Information on Soccer Fans in England

[Crazed Rabbit]

Well, I need a bit of information on soccer fans in England for an essay. Knowing that many here reside in that country, I thought I'd ask people in the know.

What I need to know is information on current and historic soccer fans. What class are they (mostly lower I'd expect), what culture, what do they do for fun besides soccer, how great is their devotion to their team, and why is their devotion so great?

Any information, from general to specific incidents, is welcome, even if its on European fans and not English specifically. It'd be great if you could provide sources or links too.

Thanks to anyone who takes the time to read this!

Crazed Rabbit

[Mount Suribachi]

Traditionally, football fans in this country are working class - however the last 10-15 years, the popularity of the sport has spread to all sections of society - and given the prices of tickets at some grounds you need to be rich to be able to afford to go!!


Regarding specifics incidents to quote. A mate of mine, when asked at a job interview what the lowest point in his life was, replied "England losing to Germany in the 1990 World Cup Semi-Final". He qualified the statement by saying that both his parents were still alive, he'd never lost a job or his house. Losing (on penalties!) to arch-rivals Germany in the semi-final of the biggest sports tournament on Earth was the worst he'd ever felt (and i can relate to that).

Before my son was born last year, the greatest moment of my life was Kevin Donovan scoring a volley from outside the area to put my home town team Grimsby Town up 2-0 on aggregate against Burnley in the 2nd leg of the Auto Winshields Trophy, Semi Final (Northen Section). Probly means nothing to you. But to me, it meant that Grimsby were going to make it to the final, and thus, for the first time in the 100+ year history, play a game at the historic Wembley stadium. Grimsby are a founder member of the Football League, and had never played at Wembley, ever. I'd spent my whole life following them home and away, and at that moment I knew, I knew, they were finally going to play at Wembley and I was going to be there. With my mate who I'd been watching them with for years, we all cried when Grimsby walked out at Wembley in the final. We won in sudden death extra time, yet I was happier at the goal that got us there than the goal that won it.


As chance would have it, Grimsby were back there 6 weeks later in the playoff final. You wait all your life for a Wembley appearance and you get 2 in 2 months ~D


However, if you really, really want to understand football fans in this country go and order Fever Pitch

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140295577/qid=1133776392/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_11_1/026-9914106-0842857

One of the best football books ever written, and written from a point of view of a die-hard Arsenal fan. Its about 10 years old, so a lot of the stuff in there is history now, but never ever has someone set down in print what it means to be a football fan in quite so eloquent and insightful a way. I cannot recommend this book to you enough. It is the definitive work on being a football fan.

[InsaneApache]

I can relate to that MS as a Bolton fan (not a sexy club) we are at present having the time of our lives. In European competition for the first time in our history. (we were founded in 1874) and sixth in the Premiership- Bolton (http://www.premierleague.com/fapl.rac?command=forwardOnly&nextPage=homepage)
It is a hard thing to define this supporters malarky, I started to support my team from a joke. When I was an anklebiter I had to go and live in Scotland with my parents (oh dear God no!!) and as a Mancunian, man and boy, it was assumed by my schoolfreinds that I either supported Manchester United (I did at that time ~:eek: ) or Manchester Citeh(sic)....as I'm a bit of an obtuse type I replied no to both camps....this left my northern brethren a bit stumped. After asking if I supprted about all the teams in the top division they gave up and asked me who I really did pledge my allegiance to?

I replied...Bolton Wanderers...as a joke at first. After the fullness of time I was moved back to blighty (joy upon joy~D ) and met up with some old school chums who, as it transpired, had decided to go to Burnden Park to follow the 'Super' whites...I went with them, Cardiff City at home , August 1974, we won 2-0 and the rest, as they say is history. I've been a fan ever since and will remain one until my demise.

[The Blind King of Bohemia]

I'm a newcastle fan, been for about 15 years and to say i'm suicidal about the state of my team at present would be a slight understatement. Bad defence, constant injuries and the stupity of the geordie fans who all want souness out and look at Shearer to save us. Thankfully i can look at the situation and say that shearer is a pensioner and an annoying old mott who can't even walk let alone run and looking at saturday he can't even take a penalty that good anymore and if we get a new manager in he will bring more changes and ruin the club even more.

