Search Results

Hereford FC are the latest team to join the growing trend of community-owned football clubs after The Bulls supporters secured 50.1% ownership of the National League North side. Hereford United were originally founded in 1924, but were sadly wound-up in the High Court with debts around £1.3million in 2014 and owing HMRC £100,000 in unpaid tax. The Whites had been in financial difficulty since they were relegated from the Football League in 2012 and were then demoted two divisions (from Conference Premier to Southern League Premier) without kicking a ball because the new owners declined to put up a £350,000 bond. A new phoenix club was set up in 2015 by Hereford supporters and local benefactors and Hereford FC was formed, there were five Benefactors who each paid in £50,000 in return for shares in the Club. Individual Supporters collectively paid £39,000 in return for shares in the Club and the Hereford Supporters Trust was granted the opportunity to match these 289,000 shares, over time, by progressive fundraising from ‘rank and file’ supporters. The target of £289,000 was hoped to be reached by May this year but amazingly the magic number was reached by November 2022! The funds were moved across before Christmas and the £9,000 cheque which enabled them to hit the target was presented at their recent game against fellow community-owned club Scarborough Athletic. Hereford United Supporters’ Trust chairman Richard Tomkins said: “This is an emotional moment." “Some people believed that supporters didn’t have the drive to amass the £289,000 required to match the club’s foundation investment. How wrong can they be!” The following exert is taking from the Hereford United Supporters Trust (HUST) and sums up the issues for us football fans up and down the country perfectly. Football fans, have for years, flocked to watch their chosen team, often in the thousands and in their eyes it is ‘their club’ and it “belongs” to them. However, in the eyes of the Law, it is a remarkably different matter. Football Clubs are categorised as “Companies” and under Company Law, the Company (Club) is, in fact, owned by its Shareholders. That is to say, whosoever owns more than 50% of the shares owns the Club. In these circumstances, Owners can, for example: Opt to move the ground. Change the Club’s colours. Move the team to a new league. Fans, who do not have a say, can do nothing about any of these decisions! As we have all seen played out in the media, select Premier Club Owners wanted to start a European Super League. Fans strongly protested! Had there not been a strong lobby from Government and Football Governing Bodies, the fans’ protest, would, again, have meant nothing! HUST website; https://www.hust.org.uk/ Hereford FC have now joined the list of the other 46 community-owned clubs. 1874 Northwich 1876 Bangor AFC Liverpool AFC Rushden and Diamonds AFC Wimbledon Bamber Bridge Banbury United Basingstoke Town Bath City Bury AFC Camden and Islington United Chester Chesterfield City of Liverpool FC Clapton Congleton Town Darlington Dorchester Town Dunstable Town Enfield Town Exeter City FC United of Manchester Fisher FC Grays Athletic Hendon Hinckley AFC Hull United Hyde United Kempston Rovers Lewes Litherland REMYCA Merthyr Town Montpelier Villa Newark Town Newport County Newport (IOW) Northwich Victoria Peacehaven & Telscombe Prescot Cables Runcorn Linnets Saffron Walden Town Scarborough Athletic Tonbridge Angels Ton Pentre Worcester City Wythenshawe Amateurs All of which can be found on the map below taken from the Football Supporters Association (FSA) website. The FSA is the national, democratic, representative body for football supporters in England and Wales. They are the leading advocates for supporter ownership, better fan engagement, cheaper ticket prices, the choice to stand at the match, protecting fan rights, good governance, diversity, and all types of supporter empowerment. As the national organisation they have regular contact with the Premier League, the EFL, National League, and the FA, as well as a whole host of other organisations within football such as the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA). As a secretariat to the All Party Parliamentary Football Supporters Group they have strengthened the voice of fans within Parliament in recent years. Their casework helps hundreds of fans every year who feel they’ve been poorly treated by their clubs, stewards, or police and they give those fans a voice, the best possible advice, and even legal support where necessary. You can check out their website here; https://thefsa.org.u It must be said that community-owned clubs will still face trials and tribulations and times of financial difficulty but it takes away the threat of unscrupulous owners with financial agendas. In an ideal world it would be great to see all our football clubs community-owned with a 50.1% majority, but we are sadly a million miles away from that, but we can still dream and strive for it to happen one day.

