What Has Tony Adams Got to Do With Turnham Green?

Station should have been named after Gerry Francis on FA tube map say fans

Local football fans have been perplexed by a decision by the Football Association (FA) to rename Turnham Green station after former Arsenal and England defender Tony Adams.

The FA have released a revised tube map to mark their 150th anniversary with all the stations renamed after players and managers. Many feel the obvious choice for Turnham Green would have been former England captain Gerry Francis who was born in Chiswick and attended Hogarth Primary School.

Gerry Francis

A spokesman for the FA told us, "not all the names have a direct link to their given station. It was more a case of making sure that the right players were included on the map, of which Gerry Francis was one."

There doesn't appear to be any firm connection between Tony Adams and Chiswick. Other local stations have also been named after former Arsenal centre halves with Chiswick Park being given to Martin Keown and Stamford Brook renamed Sol Campbell. Along with other stations on the Richmond branch of the District line Gunnersbury is named after an Italian - Fabrizio Ravanelli. Gerry Francis wasn't nominated for Hyde Park Corner.

Chiswick hasn't been totally forgotten by the FA in the its commemoration of the anniversary. This Monday the Civil Service Football Club and Chiswick Poly, two of England's oldest amateur clubs will be playing a match at Buckingham Palace.

Elsewhere there does appear to have been an attempt to attach players and managers to stations they have an association with. David Beckham was given Leytonstone, the place of his birth, and John Terry is Fulham Broadway, the closest station to Stamford Bridge. Shepherd's Bush, another station Gerry Francis might have had a claim on given his QPR connections, was allocated to Rodney Marsh. Peter Schmeichel, the Danish goalkeeper, has been given Denmark Hill.

Dating back to 1863, the Metropolitan line is the oldest on the network and becomes the managers line. As well as Wembley Park’s Alf Ramsey, it also boats Sir Alex Ferguson, Roy Hodgson and Graham Taylor among its stops.

Meanwhile, the Circle line is focuses on ‘Giants of the World Cup’ - featuring the likes of Pele and Maradona, while the Overground pays homage to overseas stars such as Didier Drogba, Robin van Persie and Ossie Ardiles.

The FA was formed on 26 October 1863 at the Freemasons’ Tavern, near Holborn tube – 150 years later, a special gala dinner hosted by The FA’s President The Duke of Cambridge will be held at the very site the Founding Fathers met – now The Grand Connaught Rooms.

The map will be available to buy from the Transport for London online shop, London Transport Museum Shop in Covent Garden and the Wembley Stadium shop - as well as online at   www.tfl.gov.uk/shop.

October 5, 2013