The Lower Block Documents Football Fans in the Trenches
Rangers 55, Kenny Gordon. 2021
Lower Block is lifestyle brand with a clear focus on the visual elements that make up part of the rich fabric of football subculture. Aesthetics are vital; style, design, architecture and great photography are all prominent aspects of football culture and what Lower Block stands for.
Lower Block document football culture, lifestyle and community from around the world. It’s about authenticity. Real people and real passion. Through their products, online features and articles, they aim to bring to life the lifestyle of a cultured football fan. Identity is so important, both individually and collectively. All of their products are unique, small run, independently produced, and considered. Founded in 2021, the name, Lower Block, derives from where working class football supporters traditionally stood – in a block in the lower tier behind one of the goals.
I own two major publications from The Lower Block that have heavily influenced this project.
Rangers 55 - Kenny Gordon
The championship was won and the celebrations could begin. Ranger fans were in raptures and Kenny Gordon’s pictures of the joyous scenes outside Ibrox that May Day in 2021 capture not just party time, but the release of all the pent up emotions that accompanied the stifling restrictions of COVID. This was the record breaking 55th title after all and there was no denying those fans their moment of glorious triumph.
The season had played out in front of empty stadiums, such was the effect of the coronavirus blanket ban on socialising. But come the final whistle at the end of a last day 4-0 win over Aberdeen and the streets around Ibrox were awash with colour as the fans came en masse to soak up all the euphoria that accompanied not just nailing a 55th Championship, but also stopping Celtic winning 10 in a row. Such was Rangers’ dominance that season, the title had already been wrapped up 2 months earlier. That Celtic finished runners up just added to the feel good factor, and Gordon was in the thick of it, describing it as a “special day.”
The COVID pandemic had stopped the previous season short, awarding Celtic title number 9 before the season had ended. The scene was set, social media fired up the fans and the games began. Rangers were ruthless, relentless, mentally strong and explosive. And Celtic imploded. Rangers clinched the title on 7th March 2021, going through the league campaign undefeated, conceding only 13 goals in 38 matches.
During the season Celtic fans turned against their team with protests outside their ground, once throwing a crash barrier as angry scenes followed a run of defeats. The outline of that barrier mid air resembled a shark, and so began a novel way for Rangers fans to revel in their greatest rivals’ despair, taunting them with inflatable sharks whenever the opportunity arose, including during the 55th title celebrations.
“A generation looking back at these photos might wonder why inflatable sharks were present. Fans look for anything to get one up on their rivals and will take any little glimmer of joy on any misfortune.
We could’ve be grudged these moments of emotion. Everything from relief, pride to elation. We had been through a lot of pain and this was the moment we had waited for. It was 10 years almost to the day that Rangers had last won a major trophy.
I remember looking to the sky when the final whistle went as I stood outside Ibrox with thousands of fans singing and cheering as fireworks went off and thought of my dad who had passed away some years previously, thinking he would hopefully be looking down on me, my family and the Rangers family with a smile.
The 20/21 season was the biggest season in my life time. There was the added spice with Celtic going for a record 10 league titles in a row. Whoever won this title it was going to be historic. As a Rangers fan we were exposed to the Celtic song ‘Here We Go, 10 In A Row’ every weekend for the last 10 years and social media platforms only increased the tension.”
No One Likes Us - Jérôme Favre
The reputation of Millwall’s followers is among the worst in the English Football League, but the Lions’ embittered fans are adamant the bad press is not all justified. ‘No One Likes Us But We Don’t Care’ their supporters sing, but one man at least, photographer Jérôme Favre, cared enough to document life among those infamous fans. After finding himself drawn towards life at The Den, Favre followed the Lions from 2019 through to the end of the 21/22 season as the club chased promotion to the Premier League. Originally from Lens in Northern France, Favre moved to New Cross in South London and immediately identified with his local team.
“I was fascinated by the fact that Millwall was, and still is, a working-class club and a tight-knit community, which is a rare thing in football today. Millwall also has a terrible reputation - I was curious to cast an honest look at this football community.”
He wanted to follow a working class club, as he did from his childhood back home, and felt Millwall fitted the bill, describing top flight football in general as ‘gentrifying’. Favre was after something that felt cultural, working class, and traditional in its roots. He was also drawn towards the club’s supporters’ bad reputation and his pictures are the result of a fresh and honest look at their fans as he re-evaluates their position in contemporary football culture.
Football clubs and communities have always gone hand in hand. Millwall’s original fans came from a canning factory on the Isle of Dogs. Founded in 1885, the club was originally named Millwall Rovers by factory workers in the East End of London - an area associated with Millwall’s fierce rivals, West Ham United. In 1910 the club played their last game in E14 before moving south of the River Thames to The Old Den in New Cross. In 1993 The Lions finally moved to their current home - The Den in SE16.
