Margaret Thatcher; Why a One Minute Silence Won't Happen

Dave Whelan

Sir John Madejski

Dave Whelan, Chairman of Wigan Athletic, and Sir John Madejski, his counterpart at Reading have both called for a one minute's silence before each football match on Saturday to pay homage to the memory of  Baroness Margaret Thatcher, the first, and only woman Prime Minister of the UK. My first take on this, is that these gentlemen have not learned the lesson of keeping politics out of football. When other former Prime Ministers passed away, James Callaghan, Harold Wilson and Ted Heath to name but three, there were no calls for a minute's silence and, to my knowledge none was observed before the games on the Saturday following their deaths.

Despite what most of the UK press would have the rest of the world believe, Margaret Thatcher was not a universally liked person or Prime Minister in the UK, and did not endear herself to the average football fan. Her stand on a football club's customer was to treat all as criminals and the football grounds of the 1980's reflected her viewpoint. Whilst a few football clubs took on board the Tory clamour to have identity cards for every football going person in the UK, Luton Town in particular, every football stadium in the country became tantamount to a prison camp when fencing was put up to cage in the supporters on the terraces. The conditions at these out of date stadia were dreadful and the fencing was an effective barrier for preventing supporters from spilling onto the pitch, whether intentionally or accidentally. This could only lead to disaster and the fencing at Hillsborough was a significant factor in the 1989 tragedy when 96 Liverpool supporters, prevented from escaping the terraces when the Leppings Lane end of the ground became overcrowded, lost their lives.

It is a nature of the beast that all UK governments are minority governments being enfranchised by a "first past the post" voting system. When Thatcher came to power in 1979, there were just over 41 million people in the UK eligible to vote. With a turnout of 76% only around 31 million voted. Of that turnout, the Conservatives were given just under 44% of the vote or around 13.5 million votes. With these figures, approximately only a third of the eligible voters wanted a Conservative government leaving 66% of the  electorate either voting against Margaret Thatcher or not bothering to vote at all. Within two years of the Tories claiming "Labour isn't Working", the dole queues had doubled from the 1979 figure and Margaret Thatcher was the most unpopular Prime Minister in history. This blog could discuss the pro's and cons of Thatcherism, but that would probably lead into an essay the size of a novel, but suffice it to say, the Iron Lady was not popular among the majority of football supporters in the 1980's.

A one minute silence before the game on Saturday? It won't happen.

Strategies for Football Club Ownership

The Haves & Have Nots 

English football is one of the most marketable products in the world of sport today. Although having had a disastrous, detrimental effect on the English national team, preventing many home-grown talents from experiencing superior domestic football and the concomitant improved chances of developing to be part of a world-beating national team, Sky's patronage of the English Premier League has turned the top flight of the English football pyramid into the product to which all national top divisions aspire. The world of Association Football, is awash with cash and, like any free market economy, the haves have, and the have nots, don't. Only a handful of Premier League clubs operate at a profit, whilst the rest exist on the television money and goodwill of their rich owners. This beggars the question, if this is how the likes of Liverpool F.C. exist, how are the lower league teams meant to survive in this cut-throat environment, where the dream of reaching the Premier League can only now ever be more than a pipe dream for most of the Football League clubs?

The answer has of course already been given above; bag yourself a rich owner who is willing to plough millions into a venture that is never likely to see any return on their investment. Or, God forbid, you cut your cloth accordingly, live within your means and fester in the lower divisions of the national setup. The former choice is what all football fans want, ideally a Jack Walker

or John Madejski, someone who understands English football and the culture of the fans. In this way, the chance of being allowed to dine at the rich man's table and compete for 38 games to retain the right to stay at that table may be attainable. In Andrew Black and the rest of the consortium who saved the club from oblivion, Swindon Town fans

Swindon Town Fans - None Better!

thought that they had found that person who was willing to sacrifice some of his riches in the pursuit of developing a lower league team into one that could hold its own in the Championship and perhaps even the Premier League. However, Mr. Black is really a horse racing fan and has tired of his involvement with the foremost team in Wiltshire, so is looking to offload his shareholding in Swindon Town. So where does that leave the club?

The harsh reality of the modern world is that football is now big business and, as such, each club should be run and managed along those lines. So, taking Swindon Town as the example, how does one take a middle of the road football club and turn it into one that can hope to compete with the "Big Four"? The first thing to do is find a benefactor with a big wallet. This should be in the shape of a wealthy individual as mentioned above or a large, cash-rich company. The former would probably have the passion to invest  in a sport they feel ardently about and not worry about gaining major returns on that investment, whilst the latter could offset any investment against their annual advertising/marketing budget; what better way to spread their brand around the world than have it married to a successful English Premier League club (e.g. The Emirates Stadium, The Etihad Stadium, etc). And that would be the first thing any serious bidder for Swindon Town should do - build a modern stadium.

New Stadium Required

A modern football stadium offers the opportunity for multiple income streams. It should be viewed as a venue, to be utilised 24/7, 365 days a year. With the proper build, the architecture could incorporate, conferencing facilities, a hotel, restaurants, fast food takeaway outlets, shops and offices to lease. As the British high streets have discovered, the majority of consumers like to have their shopping experience in one place in out of town retail parks rather than have the hassle of trudging through the town centre going from shop to shop. This is the way forward for football clubs, providing facilities and leisure activities all in one place. Further income streams could be sourced from on site gym/fitness clubs, perhaps a multiplex cinema and even have the stadium used by more than one team or sport. With a retractable roof, an all-weather venue would allow for concerts, car shows, etc - the possibilities are endless. If the new owners are foreign, linking back to their home country could provide valuable income in the form of replica shirt sales, etc.

As with any business, getting the correct people in the right roles is paramount. Fortunately for any potential investor, at Swindon Town, this has already been done. In Paolo Di Canio, the club has perhaps the most talented, ambitious and crazy manager in the entire Football League. His passion for his club, his team and the fans is overwhelming. He wants to succeed and no-one will stand in his way on his road to managerial greatness; ask Paul Caddis, the club captain who could seemingly do no wrong until he crossed Paolo. Probably the second best player at the club was cast aside and the team hasn't looked back. 

The next step is to have at least a five year plan. Swindon Town are currently running on a three year plan to get to the Championship, but, realistically, if the club is to be treated as a business (post new stadium and the facilities therein), the manager should be given reasonable resources to put a squad together and the time to meld that squad into a winning team. Success does not normally come overnight and in the fast paced world of football, some owners/chairmen have the patience of a man with a full bladder at the end of a long queue for the urinal.

The five year plan should, however, be flexible and provide for contingencies. If the success that is desired is planned for and a path to the goal is set, small tweaks of the plan should only be necessary to get to the target. Such contingencies should cover replacement of players through injury or where the manager feels an area of the team may need bolstering. A successful team will pull in the crowds which will in turn push interest in the direction of the other facilities in the new stadium providing additional income. Owning a football club is never going to provide huge financial rewards in itself, but, if the business model is sound, then success on the field will help fuel success off it. It just needs a visionary new owner to set the ball in motion.