To Hampden Park

With the majority of focus on the long awaited 'return to football', and a dearth of clear communication from the incompetence of blazers within Queen's Park, it has been somewhat lost in the ether that this Saturday's fixture against Stranraer will likely be the last league fixture played at our historical home, Hampden Park. 

A lease running to March 31st has not, at the time of writing, been extended and with building work on our new home at Lesser Hampden stalled since Christmas, a nomadic existence beckons for The Spiders as of 4.45pm on Saturday afternoon. 

There is lots to be said (and I'm certain it will be) on the circumstances that have led us to this point. A move to professionalism was viewed as a means to safeguarding the future of the club, but sadly, there are already more questions than answers only 18 months into what we have been assured will be a bright and prosperous future for Queen's Park. The first major hurdle, the completion of a stadium we can call our own, appears to be very much in doubt at this stage. 

Alas, now is not the time and the consequences of the delay will be discussed and felt over the coming months. The current Hampden Park has been the home of the football club we love since it opened in 1903 and once everyone's favourite plucky lower league journeymen have torn up the pitch one last time - it is a long and storied chapter in our history that will be closed shut. The future is uncertain but the past is not, and despite the many faults of Scotland's National Stadium, our final game on its hallowed turf will be an emotional moment for all members and supporters.

Personally, it's where I have spent every second Saturday afternoon for the past 18 years. From massive highs, such as promotion against Clyde in 2016, to two relegations and numerous humpings (dished out and received) there has always been a degree of comfort in knowing what the two hours spent within the stadium's embrace would bring. Freezing cold, largely devoid of atmosphere and slightly detached at times from the action on the pitch - the stadium has many drawbacks but it has been home for a long time, and it will be missed no matter where we end up plying our trade for the foreseeable future. 

There are many within the support who will look back even further in time at a treasure trove of mental souvenirs (good and bad) and experiences from the years and decades through which they have supported their favourites. Friendships made on the terraces (and later the stands following the redevelopments of the 1990s) endure, as do the memories of the title wins, the promotions, the wonder goals and the god, awful strikers (of which there have been many).

The current Coronavirus restrictions mean that fans will not be able to say farewell in the way they might have wished. There will be no final hurrah, and those who do manage to find themselves within the stadium on Saturday (under the guise of 'essential' work) are hopefully able to understand just how lucky they are to be there.

The Queen's support will be huddled around laptops and televisions around the southside, around Glasgow and even further afield hoping for one last victory to see off the Old Lady, and we can only hope that the club (and its players) are able to give it the farewell it deserves in our absence. Acknowledgement of the situation from those within the club, would be a welcome first step.

The Web intends to be a resource written by the fans, for the fans, and will be looking to compile a collection of favourite Hampden memories from our already burgeoning readership. Anyone who wishes to have their own stand out recollections published, please email to thewebqpfc@outlook.com.