Silver Linings by David Hartrick

Author:David Hartrick
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pitch Publishing
Published: 2021-06-15T00:00:00+00:00

1986

WORLD CUP years are different. They’re full of sticker albums, coins with players’ faces on and a mascot everywhere you look. They’re previews, endlessly studied newspaper pull-outs and an anxious wait for to see the opening credits for the first time. It’s planning your life around three games a day and then watching highlights of a match you saw live. You just know you’ll never forget that player for the rest of your life because of that one thing he did in an otherwise forgettable game. They are a joyous overdose to happy addicts and a few weeks of devotion for the passing fan. In short, a World Cup year feels special because a World Cup year is special.

English football’s annus horribilis had been 1985 but this new year provided a potential way to put the sport back at the centre of the conversation. Mexico 86, a festival of football to which England had earned an invite, would start on the last day of May. Bobby Robson’s England had reason to be confident as there were early signs that a good team was coming together. Winning a second World Cup might have been out of reach but a semi-final and a notable scalp or two along the way felt possible.

Domestically, the much-mooted ID card system the Prime Minister was a known fan of was still in its early stages by the turn of 1986. Some clubs were already making plans or having trials to introduce a form of the card of their own design but there was widespread resistance. Most chairmen felt the scheme would lower attendances even further and be of little use anyway. The shock of the previous year’s outrageous loss of life had already meant several inquiries and investigations had taken place and some suggestions had already been implemented. English football felt different. Not yet safer, but at least slightly more aware of itself.

Sentencing was getting tougher by mandate too. On the year’s very first day of court, a 22-year-old Peterborough United hooligan named Barry Fox was given three years in jail after an incident at a game from October. While Fox was trying to scramble up a wall to escape, a special constable pulled him back. The police officer was attacked and knocked out by Fox for his trouble. Once arrested Fox, and others, were now to be given the toughest possible sentences and charged with grievous bodily harm.

The effects were minimal in that there were still incidents around nearly every game, but the lawlessness of the outright rioting across pitches had subsided. Policing was also being upped in the hope that a sheer weight of numbers would deter all but the most determined at the actual matches. It had become impossible to discuss English football without mentioning hooliganism. The balance needed to be redressed in favour of the actual sport.

When the Prime Minister had involved herself, things started to change but it was proving a slow process. One of the biggest issues so far had been just how out of step politicians were with those involved in football and its fans.

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