EPL TALK: Stars, fans should treat each other fairly in Singapore

HARRY Kane probably wasn’t in the mood. His match had been cancelled. He arrived at a Singaporean hotel in the early hours, presumably fed up with the endless speculation over his future and keen for a little rest and privacy.

But he still waved.

After leaving behind a postponed game in Bangkok, Tottenham's players stepped off the bus this morning (24 July) to see a small but dedicated crowd of fans outside the Pan Pacific hotel, and Kane rewarded their patience with a wave. So did Son Heung-min.

It was a small gesture, a greeting with just the bare necessities perhaps, but a positive one to kick off the latest PR exercise to retain the hearts and minds of those in Singapore.

These pre-season English Premier League trips are forever destined to be damned if they do and damned if they don’t, an annual tightrope that must be walked to maintain an unusual, long-distance relationship. If the likes of Spurs and Liverpool do not come, they are accused of ignoring a fan base that arguably exceeds the one back in England (certainly in Liverpool’s case at least). But when they do come, they can’t possibly satisfy all the demands of selfie-seeking supporters (particularly those of the more entitled kind).

But players can smile and wave. Always smile and wave, boys, with the slightly cynical air of the penguins in the Madagascar movies, maybe, but any form of physical connection, no matter how small or fleeting, makes all the difference.

Son and Kane acknowledged the fans, along with a couple of other weary Tottenham colleagues, but no one stopped for selfies or autographs, choosing to sidestep that slippery slope. It’s understandable. Stop for one. Stop for all. The logistics are too messy. It’s easier to play the celebrity game. Smile and wave, but keep moving. Always keep moving.

Their apathy is certainly understandable. Having witnessed similar events outside Euro and World Cup hotels for 20 years, the repetition must be numbing. Another city. Another hotel. Another group holding jerseys and marker pens aloft in eager expectation. Another fan demanding something cheeky and unreasonable (and every gathering always includes that fan). It’s not a novelty act for anyone associated with Liverpool, Tottenham or Bayern Munich.

In 2005, I interviewed the actor Alessandro Nivola, who played the David Beckham-like megastar in the Goal! movie franchise. He offered fascinating insight into these pre-season tours. Whilst pretending to be a Real Madrid player, he joined the Galacticos on a pre-season Asian tour to get some realistic movie footage. In character, he had to express his indifference to the euphoria around him, ignore the screaming fans and nonchalantly walk past them in the airport arrival hall. To make his portrayal as an elite footballer realistic, he needed to give Real Madrid’s zealots the cold shoulder.

Nine years later, I watched the England squad emulate Nivola’s method acting at Brazil 2014, where they barely looked up from their phones to acknowledge those who’d waited hours to catch a glimpse of the Three Lions outside their Manaus hotel.

Football is no longer enough

Kane didn’t do that this morning. Nor did Son. They’re decent players in a more decent time for the English Premier League, at least in terms of seeing a global fanbase as something more than mobile ATMs (and with Coldplay and Taylor Swift jostling for the spotlight as Singapore positions itself as a premier entertainment venue, one might cynically argue that EPL clubs have no choice. Post-COVID, there’s plenty of competition for the entertainment dollar.)

The football is no longer enough because the football has never been enough, not in an aesthetic sense. Ever since Liverpool and Manchester United capitalised on their Asia-wide growth in 2001 and played friendlies in Singapore, there has been a subconscious deal of sorts between football clubs and their fans. Both accept that the matches are glorified training exercises, experimental affairs played at half pace as squads work towards full fitness. It’s a bit of a circus, yes, but at least put on a good one.

That includes meet-and-greets, grassroots sessions and Q-and-As with club legends, and access to areas not usually open to regular fans. Singapore may be one of the few football-loving nations that can sell 20,000 tickets to a Liverpool training session, but cannot fill a 5,000-seat stadium to watch a Singapore Premier League game – and that’s a whole different column – but at least satisfy such demands.

In fairness, Liverpool are very good at this. Their fan zones on Saturday, Sunday and next Wednesday are full-day affairs, encouraging large numbers to gather, even those without match tickets, to feel a part of the LFC community.

This stuff matters. Along the volatile fringes of social media, there is no shortage of entitled types, forever demanding more access, more selfies, more signed jerseys and more gratitude from their chosen clubs. Of course, this is part of a wider trend of a digital generation expecting much more from their icons, mistaking accessibility on Instagram for ownership. EPL players should all stop and wave, but they don’t have to take their fans to tea.

Hopefully, the Singapore Festival of Football can meet somewhere in the middle and live up to its rather lofty title. A festival is defined as a period of celebration and that’s a worthwhile aim for the planned events around the National Stadium. Beyond the gossip concerning Kane’s future and the interest in Liverpool’s new-look midfield, the football is less important than the show, which is a rare opportunity for a prestigious cast and a devoted audience to come together and appreciate how much they need each other.

A little melodramatic, perhaps, but the pandemic showed Tottenham, Liverpool, Leicester and Bayern Munich what their workplace looked like without fans: unsatisfying and empty. And football clubs were left poorer as a consequence, in every sense.

Whatever the quality of the playing spectacle, the Singapore Festival of Football needs to strengthen the ties that bind by being as inclusive as possible. Fans clearly want Tottenham and Liverpool to be here. It’s up to the clubs now to show that the feeling is mutual.

Neil Humphreys is an award-winning football writer and a best-selling author, who has covered the English Premier League since 2000 and has written 28 books.

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