Italy football team

Albion Rovers – the only football team with two suffixes – could lose their iconic name if a consortium looking to take over succeed.

The group of investors has called on the club’s current owners to resign after their 120-year stay in the SPFL came to an end last week. Their relegation from the Scottish League Two means they’ll be playing in the Lowland League next season.

It comes 12 months after ‘Project Phoenix’ first tried to buy them last summer. They’ve now reignited their interest – and included in their plans is a rebrand to ‘Shamrock Rovers Coatbridge’.

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Explaining why they want to take the name of the most successful club in the Republic of Ireland, London-based potential investor Paul Reilly, who originally hailed from the town, told Lanarkshire Live Sport : “Coatbridge is very much, historically, a town of Irish culture and demographic.

“There is huge potential there. The reason Shamrock Rovers Coatbridge was picked is because there is still an element of ‘The Rovers’ there to acknowledge the club from the past.”

Would you mind if your club’s name was changed? Let us know in the comments section below

Reilly met with Rovers chairman Ian Benton and their board 12 months ago on behalf of a mix of UK, Irish and US investors and warned them they were heading for relegation if they didn’t accept their offer, which has now materialised.

He fears they’ll continue to decline if they don’t change their minds now. “This idea was rejected last year when it could have saved the club,” Reilly said.

“The club would not have been relegated if this proposal was implemented last summer. We did an analysis of the club’s demise over the past decades and we did a model based on maths which we were very confident in – and it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to work this out – that showed the club was going to be relegated.

“This was presented to the board, but the name change was the problem. We are still going ahead and pushing for this – and we want the current board to resign. The board has to resign because they are killing the club, there is no doubt about it.”

The consortium has proposed a new 10,000 seater multi-purpose entertainment arena to be built within five years of the rebrand. It would also be the home of a local Gaelic team and have coaching facilities for the community and schools.

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RESIDENTS living inside a major football ground say they can watch games from their attics – but life in the stadium has a downside.

The unique entrance to Championship side Luton Town FC’s Kenilworth Road ground has been cut into a road of terraced houses .

Visiting fans climb bright blue metal staircases over residents’ gardens to enter the away stand, while patios from adjacent homes back onto the stadium.

Mum-of-four Anu, 52, said: “My son’s bedroom in the attic enables him to see a bit of the ground so he can sometimes see the games.”

She added that families on the Luton street used to get complimentary passes to games – before the pandemic put an end to the free tickets.

Anu said: “We used to get a family ticket to go in the summer which was nice.

“We’d go and see a match against one of the smaller teams. It was good to get in the ground.

Neighbour LeeLee said that she loves the buzz of Luton Town’s match days.

She said: “It makes me feel alive. I love it.

“It keeps things interesting around here. I rarely have any problems with the fans.”

But Anu said life inside Kenilworth Road comes with a downside – claiming she’s fed up of hooligans chucking rubbish from the steps into her garden.

She said: “Last week my house was egged by fans, they leave cans and bottles in front of my house.

“They spray alcohol on to mine and my neighbour’s windows and drop litter from the stairs as they go into the stands.”

The Hatters are on the verge of returning to the top flight for the first time since 1992 , and the first time since the creation of the Premier League .

If successful, the club will be handed an estimated £10million bill to upgrade its long-standing ground.

SAD HATTERS

For locals who live on Oak Road, the thought of the team moving to a new ground throws up mixed feelings.

Many families on the street have grown up in the area and are lifelong fans of the club.

Joumna, 49, said: “The stadium is alright with me. I was born on this road and I’ll probably never leave.

“It was fine when I lived overlooking it. We never had any issues.”

Abdul Ali’s family home is metres away from the entrance and backs onto the ground.

“I’ve lived here my whole life,” he tells The Sun. “Until about seven years ago it was really easy to see into the stadium.

“We used to have footballs smashing our window every so often when they accidentally got kicked out when teams tried to score.

“It was kind of annoying at the time, it used to drive my dad mad.

“We complained and complained and the club finally put up netting and some corrugated iron to stop it.

“It means that my view of the pitch is gone unless I jump up and down on my bed. Then I can see a little bit of the grass, but not enough to watch the game.”

On match days, Abdul says there is always a sea of police on the street – which, he adds, comes with an unusual perk.

“I went out during Sunday’s game to get some food and then police escorted me back to my house,” he says.

“It’s kind of cool being escorted home.”

A local football cup final had to be abandoned after a man was stabbed during a mass brawl.

Newbury East were 3-0 up against Whitley Wood and on course to lift the Essex Alliance Division Three Cup on Thursday (May 25) evening when the incident occurred shortly after the 60th minute at Billericay Town’s AGP Arena.

According to the Southend Echo , the man received a non-life threatening stab wound to his leg and was subsequently taken to hospital. The league responded with a statement later that night.

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It read: “The league is aware of a serious incident which occurred during the Division Three Cup final on Thursday evening at Billericay Town FC.

“We are working closely with the clubs and authorities to ensure that swift action is taken to identify those involved and raise the appropriate sanctions.”

Chief inspector Dan McHugh, Basildon District Commander, said: “While incidents of this nature understandably cause a level of concern, the wider community in Billericay can be assured this was an isolated incident of disorder with no wider threat to the public.

“Recognising that concern law-abiding residents will rightly have, you will see an increased policing presence in and around Billericay this afternoon and into the evening.

“The team will continue to conduct high-visibility patrols, both to keep you safe and to offer a level of reassurance to the community.”

And an Essex Police spokesperson added: “We were contacted by our ambulance service colleagues shortly before 9.15pm on Thursday 25 May, reporting a disturbance at a football match at Billericay Town Football Club’s ground in Blunts Wall Road, Billericay.

“They reported a male had received a stab wound to his leg. His injury is non-life threatening, and he is receiving hospital treatment.

“Our investigation into this incident is progressing and we are pursuing a number of lines of inquiry. We need anyone with information or relevant footage to come forward. Please quote reference number 42/94160/23.”

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