Videos
Saturday 16 March 2024
Dr Ffion Thomas
The “End of an era” package: How to say goodbye to a football ground
“Have West Ham died?” As the lights went out on the Boleyn Ground in May 2016, there was no end of ridicule on Twitter and beyond following a televised closing ceremony for the stadium that featured “Farewell Boleyn”-branded black cabs parading ex-players around the pitch, the Cockney Rejects performing “I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles” and an appearance from a Bobby Moore lookalike. But they’re certainly not the only club to have made an extravaganza of saying goodbye to their historic home.
On Saturday 16 March at the Record Cafe, North Parade, Bradford, When Saturday Comes deputy editor Dr Ffion Thomas looked at the changing ways in which clubs have approached such occasions in the modern era of stadium moves.
Since Scunthorpe United left the Old Showground in 1988 nearly 40 Football League clubs have moved, with Goodison Park next to face the wrecking ball. As the countdown clocks tick down over the course of a season, the sadness and trepidation felt by fans as they prepare to say goodbye can rub up uncomfortably with the imperative of marketing departments to maximise the many and varied money-making and branding opportunities tried and tested over the last 35 years, culminating in the nostalgia-soaked final match.
From laser shows and free monkey nuts to stolen seats and Covid lockouts, such occasions represent an emotionally charged mix of sentimentality and anarchy, tradition and territory, commemoration and commercialisation – especially when things don’t always follow the club script.
Saturday 17 February 2024
Kathryn Hey and Steve Bolton
Hey’s Ladies, Yorkshire’s Forgotten Football Champions
Steve Bolton’s grandma was one of the legendary Dick Kerr’s Ladies, the Preston-based works team that dominated women’s football during the First World War and inter-war period. They only really had one real rival, Hey’s Ladies of Bradford.
Kathryn Hey and Steve Bolton came together to bring this fascinating tale to life and they brought it bang up to date, with England’s Lionesses successes on the international stage.
Saturday 6 January 2024
Dave Scally
Pullets of the Caribbean
Geoffrey Richmond, Paul Jewell, Terry Yorath and Peter Beagrie were among the cast of Bradford City’s pre-season trip to St Kitts in 1999. To which fans were invited! This is the inside story of one who was there.
It was an exciting time as Bradford City had just been promoted to the Premier League. As part of the build up to that momentous season, the team used the trip to bond and build up fitness levels; the fans used to it drink all day and enjoy unprecedented access to the players and management.
Here’s Dave Scally’s memories of a trip the like of which we’ve not seen since. Featuring lots of amusing anecdotes and tales.
Saturday 9 December 2023
Dr Peter Watson
Colo Colo and the Coup: football in Chile in 1973 and under Pinochet
2023 marked the 50th anniversary of the Chilean military coup led by General Augusto Pinochet that deposed the leftwing government of Salvador Allende. It was also a significant year for Chilean football as the country's most popular team surged towards the final of the Copa Libertadores, providing a distraction for the population in a turbulent and fractured society.
This talk will mainly explore how football and politics collided in 1973 and 1974, discussing the heroes of Colo Colo, the use of the National Stadium directly after the coup, the role of and impact on players in the aftermath of the coup, and how Pinochet used football during his dictatorship.
Saturday 25 November 2023
Dr David Pendleton
Let’s Go City Sox!
Professional Baseball in Yorkshire 1935-39
The founder of Littlewood’s Pools, John Moores, bankrolled a concerted attempt to introduce professional baseball into Britain in the 1930s. The game spread eastward into Yorkshire from Moores base at Liverpool. It will be suggested that Yorkshire baseball was largely housed at greyhound stadia, due to hostility from cricket and rugby league officials.
Bradford had two professional clubs, the Greenfield Giants and the City Sox. Bradford was also home to an amateur league and a handful of women’s teams. The other powerhouse of Yorkshire baseball was Hull, which boasted a four division amateur league, a women’s section and a thriving youth league.
Saturday 7 October 2023
Dr Simon Rofe
Games Within Games: Sport and Diplomacy
As a ubiquitous part of modern life, sport has a powerful capacity to touch individuals and societies around the world in ways that traditional forms of diplomacy and those traditionally thought of as diplomats rarely can. Welcome to the world of Sports Diplomacy: from the Olympic Games, Men's and Women's World Cups and football club ownership to grassroots sports, governance and ethics
Dr J Simon Rofe is Reader/Associate Professor in the School of Politics and International Studies at the University of Leeds, and Deputy Director of CODE, University of London. He is widely published in the field of Diplomacy and particularly in leading the development of the field of Sports Diplomacy following a role in the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games in 2012 alongside working with practitioners in government, Diplomatic Services and International Organisations in the worlds of sport and diplomacy.
