Search: 'St Albans'

London clubs are shining at the highest levels, but some lesser lights in the city are in steep decline. Gavin Willacy charts the struggles of former semi-pro giants brought low in part by property prices

On August 15, Enfield FC marked the 25th anniversary of their first home game in the Conference. It was their first home game of the season, a local derby and, as on that day in 1981, was played alongside the A10. The car park was packed. Unfortunately, the drivers were there to play five-a-side next door to Ware FC, 13 miles from Enfield’s spiritual home. The home end was populated by just 13 Enfield fans and one pram (occupied), who bayed throughout their home defeat to Potters Bar Town in the Ryman League Division One North. 

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With only one promotion left until the Football League beckons, St Albans City now have the money on board for required ground improvements. Steve Menary reports

To most non-League clubs, a marketing officer is an unaffordable luxury. John Gibson tends to agree. When Verry, a £100 million turnover construction firm owned by Gibson, opened a new office in St Albans four years ago, he decided that instead of hiring a marketing man he would buy the local team. “Their manager played for a pub team I ran. He said, ‘The club’s in real trouble, can you help?’ ” says Gibson. “I was going to get a marketing manager but decided to spend the £50,000 to £60,000 a year that would cost on a club.”

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After years of coughing up whatever it cost to watch Preston, Gavin Willacy has had enough. Or rather, too much, as ticket prices spiral beyond common sense

Last August Bank Holiday was a pivotal day for me as a football fan. For the first time, I decided against going to watch my team, Preston, solely because of the ticket price. We were away at Ipswich – a relatively local game for me, living in Hertford – and I was away on holiday when we won down the road at Watford on opening day. So surely I would go to Portman Road? Not with tickets at £25 a pop (plus an extra two quid on the day!), especially as it was live on Sky. Instead I watched it in a pub and celebrated our astonishing 4-0 win with friends at a barbecue.

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Dear WSC
While listening to Alan Green’s Five Live commentary on Chelsea’s game with Barcelona I was struck by the big Ulsterman’s remarkable similarity to the voice of Shaggy from Scooby Doo at excitable moments. Have any other readers noticed similarities between commentators and their cartoon characters? I’ll certainly be keeping an ear open for it in future.
Steve Morgan, Kingston

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Dear WSC
Gabriele Marcotti is right (Letters WSC 217) when he points out that none of the performance-enhancing drugs at the cen­tre of the Juventus doping court case were actually illegal – apart from erythropoietin (EPO) – but the rather smug attitude of the club still leaves a bitter taste. As I understand it, it’s only recently that ways of detecting EPO usage have been perfected (in time for the Athens Olympics) which may explain why so few of the players at the club between 1994 and 1998 tested positive – and why Juve’s defence counsel, Paolo Trofino, and others are so confident that the prosecution will fail at the appeal stage. Also, it was never my intention in the article in WSC 215 to portray Robert Bag­gio, Paolo Montero etc as a bunch of thickies; more that their unhelpful attitude during the hearings had, at best, the whiff of a fudge about it. Sergio Campana, president of the Associazione Italiana Calciatori (the Ita­lian PFA), said after the verdict was an­nounced that he believed that all the players had acted in good faith. Does that then mean that, if the club were indeed administering doses of EPO, they lied to the players about what they were doing? And will the appeal, when it eventually comes round, throw any more light on proceedings? Probably best not to hold your breath.
Matt Barker, via email

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