If i see Bramble, Boumsong, Elliot, Faye, Ameobi, Bowyer and Babayaro disgrace the black and white shirts again i'm going to cry. We have got Arsenal next week and thankfully owen and dyer will be back but that defence. jesus. Henri will rip it apart by himself with one leg tied behind his back.

I just had to get that off my chest. By the way IA, looks like you might be signing Keane:hide:

[InsaneApache]

A 'barcode' army fan eh BKB you have my sympathy mate...no!!! you really do...I'd be suicidal if we had Sourness as our manager ....after all he managed the 'banjo pluckers' ~D (Blackburn) for a few years ... (that's our nearest rivals folks)...you are spot on about Shearer and your defence..what!!! you mean you actually have a defence....you're pulling my leg mate...but hey don't worry too much about Arsenal we rolled 'em easy-peasy on Saturday...hang on though..we have a decent team. Sorry mate looks like your stuffed ~:joker:

Yeah I'd take Keane for a season or so, he's still good as a winner and stopper of the ball, sitting just in front of the back four. :knight:

[Mount Suribachi]

Big Sam has made something of an art form out of taking aging stars and getting the best out of them - Hierro, fatty Campo, Speed (he must be nearly 40 by now) etc, so I'm sure he could get the best of Keane

[The Blind King of Bohemia]

If he wants an ageing player, and underline ageing, please have Shearer as i'm sick of the sight of him. Geordie fans think he has some god given right to be on the pitch and that is not right.

I don't blame souness, i honestly believe this rut started with alot of Senile Robsons buys. Some of the players he brought were just insane, really awful i could name loads but it would just leave me more depressed. He sold two of what i think were just great players, Gary Speed to Bolton and Solano, with the latter leaving you actually pinpoint are freefall.

January needs some quality indefence signed not crap. 8 million for Boumsong? What in gods name was souness thinking? But at least Parker, Emre, Owen and Nobby were signed and i believe with Dyer back our team can do better. Luque is still not fit but i think N'zogbia can easily play left side as i think he is one to watch for the future.

A striker though is a must and i think of all the players and within a good price range, Robbie Keane is just the sought of player we need and around the 6 million mark it should suit us down to the ground. He had a fight in mid week with Davids and him often being left on the bench could see him leaving. I would also love to see us target Anelka as he could bring some serious pace to any team. Just don't buy crap and some fella who won't pull his weight such as that Kluviert who was as slow as Shearer was.

[InsaneApache]

Yes selling Speedy was a good bit of business...well for us it was, cheers Bobby ~:cheers:

Just heard on 'tinternet that Keegan's the barcode armys choice to supercede Sourness....and we thought we had it tough~:confused:

Cliché-Man ... just some of Kevin Keegle's quotes ; -

'Alongside me is Keggy Keegle - sorry, Kevin Keegle...' - Brian Moore

'It's like a toaster, the ref's shirt pocket. Every time there's a tackle, up pops a yellow card.'

'The ref was vertically 15 yards away.'

'There are two schools of thought on the way the rest of this half is going to develop; everybody's got their own opinion...'

'Goalkeepers aren't born today until they're in their late twenties or thirties.'

'This could be a repeat of the final.'

'The game has gone rather scrappy as both sides realise they could win this match or lose it.'

'I don't think there's anyone bigger or smaller than Maradona.'

'England can end the millenium as it started - as the greatest football nation in the world.'

'They compare Steve McManaman to Steve Heighway and he's nothing like him, but I can see why - it's because he's a bit different'

'Despite his white boots, he has real pace...'

'You can't do better than go away from home and get a draw...'

'He can't speak Turkey, but you can tell he's delighted.'

'There'll be no siestas in Madrid tonight.'

'...using his strength. And that is his strength, his strength.'

'One of his strengths is not heading' (of course, one of Keggy's strengths is not talking)

'Gary always weighed up his options, especially when he had no choice.'

'I'm not disappointed - just disappointed.'

'Chile have three options - they could win or they could lose.'

'That would have been a goal if it wasn't saved.'

