will not quibble about the motives of their owners – they are just enjoying the ride.
As the article mentions, 4,500 boisterous Wrexham supporters showed up in Coventry a few weeks back to watch their team win 3-2. They were a great bunch and had a thoroughly enjoyable time.
Interestingly, ownership of Coventry had just switched from a Cayman Islands-based hedge fund to an actual human being – albeit with suspected links to said hedge fund. The Wrexham owners are engaged and passionate, mingling with supporters and leaping from their seats upon scoring. This contrasts greatly with the ice queen hedge fund boss who had more interest in seizing control of the stadium in court than the actual club (although to her credit she did attend some games and knew at least some of the players). Coventry supporters would have given anything for the Wrexham approach over the last 10 years or so.
The surge in optimism such changes bring cannot be understated.
Good luck to the new Coventry owner, and I very much hope Wrexham hammer Blades tomorrow night.
This Wednesday, the government will introduce legislation into the governance of football, following on from the Tracy Crouch (former Sports Minister) report. Key to this will be rules around ownership and directorship of football clubs to prevent them from being used unscrupulously (offset against tax losses, running them down to then sell off the land) whilst promising the earth to fans only too eager for success. I’m not suggesting this applies to Wrexham, but the danger is in distinguishing between good and bad actors (pun intended!). Bury FC, for instance, went into liquidation as a result of financial malfeasance.
The legislation will also look at greater flow of finances between the Premier League and lower leagues. Just small percentage increases in this would have a hugely protective effect on the survivability of clubs in towns across the country that are of great community value, as the author of this piece describes. The final piece in the jigsaw would be a new, independent regulator to oversee all this, to replace the EFL as a governance body which has proven to be not ‘fit for purpose’ in allowing the boards of its member clubs to overspend and thus become prey to the unscrupulous, whilst failing to properly scrutinise such takeovers.
Does all this matter? Those towns which lose their historic clubs lose something absolutely vital to their identity. The legislation must work, and can’t come soon enough.
I haven’t read the legislation but merely giving lower leagues more money from the Premier League will do nothing to protect them. The teams from bottom two divisions are only competing for players with each other because no other country has such well supported clubs at that level. They’ll just spend any extra money on wages.
No. An independent regulator will rigorously enforce a limit on the amount that can be spent on wages and transfer fees, based entirely on income generated by the club itself, e.g. incoming transfer fees, gate receipts, advertising revenue, shirt sales.
There’s supposed to be limit in place at the moment, but the EFL are too weak to monitor it.
Actually under the Salary Cost Management Protocol donations (but not loans) from owners are currently included in the income calculations.
Under SCMP rules, matchday and commercial income, TV revenue, merit payments based on league position, donations from the owners and injections of equity are included in the EFL’s turnover figure.
L2 clubs can spend 55% of Qualifying Turnover on P1 (players wages) and L1 clubs 60%
Actually under the Salary Cost Management Protocol donations (but not loans) from owners are currently included in the income calculations.
Under SCMP rules, matchday and commercial income, TV revenue, merit payments based on league position, donations from the owners and injections of equity are included in the EFL’s turnover figure.
L2 clubs can spend 55% of Qualifying Turnover on P1 (players wages) and L1 clubs 60%
No. An independent regulator will rigorously enforce a limit on the amount that can be spent on wages and transfer fees, based entirely on income generated by the club itself, e.g. incoming transfer fees, gate receipts, advertising revenue, shirt sales.
There’s supposed to be limit in place at the moment, but the EFL are too weak to monitor it.
I haven’t read the legislation but merely giving lower leagues more money from the Premier League will do nothing to protect them. The teams from bottom two divisions are only competing for players with each other because no other country has such well supported clubs at that level. They’ll just spend any extra money on wages.
This Wednesday, the government will introduce legislation into the governance of football, following on from the Tracy Crouch (former Sports Minister) report. Key to this will be rules around ownership and directorship of football clubs to prevent them from being used unscrupulously (offset against tax losses, running them down to then sell off the land) whilst promising the earth to fans only too eager for success. I’m not suggesting this applies to Wrexham, but the danger is in distinguishing between good and bad actors (pun intended!). Bury FC, for instance, went into liquidation as a result of financial malfeasance.
The legislation will also look at greater flow of finances between the Premier League and lower leagues. Just small percentage increases in this would have a hugely protective effect on the survivability of clubs in towns across the country that are of great community value, as the author of this piece describes. The final piece in the jigsaw would be a new, independent regulator to oversee all this, to replace the EFL as a governance body which has proven to be not ‘fit for purpose’ in allowing the boards of its member clubs to overspend and thus become prey to the unscrupulous, whilst failing to properly scrutinise such takeovers.
