Establishing the versatility of the English language in his book Mother Tongue, Bill Bryson explained that the French “cannot distinguish between house and home”. Both are, indeed, la maison. And it can’t make for that much of a kerfuffle or France would be full of people just walking the streets. But it does say something about the importance the British place on the concept of home comforts.
Think of how many phrases and idioms make clear that importance. An Englishman’s home is his castle, home from home, home sweet home, home is where the heart is, no place like home, make yourself at home, home and dry and the one that would bamboozle our French neighbours, a house is not a home. There are more than a hundred home-related sayings. And yet, right now, any number of football clubs are trying to leave home. Chelsea, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Birmingham City, Luton Town, all with plans to leave or build. Then look at some of the Premier League clubs that have recently upped sticks — West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur, Everton. Do these moves serve as recommendation? Perhaps in terms of financial success. Most are doing well when comparing revenues with their old locations. Tottenham and West Ham have also ended long stretches without trophies, too.
But results, right now, this season? These range from the merely mediocre to the absolutely calamitous. Between them, in their new stadiums, those three clubs have won eight league games in 32 this season. And there trouble begins. There are a lot of false memories around the old places. Fortresses, in popular imagination. And comfortable, too. Lived in, homely. It doesn’t take much for a new ground to become unloved by comparison. And when that happens, as West Ham are discovering, a club can look a very long way from home indeed.
The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium epitomises what a modern stadium should be like but Spurs have not produced the results this season to grace their surrounds
GLYN KIRK / AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
Old grounds have history and shared experiences. Friendly ghosts even in the shadows. New grounds need winning football. Without it, what have they got? This isn’t where four generations of your family stood, or where Wayne Rooney or Glenn Hoddle played a first game. There is nothing to cling to, in this new place. Think of Southampton leaving The Dell, even Colchester United departing Layer Road. It’s complex. Two of the three new grounds listed above are very popular. Hill Dickinson Stadium, where Everton now play, is held up as the epitome of what a modern football stadium should be, just as Tottenham’s was when it first opened. Yet Everton have won just four league games in 11 there, and were removed on penalties in the FA Cup third round by Sunderland. Tottenham have won two league games out of ten, and were knocked out of the Cup at home by Aston Villa.
Better times may lie ahead. The idea is that substantially improved income from increased capacity and hospitality facilities should help sustain a better team. Yet does is sustain a troubled one? Could the new place keep Everton up the way Goodison Park undoubtedly did? Anyone who was there for the 1-0 win over Chelsea on May 1, 2022, will know the strength of that home advantage in adversity. Maybe Hill Dickinson Stadium will one day feel the same. What is inarguable is that, after the euphoria of the opening game against Brighton & Hove Albion, Everton’s record home and away is close to indistinguishable. Their current home run is two wins in eight across all competitions.
And the club would be mortified that their new ground is even mentioned in the same breath as the London Stadium, a venue that, when times are bad for West Ham, is as helpful as an anchor tied to the foot of a drowning man. Unless the locals can get over the fact they no longer play at Upton Park, the club is doomed whether in the Premier League or the Championship, as increasingly seems inevitable. Yet when West Ham are winning, it’s fine. Not perfect because it’s a converted athletics stadium and sprawls when the best football grounds are tight. Yet every club planning a new build will look at the unexpectedly ruinous way this has worked out for West Ham and see a cautionary tale.
Take Tottenham. Who imagined their fans would feel uncomfortable inside the stadium that every first-time visitor thinks is the best in the land? Yet as results deteriorate what appeared to be a crown jewel became part of the problem. Lacking atmosphere, too many empty seats, high prices. Away fans go there and are wowed, in a way they are not at West Ham, but that isn’t helping home form. Tottenham and West Ham have won the same number of home games in the league this season: two.
Richarlison did not need a flare to ignite Goodison when scoring against Chelsea in a victory crucial to Premier League survival in 2022. Below, showing his frustration for Spurs last month during their fifth home league defeat of the season
AP PHOTO/JON SUPER
If results in the cups have been better, the quality of the opposition is undoubtedly a factor. West Ham defeated a very ordinary Queens Park Rangers side, in extra time, on Sunday, while Tottenham have overcome Doncaster Rovers and three teams struggling to make it out of the Champions League group stage, Copenhagen (24th of 36), Slavia Prague (33rd) and Villarreal (35th). Both clubs have won trophies since the move – the first in 17 years for Tottenham, and 43 for West Ham — but neither set of fans seem ready to give any credit to the new home. There will be a demonstration against the Tottenham board when the teams meet on Saturday, with West Ham supporters taking a day off from demonstrations of their own. Prime among a litany of complaints are stadium moves that were intended to transform those clubs.
