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Jonathan Tupworth
Posts: 11
From: UK
30 Jan 2007 4:05 PM
Every football team has several different types of football fans.
There is the obsessed who eat, sleep and breath football 27/7, 7 days a week.
You have the just fans, who barely class themselves as fans but if someone asked them who do they support they would have a team in mind. they would never goto matches or even watch their matches and could not name 3 of their players.
Then there is your average fan, who watches their matches, but if something came up would miss one, owns some kit and supporting material and will be able to name the players and discuss in team tactics.
I am the latter and am thinking of new ways to support my team. I have seen several things online from tattoos to blogs for each individual player, however one thing i came across yesterday seemed bizzar. it was the introduction of a football credit cards. i mean you can buy a car for all your teams and when purchasing products you can use your card. seems like a good idea to me
it does not matter who you support, e.g. celtic, you can get a celtic credit card
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GavW
Posts: 162
From: Manchester
1 Feb 2007 12:01 PM
I would consider myself somewhere in between the average one and the obsessed one 
Am not quite bad enough to let it rule my life however I go to games quite a lot (and sing rather loudly 
)
This credit card is a good idea, it's just a shame my team is Man Utd and this money would end up paying the gnome's debt rather than club development. Now if there happened to be an FC United credit card then I would be more than willing as all profits go towards club and community development
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jonathan steel
Posts: 8
From: UK
2 Feb 2007 9:30 AM
on the football credit cardsite there is a england credit card if you want a more general support lol.
I recently got a man u one and although sometimes it may seem as if you helping the clubs debt, to me its more about showing them who i support. thats what its all about in the end...loyalty.
football credit cards are a good thing i think, adding another way to show your colours and support your football team
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GavW
Posts: 162
From: Manchester
2 Feb 2007 11:46 AM
An excellent post Micky, there is not a lot I can add to what you of said without repeating you but I agree with everything you have just stated. To add to your post I think that the idea of supporter owned football clubs is the way forward, I believe a lot of the club's soul and tradition is lost when it is being run by a multi millionaire only after an even bigger bank balance. Unfortunately top flight football is vastly descending into a play thing for the world's richest entrepreneurs.
What annoys me mainly is how most supporters seem to welcome the idea of some sugar daddy taking over their club so they can throw more money at better players. I am pleased to say that a lot of loyal Man Utd fans protested immensely in May of last year. Sadly only to fail. The likes of Chelsea however embraced Abramovich upon his arrival which I found quite disheartening. The same can be said of the imminent takeover at Liverpool, every fan I've spoken to is in favour of a takeover so that they can compete with the big boys in the transfer market.
Hopefully supporters will eventually see sense and refuse to pay for the ever increasing ticket prices. I have recently begun following FC United. If you are not familiar with them they are the club that Man Utd supporters set up after Glazer took over Old Trafford and it is supporter owned (one member, one vote). The setup there is fantastic and it is refreshing to see a game of football for £7 with an incredible atmosphere. A lot of which has been lost at most Premiership grounds due to the working man being priced out of the game, sadly.
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GavW
Posts: 162
From: Manchester
2 Feb 2007 2:27 PM
I couldn't agree more. The "Prawn Sandwich" population at football games is steadily drowning out the real supporters. For this reason, and also due to no standing, atmospheres at football are getting worse.
Saying that though this only applies in the football league. I can often be found stood alongside my fellow reds down at Gigg Lane singing our hearts out for 90 minutes 
The worrying thing is though is that 3,000 people at Gigg Lane provide a greater atmosphere than 76,000 people at Old Trafford, that needs sorting. There was talk about bringing terraces back to top flight football, allowing stadiums to have standing areas. Whether this will ever be put into practice remains to be seen however.
Who is your team Micky? I'm sure its only a matter of time before every top flight club has a problem with filling their stadiums as more and more people are being priced out.
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The Daddy
Posts: 43
From: Manchester
2 Feb 2007 3:08 PM
Main problems I see with football have all been covered here:
1. Cost - it's too expensive, the whole game is a cash-in. I used to go to a hell of a lot of games but now it's too expensive so I cherry pick my games.