Does all this matter? Those towns which lose their historic clubs lose something absolutely vital to their identity. The legislation must work, and can’t come soon enough.
My team (Exeter City) have been majority-owned by our Supporters Trust for two decades now.
This means we cannot try to buy success like some other teams who have rich owners, but it does mean we cannot be shafted by them losing interest and stopping putting millions of pounds a year in to sign and pay for better players.
We have relied on transferring players to richer clubs, but this has enabled modest progress and significant improvements to the ground and training complex, which is the workplace of the players.
Our fans do sometimes ruminate that we might be more successful if we had a rich patron (who would put in cash to the playing budget and might or might not want to own the shares) but we have now got to mid-table in League 1 which is perhaps our sustainable best position but is OK as far as I’m concerned.
My team (Exeter City) have been majority-owned by our Supporters Trust for two decades now.
This means we cannot try to buy success like some other teams who have rich owners, but it does mean we cannot be shafted by them losing interest and stopping putting millions of pounds a year in to sign and pay for better players.
We have relied on transferring players to richer clubs, but this has enabled modest progress and significant improvements to the ground and training complex, which is the workplace of the players.
Our fans do sometimes ruminate that we might be more successful if we had a rich patron (who would put in cash to the playing budget and might or might not want to own the shares) but we have now got to mid-table in League 1 which is perhaps our sustainable best position but is OK as far as I’m concerned.
Of all the crooks, chancers and charlatans involved in British football, and the amount of clubs teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, Ryan Reynolds seems a strange target for an article on the subject.
They seem to be genuinely good for Wrexham, and have brought financial stability and a buzz to a club and town that seemed destined for terminal decline.
Of course if they ever got bored and withdrew the funding then it could leave Wrexham in trouble financially, but the same could be said for 90% of Premier League clubs, let alone those further down the pyramid.
If there were more people like Reynolds owning clubs English football would be in a much healthier state
Of all the crooks, chancers and charlatans involved in British football, and the amount of clubs teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, Ryan Reynolds seems a strange target for an article on the subject.
They seem to be genuinely good for Wrexham, and have brought financial stability and a buzz to a club and town that seemed destined for terminal decline.
Of course if they ever got bored and withdrew the funding then it could leave Wrexham in trouble financially, but the same could be said for 90% of Premier League clubs, let alone those further down the pyramid.
If there were more people like Reynolds owning clubs English football would be in a much healthier state
Reynolds seems to understand that Wrexham football team is not a franchise but a club rooted in a community from which it draws its entire support.
Who knows what the future holds? It is difficult to believe that a Hollywood actor won’t tire of travelling to North Wales. Perhaps he will sell the club once its reality TV potential has been used up. Even if he did that, he would have given the club the chance to recharge and regain its football league status. A permanent uptick in its fortunes. Or he may prove me wrong and move Wrexham FC to a city that needs a winning football club. Somewhere like Cardiff.
And just how, may I ask, would he move Wrexham to another city?
And just how, may I ask, would he move Wrexham to another city?
Reynolds seems to understand that Wrexham football team is not a franchise but a club rooted in a community from which it draws its entire support.
Who knows what the future holds? It is difficult to believe that a Hollywood actor won’t tire of travelling to North Wales. Perhaps he will sell the club once its reality TV potential has been used up. Even if he did that, he would have given the club the chance to recharge and regain its football league status. A permanent uptick in its fortunes. Or he may prove me wrong and move Wrexham FC to a city that needs a winning football club. Somewhere like Cardiff.
To be honest, Reynolds owning Wrexham has been fantastic for the club – and the Wrexham story has been one of the best aspects of football in the UK for a number of years.
Along with the rise of clubs like Brighton and Brentford to lofty positions in the Premier League.
For many years I supported my local league side in the fourth division. I think they were at the very bottom for many successive years but there was no relegation. Many teams have lost a local club – Chesterfield, Wrexham, Chester, Oldham, Stockport – but many towns have gained a club as well. Why is this bad? The losers of clubs tend to be towns which are very close to the biggest cities or in the most depressed areas – Labour controlled towns perhaps.
This flow from depressed to less-depressed is natural, surely. The young people leave, the old people die and the rest are looking at their computer screens.
The clubs are still there, they’re just not in the football league anymore. They still play on Saturday afternoons and Tuesday evenings like everyone else, just at a different level. Fans of the club or those just interested enough will continue to go and see them play.
I disagree on your assessment, the most vocal and passionate (at least in terms of expression) at these clubs are usually younger fans. They clearly care about the club and more or less by default, the area too, even if they’re fairly powerless to make the necessary changes.
One thing I think might help would be to enable fans who do move away to buy tickets on websites like iFollow. As things stand, I have to get a VPN and pretend I’m abroad if I want to watch my team at 3pm on a Saturday as I live too far from the town in question to go regularly. That can help rebuild a connection with clubs and those native to the towns and cities in question.
