The thread on the Hillsborough disaster got me thinking about the perception of English football then and now. In the 80s, English football had a very poor perception internationally, with hooliganism the main image of English football. Yet today, the Premier League is the world’s most high profile league and is viewed as a very classy operation. So why did English football decline so much in the 80s? Why did it take so long for reforms to happen? Was it either in England or internationally cool to follow football? And why has the game had such a big comeback?
If we’re talking about perception, the fact that there’s no longer a government hell bent on demonising football fans helps. That fact that there’s a lot of money to be made now.
If we’re talking about on the pitch, then the England team are no better than they were then compared to other teams, Premiership teams have won 3(?) European cups in the last decade, compared to seven in the decade before the post-Heysel ban. Don’t seem that good, do it?