"United" fan trying to defend all the glory supporters they get

[Guest Stevie]

Honestly don't understand why people get wound up by Man Utd fans (Particularly those in Manchester) referring to Man Utd as United. Probably borne out of shortening the name to either United or City when they were growing up in Manchester.

 

Cringing at a bloke in his 50s referring to them as Manure as well

 

I don't, it's when the media do it that it gets on my tits.

They need a name for all of the big clubs though, hence the reason Spurs don't have one.

 

I've never understood why Liverpool are never referred to as the dippers in the press in the same way we're referred to as the toon....

[Asprilla 96]

Im in a similar situation to OzToonFan. Being Australian I could've chosen any team to support I wanted to, Dad's a West Ham supporter has been since the 60s, no idea why I initially chose to support Newcastle but have done since a very young age. Like OTF i've got quite a lot of toon paraphernalia, and I finally got to SJP for our win against Spurs last year which was a lifeling dream. I don't know what the harm is in out-of-towners supporting the club just because we can't look out our window in the morning and see Grey's Monument.

 

Danny,

Don't take this the wrong way, I'm not knocking you personally but how would you have felt if you were a local Geordie who put a lot of effort into following the team and you couldn't get a ticket for the game against Spurs last season but yet a first time visitor from Oz was in the ground.

 

Yes, I know it's only one ticket and I don't know the situation at Newcastle and how easy it is to get tickets but believe me at a club like Man Utd it's a hundred times worse.

 

If you're a Man Utd supporter who makes every effort to attend every game, you apply for every single ticket in the ballot. Come the Liverpool game you miss out on a ticket so it's down to the black market. After trying to get the best price, 5 minutes before kick off you shell out your £300 to a tout and get into the ground only to be sitting next to a family of 5 from Kent making their first trip to Old Trafford for young Tristram's birthday present. That is (or was during my time) the reality for a lot of Man Utd supporters. It's galling and you're not going to welcome these people with open arms.

 

I can remember going to Chelsea away in my last year following Man Utd, it was a big game and tickets in the away section were like gold dust and a lot of regular away supporters missed out. When we got in the ground a whole row of our section had been allocated to a group of Japanese 'fans' on an organised trip to see their first ever game. Of course it's not their fault it's the club's for giving them tickets in the first place.

 

As I said at the beginning, this isn't to knock you in any way but to try to explain why there is so much animosity to CASUAL OOT supporters at some clubs.

Getting tickets to see Newcastle is easier now than it was 10 years ago. I still get renewal forms for my season ticket and I haven't had one for 4 or 5 years. There used to be a waiting list.

 

 

As for families going to football, I can understand why you're pissed off, but they're entitled to want to go. It's the club that makes the ticket policy, not them.

 

People (like yourself) who have shelled out thousands of pounds over the years should be treated with a lot more respect (by the club) though I agree.

[Guest alex]

Honestly don't understand why people get wound up by Man Utd fans (Particularly those in Manchester) referring to Man Utd as United. Probably borne out of shortening the name to either United or City when they were growing up in Manchester.

 

Cringing at a bloke in his 50s referring to them as Manure as well

 

I don't, it's when the media do it that it gets on my tits.

They need a name for all of the big clubs though, hence the reason Spurs don't have one.

 

I've never understood why Liverpool are never referred to as the dippers in the press in the same way we're referred to as the toon....

So 'United' is a media nickname yet 'Spurs' isn't? How does that work?

[DannyBoyFromOz 0]

Im in a similar situation to OzToonFan. Being Australian I could've chosen any team to support I wanted to, Dad's a West Ham supporter has been since the 60s, no idea why I initially chose to support Newcastle but have done since a very young age. Like OTF i've got quite a lot of toon paraphernalia, and I finally got to SJP for our win against Spurs last year which was a lifeling dream. I don't know what the harm is in out-of-towners supporting the club just because we can't look out our window in the morning and see Grey's Monument.

 

Danny,

Don't take this the wrong way, I'm not knocking you personally but how would you have felt if you were a local Geordie who put a lot of effort into following the team and you couldn't get a ticket for the game against Spurs last season but yet a first time visitor from Oz was in the ground.

