Skip to main content

The demise of the works team

Metropolitan Police are playing in the FA Cup today, but none of the team are police officers. It's three years since the last police officer stopped playing as he couldn't get enough time off. Time off to represent the Met in sport was being denied by Scotland Yard 15 years ago and the police force is now more stretched than ever, particularly in London.

Four Four Two did run a profile of the club some time back, but I have been unable to track it down online. At that time the support seemed to consist of equivalents of Sid and Doris Bonkers, the legendary supporters of Neasden FC in Private Eye. Apparently the usual crowd these days is around 90.

It is seen as a brand and players are expected to behave in a police-like manner. Talking back to the referee is not tolerated.

The broader issue here is the virtual disappearance of the works team, once quite common in non-league football. My father, as a former non-league player, had a particular dislike for them. Employers would give promising players a decent job with time off to train and hence bond as a team. I remember one Christmas going to see Falmouth Town playing Westland Yeovil. Falmouth were then dominating the Rothmans Western League but, as my father predicted, the visitors did a job on them and the match ended in a rare home draw.

Works teams belonged to an era of paternalistic British employers who felt they had a responsibility for the 'welfare' of their workers. A successful team could also enhance the reputation of their business and publicise their product. For example, Lovell's Athletic represented a sweets manufacturer and won the championship of the Southern League and the Welsh League six times. The confectionery business no longer exists and the ground is now a housing estate called Turnstiles: Not so sweet

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fulham requires big funding from owner

After lengthy delays, Fulham’s shiny, new Riverside Stand has finally opened, creating “a unique Thameside destination with first class facilities for supporters and partners on match days, as well as for the wider community year-round”. This ambitious project has increased Craven Cottage’s capacity by around 4,000 to 29,600, while it has also taken advantage of the club’s fantastic location and wealthy catchment area by including two Michelin star restaurants, a rooftop swimming pool, corporate hospitality and event space, all benefiting from views of the Thames. Chief executive Alistair Mackintosh observed, “Fulham is the sort of club that can have a business class or first class and have fans that turn left on a plane.” Indeed, there is also an exclusive members club – with a football season ticket as an optional extra. It’s fair to say that “the times they are a-changing”, as this is a long way from the traditional pie and a pint. However, in a world where clubs face the tw...
Post a Comment
Read more

It's no deal say Spurs insiders over Taiwanese takeover

Senior figures at Tottenham Hotspur insisted on Friday that they had not been informed of any deal to sell Daniel Levy’s stake in the club. A business group, Eight Sports Capital — which is said to include a billionaire Taiwanese financier — claimed that it had an agreement in place to buy a 24.99 per cent stake in ENIC, the club’s majority owners, from Levy, who owns 29.88 per cent. The Times has been told Ng Wing Fai and Brooklyn Earick form part of the group, having both been linked previously to potential takeovers of the Premier League club. The Taiwanese businessman, Richard Tsai, is also said to be part of the consortium. He is reportedly worth £7 billion.  Last year Earick, the former DJ and tech entrepreneur, was part of an attempted £4.5 billion takeover, which was “unequivocally rejected” by Spurs.  An ENIC spokesperson said: “We can confirm that neither ENIC nor THFC are aware of any sale by Daniel Levy’s Family Trust of its minority stake in ENIC, THFC’...
Post a Comment
Read more

Threat of financial calamity removed from Baggies

West Bromwich Albion had effectively been in decline ever since the club was sold to a Chinese consortium in August 2016, paying a figure north of £200m to buy former owner Jeremy Peace’s stake. Controlling shareholder Guochuan Lai’s ownership was fairly disastrous for the club, but his unloved tenure finally came to an end after Bilkul Football WBA, a company ultimately owned by Florida-based entrepreneur Shilen Patel and his father Dr Kiran Patel, acquired an 87.8% shareholding in West Bromwich Albion Group Limited, the parent company of West Bromwich Albion Football Club. This change in ownership was urgently required, due to the numerous financial problems facing West Brom, including growing high-interest debt and serious cash flow concerns, following years of no investment from the former owner. Indeed, West Brom’s auditors had already rung the alarm bell in the 2021/22 accounts when they cast doubt on the club’s ability to continue as a going concern without making player s...
1 comment
Read more