A Fan’s Tribute to Football Terraces: A Visually Impaired Journalist Reflects on Their Decline

Gornal Athletic, a West Midlands club, announced in March their relocation to new facilities, departing from the extensive, steep terrace at Garden Walk Stadium, which had served as their home for over 70 years. Rob Crossan, a travel journalist with partial sight, has journeyed across the UK, documenting traditional football terraces through photography. He explained to BBC Sport how, as a visually impaired supporter, these terraces offer a unique way to engage with the sport by enabling him to move freely to track the game’s progress. Traditional terracing was progressively removed from Premier League stadiums starting in 1994, a measure recommended by the Taylor Report after the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, which resulted in the deaths of 97 fans due to a crush. In 2022, specific safe-standing zones were implemented in certain Premier League and Championship venues. Nevertheless, conventional terraces persist at numerous smaller football grounds. Rob Crossan, speaking to Ciaran Varley, stated, “I was born with ocular albinism and nystagmus which makes me almost completely blind in my left eye and severely visually impaired in my right eye. Nystagmus worsens with age. I can’t drive a car and I struggle to see anything that’s more than a couple of feet away with any real clarity.” He recounted that when he began attending Wrexham matches in 1991, a terraced paddock existed beneath the main stand. “My friends and I used to follow the linesman and run up and down the terrace while the game was played so that I could keep up with the action and see what was going on.” He added, “Nowadays, I hate using seats and safe standing as it means I can’t move at all to follow the action. But, in the upper echelons of the game, I have no choice.” Ocular albinism and nystagmus – NHS, external Supporters of Stirling Albion congregate on a terrace devoid of crush barriers at Alloa Athletic’s Recreation Park. Modern football stadiums are characterized by a rigid stratification into different tiers, often dictated by financial means. Terracing, in this context, serves as a significant equalizer. Traditional terraces are likened to comfortable old pubs, where “everyone is welcome, there’s no pretence and, if you don’t like the person who’s parked themselves near you, then you can simply move and go wherever you please.” The remaining terraces are considered vital physical vestiges of an era when football was accessible to all. The extensive, pitch-long North Terrace at Ayr United’s Somerset Park, depicted in 2021, was superseded by an all-seater stand in 2024. Crossan, a professional travel journalist, believes his passion for exploration originated from attending Wrexham’s away matches during the 1990s. He noted that as a teenager, “even places like Rochdale and Hull seemed exciting to me and my friends.” Having resided in London for the last 25 years, he began frequenting local, smaller clubs with companions who, like him, were content to watch any team, “from Barnet to Chesham United to Enfield Town.” Attending these venues led him to recognize the deterioration of his eyesight. His enjoyment shifted from closely observing the game on the pitch to immersing himself in the ambiance and appreciating the community aspect inherent in these smaller clubs and their grounds. Supporters congregate and enjoy the sunlight at Top Field, the home ground of Hitchin Town. Crossan described himself as “the kind of football fan who will watch any team, anywhere, any time.” He expressed a fondness for coastal locations, citing Arbroath as “fantastic.” He noted that “At high tide, the North Sea has been known to give spectators a thorough soaking.” He recalled an incident at Ayr United where “a seagull executing a perfect dive bomb on a man’s tray of chips on a terrace; the bird got ketchup on its feathers and the poor spectator was left with nothing!” He also recounted standing on a terrace at Workington during a goalless draw when “the man next to me got out some knitting halfway through.” The man claimed he was “making a jumper, but it looked more like a tabard for a dog to me.” The curving, empty sections of a deserted terrace at Arbroath’s Gayfield Park during a Scottish League Cup fixture against Alloa Athletic in 2019. Crossan stated that “The Hillsborough tragedy occurred when I was 10 years old and I have very clear memories of the aftermath.” He mentioned that “One of my closest friends, Mikey, is a Hillsborough survivor.” He acknowledged, “There’s no possibility whatsoever of the huge terraces of the 1970s making any kind of a comeback.” However, he believes that “in smaller grounds, if managed properly, the old fashioned terrace is still safe and extant, although becoming increasingly rare.”