The cabin looks pretty neat. The floor has been swept, the light wood of the benches shines, the gray lockers are illuminated. Recently there is electricity again. If there was a game going on at Gigg Lane Stadium this weekend, the home team would feel comfortable moving. But there is no game, of course not. There hasn’t been a game here for two and a half years.
During this time, the stadium was used by young burglars who enjoyed vandalism instead of footballers. In the press room on the first floor, chairs and tables have been knocked over, broken glass from smashed picture frames lies on the dark gray carpet. The room for the VIPs is also in a sad state. Some of the cushions on the brown leather sofas have been torn out, and the walls have been decorated with black felt-tip pen. You can see, among other things: penises, a swastika, the lettering „Hitler“. „Sorry,” says Thomas Pickup. „There is still a lot to do.”
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A priceless climb
Pickup is actually a lawyer, but he’s also one of the people working to get football back to Gigg Lane in Bury, a town of around 80,000 people just barely on Manchester’s tram network. Neville brothers Gary and Phil are from Bury, England international Kieran Trippier and Tony Blair’s wife. The local club, Bury FC, has been a focal point of town life since 1885. Many say: the center. They won twice „Shakers’ FA Cup, early last century. The last significant success was promotion to the third division, League One, in spring 2019. It was a success that the club could not actually afford. FC Bury was in debt, players and employees were not paid for months.
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That is why the ascent was followed by the end. After several postponements, grace periods and last chances, the EFL League Association excluded the club from playing. In the parking lot in front of the stadium, men with furniture movers could be seen crying that afternoon in late summer 2019 when the decision was made. Supporters felt betrayed: by a club owner who let his property go to waste and by the EFL who didn’t do anything about it. The demise of Bury FC has come to symbolize how in English football the rich get richer while small clubs with great traditions are wiped out. England football felt ashamed of itself, at least a little bit.
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– Lawyer and fan with a big mission: Thomas Pickup in his stadium – Ross Cooke – According to his own estimate, which is of course exaggerated, Thomas Pickup has seen around 100,000 games at Gigg Lane. He did not want to accept the end of the club. He did what you do in these times when you want to get something going – he founded a Whatsapp group. It had a maximum of ten members. Former officials of FC Bury, representatives of the fan association, people who believed that the club could still be saved. Their plan: If they were able to buy the stadium, it might also be possible for Bury FC to play football there again at some point. – They have implemented the first part of the plan, they have just taken over the stadium from the insolvency administrators. This was also possible because the British government provided one million pounds. Another generous grant came from a businessman with the beautiful name of Peter Alexander. He lives in California but is from Bury and has been a Bury fan since he became interested in football. He sees himself as a benefactor, not an investor. Reportedly the only return he expects for his money is Bury FC returning to Gigg Lane. Thomas Pickup and his colleagues from the Whatsapp group already have the keys to the stadium. – With the help of volunteers, they are working to restore it to make the second part of the plan a reality. FC Bury are to play in their old homeland again from next season, officially in one of the lower leagues if the English association, the FA, agrees. But the road to get there is long. Thomas pickup says: „The hard part is only now. But we accept the challenge. ”Because he and his people are not the only group that manages the club’s estate. There’s a second one, and it’s already further. For example, not unimportant for a football club, it has a team that takes part in the game. And even successfully. – –
A WhatsApp group and a benefactor
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