Does anyone miss the good old days?
Written by Henry Hill
Illustration by @georgiabrownillustration
Mere moments after England was dealt their latest bruising defeat at the Euros, the commercial juggernaut that is British club football roared back to life. Transfers, pre-season tours, kit releases, you name it. Millions changed hands and endless dreams were forged as fans across the land began to ponder, ‘could this be our year?’
It’s the same old story that leaves many disappointed. But within the embers of early season optimism, another almost revolutionary school of thought began to spread around social media; is the Premier League’s money machine getting boring? After years of gluttonous spending, tactical evolutions and ever-expanding media coverage, are fans awaking from their commodified slumber?
After all, attending a football game has never been more expensive. The Bank of England's inflation calculator revealed that since 1990, the price of Premier League match tickets have skyrocketed, compared to other ‘products', by as much as 875%. To put this in perspective, if your average shop followed the same pricing model as football, then a loaf of bread would cost you £4.88 and a pint of lager £11.80. A criminal thought outside the confines of certain jaunts in West London.
On the continent, fans are prepared to push back against this kind of nonsense.
“Germany’s famed 50+1 club ownership rule keeps big enterprises at bay, and the French will riot at the sight of a single euro added to their tickets.”
The English by contrast are much more passive, although they will put their foot down when it matters.
Just take the European Super League revolt of 2021; as close to gilet-jaune as you will get in the Premier League. In general, however, major clubs are able to coast past the limp protests at their blatant profiteering.Take West Ham's decision to remove price caps for young and elderly attendees this summer. Or Fulham’s announcement of an ‘egregious’ £3000 season ticket in their new Riverside stand. On both accounts, supporters vented their frustrations, only for the powers that be to shrug them off and point blindly towards the shiny signings they make each summer. ‘It’s the price to pay for a winning team’ they cry. 1–0 to gaslighting.
However, the anger of supporters has been boiling over, albeit through other rebellious avenues. The recent ‘Barclaysmen’ social media trend celebrated nostalgic players of the noughties, who defined what is considered a golden age of the Premier League.
Think the wet and windy Stoke City team, or the magical left boot of Blackburn’s Morten Gamst Pedersen. And then there is the amusing debate about whether Pep Guardiola has in fact made football worse. It’s a topic that has garnered millions of clips and comments for countless creators, trawling the idea that the Spaniards tactical overload has sapped the creativity and fun from the game. Bring back ‘4-4-fucking-2’ being the crux of the debate.
It may not be a cultural enlightenment for the ages. But it does all link to a growing idea that football was better before the entrapments of glamour and power that rule it today. The eruption of billionaire bank-rolled and state-funded clubs has made football a playground solely catering for the rich. It begs the question; is the Premier League now a world where the average fan can no longer afford to fit in?
“To answer this significant conundrum, I visited a Wrexham game; a club undergoing an industrial revolution of Victorian proportions, with a slight North American twist.”
Since Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney plucked Wrexham from the brink of obscurity back in November 2020, it has been nothing but headlines and heroics at the Racecourse Ground (the world's oldest international stadium, now named after the coffee brand STōK – for commercial reasons, of course). The Welsh outfit have quite literally been put back on the map; their success documented and streamed to millions across the globe thanks to their hit Disney show Welcome to Wrexham.
Today, they are knocking on the door of the Championship – England’s second division – with the Premier League firmly in their sights. The lowly world of the National League where their journey began under Reynolds and McElhenney feels a lifetime ago. But it’s off the pitch where their transformation has been almost unimaginable. Tourism has risen by 20% in Wrexham County thanks to fans from the world over flocking to watch the team. It has helped drive record attendance at home matches for both the men and women, with the Racecourse Ground set for grand expansion. There has even been talk of a 50 000 seater stadium to accommodate their growing admirers.
Online, the club's social media accounts have soared by 3000% to around 3.5 million engaged followers - stunning growth that has spawned lucrative sponsorship deals with United Airlines, TikTok and Expedia. On Instagram alone, they boast more followers than 35% of Premier League sides. For a team that barely scratched the surface of footballing consciousness in the UK – let alone the world – it’s a truly remarkable rise to fame and fortune.
But is everyone happy with Wrexham’s newfound status? For the older generation, it was clearly taking some getting used to. ‘I miss it, it used to cost me £1 to get in’ remarked one fan, flanked by his less concerned sons. ‘Those days are long gone, we’re now looking at £30 a ticket.'
Traffic too, has become a problem at the Racecourse Ground, with the increase in tourism. ‘You become a prisoner in your own home,’ one fan told GOAL back in 2023. ‘It’s a bit of a nightmare on matchdays, I’ve even seen people fighting over parking spots.’
“These are both the immediate costs of success that fans bear the brunt of.”
Just ask Aston Villa supporters, whose reward for sticking with the club through thick and thin are Champions League tickets starting at £80 this season – a scandalous amount. That included a visit from Bologna; hardly the creme de la creme of the European game.
But the message from most Wrexham supporters is that this is a price they are willing to accept. ‘A few years ago we were playing Guiseley [in National League North]. To go from that to playing Birmingham away is a big contrast.’
And there is no doubt who they attribute the success to. ‘Rob and Ryan, I can’t fault them in any way,’ said one fan. ‘They have only made a few mistakes, but they’ve kept the community and done the right things. They are not here to make a quick bob, they are here for the long run.’ An elder supporter went one step further, declaring them ‘the greatest owners of any sporting club bar none,’ backing up his point with ‘they have gone to the effort of learning Welsh.’ A sensationalist statement all round.
Yet it was a similar message among every Wrexham fan. Reynolds and McElhenney could do no wrong, and the club's evolution was worth paying for. Anything was better than the turgid horrors of the past and a new generation of Wrexham fans were going to grow up only knowing the Red Dragons as a footballing force. Another also laid into having previously had to play poor old Guiseley as well, leaving me to wonder what the West Yorkshire town had done to foster so much hatred among the Welsh. An investigation for another time, perhaps.
Clearly, frustrations with the modern game are directed squarely at the super powers that are abusing their positions to the detriment of the average fan. A positive upside has seen attendance for local, National League clubs soar, hitting a record of 3 million people in 2022/23. Attracted by friendlier atmospheres, cheaper tickets and genuine communities, anger towards the Premier League has helped people reconnect with core values that makes football so special in the first place.
That said, the allure of success means most fans would love to see their club rise like Wrexham, regardless of the concerns that change can trigger. And Reynolds and McElhenney do deserve huge credit for keeping supporters at the heart of their project. Although they will clearly be looking for a return on their investment, they have never acted like faceless overlords that care only for the Wrexham stock price.
Hypothetical or not, their custodianship will face plenty of crucial tests very soon. Particularly if they are promoted to the Championship, one of the toughest divisions in the world. What happens when they need to overhaul the squad and management to keep improving? How patient will they be with stagnation in the same division? And how will they react when the TV ratings dwindle for Welcome to Wrexham? Could a dreaded move to Channel 5 be on the cards?! God forbid.
That is when Wrexham’s titanic voyage under their Hollywood stars will face its ultimate iceberg. Sinking back down the football pyramid is also a very real concern, particularly for clubs who have funding whisked away at short notice. Just look at Reading or Wigan – former giants with fanbases betrayed by false promises and reckless owners. The epitome of the problems that haunt modern football, these are the fans who suffer the most. The ones who genuinely miss the good old days.
Away from all the razzmatazz, football is just a game. Forget tactics, trophies or transfers, it’s made beautiful by the connections it fosters and the escapism it provides. It’s a principle that owners across the entire football pyramid would do well to remember.