The Football News Thread 2023/24

[Elephant Pyjamas]

That's my cue to dip out.

Or you could try and explain to me why you think I am wrong?

 

[Alan]

I don't think I could!

"You're a bandwagon fan, and that annoys me" is one thing. "You're a bandwagon fan, and that's a personal character flaw" is something else.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Chelsea are the 00s version
City the 10s version

I never saw many Chelsea shirts around 15-20 years ago, don't think that permeated as much.

City to a small extent I suppose. Although I don't have kids or have anything to do with kids so I'm probably not best to judge.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

I don't think I could!

"You're a bandwagon fan, and that annoys me" is one thing. "You're a bandwagon fan, and that's a personal character flaw" is something else.

Very different for you mate. By default you live thousands of miles away. So pick who you want based on whatever criteria.

I suppose (and my limited knowledge will probably bite me here) it'd be like your contemporaries not supporting Jacksonville Jaguars in the NFL but they like the New England Patriots instead because Tom Brady is ace and they win the Superbowl loads.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

I never saw many Chelsea shirts around 15-20 years ago, don't think that permeated as much.

City to a small extent I suppose. Although I don't have kids or have anything to do with kids so I'm probably not best to judge.

There were a few lads I was playing football with in their late teens/early 20s that were Chelsea fans around 5 years ago.

Also when I watch my nephew play football now (he's 7) there are plenty of City shirts. He himself is a City "fan" which is pretty funny as my brother in law is a United fan.

 

[Alan]

Very different for you mate. By default you live thousands of miles away. So pick who you want based on whatever criteria.

I suppose (and my limited knowledge will probably bite me here) it'd be like your contemporaries not supporting Jacksonville Jaguars in the NFL but they like the New England Patriots instead because Tom Brady is ace and they win the Superbowl loads.

I get that, I do.

But leveling it as a criticism at kids? Kids are… I don’t give them enough credit to understand why jumping on a bandwagon would be an issue to other people. Feels really harsh to hold it against them.

Besides that, surely not everyone who supports a club from outside of where they live or were born could have perfectly valid reasons?

I dunno, said I’d leave it but here I am.

 

[Alan]

Oh, also, I didn’t take what was said as directed at me personally.

 

[Lycan]

I think that's exactly how a lot of kids pick their teams growing up. Even at a young age it shows a weakness in character to do this in my opinion.

I think it is quite easy to be 'won over' by the grandeur of a club like Liverpool though. Especially if you don't have anyone taking you to a local club (or a club your family follow).

I was in Madrid when they won their 13th Champions League, it was absolutely amazing the scale of that club.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

I get that, I do.

But leveling it as a criticism at kids? Kids are… I don’t give them enough credit to understand why jumping on a bandwagon would be an issue to other people. Feels really harsh to hold it against them.

Besides that, surely not everyone who supports a club from outside of where they live or were born could have perfectly valid reasons?

I dunno, said I’d leave it but here I am.

Anecdotal of course, but I'm sure many people would back me up.

But rest assured, at school and moving into adult life it was/is the United and Liverpool fans who are generally the sorest losers, the least humble and most arrogant of people - and not just regarding football.
A lot of that comes from an inability to have the strength of character to support a team that isn't just "the best" but because they have a family link or there is something in particular they liked about them other than they just win stuff.

I feel I can pretty much talk to any football fan there is and have a decent conversation about football, Albion, Blues, Villa, or Plymouth! But that's generally very, very difficult with United and Liverpool fans of my generation.

 

[Langers]

It was an odd thing to be a Wolves fan as a kid surrounded by glory hunters. I always had the piss taken out of me because I was a Wolves fan, yet it was impossible to get wound up by it. Because what the fuck would those kids know about actual support? For them, a bad day was scoring less than 3 against a newly promoted side. They'd no idea what it was like to see your team do 'badly' - and I appreciate that supporters of other sides had it WAY worse than I did as I'm too young to have experienced the bad days of the mid 80's.

Amazing how many Man Utd 'fans' have 'lost interest' in football recently. Can't quite work out why.

When the good days are so very rare, it doesn't half make them special. Cardiff in 2003, the promotions to the PL, the European nights. even the League 1 campaign - special memories that I was starved off for the vast majority of the first 15-odd years of supporting Wolves.