Everton's board of directors have been instructed not to attend today's Premier League game with Southampton due to a "real and credible threat to their safety and security", the club has said. Fans are understood to be planning a protest at Goodison Park in the wake of last week's embarrassing 4-1 home defeat to Brighton. The fans have planned An Everton fans' group has given an update on plans to stage a protest at this weekend’s game against Southampton. Organisers are calling on Blues to support their campaign against how the club is run and 'sit-in' after the game against Nathan Jones’ side at Goodison Park. The protest is being led by the NSNOW group, formerly known as the 27 Campaign, who were one of several groups behind an open letter to Everton owner Farhad Moshiri last week, asking for him to make 'sweeping changes' to the club’s board. The club said chairman Bill Kenwright, chief executive Denise Barrett-Baxendale, chief finance and strategy officer Grant Ingles and non-executive director Graeme Sharp will "reluctantly" stay away on the advice of security advisors. In a statement, Everton called the decision "unprecedented" and said it was "a profoundly sad day" for the club. The club said: "The board members received the instruction following malicious and unacceptably threatening correspondence received by the club and increasing incidents of anti-social behaviour - including targeted physical aggression - at recent home matches. "This is an unprecedented decision for Everton Football Club - never before has our entire board of directors been ordered not to attend a match on safety grounds. It is a profoundly sad day for Everton and Evertonians." A statement from a security and safety advisor released by the club said: "Following a thorough risk assessment, and in response to tangible threats received by the Club and intelligence we have gathered, the Club's Board members have been told they must not attend today's fixture."

At Proper Football we are always interested in you, the fan, and your opinions and thoughts about your club and football in general, so, if you would like to give your views on your teams season so far please take part in our mid-season questionnaire. All replies will be published here on our website and we will follow up with another questionnaire at the end of the season.

Adidas and Arsenal have launched the next chapter of their No More Red campaign, an initiative first launched in January 2022 to support the long-standing work being done by Arsenal in the Community to help keep young people safe from knife crime and youth violence. Arsenal will wear the all-white kit at tonight's game against Oxford United in the 3rd of the FA Cup. Although the number of teenagers killed as a result of violent youth crime dropped significantly in 2022 in comparison to 2021, there were 11,502 knife offenses recorded in London between January 2022 and November 2022, an increase compared with the corresponding period in 2021. Both ourselves and Adidas remain steadfast in our long-term commitment to create safe spaces for young people to play sport in the capital, provide better access to trusted role models, and shine a light on talented individuals who are making a positive difference in their community. NO MORE RED IN 2023 Inspired by the impassioned response to last year’s launch, this year we are expanding No More Red; inviting members of the public to be part of the campaign by volunteering with one of our charity partners: Arsenal in the Community The Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation Steel Warriors Don’t Stab Your Future Box Up Crime Copenhagen Youth Project St Giles Trust Abianda Octopus Community Network The Ben Kinsella Trust Each person who volunteers with one of the above as part of the scheme can receive their own No More Red shirts and will be invited to watch us play at Emirates Stadium. Each charity and organisation have 10 limited edition shirts to give volunteers, who each must donate their time to be eligible. Full details relating to how each participating charity is offering the shirts can be found on their respective websites, and Arsenal.com/NoMoreRed.

