Should we be 'Against Modern Football'?


It’s very common these days to hear people complain about Modern Football and see the #AMF hashtag on the end of a moaning tweet as football fans show some reoccurring features of disapproval at either one-off issues or a wider and more coherent notion of a football culture perceived to be declining.

But is this change in football really happening? And if it is happening, is it really a bad thing? Or is it just an example of generational discomfort amongst improvements happening too fast for the older fans to cope with, prompting fans to reminisce with undue positivity about ‘the good old days’ of the 70’s and 80’s when times were simpler and the game was played with more innocence, passion and pride?

Modern Football is often cited in a broad sense as what is wrong with football, often with a comparison with how things used to be as fans reminisce about good times that have passed. It’s seen in the groans of many passionate fans as things slowly change from their traditional roots. It could be summed up simply as the increasing disconnect between traditional local fans from the football clubs they have loyally supported for years or even through generations of families. Importantly, this can often come as the traditional working-class fanbase of English football are priced out of the place that society has reserved for them. This indirectly forced demographic transition has smoothly coincided with the rise in popularity of football with middle-class fans and internationally based upper-class owners. It’s this gentrifying of football that infuriates many football fans and leads them to declare themselves as being ‘AMF’ – Against Modern Football.

So what are the symptoms of this controversial change to our nation’s favourite sport? These can be shown through a series of broad ideas as well as several obvious examples. Football fans often feel disrespect from the club owners. This comes in various ways and in various forms; a primary example being the way fans are ripped-off with every way that they follow their team. Match tickets, football shirts, a pie & pint at the ground, club membership... Wherever they go, fans are seen by football clubs as wads of cash walking around looking to be taken advantage of. And at a time when the cost of living is rising and wages are fairly stagnant, living costs and transport costs are enough to put fans off attending matches, and that’s before even buying a ticket.

In addition to the financial strain that Modern Football is putting fans under, there is also an attitude problem from those at the top, one that adds to the disrespect mentioned earlier. It is the fans who have built football clubs with their continued support and subsequent financial contribution, but many owners seem to forget that when they take control. Examples include Cardiff’s ‘Bluebirds’ being rebranded with red shirts and a Welsh dragon on their badge to appeal to the East Asian market, Ken Bates’ ‘morons’ label for those who didn’t like his ‘Premier prices for premier league football’ (when we were in League One), and Hull City’s name change to the ‘Hull City Tigers’ solidifying their nickname into an Americanised brand that embarrasses fans and fails to add any appeal to the East Yorkshire team who will be judged by results more than cringeworthy gimmicks.

Once fans get to their seats – and they’ve got no choice but to buy seated tickets – the controlling force of Modern Football continues. Jobsworth stewards tell people that they can’t drink or stand by their seats or take bottle tops from fizzy drinks with them whilst ejecting anyone who challenges their frivolous rules. This, and the societal regulation of swear words and chants, can leave fans feeling like they’ve lost control of their game.

It could be said that this recent stream of Modern Football is nothing new and that Man United and MK Dons have long been accepted as a normal part of football, but there’s certainly been an increase in momentum in the modernising of football and the past couple of decades of financial gains for the Premier League in particular has acted as a catalyst to the transition.

So what has caused this rapid change in our once stable and humble game? In short, money. The source of this money is a large part of the problem too. The influx of astronomically rich foreign owners has brought people into British football who often don’t value the people who have been there before them as well as creating a previously unforeseen rate of inflation in wages and transfer fees due to their nonchalance in spending vast sums of money. TV rights are another key contributing factor in the Modern Football fiscal stimulus as increased coverage and over-hyping of big matches has funded football clubs and boosted the inflated self-worth players, managers and pundits alike.

Money can’t, however, be lumped with all of the blame. The changes in society and the actions of some football fans has been part of the process. It is understandable that the footballing authorities have been keen to take control of the sport’s image and atmosphere in a bid to remove problems such as sexism, racism, homophobia, and hooliganism in an effort to make football stadiums family friendly. I am supportive of these ideals as tolerance and safety are positive values that should help to make football accessible to everyone, however their implementation might have had unforeseen consequences.

With memories of Hillsborough fresh in people’s minds, football grounds were made to be all-seater in order to improve the safety of fans in the early 90’s. The close monitoring of fans has coincided with the improvement in a family friendly atmosphere at football and is likely to have been one of the causes of change. On the other hand, football fans regularly bemoan the Political Correctness and Health & Safety focus on football and the argument that the atmosphere has diminished in the past couple of decades is hard to refute.

Whilst this account of Modern Football might seem a bit pessimistic in its view of what most people would see as negative changes for football fans, I believe the situation isn’t necessarily hopeless. Changes can be made allowing fans to take back their game and change things for the better.

Increasingly, football fans are seen as customers rather than fans. The reality is that this has always been the case when fans have been paying for entrance to watch matches, but as the money has increased and the owners attitudes have changed to more money-driven motives, this fan-club relationship has become more evident. As with any product or service, if the market is uncompetitive then consumers are likely to be taken advantage of purely because they can be. This issue is shown in the almost religious attitude of football fans who (allowing for glory-supporting exceptions) support teams for reasons such as locality and family links rather than whoever is cheapest or the most successful.

In order to change this problem of fans being taken advantage of, fans need to have a strong and united voice – something that most sets of fans currently lack. If fans had regular contact with the owners and the owners respected the needs of fans as customers, then gains could be made. This would require fans to understand how important their loyalty is to the club and act to accordingly. Fans could do this through acting like customers, or more usefully, they could act like a community interest group and use collective means to get what they want with the threat and reward of their custom.

Finally this brings me on to supporters’ trusts. These organisations allow fans to find a voice and improve communication networks between fans. Supporters’ trusts can be important in organising protests, boycotts, petitions or the buying of shares in order to get the fans message across. Alternatively, if the club-trust relationship is good, direct dialogue can ensue with amicable talks between fans and the board. LUST’s representation of Leeds fans is a good example of the various ways in which fans can improve the negative aspects of Modern Football with the positive steps and greater accountability of the clubs owners.

On the subject of the atmosphere at football and the freedom of fans, positive steps are also being taken in order to reverse some of the creeping decline. Recently Man United have attempted to improve the atmosphere at their full-yet-quiet Old Trafford by designating a specific singing section. Although this is a top-down initiative, it is one that is likely to improve the volume coming from their fans. With a typically different approach, Leeds fans in Elland Road’s South Stand also have a new initiative aiming to improve the atmosphere at Leeds matches. This grassroots approach (@SouthStandSS5 on Twitter) is a positive move in order to get like-minded fans together to get fans to get more singing and excitement into the ground. Whilst these schemes are in their early stages, it is likely that they’ll be reasonably successful and will inspire similar initiatives elsewhere. Furthermore, nationwide campaigns like the FSF campaigning for safe standing is another way in which fans can unite for shared interest intending to improve fans’ match experience.

I’ll conclude my generally pessimistic thoughts on Modern football with an element of positivity. Football has changed for numerous reasons to a game where fans’ priorities are increasingly sidelined and this looks set to continue. However, if fans do come together and find a voice, things can improve with Modern Football being rightly challenged.

Edward Jones - @BakkeTheNet

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