Altrincham FC - Manchester's traditional club in the shadow of billions
#GABFAF has been looking at English amateur football. There, some fans can not and do not want to afford the tickets for the top teams' games - smaller clubs benefit from it.
Alan stands on the stone steps behind the gate and reports that he was here when he was a little boy. His father took him along, back in the 70's and 80's, when the hooligans ruled in the English professional age. Since then he has come again and again. "It feels like part of the club. This is real football, "he says.
This is what Alan, aged 48, is referring to Altrincham Football Club, a southwestern Manchester City six-league team that hosts its home games at Moss Lane Stadium. Standing behind the gates and on the back straight, mostly covered, seats in the grandstand.
Clubs like Altrincham are the foundation of English football, which thanks to the Premier League is at the top of the billion dollar deal with fans around the world. The top teams of Manchester City, Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester United dominate the Champions League this season. However, clubs like Altrincham have a loyal audience, local people who have always been there. People like Alan.
Alan never goes to Old Trafford - it's just too expensive
He says he is also a fan of Manchester United, but it seems to be more of an open relationship. In Old Trafford he never go - despite Champions League participation -, too expensive, also may be drunk no beer in the stands. And anyway: "It does not matter to me whether United wins or loses. But if Altrincham wins or loses that determines my weekend, "he says.
The team will be hosting Kidderminster Harriers this Saturday in the spring. The sun is shining, the lawn looks very green. More than 1000 spectators are there. Before kick-off begins a kind of migration. The Altrincham fans leave the grandstand behind the goal and go to the back straight to the other end of the field because their team first plays on that goal. They want to be close.
Proximity is a big topic in the lower leagues. While the Premier League has capped the tie to the base in the opinion of many fans, there is a close relationship with the public in football below the top four leagues. As with Alan, also thanks to his son Tom. "As a little boy, he was a run-in child. He was allowed in the cabin and hit the players. At Manchester United, you probably have to win a contest or pay for that, "Alan says of his 17-year-old son.
Spectators in Altrincham are mixed, more colorful than in the Premier League. There are a few men who might have climbed out of a hooligan movie, a lot of women, boys with sneakers and polo shirts, and retirees watching the game with the serenity of old age, wearing a red and white Altrincham shawl around their necks, Altrincham cap pins. Children play football in the corner between the back door and the other. The amateur clubs are the center of what is called a community in England, they are an important institution of living together. And one who is involved, even beyond football.
In February, Altrincham played a game in rainbow jerseys as a sign against homophobia. The action made headlines throughout Europe. There are the jerseys to buy, many fans wear them, women and men, including children and the elderly. Orders were also received from Germany via the Internet.
Why the clear attitude? "We have a responsibility. We have to show that we are open to all, "says club chairman Grahame Rowley, 57 years old. He wears a black suit and a red tie, both with club crests. To be the chairman of an amateur club is a serious thing in England.
He talks about life in the shadow of the Premier League and does not want to complain. With Manchester United and Manchester City rarely playing Saturdays at 3pm, many United or City fans would come to Altrincham. There is a football ecumenism in the stands.
"People used to think we were just a step above the football in the park"
Rowley has also noticed that more and more fans are going to amateur football. They are annoyed by the professional business and could not or would not afford the tickets anymore. Clubs like Altrincham, nicknamed Alty, offer a good alternative - also because the perception of amateur football has changed. "People used to think we were just a step above the football in the park. Then they come here and see: we have a real stadium, the level is neat, "says Rowley.
The game on this day ends 2: 1 for the host. After the final whistle, the fans sing. The players make a small lap of honor and applaud the audience. That's a bit like in the Premier League. Just very different. Here, where the heart still counts.