The Archive

The oldest surviving grandstand is under threat, writes Duncan Young. But having been derelict for some time, would it really be missed?

A structure reckoned to be the oldest surviving wooden grandstand in the country is under threat from the redevelopment of a historic site in Milton Keynes. The London & Birmingham Railway Company founded the town of Wolverton in 1838 around its new station and carriage works exactly halfway between the line’s endpoints. Wolverton Park was established by the company as a recreation ground in 1885 behind the engine shed that housed the royal train and in 1899 the local athletics club added a 100-seat grandstand, used by spectators both at their meetings and also at matches hosted by the company’s football team. 

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Sheffield Wednesday were promoted along with Champions Oldham Athletic and West Ham United. Saul Pope reports that Big Ron also added another trophy to the cabinet as well as their promotion

The long-term significance
The first full season following the Taylor Report saw the beginning of a change in attitude towards football fans. A landmark Home Affairs Committee report published in 1991 called for fans to be treated with more respect by the authorities, for lower-profile policing and for limited desegregation of rival fans. In response to Football League proposals for a joint board to control the game, the FA produced its blueprint for a new Premier League of 22 clubs. Of course, we all knew such folly wouldn’t come to anything…

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Update on clubs in crisis from Tom Davies

You can tell a club is in trouble if fans protest throughout a 5-1 home win, as Derby’s did during last month’s thrashing of Crewe at Pride Park. Supporter protests against a board of directors presiding over a debt thought to be more than £44 million and the inevitable depletion of playing resources that has entailed have escalated in recent weeks and many fear for the club’s existence, especially if they are relegated. Subsequent embarrassing defeats by Coventry and Colchester will scarcely have improved morale and led to the dismissal of manager Phil Brown late last month.

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After the report was made public, Roger Titford reports on the main points and the amount of people who watch Sky Sports

Using the Freedom of Information Act, the Guardian managed to get Ofcom’s report (can be found here) on the Premier League’s television deal into the public domain. In the debate over the structure of the next deal there had been much alluding to this document as a support for change. In the event the findings by the regulator for the UK communications industries look rather inconclusive – “appear to point to potential demand for greater choice” is as strong as the language gets. But the report is certainly interesting.

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It’s not just managers who play the percentage game. The role of agents in football is once again under scrutiny, but Adam Powley wonders if the will exists within the game or the media to tackle the problem properly

Many issues have been raised by Mike Newell’s dramatic contribution to the perennial saga of bungs. But amid all the outrage, one question has barely been asked: what exactly are agents for? 

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