 

[sycophantia]

The Premier league era has made it much more acceptable and normal to pick a team anywhere in the country, whether that's because they are glory hunting or they like the name or badge. There's so much football on TV now, the only live matches were FA cup final and occasional 3ngland game.
As I've said before, when I was picking my team at the end of the 60s I don't remember anyone supporting teams outside the West Midlands, there may have been a few Man U or Arsenal but it wouldn't have been many.
My lads didn't have much choice, if they wanted to go to a game is was Molineux or nothing and luckily they've stuck with Wolves.

 

[Alan]

Very different for you mate. By default you live thousands of miles away. So pick who you want based on whatever criteria.

I suppose (and my limited knowledge will probably bite me here) it'd be like your contemporaries not supporting Jacksonville Jaguars in the NFL but they like the New England Patriots instead because Tom Brady is ace and they win the Superbowl loads.

Oh, as a fun little aside, my brother-in-law grew up a dyed-in-the-wool, real Patriots fan, got to live through the Brady success, and now is watching his son turn into a Kansas City fan because of Patty Mahomes.

Sport will get ya, one way or another, ay?

 

[Alan]

It was an odd thing to be a Wolves fan as a kid surrounded by glory hunters. I always had the piss taken out of me because I was a Wolves fan, yet it was impossible to get wound up by it. Because what the fuck would those kids know about actual support? For them, a bad day was scoring less than 3 against a newly promoted side. They'd no idea what it was like to see your team do 'badly' - and I appreciate that supporters of other sides had it WAY worse than I did as I'm too young to have experienced the bad days of the mid 80's.

Amazing how many Man Utd 'fans' have 'lost interest' in football recently. Can't quite work out why.

When the good days are so very rare, it doesn't half make them special. Cardiff in 2003, the promotions to the PL, the European nights. even the League 1 campaign - special memories that I was starved off for the vast majority of the first 15-odd years of supporting Wolves.

I am reminded of a Liverpool supporting friend who loves to text me saying how trash Liverpool are and how much they ruin her quality of life.

Meanwhile, they're winning by multiple goals.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

It was an odd thing to be a Wolves fan as a kid surrounded by glory hunters. I always had the piss taken out of me because I was a Wolves fan, yet it was impossible to get wound up by it. Because what the fuck would those kids know about actual support? For them, a bad day was scoring less than 3 against a newly promoted side. They'd no idea what it was like to see your team do 'badly' - and I appreciate that supporters of other sides had it WAY worse than I did as I'm too young to have experienced the bad days of the mid 80's.

Amazing how many Man Utd 'fans' have 'lost interest' in football recently. Can't quite work out why.

When the good days are so very rare, it doesn't half make them special. Cardiff in 2003, the promotions to the PL, the European nights. even the League 1 campaign - special memories that I was starved off for the vast majority of the first 15-odd years of supporting Wolves.

Absolutely.

Being a supporter of a "normal" team not only makes you appreciate good moments more in football, but in life generally.

 

[sycophantia]

Absolutely.

Being a supporter of a "normal" team not only makes you appreciate good moments more in football, but in life generally.

This is a point I make to one of my mates, if you don't go through some shit stuff, how do you appreciate the good stuff properly.

 

[North Shropshire Lad]

Most of my sons football team 'support' one of the Big 6 with Manchester United and Liverpool dominant and have often ridiculed him for having a Wolves season ticket. Once remember him responding to one such taunt with "at least I watch the team I support" to which the all too familiar response of "I can't get a ticket for Old Trafford" was given. His reply was priceless as he said "I've been four times and I don't even support United". I have loved the last five or six years for him even more than for me.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

Amazing how many Man Utd 'fans' have 'lost interest' in football recently. Can't quite work out why.

"I don't really follow football anymore"

"Oh that's fucking funny, I remember you being the biggest, obnoxious, glory hunting arsehole in the universe at school in the mid 90s?"

 

[Lycan]

None of this explains Villa. None of the success, all of the cuntery.

 

[Langers]

I had a great argument with a Utd 'fan' once when I told him that winning the Play Off final in 2003 meant more to me than them winning the Champions League in 2008 did to him.

Yes, I said so just to piss him off but if previously the only thing you've been able to celebrate in your time as a football fan after the age of 10 was reaching a solitary FA Cup semi final and doing the double over Albion once, you've absolutely no idea how incredible it is to win something.

When winning something is an annual event at worst, it simply cannot feel as special.

 

[Langers]

"I don't really follow football anymore"

"Oh that's fucking funny, I remember you being the biggest, obnoxious, glory hunting arsehole in the universe at school in the mid 90s?"

Oh you knew him too, did you?