England, predictably, crashed out of the World Cup this week in their trademark blaze of tactical insanity and, well, an inability to win which is entrenched in their DNA. But it's not all bad news for English football. In fact, I have some fantastic news: I've managed to procure an episode of Standing Room Only.
For those of you who don't know, Standing Room Only was football television for people who were interested in more than just the usual 90 minutes. Rather than focusing on the action on the pitch, Standing Room Only cast its gaze slightly to the side. There were no Goal of the Month features to be found here. Instead, it took a wider look at everything happening around the game, and it made sure it gave fans a voice.
Starting just before the Premier League launched, and helping to usher football's new age in, Standing Room Only tackled topics such as the madness of FA regulations, the intriguing rise of African football and the incredible revenues generated by replica kits. But it wasn't all serious. Keeping with the spirit of terrace fanzines - one of the clearest influences on the programme - there was also plenty of room for comedy. Newman and Baddiel contributed sketches early on and Alistair McGowan regularly popped up to imitate famous figures from the game.
For the fans, Supporterloo was probably the most notable feature, which literally saw fans packing themselves into a travelling toilet to give their views on the state of the beautiful game. It was an amazing programme, packed full of fascinating features every single week. It only ran for three years, a shockingly short lifespan when you consider how English football went supernova in the 1990s. Sadly, very little footage has made its way onto YouTube over the years.
But today I've uploaded an entire episode.
I recently mentioned Standing Room Only over on the Curious British Telly Substack and lamented the lack of available footage. Luckily, within a day of posting it, someone got in touch to tell me they had an episode on VHS. Within a few days, the tape was with me and converted to digital. So sit back, enjoy an episode, and take a trip back to a time when football television was sophisticated, funny and genuinely interested in the people watching it.
Big thanks to Tim for donating the tape. He previously donated a rather fantastic tape a few years ago too.
Marvellous! I shall watch it with great interest. I also recall three of the guys from Absolutely contributing at least one sketch about Scottish football (phoning a club to ask what time does the match start and being asked "what time can you make it?"). The makers of SRO may have been riding the wave generated by Danny Baker's '6-0-6' on Radio 5, which also started in 1991.
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