The use of the dark arts in football is nothing new and has been in the game for many years, gaining that little edge over your opponent to win a game is part and parcel of football and even more so now what with the money and prizes at stake in the modern-day game, but it doesn't make it right and if anything is making many of us turn our backs on top-level football. One of the most frustrating things for fans is seeing players feigning injury to get their opponent sent off, or falling over with the slightest bit of contact to win a freekick or penalty or just to run the clock down at the end of a game, but let's be honest about it, do we complain when our players do it? Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid are probably one of the finest modern-day examples, albeit some admire them for it, it's fair to say the majority think they are a disgrace to football and took great pleasure when Manchester City's Phil Foden beat them at their own game! The topic of time wasting was highlighted at the recent Arsenal v Newcastle game when the ball was in play for just 51min 23sec, 4 minutes less than the Premier League average for the season, this statistic has brought calls for a stopwatch to be introduced like there is in rugby or for the referee to add on more time as we saw in the recent World Cup which we think is fair to say actually worked. Let's face it, we pay a lot of money to go to a game so it's only right we get to watch the ball in play, one of the best-ever rule changes was outlawing the back pass some 30 years ago, it not only stopped the monotonous time wasting but sped the game up and created a more exciting spectacle for the fans, this brought about the art of taking the ball to the opposition's corner and killing a few seconds which requires skill and body strength which is a big part of football. Dissent towards the officials is also a form of time-wasting. It's bad enough seeing players surround the ref and getting in his face (something that was meant to be cracked down on but has it?) for every free kick he gives or doesn't give, but now the managers are getting in the 4th official's face whilst spending more time outside their technical areas than in them where they should be, this usually gets the ref to trot over and kill even more time. The video below shows a referee taking no backchat off the players (ok it's a bit OTT 😂) but I bet they didn't question him again! The biggest change in top-flight football in recent years has been the introduction of VAR, but what has it achieved? It definitely hasn't sped the game up in fact it's done the opposite, it doesn't even get every decision right, and it hasn't stopped players from diving and feigning injury either, all it's done is make the game experience for fans less enjoyable, yes, the way it has been implemented is very questionable and needs work but modern technology doesn't have to be the way forward and it's only available to the elite level anyway! what is needed is more robust rules and sanctions against the players and managers who continue to berate the officials, it's no coincidence that at the grassroots level including youth games, there has been a big increase in abuse and attacks on referees and people wonder why there is a shortage of officials. Young kids watch their idols on TV and you see their actions transpired onto park football pitches all around the country. Players and managers in the professional game need to lead by example and the governing bodies need to grow some minerals and implement stronger rules.

Join us for our weekly Proper Football Live Show on Sundays at 6:00 pm! We have a cracking show lined up with Gary Harris, Greg Douglas and resident ex-pro footballer Nigel ‘Cally’ Callaghan along with Geoff Thompson a big fan of nonleague side Darlington. We'll be discussing the week's big stories along with our special features including “The Good Old Days” and “It's a Funny Old Game" and much much more so don’t miss the show! ⚽⚽⚽👊🏼 Make sure to tune in and get involved with your comments and views. 👊🏻⚽ Watch on our Facebook page here; 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼 https://fb.me/e/40IjLrtT6 Or our YouTube channel here; 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻 https://youtube.com/channel/UCtr7oTe3DH-Ymo4uxM6xULA Or Twitter here; 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻 https://twitter.com/ProperFootball8?t=voFqeo4B83kwlQKtJAx5gA&s=09 Email us @ getinvolved@properfootball.co.uk

Six leading figures from the Premier League, FA and EFL have met in person for the very first time today (Friday) to thrash out several proposals from top-flight clubs; which include scrapping FA Cup replays, restricting teams in European competitions to only fielding junior sides in the Carabao Cup and moving the Community Shield from its regular slot as the season's curtain-raiser. The Premier League has put forward the proposals as part of what is being dubbed 'A New Deal For Football', which could bring about the most significant changes since its inception in 1992. Its aim is to reduce fixture congestion from 2024 onwards. It is also in return for the Premier League sharing more of its money with the lower divisions, with the EFL calling for an extra £ 300 million in funding. However, so far top-flight teams have only agreed to just over half of that figure. If the three bodies fail to reach an agreement, a statutory independent regulator proposed by the government - who are expected to publish a white paper outlining its plans in the next few weeks - would be able to intervene on a financial settlement. The EFL is understood to be open to tweaking the Carabao Cup, though only for what they deem is an acceptable financial settlement. The options on the table are for clubs competing in European competitions to either not take part in the domestic cup competition at all or field sides containing Under-21 players. As for the FA Cup, the Premier League is keen for replays to be scrapped from the third onwards, which is when top-flight teams join the competition. Replays are currently carried out up until the fourth round. Jurgen Klopps thoughts. The Community Shield is also on the table, with the timing of the traditional curtain-raiser match between the Premier League champions and FA Cup winners set to be discussed. Bigger clubs believe the game, which is usually held on the Sunday before the first Premier League weekend, disrupts their pre-season build-up as well as lucrative overseas tours. Potential alternatives include playing it either on the opening weekend or mid-season, moving it to an international market such as the United States, or, as one club are hoping, making it an 'All Stars' game which sees Premier League teams providing two players each to face stars from other European leagues.

