Soccer News Soccer Match Reports, Football News
A regular feature of the YouTube show “Stick to Football” is the preamble before the official recording starts. Here’s a brief excerpt of the 15th February edition of the show involving Gary Neville and Roy Keane—
Neville: “Why have the Liverpool players that were in that ‘Spice Boys’ team not done a Spice Boys documentary?”
Keane: “I think you’re being a bit harsh on them…I think it’s unfair, that. I really do.”
Neville and Keane were referring to the Liverpool men’s team of 1994-1998. A squad with some of the most exciting young English players of their time, who failed to win anything beyond the 1995 League Cup, and are best remembered for their pre-match sartorial choices before the 1996 FA Cup Final; adorned in cream Armani suits. They produced an insipid display, losing a turgid game 1-0 to Manchester United, and were given the derisive “Spice Boys” moniker as a result.
Artwork by Anita Sambol Baniček
One can understand Keane’s aversion. Such a documentary could easily turn out to be a gratuitous and cruel recounting; pointing and laughing at an era of underachievement. Comedic viewing for Manchester United and Everton fans. But a documentary on this era of Liverpool also has huge potential to be something more. Because that team made its name during a huge inflection point in English football, reflecting changes in British society.
A process which began at the 1990 men’s World Cup gathered pace with the 1992 advent of the Premier League, and reached its cultural zenith with the England men’s team at Euro ’96 — football had morphed from a “slum sport played in slum stadiums” to a significant U.K. pop cultural signpost. Speaking about this period, Arsene Wenger said, “From [19]97 onwards, England became more open to the rest of the world. London became very cosmopolitan. It coincided with the start of an evolution in the English game.”
Increased money and profile came into the sport, making its players…
Source link : https://www.footballparadise.com/why-a-documentary-about-the-liverpool-spice-boys-is-a-good-idea/
Author : Shane Thomas
Publish date : 2024-04-18 14:00:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
