A Story of English Football in Seven Statues

A Story of English Football in Seven Statues Ffion Thomas International Football Institute, University of Central Lancashire Chris Stride University of Sheffield The Sporting Statues Project www.sportingstatues.com The Sporting Statues Project Why research sporting statues? Potentially rich narrative for sport and society: Statues tell us as much (more?) about the society that constructs them as about the subject depicted. Statues can carry multiple messages, offer multiple readings that may change over time, and can be about forgetting as well as remembering. Assumptions to challenge: Statues are ‘about commemorating the dead’ and ‘about celebrating great lives’. Statues are ‘historical’. The joy of collecting! Talk Outline A brief description of the UK’s football statuary Highlighting the typical and varying… motivations and facilitators for construction, impacts of motivation on design and subject selection, foregrounded narratives …of the genre through seven statues, whose subjects form a series of archetypes that trace a history of English football. The Sporting Statues Project Why research sporting statues? The first sustained integration of UK sport and sculpture, and of UK sport and public art. The first time that sport history is widely and proactively being taken beyond the confines of archival material and artefacts to be displayed in a physical form visible to the wider public. A substantial investment of public and private resources. A modern phenomenon that has mostly appeared since the mid-90s and become embedded in the sporting and cultural landscape without warning, fanfare, overarching coverage or scholarly investigation. The Sporting Statues Project Project goals and progress Documenting the statuary: www.sportingstatues.com Providing context for case studies, a resource for further research collaborations and a site for disseminating research. As of Sept 2013, UK sport, US baseball, world cricket completed. World football in progress, scheduled for 2014. Developing theory around its existence and form: Four papers published, assessing genre history, design, process, motivations, subject selection. Primarily centered on UK football statuary, the most numerous single-sport statuary outside of the US. The UK’s football statues deconstructed 63 figurative subject-specific statues in situ, featuring 58 different subjects. 9 more in progress. 3 stored or removed! Subject-specific statues in situ: 68% feature Players 26% Managers 6% Chairmen/Founders 6 further in situ statues of anonymous players or fans. Also club emblems, statuettes and busts. Sculptors and commissioners favour action designs (48%) over posed (30%) and triumph designs (22%). 1 PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com William McGregor The Founding Father The UK’s football statues deconstructed 23% statues sited in city locations, 77% at stadia Modern phenomenon; most rapid growth in stadia located statues: “McGregor’s missive was simple in content but immeasurable in significance… McGregor’s statue stands guard on the game outside Villa Park, clutching the letter that changed the world.” Henry Winter, The Daily Telegraph, 25th February 2013 Jackie Milburn William McGregor (1846-1911) The Founding Father Location: Aston Villa FC, Villa Park, Birmingham Unveiled: 28th November, 2009 Sculptor: Susan Holland Supporter activism and staking a claim for ‘owning’ history. “The trust was looking for a supporter-driven project, and as other trusts had done statues, I suggested one.” “Football on Tyneside was beset by hooligan problems on the terraces and vastly increased wage demands from players who performed poorly, the character and achievements of ‘Wor Jackie’ stood out as a reminder of better times… The Local Hero …Milburn's strong roots in the mining community, his modesty and decency, his friendliness and devotion to the area, combined to turn him into a much loved and honoured local figure.” Richard Holt, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Tony Barnes, Villa Trust Roy Sproson Jackie Milburn (1924-1988) The Local Hero Location: Ashington, Northumberland Unveiled: 5th October, 1995 Sculptor: Sir John Mills The Honest Pro "I have always loved the game and I have always loved the club. The satisfaction of playing the game I love for the club I love has always been enough for me.” Roy Sproson Instigated by local authority, funded by public money and appeal. A located hero bringing identity to a town that had lost its traditional industry. 