Hull City's owner Acun Ilıcalı has announced that coach travel to away fixtures will be free of charge for all travelling supporters for the remainder of the 2022/23 Championship season. The offer of free travel from the MKM Stadium will start from the visit to the Bet365 Stadium on Saturday 11th February when the Tigers take on Stoke City. The fantastic gesture follows on from the free Tiger Travel offer for both of their away festive fixtures against Birmingham City and Wigan Athletic, the latter being their largest away following of the season so far. The decision by the Tigers’ chairman is in recognition of the difficult times fans have faced in recent months, both with the rising cost of living and the prolonged train strikes affecting supporters’ ability to attend matches. The Turkish owner of the Tigers said; “The support from our fans has been fantastic, and we wanted to show them the same kind of support. We know it’s quite a tough time for people at the moment, and Christmas is always an expensive time, so if we can help them, it’s only right that we do it. "When we say ‘One Family. One Dream.’ we really mean it. “A lot of fans were getting in touch, telling us they are struggling to get to away matches because of the lack of trains." "I want to support our fans whenever I can and encourage as many people as possible to attend matches to support Liam and the boys. The atmosphere in the away end at Birmingham and Wigan was amazing and motivated the team to get the wins in both matches. "I had so many nice messages from fans who said how much they appreciated the support in getting to the matches, so I made the decision to extend it for the rest of the season." "I want to support our fans now, because I know in the future when times are better, they will support the club off the field as well as on it.” Hats off to Hull for this, but in reality, every top-level club should be doing this as standard practice! We must give a big shoutout to Stoke City who have been doing this for the last 8 seasons. 👌🏻

Vialli had been suffering from pancreatic cancer and left his role with Italy’s national team in December. A statement from the Italian Football Association [FIGC] read: ‘That photo on the Wembley lawn, that hug with Coach Roberto Mancini after Federico Chiesa’s goal against Austria in the round of 16 of the 2021 European Championship, will be one of the images of Gianluca Vialli that we will carry in our hearts forever. ‘Gianluca didn’t make it, he passed away today at the age of 58 after a long illness, always fought head-on, with dignity and with the whole blue family to give him strength in a moment of silent but enormous suffering. Vialli played 59 times for Italy and won the Champions League with Juventus before joining Chelsea in 1996 and becoming player-manager in 1998. He had joined Juventus in 1992 for a then world record £12m after winning the Serie A title and the European Cup Winners' Cup during eight seasons with Sampdoria. Vialli was the first Italian to manage a Premier League side, taking over from the sacked Ruud Gullit late in the season, and went on to lead the Blues to victory in the League Cup, Uefa Cup Winners' Cup and Uefa Super Cup. He also guided Chelsea to victory in the 2000 FA Cup final and Charity Shield. RIP Gianluca. 💙

West Ham have announced the death of their joint-chairman David Gold at the age of 86. Stepney-born Gold played for West Ham's boy's team between the ages of 13 and 16 and, after a successful career in business, became joint-chairman of the Premier League club in 2010. A West Ham statement read: "It is with deep sadness that West Ham United FC confirm that our beloved Joint-Chairman David Gold passed away on Wednesday morning following a short illness. "David Gold, 86, died peacefully with his devoted daughters, Jacqueline and Vanessa, and his fiancée Lesley, by his side. "A lifelong and ardent West Ham United fan, David Gold was born in Stepney in September 1936 and grew up at 442 Green Street, directly opposite the Boleyn Ground. As a promising young schoolboy player, he represented the Club’s boys’ team between the ages of 13 and 16 and later appeared in the youth team. "After forging a career as a hugely successful businessman, his life came full circle in January 2010 when he became Joint-Chairman of West Ham United following the successful takeover that helped to steady the ship and protect the Club’s future during a period of great financial uncertainty. " West Ham joint-chairman David Sullivan told the club's official website: "On behalf of everyone at the football club, it is with profound sorrow and a heavy heart that we mourn the passing of our colleague and friend, David Gold. "Of all our joint ventures, none gave us more pride and happiness than the day we took ownership of West Ham United, our Club, in January 2010. David had a long-standing connection with the Hammers, having grown up opposite the Boleyn Ground in Green Street, and represented the Club at junior level. He always wanted what was best for West Ham United, and his passing is a great loss for all of us." Manager David Moyes added: "I am extremely sad to hear this news and, on behalf of all of the players and my staff at the training ground, I would like to extend our deepest sympathies to David Gold’s family at this very difficult time.

