The Archive

Roger Titford looks at the progress of Supporters Direct, the government scheme set up to help fans play a role in running their clubs 

“Who rules the game?” In an attempt to answer that age-old question, here are two extracts from the leading football fanzine of the day. “It is clear where the way to democracy lies but it will only be followed as part of the road to socialism as a whole… Eventually I would like to see democratic supporters’ associations withdraw paying support at the turnstiles in order to force financial crises on the boards until democratic control is handed over to them.”

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New Labour came to power in 1997 riding shamelessly on the football bandwagon. Steve Greenfield and Guy Osborn take a critical look at their record in office. 

Even before the Labour victory in May 1997, football had a prime position in the political landscape. The Labour Party had launched its Charter for Football in 1995, detailing how they would respond to what Tony Blair called “the critical problems now associated with the game”. The rise of the Premiership and the the prospect of Euro 96 had helped make football socially acceptable and many clubs suddenly found themselves patronised, often literally, by the great and good (as well as some MPs).

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Africa's ambition of hosting the World Cup lies in ruins, writes Alan Duncan

The wailing outside Accra’s Military Hospital in the hours after the May 9 clash between Ghanaian giants Asante Kotoko and Hearts of Oak confirmed the worst – 126 fans killed fol­lowing a stampede sparked by security forces who had fired volleys of tear gas into the popular Ade Coker Stand.

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With the promise of being the most football-friendly government, Martin Cloake investigates the manifesto which helped New Labour come to power in 1997 

Promising to be the most football-friendly government ever helped Labour get elected in 1997. This time, football has been much lower on the agenda of every party, where it appears at all. Yet the election had barely started before all mention of it was knocked off many front pages by the news that a football manager would probably be leaving his club in 12 months’ time.

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As he reaches the compulsory retirement age for Premiership referees, Barnsley official Stephen Lodge spoke to Mike Ticher about the pressure and pleasures of modern refereeing, the impact of recent law changes and the new career of Neil Midgely 

What has been the single biggest change in refereeing since you came on to the League list in 1987?
There’s far more professionalism, both on and off the field. Far more time is spent on training. Expectations are a lot higher now, mainly because referees have become a household name since the advent of the Sky contract, which has raised the profile of everybody involved. A lot of supporters might disagree, but I think the standard at Premiership level is going up, largely thanks to the in-service training the referees receive and the fitness programmes which are structured for individuals by the FA at Lilleshall. Three or four weekends a year we’re taken away for meetings together where we look at videos and attempt to become somewhere near 100 per cent consistent with each other. The professionalism now is much greater.

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