Rach encapsulates the modern football experience for me as she offers her take on last week’s FSF event. Well worth a look if you’ve ever been bothered by an over-zealous steward or even if you’ve not.
Henry Porter’s piece prompted by the same meeting is a must read too.
Probably over it now, but F365 is doing a bout of ‘Ask Jimmy’.
http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8652_6010229,00.html
Wonder if he’d prefer playing Juventus, rather than sat at home watching tele?
Why don’t you ask him, Andy? 😉
Have you got any thoughts on the modern football fan’s lot from a United perspective?
The modern fan’s lot? I’m not really sure if I’m representative. After all I have a season ticket at a club that’s not my own.
Totally sick with what’s happening at Man United and I’ve been telling as many United fans who will listen that the only way to get the Glazers out is to stop spending money there – not renew season tickets etc. But that’s easy for me to say down here in London. But the rot started a long time ago. I boycotted watching the Champions League last season because i feel it skews domestic competition. UEFA quaked in their boots for that one, I can tell you. Plus I crumbled for the semi-finals and final. But I’m sick of every other conversation about football being about finances. I’m annoyed that the media ends up sidelining good news stories, like the one happening at Fulham, in order to cover stories about the bigger teams with the bigger fan bases as there are wider readerships and everyone needs to sell papers.
As for complaints against the police handling of fans – as a percentage they appear to be quite small. People in a group, such as a set of football fans, get a pack mentality and its very easy for individual ideals and standards to go out of the window. I’m sure the guy who sits near me and wishes cancer on the ref and all his family is a nice guy away from the Cottage. With the increasing use of sociology in police methods, I’d be inclined to believe the current methods are probably the most effective, with a couple of blips along the way.
Take Porter’s argument in the article. He starts the piece (assuming with the strongest angle he has) quoting an incident where a guy is getting videoed by the police at a football ground. So what? Is this a colossal infringement of human rights? Aren’t there greater human rights breaches going on to get more worked up about?
I’ve only really seen police herding away fans in and out on two occasions. One was Leeds at Old Trafford in 1999 and the hate was bristling, mainly from the United wide boys as the Leeds fans seemed pretty meek. Another was Millwall vs Preston North End in the third tier 12 or 13 years ago. After the game mounted police shepherded them back to the train station, which took over an hour after the game had finished.
Paradoxically the only real trouble I’ve experienced was after a Preston pre-season friendly with Hibs, when the Scottish fans started running riot around the town and we ended up being locked in a boozer until it dissipated.
I recognise am being somewhat blase. When police are heavy handed it is usually against away fans, and I don’t travel to many away games. Strangely being at the Cottage last year as a Man United fan for the league game was one of my most dispiriting experiences in football. A good handful of the United away support were total scumbags threatening fellow united fans and throwing racial slurs at anyone they could. I could understand the police treating them like animals as they were acting like animals, but which came first?
What I’ve been seeing an awful lot of recently is fans seeming to think their club owes them something. That they have a right to this that or the other. A recent example has been some posters on the Offal who believe the club is RIPPING THEM OFF by charging £30 for a ticket against Juventus. I’m sure they could have charged £50 and felt justified. There is too much money in football and the line has crossed between sport and business and only legislation will iron it out because the FA and the Premier League don’t seem to be showing any leadership. Just ask Leeds United fans what they think about not knowing who owns the club. Surely that’s a ridiculous position to be in?
I’m not sure I’ve said anything of note in this post, but it hasn’t half left me disillusioned about the state of football.