2 PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com Bobby Moore The National Icon Roy Sproson (1930-1997) The Honest Pro Location: Port Vale FC, Vale Park, Stoke-on-Trent Unveiled: 17th November, 2012 Sculptor: Mike Talbot In the current era, when the term ‘one-club man’ is almost as outmoded as goalkeepers in cloth caps or cricketer-footballers, the length of Sproson’s service…would be unthinkable.” "Immaculate footballer. Imperial defender. Immortal hero of 1966. First Englishman to raise the World Cup aloft. Favourite son of London's East End. Finest legend of West Ham United. National Treasure. Master of Wembley. Lord of the game. Captain extraordinary. Gentleman of all time.” Inscription on the Bobby Moore statue Phil Shaw, Backpass Magazine, January 2008 Bobby Moore (1941-1993) Bill Shankly The Club-building Manager “Between his appointment as Liverpool manager in December 1959 and his retirement 15 years later, he transformed a second-rate club into the finest team of its generation, winning three First Division titles, two FA Cups, a Second Division Title and a Uefa Cup. He led Liverpool like a revolutionary leader, casting his personnel not just as footballers but soldiers to his cause, and became a folk hero to the fans.” The National Icon Location: Wembley Stadium, London Unveiled: 11th May, 2007 Sculptor: Philip Jackson Project organised and funded by football authorities, with a prestigious sculptor. Evoking nostalgia for a golden age, 1966 and all that… Attaching identity to the blank canvas of a new stadium. James Corbett, The Observer, October 2009 Bill Shankly (1913-1981) The Club-building Manager Location: Liverpool FC, Anfield, Liverpool Unveiled: 4th December, 1997 Sculptor: Tom Murphy Overt depiction of success. Importance of ‘flashbulb memory’ design in evoking nostalgia and telling associated stories. Commissioned and donated by sponsors Carlsberg. The United Trinity European Glory "My vivid memory is the courage they displayed at all times, always wanting to take a ball. It's the one quality a player must always have, taking the ball. These players would always do that. That's why they will always be remembered, for their daring and ability.” Sir Alex Ferguson 3 PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com ‘The United Trinity’ European Glory Location: Manchester United FC, Old Trafford, Manchester Unveiled: 29th May, 2008 Sculptor: Philip Jackson Creative reimagining of apparent flashbulb memory scene for purposes of convenience. Religious overtones of title. Offers focal point for mass BIRGing. Thierry Henry The Global Celebrity Footballer “If watching Henry play football is often an exercise in disbelief, then his good fortune off the pitch is no less a challenge to credibility. Lean, handsome, charismatic and inordinately gifted, he draws adoration from a fan base that is restricted to neither men nor sports fans. He is one of those rare individuals whose wealth and success no one begrudges. Indeed, his life appears so closely to resemble a capitalist fantasy that a Renault car commercial made a capitalist fantasy out of his life.” Andrew Anthony, The Observer, 3rd October 2004 Thierry Henry (1977-) The Global Celebrity Footballer Location: Arsenal FC, Emirates Stadium, London Unveiled: 9th December, 2011 Sculptor: MDM Ltd. Branding club through glamour. Component of ‘Arsenalisation’. Appeals to children and tourists, not just middle-aged fans. Appeals on different levels, to a hierarchy of fandom. A Story of English Football in Seven Statues The honouring of these individuals reflects the varied motivations of the artistic genre… Branding through nostalgia – reinforcing the club-fan bond by reawakening or stimulating positive memories. Branding through BIRGing. Proclaiming ownership of physical space, club history and the wider game. Proclaiming identity, pride and authenticity in new build stadia lacking focal points, in declining urban environments that have lost much of their distinctiveness and local traditions, in a globalised yet more homogenous game. Further Information and Contact Details Published Project Papers: Thomas, F.E. and Stride, C.B. 'The Thierry Henry statue: A Hollow Icon?' Leisure Studies (in press). Stride, C.B., Wilson, J.P. and Thomas, F.E. 'From pitch to plinth: documenting the UK’s football statuary'. Sculpture Journal (2013). Stride, C.B., Wilson, J.P. and Thomas, F.E. 'Honouring heroes by branding in bronze: theorising the UK’s football statuary'. Sport In Society (2013). Stride, C.B., Thomas, F.E., Wilson, J.P. and Pahigian, J. 'Modeling Stadium Statue Subject Choice in US Baseball and English Soccer'. Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports (2012). Contact Details: [email protected] www.sportingstatues.com 4 PDF created with pdfFactory Pro trial version www.pdffactory.com