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One trick all good teachers know is to take advantage of topics that interest their students. A safe bet in Thailand would be a lesson based on the English Premier Football League. Our Bangkok Post sports editor has given us one.
Roger Crutchley
It was Liverpool’s legendary manager Bill Shankly who once said: football’s not a matter of life and death. It’s much more important than that."
A slight case of overstatement perhaps, but certainly in England, football is more than just a game – it’s a cultural phenomenon that has had a significant impact on society for more than a century. The glitzy Premiership matches that glues us to the television screen in Thailand every weekend are a far cry from the game’s origins, but it is helpful to go back to the roots to appreciate the influence.
The ‘beautiful game’, as Pele calls it, had its origins in the industrial revolution where working class communities would go along and support their local team. Although clubs developed all over the country it was the industrial towns in northern England that formed the backbone of the early professional game. On a Saturday afternoon the matches would attract large and enthusiastic crowds eager to let off steam after a hard week’s work in the mines or factories. And in those days there was not the alternative entertainment of television or fancy shopping malls.
Football was essentially a working-class sport. Dozens of teams sprung up in the cities of the industrial heartland of the Northwest (Manchester, Liverpool, Blackburn), across the Pennine chain in the Northeast (Newcastle, Sunderland and Middlesbrough) and in the Midlands (Birmingham, Derby and Nottingham). Of course, there were teams in London to (Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea) but they were less prominent in the early days. People in the North are very proud of their football heritage and to this day tend to regard clubs in the South as being a bit "soft".
It is a tribute to the game of football – and its fans – that most of those teams survive to this day. Just look at the map (see page 6) of the present Premiership sides and you can see the same geographical pattern as 100 years ago. However, this 2001-2002 season London boasts six teams in the Premiership, its highest representation for some time. Only Southampton on the south coast and Ipswich in rural East Anglia defy the normal pattern and both of these clubs happen to be struggling against relegation this seas.
Historic atmosphereAsk anyone what they enjoy most about attending a Premiership match and more than likely they will say the "atmosphere". For all the enjoyment you get from watching the matches on television and the numerous playbacks of the goals, it still can’t beat actually being there. Approaching a ground on match day and seeing the supporters wearing their respective team’s colours, it is hard to contain a tingle of excitement that comes with the sense of anticipation of the match to come.
Then there is the roar as the teams run onto the pitch led by the child mascots of the day. Some say that since the introduction of all-seater stadiums the atmosphere is not quite as electric as in the old days. This is true to a certain extent, but most fans prefer the comfort and amenities at today’s grounds that were distinctly absent at the old stadiums, some of which had hardly changed for more than 50 years.
Many of the teams have their own songs or anthems that are immediately identifiable with the club. Probably the most famous is Liverpool’s "You’ll Never Walk Alone" made famous by the Merseyside group Gerry and the Pacemakers back in 1963. Neighbouring Everton always run out on to the pitch to the refrain of "Z Cars", a popular 1960s TV police series set in Merseyside.
Newcastle have an anthem of their own that is 100 years older than Liverpool’s. Although perhaps sung less often these days, it’s still likely you will hear the supporters launching into their own updated version of the Blaydon Races, written in 1863 about an excursion to the local horse races.
The stadiums too can reflect some illuminating history. The famous Kop at Liverpool’s Anfield stadium is named after a hill in South Africa called Spion Kop, which saw a bloody battle between the British and the Boers in 1900. More than 300 British solders were killed, and as most came from the Lancashire regiments, many who died were from Liverpool and other parts of Lancashire.
Nicknames can also throw an insight into a club’s origins. The familiar "gunners" is a reference to Arsenal’s early days, the club originally being formed by workers at the Royal Arsenal ammunition depot. Ipswich are known as the "Tractor boys" because the town is situated in an agricultural region. Crew Alexandra of Division 1 are still called the "Railwaymen" after the days when the town was a major railway centre.
Even relatively newly adopted nicknames provide an insight into the past. Sunderland fans recently voted for their team to be known as the "Black Cats", after an ancient battery of guns guarding the River Wear. Everton are known as the Toffees and there’s a chance before kick-off at Goodison Park you’ll get thrown a sweet from the official mascot, the Toffee lady.
