There is much debate at the moment, about the statue the powers-that-be want to stand outside the new Wembley Stadium. Such luminaries as Bobby Moore and Sir Stanley Matthews have been suggested as the icons to be honoured with a larger than life representation to greet the thousands of spectators it is hoped will throng to the new national football stadium.
Laudable as those giants of the game are I think they would shy away from such fuss, if they were able. Indeed Stan only agreed to the naming of a road to the Britannia Stadium, in his honour, if the prefix 'Sir' was not used and the entire football world knows of Bobby Moore's humility, but that is not the issue here. Bobby and Stan, and the thousands of other footballers who graced the hallowed turf, were merely members of the support cast to the symbol that was Wembley Stadium.
The edifice that should take pride of place at the 'new' stadium should represent what Wembley means to football and its history. It should be representative of an era when football was the people's game and a link to the modern industry that has supplanted those bygone days.
Indeed when it was first constructed, and for decades after, Wembley was usually given its accurate title of 'The Empire Stadium', for it was built at a time when there actually was an empire. Those days are long gone but should not be forgotten and what better way to celebrate what Wembley was, and should be to future generations; namely the dream destination of every football person. For players it was THE dream to play there and for supporters going 'up for t'cup' was the event of a lifetime.
But what monument could be symbolic of all that has passed before without placing any one immortal above all others who, despite the vast differences in playing ability, were unified by their Wembley fellowship? What can stand as a greeting to the fans, from the ordinary fan who travels the length and breadth of the land in support of his team, to the prawn sandwich munching corporate supporter, for whom much of 21st century Wembley seems dedicated.
The answer, in part, is staring us in the face, or, to be more accurate, is staring the powers-that-be in the face.
As costs spiralled from a reasonable £250 million to nearly three times that amount we were constantly told that the Twin Towers, THE symbol of THE symbol, could not be saved and could not be incorporated into the new stadium. Well, there is a way and it could be the most symbolic gesture of all to christen the new Wembley.
Grind down the concrete from the Twin Towers and cast a giant sculpture of Billy, The White Horse, and Constable G.A. Scorey, who helped control the crowd on the day of the first Wembley cup final in 1923, surrounded by representations of the many hundreds of well-behaved fans Billie, helped off the pitch to enable Bolton and West Ham to contest that first Wembley cup final.
That would be a fitting testimony to grace to new Wembley Stadium and if it was to be Billy and his policeman then it would be a representation above any parochial attachment that might result from the erection of a statue of a footballer with obvious club associations. A unifying icon, if you like, now that would be nice.
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Do you agree with Brian's 'twin towers meet Billy the horse' theory or do you reckon, like many, that the statue should be of a suitable footballing icon? Tony Cottee, for one, reckons it would be a 'national disgrace' if Sir Bobby Moore wasn't suitably honoured, whilst Sir Stan and many other great players are certainly deserving of consideration. But who do you think should be the subject of the statue outside the new Wembley? Write to smudger@givemefootball.com with your views.