'I came to Nantes two years ago and it's much the same today, except that it's totally different.'

'A tremendous strike which hit the defender full on the arm - and it nearly came off.'

'The good news for Nigeria is that they're two-nil down very early in the game'

'The substitute is about to come on - he's a player who was left out of the starting line-up today.'

'That decision, for me, was almost certainly definitely wrong.'

'I know what is around the corner - I just don't know where the corner is. But the onus is on us to perform and we must control the bandwagon.'

'Hungary is very similar to Bulgaria. I know they're different countries...'

'In some ways, cramp is worse than having a broken leg.'

'The 33 or 34-year-olds will be 36 or 37 by the time the next World Cup comes around, if they're not careful.'

'England have the best fans in the world and Scotland's fans are second-to-none'

'It's understandable that people are keeping one eye on the pot and another up the chimney.'

'I'd love to be a mole on the wall in the Liverpool dressing room at half-time.'

'It could be far worse for me if it was easy for me.'

'Discipline is not only very important, it's crucial.'

'Young Gareth Barry - he's young'

'Argentina won't be at Euro 2000 because they're from South America.'

'They're the second best team in the world, and there's no higher praise than that.'

'You don't get two chances at this level, or at any other level for that matter.'

'You're not just getting international football, you're getting world football'

'Kanu, a guy with a heart as big as he is'

'Luis Figo is totally different to David Beckham, and vice versa'

'Football's always easier when you've got the ball'

'They don't come every three days, like they come after this one'

'I want more from David Beckham. I want him to improve on perfection.'

'The tide is very much in our court now.'

'There's a slight doubt about only one player, and that's Tony Adams, who definitely won't be playing tomorrow.'

'We have spent three matches chasing a football.'

'It’s no longer an 11 man game.'

'The Germans only have one player under 22, and he's 23'

'For some it's the ultimate job, for the others it's the last job.'

'I've had an interest in racing all my life, or longer really.'

'We managed to wrong a few rights.'

'We are three games without defeat is another way of looking at it. But if we are honest we have taken two points from nine'

'He'll also be very dangerous from set-pieces. That means he'll be a threat from free-kicks and corners in the final third of the field.'

'Danny Tiatto is not going to make a mistake on purpose'

'I'll never play at Wembley again, unless I play at Wembley again'

'You need 88 points for the title and we’ve got 61 at present with 16 games to go, but if you set targets you limit yourself'

'We deserved to win this game after hammering them 0-0 in the first half'

'He’s got a heart as big as his size, which isn’t big, but his heart’s bigger than that'

'Well, if that's true then it would be a big suprise, but then nothing surprises me in football these days.'

'You get bunches of players like you do bananas, though that is a bad comparison.'

'Not many teams will come to Arsenal and get anything, home or away'

'Shaun Wright-Phillips has got a big heart. It's as big as him, which isn't very big, but it's bigger'

'Nicolas Anelka left Arsenal for £23million and they built a training ground on him'

'As far as I'm concerned, Danny Tiatto doesn't exist'

'One team with destiny already decided...'

'Maine Road was a great football stadium but as time moved on it stayed where it is...'

~:joker:

[The Blind King of Bohemia]

The last thing i want to see is that basketcase back at the club as those quotes show he has gone insane.

I honestly don't think we need another manager. I mean we apparently want old walrus face from Bolton but why would he come? We need to get behind Souness. It is the players performances that is letting us down and really it is not the managers fault. He can't be blamed for Bramble charging round like a wounded rhino and hacking a villa player down in the last couple of minutes or Shearer leaning all over players as he can't move anymore!

[Ianofsmeg16]

Football fans in England? well, not all of them are like Vinnie Jones, but alot of them are.
Like When Doncaster Rovers Won 3-0 agaisnt Aston Villa (i'm a rovers fan and my mate is a villa fan) he broke his telly and his dad started a fight with him, it was hilarious! I love football, i mean watching england win 5-1 against germany was one of the highlights of my life, but some people take it too seriously :)

[Mikeus Caesar]

One thing you can include is how the large majority of fans don't like it being called soccer. I for one don't...

