There was a time when fans could go to watch their clubs train, even at some of the biggest clubs in the country. Supporters could turn up and see players being put through their paces and afterwards have a little chat with them and perhaps get something signed.
Those days, at many Premier League clubs, are long gone, with security preventing anyone getting a glimpse and players driving straight out of complexes without stopping for a moment.
Ralf Rangnick has been speaking to Kicker about the state of football, and some of the chat revolved around comparisons between England and Germany and the experience of supporters, bringing Arsenal in on more than one occasion.
The Sport Director, who works with the Red Bull group, believes it’s a shame some fans of clubs like Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool (those were the ones he named, likely just plucking names from a long list) now struggle to afford tickets, despite the support being in their family for generations.
Asked if fan interaction is better in the Bundesliga than Premier League, Rangnick told a story about the Gunners’ training ground: “I’ll tell you a story. Before we built our training centre in Hoffenheim, I had very intensive contact with Arsene Wenger. He invited me to visit the new training centre of Arsenal on the outskirts. A hundred yards from the security gate, there was a large sign saying: ‘Please do not stop because of autograph hunters!’
“Imagine this in Germany, that one hundred metres before the start of a training centre, you ask your players with such a sign to continue. If players can’t even stop to sign autographs, what’s the signal?”
Of course, it’s by no means only Arsenal who instruct their players to drive on, and who tell supporters their heroes aren’t allowed to stop to give out autographs, but it’s still a shame the level of direct interaction is ever decreasing.
Clubs will point to some people collecting autographs solely to later sell, and this is a genuine issue, however, Rangnick believes it’s one of the negatives around the success of football in England.