 

Yes, I know it's only one ticket and I don't know the situation at Newcastle and how easy it is to get tickets but believe me at a club like Man Utd it's a hundred times worse.

 

If you're a Man Utd supporter who makes every effort to attend every game, you apply for every single ticket in the ballot. Come the Liverpool game you miss out on a ticket so it's down to the black market. After trying to get the best price, 5 minutes before kick off you shell out your £300 to a tout and get into the ground only to be sitting next to a family of 5 from Kent making their first trip to Old Trafford for young Tristram's birthday present. That is (or was during my time) the reality for a lot of Man Utd supporters. It's galling and you're not going to welcome these people with open arms.

 

I can remember going to Chelsea away in my last year following Man Utd, it was a big game and tickets in the away section were like gold dust and a lot of regular away supporters missed out. When we got in the ground a whole row of our section had been allocated to a group of Japanese 'fans' on an organised trip to see their first ever game. Of course it's not their fault it's the club's for giving them tickets in the first place.

 

As I said at the beginning, this isn't to knock you in any way but to try to explain why there is so much animosity to CASUAL OOT supporters at some clubs.

 

I do understand and its not taken personally. I don't know the ticketing system that well either, except that we booked them a couple of months earlier. I understand where you're coming from but should I be denied a seat after coming from thousands of miles away, in a possible once in a lifetime situation because a local who can go most weeks has left it to the last minute? Out of curiosity Does Man U have a season ticket situation like NUFC? Like I said, I fully understand what you're saying, but at the same time I hope you can see where I am coming from.

[OTF 6148]

A lot of the revenue that Clubs make is from out of the country supporters (largely through TV deals). If you've traveled all the way from Japan/Australia/Where-ever just to see a game after supporting a team religiously watching them on Television, then I think there should be some realistic avenue to get tickets. Sure, it would be great for the team and for the atmosphere if the biggest die-hard fans were the ones to get the tickets for every game, but to be completely honest you're going to have to wait for some lean times before you get that chance at Manchester United.

 

Just because you're OOT it doesn't mean you're a casual supporter. Like I said earlier I watch every single league match of the season, keep up to speed on all of the latest news about the club and participate frequently in conversations with like-minded fans all around the world yet I'm more than 20,000KM from SJP.

Edited August 20, 2008 by OzToonFan

[FCUM 1]

Getting tickets to see Newcastle is easier now than it was 10 years ago. I still get renewal forms for my season ticket and I haven't had one for 4 or 5 years. There used to be a waiting list.

 

But yet a couple of seasons of top 4 finishes and things will change.

 

This is where this whole OOT debate becomes blurred and why it's such a minefield. A few succesful years and you'll attract the bandwagon jumpers but not only that, there will be a lot of people from the toon latching on who can't be arsed to go now. These same people who can't be arsed to go now will then be calling all you lot from Leeds, London, Scotland etc completely oblivious to the fact that you've been going to games for a lot longer than them.

 

That's why I've always had more respect for the cockney reds who travel to every game than the whingers from Manchester who want to pick & choose their games.

 

If and when that happens though, hopefully your club will handle it a damn sight better than Man Utd.

[Redshadow 0]

Honestly don't understand why people get wound up by Man Utd fans (Particularly those in Manchester) referring to Man Utd as United. Probably borne out of shortening the name to either United or City when they were growing up in Manchester.

 

Cringing at a bloke in his 50s referring to them as Manure as well

 

I don't, it's when the media do it that it gets on my tits.

They need a name for all of the big clubs though, hence the reason Spurs don't have one.

 

I've never understood why Liverpool are never referred to as the dippers in the press in the same way we're referred to as the toon....

 

 

Would love to hear your logic for that one without mentioning a song made up by Mancs that has nothing whatsoever to do with football, nor any reason for it.