Proper Football decided to take in a bit of culture over the festive period and luckily the art gallery we chose to visit (Walker Art Gallery -Liverpool) had the 'Art Of Terraces' exhibition on.  Through the medium of art, the exhibition highlights the clothing brands and sports footwear, music and encounters between rival groups of football supporters which defined an era and generation.  Football Casuals in our language. The exhibition features the work of a generation of contemporary artists and designers who have been influenced by this movement over the last 40 years. The story of the movement, its wider significance in British and European popular culture and its artistic legacy will be told through more than 100 paintings, graphic designs and fashion items, as well as installations, videos and installation art. Pauline Rushton, Head of Decorative Arts at National Museums Liverpool, said: “It’s been our ambition for a long time to hold an exhibition of this kind at the Walker. Terrace culture originated among football fans here in the North West in the 1970s, and it’s difficult to overemphasise quite how far-reaching its influence has become. “We’ll consider the highs and lows of going to the match, and the sense of identity and belonging that could be discovered and signalled to others through wearing a certain pair of trainers or branded sports top.” Dave Hewitson, exhibition partner and creator of the 80sCasuals website and clothing brand, said: “This wasn’t just a group of kids following fashion and wearing the latest trends, these kids were creating their own trends and style. The clothes, the attitude and ultimately the match defined the culture.” The exhibition does focus on Merseyside but there are a few acceptions which was nice to see. The age-old debate of where the casual movement started has been answered by one of the dialogue exhibits whether you agree or not lol. The Art of the Terraces certainly isn't just for us of a casual persuasion. Lovers of football & art will certainly enjoy the many exhibits on show. There are of course some classic clothes and trainers on show for the obsessives among us and a book on 80's Casuals is available to buy at the museum shop for £25. There are also a couple of video installations to watch including 'Fiorucci Made Me Hardcore' by Mark Leckey. The work is a compilation of found footage from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s underground music and dance scene in the UK. Music is tightly knitted within the terraces as we all know and there are a couple of pieces covering this including the David Bowie painting depicting Bowie's 'Low' album sleeve where he is seen sporting the iconic wedge haircut. The painting by Ross Muir has re-purposed the well-known image of Bowie by adding the three stripes seen on Adidas sportswear. Another piece with a nod to music is the 'Forest Hills' painting by Jens Wagner which includes a line from The Jam's 1978 single 'Down In The Tube Station At Midnight '. Also by Jens Wagner is this Ska City painting originally made for Coventry's 2-Tone village. The painting also depicts Coventry City's old Highfield Road ground. There is so much more to see at the exhibition we highly recommend a visit. Entry is free but there is an option to make a cash or card donation as you exit the exhibition. Also near the exit, there is a wall where you can leave a post-it note with a little message. Unfortunately on our visit, there weren't any. The Walker Art Gallery can be found just a few minutes walk from Liverpool Lime Street station and is open till 4.00 PM every day except Mondays and run's until the 12th of March.

It was great to see the fans flock in to watch their clubs over the holiday period in the lower leagues of the football pyramid, one big factor is the fixtures are planned so that doubleheader matches are scheduled for the Boxing day and New years day fixtures between local sides, something that has sadly been lost on the Premier League and EFL! Some of the stand-out attendances were in step 6 in the National League North and South. Darlington had a record attendance at Blackwell Meadows of 3,059 against Scarborough Athletic who brought 875 fans on Boxing Day and the return fixture today (Jan 2) will see a record-breaking crowd at their Flamingo Land Stadium of 3,205 including 820 travelling Darlo supporters. Chester FC had 3,007 at their game with Telford on New Year's Day following on from the reverse fixture on boxing day when 2,500 packed out Telford's New Bucks Head stadium. Also in the same league, Hereford's Edgar Street saw a 3,221 turnout for their boxing day fixture with Kidderminster Harriers and the return match on New years day saw 545 Hereford fans travel to Kiddy making up the attendance of 3,421! In the National League South Dartford began the new year in style with an emphatic victory over Ebbsfleet United, as they completed the league double over their local rivals and title contenders with 3,386 in attendance at Princes Park, the boxing day fixture saw an impressive 2,905 at Ebbsfleet. Also in the same division at the St Albans City v Hemel Hempstead Town 3,107 packed into the Saints Clarence Park! It's great to see Non-League attendances thriving and the fact they have big derby games over the Christmas period is sadly only something supporters of Premier League and Championship teams can only reminisce about as the days of CPFC v Brighton, Luton v Watford, London derbies and all the other big local rivalries are a thing of the past for one reason or another and the old song of “because of boxing day" is completely redundant.