2. Pampered players - Who on earth can relate to players these days? They are drunk on power and money.
3. Atmosphere - The atmosphere at most grounds (unless its a big game) is lets face it, garbage. This worryingly shows no signs of improvement. I have a plan to fix this problem bt it would never get approval. We need to:
A - Bring Back Standing - when your stood-up it's a better experience, easier to get into the game, no pillock behind telling you to 'sit down' - don't give me the baloney about safety either, times have changed since the Hillsborough disaster on a major level. If the Germans, Italians etc can cope without seats so can we. Dave of the Tories says he wants to do it if he gets in - if thats his ticket then I can see myself voting Blue.
B- Embrace NWAF (No Women At Football) - This may seem archaic but I'm afraid it's necessary, women at the ground are a liability. No vocal presence and a distraction from the game. Also most are just along for the day by daddy, boyfriend whoever just for a day out. The fairer sex have no place inside Premiership Stadia.
C- Larger allocations for away support - More away fans = Better atmoshphere. If the away support can travel in numbers then give them more room.
D- Compulsory Drinking - Wanna raise the decibels in the stands? Then make 3 pints before the game compulsory - late comers should have 3 shots of Vodka forced down them by stewards. People turn into animals when they are drunk. Animals make for a good atmosphere.
E- Half Time entertainment - always appalling but could be resurrected with games like 'Hang the club mascot', 'Shave Richard Keys' (plays out a bit like Aslan in the Chronicles of Narnia) and ye olde fashioned Pie Eating contest, get the two fattest fans in the ground and let them have an eat off, last man standing wins a years supply of Hollands.
4. The Modern Fan - This guy is a serious problem. You know who he is. The prat with the cameraphone trying to get close-ups at corners, the geek reading his program during the match, the guy whose brought his missus for the day out. Give the stewards the power to club these guys in the stand and you've got it fixed.
I think if we sort these problems out then the game has half a chance. Also I don't blame Chelsea fans for rolling out the red carpet for Abramovich - if you'd had to put up with Ken Bates for 20 years then I think you'd be grateful for a new benefactor.
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GavW
Posts: 162
From: Manchester
2 Feb 2007 3:49 PM
Few great points in that post mate. I agree with standing, it is an absolute must. If everything is stewarded correctly then I see no problem whatsoever with standing at a football match. Vote Tories! I actually know nothing about politics but if one of them wants to include standing at games then he would get my vote
Not sure about no women mate. I know a couple of members of the fairer sex who love nothing more than to sing and shout at a football match I agree if u ain't gonna sing though then you may as well not bother attending. Which ties in with reading the programs throughout the game. I don't understand these people either. The people who annoy me the most though are those who bring their radios with them and listen to the commentary through their earphones! If you ain't going to take in the atmosphere at the game then you may as well watch it on the box.
Away support is a good point, as away fans make up the more passionate of a club's support.
Haha compulsory drinking! Like it! Not sure whether it would work in practice however. People who drive for instance. Besides those who want a drink before the game will inevitably have a drink before the game I don't think this issue needs much addressing.
Fair point about Ken Bates to, but the likes of Abramovich should have no place in football, just my opinion.
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GavW
Posts: 162
From: Manchester
5 Feb 2007 10:34 AM
Middlesborough?
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GavW
Posts: 162
From: Manchester
5 Feb 2007 4:28 PM
I can't see anybody following Blackburn's lead and reducing ticket prices to be honest, especially the clubs owned by foreign moneymakers (United, Chelsea, West Ham etc.) To be honest I expect clubs to increase their prices. Particularly at United where Glazer is gonna attempt to snide every penny out of us. The Sun produced statistics last week regarding the clubs charging the most on ticket prices. Arsenal are an absolute disgrace charging upto £94 for a ticket to a "big" game. Chelsea, Spurs and West Ham are also guilty of completely ripping off their fans.
The remainder are "reasonably" (and I use that term lightly) well priced in comparison to those mentioned above, but are still beyond what your average Joe should be paying to go to a football match. If these price hikes continue then they could destroy top level football in England. How long will your average fan be able to afford these prices? Wouldn't suprise me if non-league football sees a rise in attendances like what is happening in Wimbledon and Manchester.
We play Middlesborough in April in what could be very important in regards to the title race, so you best let us win
Clair, Review Centre, michaelp
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