Football tributes

On my previous post, I considered football statues.  I think they are best left until after the player or manager has passed on.  This normally allows a significant number of years reflection to judge their contribution to the game or their club, whereas an immediate tribute can seem hasty in later years - In cricket for example, the England Ashes winning team from Summer 2005 all received MBEs in the 2006 New Year's Honours, but then went on to lose the next Ashes series 5-0 in Australia.

 
So what else is available?

Retiring the shirt number

Long established in American sports, where a baseball team will have squad numbers up to the 70s and 80s.  In football, this started off with genuine legends such as Pele and Bobby Moore - however now it seems that clubs may also retire a shirt following a premature death such as for Adam Stansfield at Exeter, and Dale Roberts at Rushden & Diamonds. 

As sad as a footballing death is, the club endures, and there is a sense of history when for instance the Manchester United number 7 shirt has been worn by George Best, Eric Cantona, David Beckham, and Cristiano Ronaldo.  Similarly, a centre forward will want to be number 9, and there is a certain pride in being allocated that number. 

The 12^th Man concept also sees some clubs retire that number, with the fans being the notional 12^th man in the team. 

Professional football will never go back to a simple 1-11 for each game, but when players start picking their own numbers it seems a bit too much: Vitor Baia with 99 at Porto; Bixente Lizarazu with 69; and David Beckham picking 23 when he was at Real Madrid, supposedly after Michael Jordan’s basketball number, as club captain Raul was the number 7 (Beckham’s number at Manchester United). 

Naming a stand?  

Sir Alex Ferguson now has a stand named after him at Old Trafford, well deserved after 25 years and numerous trophies and titles, despite still being manager.  Unsurprisingly Manchester City didn't follow their supporter's vote to name one end after legend Colin Bell.  Chelsea have the Matthew Harding Stand, named after their early 90's chairman who died in a helicopter crash.  More recently, Crawley Town also renamed their South Terrace after recently deceased club director, part owner and lifelong fan Bruce Winfield, who just missed seeing their promotion to the football league. 

Stands were traditionally named either after the road they backed onto (London Road, Cuckoo Lane), or geographically (North, South, East, West).  In more modern times, stands are available for sponsorship, such as the Manor Hospital stand, or the Oxford Mail stand.  This does mean that once the sponsorship deal is finished, the naming rights can be sold off again. 

It seems though that once a stand is named after a person, it can’t be un-named, and so endures until a ground is redeveloped or the club moves.  West Ham have the Trevor Brooking stand for instance, but if and when they move to the Olympic Stadium, commercial sponsorship will probably take over. 

What else?

A popular option seems to be naming executive boxes or suites after players;  

Newcastle have Shearer’s bar;  

Wembley has the Bobby Moore Club for Club Wembley ticket holders (which has the Bobby Moore Restaurant and Bobby Moore Room).  

These allow a club to recognise individual players, coaches, or managers fairly early after their retirement, and with executive boxes several can be named, assuming of course their are sufficent boxes.  Also, a restaurant or bar can be refurbished and renamed if necessary, rather than the permanency of a stand name.