Fans and stars
In the old days, the teams would travel by train for the longer distances and aboard a coach for shorter hops. It was not unknown for a fan to bump into a famous footballer walking down a train corridor looking for a cup of team, or maybe something stronger. But the train is used very rarely by teams these days, although it is still a regular form of transport for fans.
These days the team coach is the most common mode of transport, with plenty of card tables aboard to keep the players amused. For home games the players now drive themselves to the ground in their Ferraris and the like. This is a far cry from the old days when even star players would be spotted hopping on the local public bus with the fans to get to the stadium.
Indeed the players of days gone by would find the lifestyles of the present Premiership stars difficult to comprehend. Everything changed with the abolition of the maximum wage in 1961. Before that, even star players like Stanley Matthews (Blackpool), Tom Finney (Preston) and Billy Wright (Wolves) could only earn a maximum of 20 ( )a week and lived modest lifestyles. Most footballers even took temporary jobs in the off-season just to make ends meet.
Nowadays, top stars like David Beckham, Michael Owen and Sol Campbell earn sums between 25,000-60,000 ( ) a week and the first 100,000 ( ) a week player in the Premiership is expected by next season. Not surprisingly they live the life of pop stars and all the baggage that goes with it, frequently making headlines in the English tabloid newspapers that are not always connected with football. It is the price of fame and can put tremendous pressure on those with a fragile mental makeup.
Another big difference these days is the large number of foreign stars plying their trade in the Premiership. English fans have never been treated before to such a wealth of talent and players like Gianfranco Zola (Chelsea), Juan Sebastien Veron (Manchester United), Harry Kewell (Leeds) and Paolo Di Canio (West Ham) have added great colour to the English game.
FA Cup and Derby matches
Although on television we usually only get to see the Premiership sides in Thailand, there are 92 teams in England’s four divisions, and it is the smaller clubs which are the bread and butter of English football. This is a major factor in the tradition and romance of the FA Cup which has made that competition so successful.
What provides the romance is that it is the only occasion when the small clubs in England have a chance to meet, and even sometimes to beat, teams from the top flight. Some of the most memorable moments in English football comes from the minnows putting the big clubs in their place. Nearly every season there is at least one piece of FA Cup magic when a little side upsets the odds. People still talk about the time non0league Hereford stunned might Newcastle 2-1 back in 1972.
Probably the most intense and exciting matches in the Premiership are the derby games, matches between two local sides form the same city or nearby. The nearest clubs are traditionally regarded as the biggest enemies. In this year’s Premiership, the biggest derby matches are between Liverpool and Everton, Tottenham and Arsenal, and Sunderland and Newcastle. One of the fiercest rivalries between Manchester United and Manchester City, is temporarily on hold with City having slipped to Division 1.
The word "derby" derives form the Epsom Derby horse race which became so popular in the 19th Century that any sporting event regarded as being of extreme importance became known as a derby.
Which brings us back to Shankly again. Always looking for an opportunity to upset his Everton neighbours, Shankly certain succeeded when he made the caustic observation: "The city has two great teams – Liverpool and Liverpool reserves."
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Aw went te Blaydon Races, Chorus |
Click here for a map of England showing the location of all the Premier League clubs. We will be referring to this map for the rest of the football season.
Refer to the map and the Premier League schedule for this weekend to answer the following questions.
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SCHEDULE
Saturday, December 22
Charlton vs Blackburn Tottenham vs Ipswich Derby vs Aston Villa Leeds vs Newcatle Leicester vs West Ham Manchester United vs Southampton Middlesbrough vs Fulham Sunderland vs Everton
Sunday, December 23
Chelsea vs Bolton |
Coming Matches
6. How many matches are being playes in London this weekend?
7. Which visiting club has to travel the farthest to reach its mathc this weekend?
8. Whcih famous river flows through London? Which four clubs ahve stadiums very close to the banks of this river?
9. Aston Villa fans who follow their clubs to Derby for this Saturday's match will have to cross which major river on the way?
10. Which two of the seacoast clubs will be playing each other this Saturday?
terryfrd@ksc15.th.com |