From the start, there were complications around West Ham’s decision. When Nathan’s Pie and Eels, adjacent to Upton Park, closed not long after the move to Stratford it was as if West Ham’s owners had personally boarded up the place. The fact the local community could have eaten pie and mash on non-match days to keep it going never seemed to occur. Yet Everton’s move has unfortunately done for an even more iconic venue, The Winslow Hotel, directly opposite Goodison Park, is a red brick pub dating from 1886, even older than the stadium and now a blue and white Evertonian shrine. Dixie Dean used to drink there and when Everton legend Joe Royle took over as manager in 1994, he made good a promise to cross the road for a pint, after winning his first home game, a derby with Liverpool.
Nuno Espírito Santo watches West Ham finally overcome QPR in the FA Cup at the weekend while, below, empty seats and fan protests have become a hallmark of life at the London Stadium as evidenced in defeat at home to Spurs in September, below
GARETH FULLER/PA WIRE
The eruption of noise as he arrived could have been heard across the Mersey, let alone Stanley Park. Now the club has moved, however, and The Winslow is redundant. Dave Bond, the manager, tried running coaches to the new ground but stopped due to lack of demand. It closes its doors for good on January 24, a bit of Evertonian history gone. That’s the price of progress, sadly. But does it one day also become a stick with which to beat the owners if results are poor, like Nathan’s in Barking Road? In adversity, fans cling to the familiar, and gone.
Yet clubs want to move, or build, still. When Delia Smith chaired Norwich City, the local university delivered data that demonstrated the 27,150 capacity for Carrow Road was the right size for all the people wanting to watch her team. There really wasn’t some vast untapped pool of Norwich fans locked out every Saturday. A bigger ground, or a new stadium wasn’t necessary. Yet next season, under changed ownership, Norwich will build to improve “supporter experience” for the “long term future” causing 3,000 fans to be relocated.
And, of course, it can work. Arsenal are the likely champions this season and the Emirates Stadium is now their happy place. It would be the first title since leaving Highbury in 2006, however, and the last 20 years have not always been harmonious. The French may not be able to distinguish between house and home, but fans can. If you want one to become the other, it’s very simple: win football matches. Nothing else will do.
Guéhi a good fit for anyone … apart from Arsenal
Arsenal are the latest club to be linked with the Crystal Palace defender Marc Guéhi, particularly if he leaves on a free in the summer. Yet why would he go there, given the strength of the squad? Gabriel is arguably Arsenal’s most important player, with William Saliba not far behind and Jurrien Timber a hugely versatile replacement almost anywhere across the back line. Riccardo Calafiori can operate as a makeshift centre half, too, while Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapié are perfect understudies, being good enough to get into just about any rivals’ team. Hincapié is on loan from Bayer Leverkusen, but with an option to buy for £45million.
Guéhi gets a game anywhere except Arsenal. Manchester City and Liverpool need centre halves immediately, while Guéhi could be captain at Manchester United. Arsenal? Mikel Arteta has assembled the best group of players in the country. Eberechi Eze made the move from Crystal Palace last summer, has performed well and been involved in 24 matches across all competitions – including six substitute appearances — but last started a league game on December 13. Guéhi should go where he is truly needed.
Alonso the latest casualty of Real politics
Carlo Ancelotti’s greatest achievement was making one of the hardest jobs in club football look easy. Here’s Carlo raising an uncomplicated eyebrow on the touchline, unruffled; here he is wrangling superstars; here he is tiptoeing stealthily through the internal politics.
His successor, Xabi Alonso, lasted seven months and now we are all remembering what a basket case club Real Madrid can be. Politics in the boardroom, politics in the dressing-room, and an insatiable demand for success. Ancelotti did six years across two spells, won three Champions Leagues, La Liga twice, two Club World Cups, three Uefa Super Cups, two Copa del Reys, two Supercopas de España and the Fifa Intercontinental Cup. And his detractors thought all he did was go with the flow. As Alonso discovered, it’s a little more complicated than that.
Carrick’s chance to crack United code
The identity of Manchester United’s latest interim manager may not seem to matter at first; after all, there have been so many. Yet unless Michael Carrick has a real chance of impressing and landing the job full time, this truly is the most retrograde step. So Carrick matters. His appointment of Steve Holland as a coaching assistant matters, team selection matters, the performance against Manchester City on Saturday matters. It was not a mistake giving Ole Gunnar Solskjaer the job full time from interim, because his results demanded it. If Carrick repeats Solskjaer’s impact he should be given the same opportunity, too. Certainly, he shouldn’t just be pigeon-holed as a placeholder. Someone has to crack the code with Manchester United, just as Gareth Southgate so nearly did with England. And he was an interim, too, remember.