An interview with Martin Tideswell
We have had a series of interviews with leading fans in Stoke-on-Trent about England in Euro 2012 and the current situation for clubs in England outside The Premier League. It has all been translated to Swedish, but since we know we have readers who don’t speak Swedish, we will now publish all the original interviews in English. The last interview in our series was with journalist and columnist Martin Tideswall. The interviews were made in April.
Q: How do you see on the economic problems of many football clubs today in the lower divisions ? What would be your solution in helping clubs to avoid financial problems (that is clubs outside The Premier league) ? Can football clubs in the future only survive with a wealthy owner or in a affluent area ?
A: In England something like 92 per cent of all football money is in the Premier League. Of the remaining eight percent, about 80 per cent of that goes to Championship clubs. Leagues One and Two are given a very small amount. If we want to help and protect small, lower-league clubs and nurture English talent then the top flight clubs must give more to the lower league clubs.
Q: AFC Wimbledon are supposed to be a supporter owned club. How come they succeded in rising through the football ladder, whereas Port Vale failed ? Is a membership owned club doomed to fail in England. Is there a too strong culture of privately owned clubs in England (FC Barcelona is run by it's members = one member = one vote and they are quite a good team). Can members run club survive and prosper ?
A: Port Vale didn’t succeed as a fan run club because a small group of business people began putting themselves before the interests of the club. They alienated the fan base and forgot what it was like to be a supporter. I don’t think that fan-run clubs are a good idea.
Q: Any differences or similarities between the two times that Vale went into administration ? Do you think the club will be better off after the administration this time ?
A: There are similarities. The difference this time is that there is no appetite for a fan-run consortium. I am optimistic that, if the right owner comes in, supporters will back him/her and the supporters will return and attendances will grow.
Q: Is it nice to live in a city of two football league clubs ? Is there correlation between the success of Stoke City in recent years and Vales economic problems ? Is the city big enough for two successful league clubs ? Is there strong competition between the two clubs in getting sponsors etc ?
A: I think there is room for two successful clubs in Stoke-on-Trent. Unfortunately, Stoke City’s success has coincided with a terrible period for Port Vale and I believe Vale has lost a generation of young fans to Stoke City. Stoke City are so far ahead of Port Vale now that we are not even noticeable. Their sponsorship deals are huge, multi-million pound contracts. Ours are not. Stoke City are very fortunate to have an owner as wealthy and determined as Peter Coates who does not have a huge ego and who has been prepared to finance their success. Men like Mr Coates are very rare.
Q: With the introduction of Premier League 20 years ago the big teams has been the same for almost the entire period. In the 70's and 80's there quite of number of teams who could do well in the first division team besides Liverpool. Besides that, have the introduction of the Premier League been worse or better then you expected ?
A: The Premier League is a curse. I pay no attention to it and never have. The English national team has suffered as a result and players now care more about their clubs than their country. The Premier League has too much power, influence and money and I am bored of the hype.
Q: Do former Premiership players too easily get the chance to manage a team without any previous managerial experience, especially in the the top divisions ? While on the other hand successful managers who are on a small budget in a small club (like John Coleman in Accrington) never get the chance in the top division !?
A: I think good managers at any level have the chance to progress. If you are a big name in the Premier League then perhaps it opens a few doors but the vast majority of former professionals don’t go into coaching.
Q: Lee Sinnott had playing experience from The League, but only from non-league football in managerial terms when he came to Port Vale. People complained that he had no experience from the league professional football and he shouldn't have been given the job at Vale because of that. Was it right to appoint him at the time ?Are there talented managers that are stuck in non-league because people think experience is the most important thing when it comes to being a league manager !?
A: At the time I thought the Sinnott appointment was a gamble but worth a shot. It became very apparent, very quickly that he was out of this depth.
Q: What is your view of Englands chances in Euro 2012 ? Can they reach the final ?
A: Yes. If they pick young, hungry players.
Q: Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello were quite sucessfull managers. Is the too much expectations on England in the Euro 2012 Why have English managers failed in the past ? Should more players/managers try to get experience abroad as it would be very useful for the national team ?
A: It isn’t the managers who have been poor. It is the fault of the players. No passion. No commitment. Below par performances. Very embarrassing. We haven’t played well since the era of Alan Shearer.
Q: Would an Englishmen with the same background as André Villas-Boas (former Chelsea) get a managerial job in The Football League. He stopped playing early and instead focused on a managerial career. In Sweden we got quite a number of managers in the top flight who stopped playing in the early 20's and at a not very high level. Would an Englishmen with the same background (as AVB) like that get a chance to be a manager in England before they were 40 ? Sven Goran Eriksson only played amateur football, too.
A: I don’t think you have to be a successful player to be a good manager.
Q: Have you watched the national team play many times ?
A: I’ve seen England once. They beat Northern Ireland 5 – 1 at Old Trafford.
Q: What will be the result in Euro 2012 England-Sweden ?
A: England 2 – Sweden 1
Q: Best Port Vale game you have ever seen ?
A: The FA Cup victory over Everton or the FA Cup victory over Stoke City. Great memories.
Q: Your favorite Port Vale player ?
A: Robbie Earle.
Q: Your favorite foreign Vale player ?
A: Robin van der Laan was a friend of mine.
Q: Ever been to Scandinavia ?
A: I went on a cruise through the fjords about 20 years ago. It was spectacular!
