Talk:Terrace (stadium)

Latest comment: 3 years ago by 70.69.248.63 in topic Spion Kop

Spion Kop edit

Re "Arsenal F.C. were the first to adopt such a name..." This statement is not entirely correct. Woolwich Arsenal's Manor Ground did not have a terrace named after Spion Kop, the hill near Ladysmith, in South Africa. Rather, the link was first made by a local reporter, who merely likened a refurbished terrace at the ground to the Battle of Spion Kop (the comparison was made because he could see the outline of fans standing on top of the terrace, like soldiers raising their heads into the line of fire). I think it was Phil Soar in Official Centenary History of Arsenal, 1886-1986 who claimed, therefore, that Arsenal were the first soccer club to adopt the name, but the actual documentary record does not support such a contention. Historians speculate that it became a nickname, because similar references soon began appearing elsewhere. smb (talk) 21:31, 19 January 2008 (UTC)Reply

This section is problematic in general. There is no reason to privilege Liverpool Football Club as some kind of default. And it wasn't only local rivals Everton who would never use the term "Kop." Most clubs with famous sections or ends of their grounds, from the Shed End at Chelsea to the Stretford End at Manchester United, never referred to their ends as Kops. This section makes it appear that Merseyside clubs are somehow unique, and that's manifestly not the case. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.69.248.63 (talk) 22:36, 3 December 2020 (UTC)Reply