File: BMD Jason Pateman.mp3 Duration: 0:38:28 Date: 10/08/2016 Typist: 756 START AUDIO Jason Pateman: I'm Jason Pateman. I'm 41 years old and I'm here to share my memories of Stevenage Football Club. Interviewer: Okay. So, Jason, how long have you been connected to Stevenage? Jason Pateman: I was born and bred in Stevenage. I was born in 1970. I haven't managed to escape yet. (Laughter) But yes, born and bred in Stevenage. Interviewer: Right. When did you first come to a game? Jason Pateman: My first game was the first game back here at what is now the Lamex Stadium but was Broadhall Way then, in 1980. Interviewer: In 1980, right. So how old would you have been then? Jason Pateman: I was 10. 1 Interviewer: Ten, right. Who brought you here? Jason Pateman: My dad. Interviewer: Yes? Great. Was he a big fan as well? Jason Pateman: No. I played football as a junior and often played games at Shephalbury Park and on the way home- The stadium was unused and you could see, and I remember asking my dad one day on the journey back, “Why don't they play football there?” He went through the story of the landlord who was in dispute with the council and he dug the pitch up, blah de blah de blah. Then one day- I didn't even know the stadium had opened, to be fair, and he said, “Do you want to go and see the football game? It's the first game at the stadium.” So I said yes, and hooked ever since. Interviewer: Okay. Tell me about that first game. Jason Pateman: The first game, it was against a David Moss 11. David Moss used to play for Luton Town and he [brought the side 0:01:23] to play against Stevenage. That was the first game. Totally different to how the stadium is now. Interviewer: Yes? Tell me about it. 2 Jason Pateman: The main stand which we're sitting in now was not the same size, not the same quality as it is now. It was just basically a concrete slab with slats across the concrete steps as seats. The East Terrace was a tin shack, that was how I can describe it. It was totally different. But I was hooked, as soon as I saw the first game. It was the first game I've been to where there was a crowd and I was totally hooked. Interviewer: What do you remember about the crowd? Jason Pateman: Just the noise. As a 10 year old... There were a lot of kids there so it was fairly noisy. I hadn't experienced that before as a child. Interviewer: I'm thinking that you hear quite a lot of things when you're in a crowd that you probably wouldn't normally hear as a 10 year old. Jason Pateman: I couldn't honestly say yes or no to that, recalling that at that time. I couldn't recall. I do remember that the programme wasn't a programme as such, it was an A4 sheet of paper with the team names on the back and some spiel at the front and that's all I remember. Interviewer: So you saw the first game. Who won, by the way? Do you remember? 3 Jason Pateman: I know David Moss' team won. I think it was 3-2. 3-2 sticks in my head for some bizarre reason. Interviewer: So it sounds like it was a decent game then. Jason Pateman: It was. It was fun. It was fun to be at. I remember exactly where I was sitting in the stand. It was the top left-hand corner right against the wall. So I knew where I was as well. Interviewer: Excellent. Did you- straight away you wanted to come back? Or how did that go? Jason Pateman: No, it was probably a couple of years later when I was maybe 12 or 13. I used to go to [Alleyne's 0:03:13] school in the Old Town and a couple of friends were interested in coming down here, so we used to meet up at Alleyne's. We all lived in different areas, we used to meet up at Alleyne's and walk through to the ground. Interviewer: Did you come on your own or was one of your parents with you? Jason Pateman: No, we were of an age where we felt we were okay. There was a group of us, there were two or three of us, so we felt pretty safe. Interviewer: Do you remember how much you had to pay to get in then? 4 Jason Pateman: It wasn't much. It was a couple of quid, if that. It wasn't a great deal, to be fair. Interviewer: So you could get it out of your pocket [on the way 0:03:45]? Jason Pateman: Absolutely, yes. It wasn't an issue. Interviewer: Great. And then from then on, you've just been coming all the time or..? Jason Pateman: Yes. There was a period, maybe late '80s to early '90s, maybe '89 to '92, where I played football and I played on Saturdays. It was the only time that I [played ___ 0:04:04] I couldn't come to the Saturday games. But if I could, I would get to the Monday night games, because they used to play on a Monday night rather than a Tuesday night as they do now. Yes, if I could I'd get here. But there was a period where I was playing football by myself and I couldn't get to the home games on a Saturday. Then I stopped playing football on a Saturday and just concentrated on Sunday, so I became more regular, became a season ticket holder, went home and away. But yes, saw some good games and good seasons. From maybe '82, '83, up until '89, I was a regular, every home game at least, as a teenager. 5 Interviewer: So '82 to '89 is the time that they're in the Isthmian? Jason Pateman: Isthmian league and then to north of Diadora, I think it was then. But certainly a lot of changes in the ground. I remember where the old changing room used to be and the old, what is now the Broadhall Suite was over where the toilets are by the East Terrace now. Interviewer: Right. So what was the ground like in the '80s? Jason Pateman: You had the main stand which was, as I described previously, it wasn't that big. You had your tin shack across the road. You had, sort of, I wouldn't call it a stand behind the goal at the north end, but there was standing area, concrete standing area. Where the away end is now, it was a big grass bank and we used to like standing up on the big grass bank. Me and my friends used to like standing up on the big grass bank, especially at night for an evening game. It was absolutely brilliant. That was our view of choice. Interviewer: Right. (Laughter) I would imagine that's going to be quite a good atmosphere there? Jason Pateman: It was. Some days were absolutely- I mean, the crowds weren't enormous, not at that level, but yes, I can still remember standing on the grass bank with the floodlights for an evening game. It's something that is just magical, to be fair. 6 Interviewer: You're obviously really interested in football. Were you never tempted to go and see football at a higher level? Jason Pateman: I suppose if I hadn't have gone to the first game here, if my dad had taken me to, I don't know, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, whoever, then maybe so. But because it was the first game that I'd ever been to a proper football ground as such, no. I was hooked here. I did support Liverpool as a kid, as everybody did at that age, but I wasn't tempted to go and see Premier teams or first division or lower league. I was absolutely hooked as soon as I came here. Interviewer: Okay. I've heard that the pitch was not that great [Crosstalk 0:06:56]. Jason Pateman: Compared to today, yes. It was [pitted] and not the greatest surface to play football on. It was nowhere near as good as it is now. It was a typical park pitch, I would suggest, rather than a football stadium, but that was probably due to the pitch being dug up obviously when it was unused and not being maintained very well. Interviewer: In terms of the way the team was playing in the '80s and the level of it, what can you tell me about that? 7 Jason Pateman: They were exciting. They had some really, really good players. There was a particular era where they had people like Danny Dance and Phil Driver, Martin Gittings, who's a legend here. Steve Armsby, Graham Cox. They played some really, really good football. Danny Dance was a particular favourite because he was exciting. He got on the ball and you just felt that something was really going to happen. Interviewer: Right. What position was he playing? Jason Pateman: He floated around but I think his position should have been right midfield, right wing, but he sort of float- Him and Phil Driver used to play on opposite wings and they used to swap over and confuse the defence.