[Slyspy]

Many football rivalries are decades old and based on more than just football. For example around here Portsmouth fans still call Southampton and their fans "Scummers" after a strike breaking incident long ago (pre-WW2 I believe). The Portsmouth navy dockyard workers went on strike so the workers at Southampton merchant docks took their work too, now us Saints fans have to live with it. Mind you we call them "Skates" which is no better. Anybody who follows football will understand the current confusion and ill-feeling from both sides about the Harry Redknapp affair.

[InsaneApache]

Anybody who follows football will understand the current confusion and ill-feeling from both sides about the Harry Redknapp affair.

Don't do it kiddies, it will only get the thread closed...~:eek: ~D :hide: ~:joker:

[Taffy_is_a_Taff]

Alan Shearer's only 35!
What?
I could have sworn he was older than that.

still, been around a LONG time for a soccer(hahaha!) player even if he is younger than I thought.

[jayrock]

out o curiosity when is football season, my wife and i are planning vacations for the next few years, and england is on the list, and that is something i want to see, a real football match, that and cricket.

we are planning a 3 week trip and want to spend a week in england, 1 week in scotland, and a week in ireland... 3 or 4 years of, but still wanna get my ducks in a row.

[English assassin]

Bolton, Newcastle, pah. I'm a Gillingham fan. Gentlemen, feel my pain.

We beat Wigan in the Division one play off final to go up the the championship you know...our fates have rather diverged since then. Where oh where is our multimillionaire sugar daddy?

Anyway CR, a perspective from the "route one" side of football. First, this business of choosing a football team to support is a bit suspect. My Granddad was a Gills fan. My mum is a Gills fan. I am a Gills fan. I am drinking tea from a GFC mug as I type. My son will be a Gills fan, and we don't even live in Gillingham any more. And I don't even really like football (not the way the Gills play it that's for sure). But if you come from a town with a club its an important part of the town's identity.

The only exception to the rule that your football club chooses you is that I think it is acceptable, if you support a lower league club, also to have a premiership side that you are interested in, otherwise its a bit difficult to join in a lot of premiership conversations. Mine used to be Southampton....(call me Jonah)

Also in any Euro match its acceptable to support the English side, though I can respect anyone whom refuses to extend that to Man U. And its a moot point if Chelsea actually is an English side...

Football WAS a male working class game, all the dockyard workers used to pile into the Gills game en masse on a saturday, it was their one leisure activity of the week. Nowadays although there is still a very strong working class following its more mixed, and a damn sight more expensive. Also in the odl days you had to go to a match, or there was match of the day (highlights) on the telly. Nowadays I reckon a lot of fans never go to a match at all, because so many matches are on telly (and tickets are so expensive). That means as well as the match day experience you've got the sitting in the pub watching sky TV experience.

Ironically although football is now really pricey clubs outside the Premiership are still strapped for cash, and below the championship are more or less all bust.

Oh, and CR, see what you can dig up on the saga of Wimbledon (aka "MK Dons"), that should be an interesting case study for you...

Edit


out o curiosity when is football season

Everything except two weeks in July it sometimes feels.

League matches are (roughly) middle of August to end of April. If you want to see cricket as well as football that would mean you need to come in April or end of august/early September.

[Mount Suribachi]

jayrock, I would second the recomendation of August. Its our best month for weather, football season starts and cricket season is at its climax.

[The Blind King of Bohemia]

May is also a good time as the matches may have that something extra to it. Either relegation, the tittle or chasing for champions league spots. The weathers not bad either mate~D

[Red Peasant]

Grimsby are a founder member of the Football League,


There were 12 founder members of the Football League in 1888:

Accrington Stanley
Aston Villa
Blackburn Rovers
Bolton Wanderers
Burnley
Derby County
Everton ~:)
Notts County
Preston North End
Stoke City
West Bromwich Albion
Wolverhampton Wanderers

Can't find Grimsby in there mate ~;) In fact, dominated by Lancashire and Midlands teams.

[English assassin]

Interesting Qu. The Gills (as New Brompton) were founder members of the Southern league, which IIRC was assimilated into the Football league in the 20s or 30s. Does that make us a founder member of the league or not I wonder?

[Slyspy]

Hello Jonah.