Saturday 22 April 2023
John Kennedy
My Grandad, the FA Cup Winning Chairman of Bradford City
On the anniversary of Bradford City’s FA Cup Final against Newcastle United (a scoreless draw at Crystal Palace on 22 April 1911), it is perhaps fitting that we hear about John Kennedy’s researches into his grandfather, Wilhelm Pollack, who was City’s chairman when we won the FA Cup. Wilhelm even married the sister of Antonio Fattorini, of the family who designed and made the FA Cup. It is a family tale dominated by the famous trophy, but also one ultimately of heartbreak as Wilhelm, despite keeping Bradford City alive during World War One, also came under criticism because he was German born. Even though he changed his name from Wilhelm to William, he was heartbroken as the country of his birth, fought the country he loved.
Saturday 4 March 2023
Dr David Pendleton,
‘Birds, Booze and Bucks’, the North American Soccer League, 1968-1984
For some it was ‘rock and roll football’, for others a last chance to cash in on a fading career. The North American Soccer League might have been a brash mix of excess, hype and stardust, but it was also an innovator. Remember the 35-yard offside line? Five-second shoot outs to decide drawn games? Whatever the NASL was, it was impossible to ignore.
Saturday 18 February 2023
Prof. Chris Gaffney
Archeology and Football
Now that Valley Parade is officially the University of Bradford Stadium, the university’s archeology department has unfettered access to the hallowed turf. Have they found the legendary Holy Well beneath the pitch? Or the footprints of Jimmy Speirs? Chris Gaffney has undertaken geophysical surveys of the pitches at Park Avenue, Bootham Crescent and now Valley Parade. Chris used to appear on Channel 4’s Time Team, nowadays he appears on lower division football grounds.
Saturday 21 January 2023
Dr Peter Watson
No Place for a Left-Winger? The Terrace Culture of Colombian Football
In the popular imagination Colombian football is tied up with military dictatorships, FARC Guerrillas and the tragic execution of Escobar; yet it is also the joyful footballing land of Carlos Valderrama’s extravagant hairstyle and the ‘Scorpion Kick’ keeper Rene Higuita. Dr Pete Watson of the University of Leeds guides us through the contradictions of the terrace culture of Colombia.
Saturday 19 November 2022
Dr Chris Stride
‘Shirt Tales’, From Children’s Sportswear to Adult Leisurewear, how replica football shirts conquered the world
When and why did a football shirt become the matchday outfit for many adults? Why are they an addiction for some, but despised by others? Sheffield University’s Dr Chris Stride looks at the surprisingly long history of replica shirts; a Derby County shirt was available in 1885! It’s quite a ride, from the terraces of England to the sweatshops of Asia.
Saturday 29 October 2022
Paul Norcross
All I Want For Christmas Is A Dukla Prague Away Kit
It’ll be a mere fifty-seven days to Christmas when Paul Norcross, who is neither half-man or half-biscuit, talks about the history and culture of football in the Czech Republic. Paul spent the entire corona virus lockdown in Prague, he even loitered outside Bohemians Praha’s padlocked ground as matches took place inside. The big question is did he buy a Dukla Prague away kit?
23 April 2022
Paul Norcross,
Football Italia
On Shakespeare’s birthday we had to find something that linked the Bard and Seria A. Well, we thing we’ve scored a golazzo, as North Parade’s own Gentleman Ultra chats about Football Italia. The Italia 90 World Cup is often flagged up as a pivotal moment in the modernisation of football. The stadia seemed like something from another world, we were transfixed and even more so when James Richardson appeared on Channel 4 sipping a cappuccino whilst leafing through La Gazzetta dello Sport. We relive those heady days, get an update on the current scene in Italy.
5 March 2022
Dr Chris Stride,
The Weird and Wonderful World of Sporting Statues
Pele has eleven, though one has had its arms cut off. Sheffield United have three; Sheffield Wednesday have none. Sven Goran Eriksson has one in his local swimming pool. China’s 2002 World Cup squad have one each, even though they lost all three matches! Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of football statues. Monuments which tell us as much about the nations, clubs and fans who erect them as they do their subjects.
Saturday 12 February 2022
Glyn Watkins
Finlandia, My Mum and the Football Culture of Finland
‘We hate ice hockey, it’s a stupid sport, it’s just about fighting’. A member of the HJK’s fan group ‘Sakilaiset’ railed against Finland’s national sport when speaking to Nordic Football News. Whilst nearly all Finns avidly watch the English Premier League on television, football in the far north is often played in freezing athletic stadiums in front of a few thousand fans at best. Glyn Watkins is a well-known North Parade personality; the pie carrying champion of JB Priestley and St Blaise (indeed, this talk is part of the 2022 Blaise Woolly Fringe Festival). You might not know that he is half-Finnish and has a unique insight into the country and its football culture. Expect exuberant stories of travels, drinking and football in Finlandia. It will be more entertaining that the football that follows at Valley Parade, we can absolutely guarantee that!