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Across Steps 3 to 6, the biscuit tin with a slit in the lid is quietly being retired in favour of a card reader on a clamp. It's faster, it's tidier, and for a chunk of the Saturday crowd it's a closed door. We spent a month at the front gates finding out who actually gets left outside.
Four months after the tournament packed up, the back rooms that briefly became the centre of the world are back to quiz nights and christening buffets. We went looking for the people who stayed — and for the landlords still paying off the projector.
Saturday lunchtime kick-offs are sold as a TV convenience, but they are quietly stripping the ritual out of going to the football. From 6am coaches to pubs that never get to open, the 12:30 slot is costing fans far more than a lie-in.
Every terrace anthem starts with three mates, a clap and a rain-soaked Tuesday. By the time the big clubs and the telly have had their way, it is a ringtone. A look at how chants are born, borrowed and bludgeoned to death — plus the songs fans want back and the ones we should retire.
Forget the corporate concourse. The real culinary action in British football is a hatch behind a stand, a hand-written price list and a volunteer with a tea urn. We ranked ten non-league matchday offerings on price, queue speed, terrace practicality and pure pie integrity — and we want your nominations.