 

 

 

I can relate to FCUM in lots of ways. I don’t care where anyone is from although I don’t always understand the lack of connection to a club, but live and let live as far as I’m concerned. Some of the best fans I know are OOTS, however, like FCUM with Manchester kids, I despair for the kids of Liverpool who, unlike me and my mates, cannot just go to the match willy nilly, in fact it’s near impossible for them to go unless their Dad takes them on one of these Dad and lad things.

 

Liverpool and Everton have always had a cap on the amount of season tickets allowed, one of the reasons being, so the up and coming fans will have a chance to see the team, but you spend so many hours on the phone, or refreshing the website that lots give up and say fuck it because they object to competing with OOTS .

 

Being a two team city with no distance between them, it would be far easier for the ‘not born to it’ kids to support Everton and that could seriously erode the Scouse support at Liverpool in the future. At the moment the percentage of L postcode match goers evens up for both clubs in accordance to their attendances, but unless we get the bigger ground and the original plan of only allowing 1,000 more season tickets, I can’t see our young local support growing, because most young ones can’t afford a season ticket.

Edited August 20, 2008 by Redshadow

[Guest alex]

A lot of the revenue that Clubs make is from out of the country supporters (largely through TV deals). If you've traveled all the way from Japan/Australia/Where-ever just to see a game after supporting a team religiously watching them on Television, then I think there should be some realistic avenue to get tickets. Sure, it would be great for the team and for the atmosphere if the biggest die-hard fans were the ones to get the tickets for every game, but to be completely honest you're going to have to wait for some lean times before you get that chance at Manchester United.

 

Just because you're OOT it doesn't mean you're a casual supporter. Like I said earlier I watch every single league match of the season, keep up to speed on all of the latest news about the club and participate frequently in conversations with like-minded fans all around the world yet I'm more than 20,000KM from SJP.

More so foreign Man Utd, Liverpool, etc. fans than NUFC fans though, tbf.

[Kitman 2188]

The idea that any toon supporter could be called a glory supporter

[FCUM 1]

I do understand and its not taken personally. I don't know the ticketing system that well either, except that we booked them a couple of months earlier. I understand where you're coming from but should I be denied a seat after coming from thousands of miles away, in a possible once in a lifetime situation because a local who can go most weeks has left it to the last minute? Out of curiosity Does Man U have a season ticket situation like NUFC? Like I said, I fully understand what you're saying, but at the same time I hope you can see where I am coming from.

 

I do understand where you're coming from Danny but I'm not talking about locals leaving it to the last minute there was a '1 day' window to apply for your tickets online and they went into a ballot with no loyalty given to previous applicants. As I said before though, that's the fault of the club.

 

In fairness, I think the situation at Man Utd is different now with Glazer releasing a lot more season tickets. Prior to Glazer the number of season tickets issued was deliberately suppressed down to just below 20k from a 60k capacity. I'd no problem with this policy, it 'protected' long standing season ticket holders when it came to cup finals etc and still allowed those who couldn't afford season tickets to get to games through the ballot. It did become a bit of a farce though as ST's were handed down through generations or bought on the black market with a change of address. I actually got a 'congratulations' letter from the club on my 100th Birthday despite only being 40 odd as that was the DOB of the original holder

[Redshadow 0]

I do understand and its not taken personally. I don't know the ticketing system that well either, except that we booked them a couple of months earlier. I understand where you're coming from but should I be denied a seat after coming from thousands of miles away, in a possible once in a lifetime situation because a local who can go most weeks has left it to the last minute? Out of curiosity Does Man U have a season ticket situation like NUFC? Like I said, I fully understand what you're saying, but at the same time I hope you can see where I am coming from.

 

I do understand where you're coming from Danny but I'm not talking about locals leaving it to the last minute there was a '1 day' window to apply for your tickets online and they went into a ballot with no loyalty given to previous applicants. As I said before though, that's the fault of the club.

 

In fairness, I think the situation at Man Utd is different now with Glazer releasing a lot more season tickets. Prior to Glazer the number of season tickets issued was deliberately suppressed down to just below 20k from a 60k capacity. I'd no problem with this policy, it 'protected' long standing season ticket holders when it came to cup finals etc and still allowed those who couldn't afford season tickets to get to games through the ballot. It did become a bit of a farce though as ST's were handed down through generations or bought on the black market with a change of address. I actually got a 'congratulations' letter from the club on my 100th Birthday despite only being 40 odd as that was the DOB of the original holder

 

Same here, always have been handed down from generation to generation. The club had an amnesty a couple of years ago so that people could use their proper details. It'll always be that way though.