Maybe the new demographic in those Labour controlled towns are busy with other pursuits and not too interested in footy.
The clubs are still there, they’re just not in the football league anymore. They still play on Saturday afternoons and Tuesday evenings like everyone else, just at a different level. Fans of the club or those just interested enough will continue to go and see them play.
I disagree on your assessment, the most vocal and passionate (at least in terms of expression) at these clubs are usually younger fans. They clearly care about the club and more or less by default, the area too, even if they’re fairly powerless to make the necessary changes.
One thing I think might help would be to enable fans who do move away to buy tickets on websites like iFollow. As things stand, I have to get a VPN and pretend I’m abroad if I want to watch my team at 3pm on a Saturday as I live too far from the town in question to go regularly. That can help rebuild a connection with clubs and those native to the towns and cities in question.
Maybe the new demographic in those Labour controlled towns are busy with other pursuits and not too interested in footy.
For many years I supported my local league side in the fourth division. I think they were at the very bottom for many successive years but there was no relegation. Many teams have lost a local club – Chesterfield, Wrexham, Chester, Oldham, Stockport – but many towns have gained a club as well. Why is this bad? The losers of clubs tend to be towns which are very close to the biggest cities or in the most depressed areas – Labour controlled towns perhaps.
This flow from depressed to less-depressed is natural, surely. The young people leave, the old people die and the rest are looking at their computer screens.
How long before some enraged commenter thunders about football being ruined by Ryan Reynolds and the “woke” brigade? Not long I’d say!!!
Cool story, bro.
What you say is absolutely true – a lack of imagination perhaps.
Somewhat more time than it took you to post a pointless troll comment complaining about people complaining about the “woke” brigade.
You have to get up pretty early in the morning to beat you, Graeme.
Cool story, bro.
What you say is absolutely true – a lack of imagination perhaps.
Somewhat more time than it took you to post a pointless troll comment complaining about people complaining about the “woke” brigade.
You have to get up pretty early in the morning to beat you, Graeme.
How long before some enraged commenter thunders about football being ruined by Ryan Reynolds and the “woke” brigade? Not long I’d say!!!
Who is Ryan Renolds, as if anyone cares?
He’s a big-time Hollywood actor as any kind of search will show… but relevantly, I’ll use this opportunity to answer the question posed in the title of this piece: No he probably doesn’t understand football beyond a basic level. As a longtime American fan I readily confess that there are important aspects of English football which will remain mysterious to me to the end of my days.
As a Canadian Ryan understands football (played in Canada first – both American and Canadian), soccer (very big in BC), basketball (invented by a Canadian), hockey (he is projected to be part of the new ownership of the Ottawa Senators). Baseball, not sure if he is a Blue Jays fan.
As someone born in Canada who played several years of “soccer” as a youngster I think you’re right that Canadians have more knowledge of the game than Americans, on average, and more interest in the World Cup, for example.
But in the show “Welcome to Wrexham” both Reynolds and McElhenney admit that they are mystified by certain aspects of that game (and surrounding culture), such as details of the off-sides rules–which even some of the diehard Wrexham fans admit they don’t fully understand!
With plenty of exceptions, most Canadians don’t care for or “get” baseball to the degree Americans do, certainly not like they get and love hockey. That’s the anecdotal input of one Americanized dual citizen, SF Giants diehard, and fan of “Welcome to Wrexham”.
As someone born in Canada who played several years of “soccer” as a youngster I think you’re right that Canadians have more knowledge of the game than Americans, on average, and more interest in the World Cup, for example.
But in the show “Welcome to Wrexham” both Reynolds and McElhenney admit that they are mystified by certain aspects of that game (and surrounding culture), such as details of the off-sides rules–which even some of the diehard Wrexham fans admit they don’t fully understand!
With plenty of exceptions, most Canadians don’t care for or “get” baseball to the degree Americans do, certainly not like they get and love hockey. That’s the anecdotal input of one Americanized dual citizen, SF Giants diehard, and fan of “Welcome to Wrexham”.
As a Canadian Ryan understands football (played in Canada first – both American and Canadian), soccer (very big in BC), basketball (invented by a Canadian), hockey (he is projected to be part of the new ownership of the Ottawa Senators). Baseball, not sure if he is a Blue Jays fan.
He’s a big-time Hollywood actor as any kind of search will show… but relevantly, I’ll use this opportunity to answer the question posed in the title of this piece: No he probably doesn’t understand football beyond a basic level. As a longtime American fan I readily confess that there are important aspects of English football which will remain mysterious to me to the end of my days.
Who is Ryan Renolds, as if anyone cares?