Quote Originally Posted by Danbert Nocurry View Post
I do to be honest - In my experience, the "thoughtful" United fans are the older ones who remember when they were a piss poor team and know what its like to flounder mid table or get relegated.

Its the generation of younger United fans who have grown up knowing nothing other than success that i'm not so keen on. They think success is a birthright to them, and they think that by default they will win something big over a season, and it will always be that way. A bad season for them is only one trophy, or second in the prem.

When i lock horns with these dicks, i point out that they are not football supporters, they know nothing about the game, because the game is not just winning all the time, the game is winning AND losing, its following your team through shit and shitter, seeing the humour in your situation, and living with your failures way more than any of your successes. And the successes you do get, you really appreciate.
I first supported Burnley when my Dad took me over on the bus from the Railway in Stacksteads and then on the back of his motorbike. Peter Noble, Leighton James and Martin Dobson were my heroes at the time and Leighton used to live up the road from me when I was 6 - 10 years old and he would have a kick about with us.

I used to listen to the bile even then between particularly the Leeds fans and the Man Utd fans and never quite got it.

I now see a lot of mates I grew up with and they are Liverpool fans. They haven't a scouse bone in their body, but of course the late 70s and 80s drew in a lot of supports from outside - you should try flying in and out of Liverpool airport when there's a match at Anfield - it's absolutely full of Scandanavians.

I still support Burnley - I have rarely been to a match in the last 10 years as I'm full on in to the athletics now and if not running at weekend I team manage, or coach.

But I'm still Burnley through and through.

But I also have an appreciation for other football teams. The great teams at Liverpool, my favourite was the team that included John Barnes as they played some great football. Man Utd have had some fantastic teams and the FA Cup semi against Arsenal where Giggs scored his screamer has to be one of the best games of football I've ever seen.
The Michael Thomas goal for Arsenal against Liverpool to win the title with the last kick of the season - unbelievable.

I can appreciate all that - these events have international wide reaching resonance.

I am sure that if Clubs such as Man City, Spurs, Newcastle, Everton, Villa ever manage to get a run of success in a manner that inspires emotions as those events that I mentioned, they too will perhaps be elevated to the status of "Big Club" that they seem to crave so much.

In the meantime they will have to carry on with their "banter" which to me is often a form of inverted snobbery and be happy to be making up the numbers. If they ever arrive at the top level, I wonder if they will look at their new found fans and politely ask them to bu**er off or start bragging about how many followers they have worldwide?