[Steve 0]

I know Stevie doesn't like me and thinks I'm a casual fan and that's fine with me. My situation is that I have family that emigrated to Australia in the 1960s from North Shields. Much like the other Aussies on here I followed the club as best as I could from home, and I guess I tried to contribute in my way by buying my shirts from the club shop and all that, but then I moved to the UK.

 

Now, my job is a little specialised and while I've been able to live all over the UK doing it, there's not a huge demand in the north-east. Fine, so be it, my employment agency have known for four years that I would kill to get a position in a Newcastle hospital to the point that I've built a good reputation and I'm going to be the first one informed when one becomes available, but I digress.

 

I am an out of town fan. I get to matches when I can however I guess I'm just not loyal enough because I wasn't willing to travel from Portsmouth, Southampton or Torquay each week to get to the match because while I could've afforded the ticket each week, the travel costs alone would have been crippling. Now, I managed to luck into a ticket to Old Trafford last weekend when they went on general sale. Do I feel guilty that I got a seat when a 'hardcore' fan could have had mine? Hell no. It was on general sale meaning that anyone could've called up and bought one. I have a ticket to the home matches against Bolton and Hull and again, general sale means anyone can buy one. I'll also attempt to get a ticket to Arsenal in a few weeks should any hit general sale.

 

I'd love to be able to have a season ticket and go each week but the sad reality is I can't so I go when I can. Sure I haven't been to St James in a year, but tell me, have any of you ever had a bad year where you just couldn't spare the money? I'm envious of everyone on here that gets to go to games week in week out, and there are more than a few people that have probably laughed at me and my over-excitement before games while we've been in the Trent because getting to a match just means that much to me. I don't see this as me trying to justify myself or my position, just that for some of us arsehole out of towners it's just a fact of life that we can only do what we can, where we can.

 

Sure I could move to Newcastle tomorrow and get a pub job because it's all us Aussies are really qualified to do anyway, but I love what I do and I keep hoping that maybe one day I can do that AND get to live locally so I can go to matches each week.

[Craig 6306]

Got bored before the end like. Where's that from?

 

 

I think we may have discovered the whereabouts of HTT...

 

always knew he was a fucking splitter

[Ketsbaia 0]

Got bored before the end like. Where's that from?

 

 

I think we may have discovered the whereabouts of HTT...

 

always knew he was a fucking splitter

 

Can't be. Nee fucking sharks.

[Holden McGroin 4855]

I always quite liked Martin Tyler but he did something in April which means that's no longer true and resulted in me having a sly smile when Wycombe who he supports failed in the play-offs.

 

Martin Tyler is an Arsenal fan. He went down in my estimation, when I was walking around Highbury for a pre-match pint and I saw the fucker with a Gunners tie on - on a day he was commentating.

[Guest Stevie]

I know Stevie doesn't like me and thinks I'm a casual fan and that's fine with me. My situation is that I have family that emigrated to Australia in the 1960s from North Shields. Much like the other Aussies on here I followed the club as best as I could from home, and I guess I tried to contribute in my way by buying my shirts from the club shop and all that, but then I moved to the UK.

 

Now, my job is a little specialised and while I've been able to live all over the UK doing it, there's not a huge demand in the north-east. Fine, so be it, my employment agency have known for four years that I would kill to get a position in a Newcastle hospital to the point that I've built a good reputation and I'm going to be the first one informed when one becomes available, but I digress.

 

I am an out of town fan. I get to matches when I can however I guess I'm just not loyal enough because I wasn't willing to travel from Portsmouth, Southampton or Torquay each week to get to the match because while I could've afforded the ticket each week, the travel costs alone would have been crippling. Now, I managed to luck into a ticket to Old Trafford last weekend when they went on general sale. Do I feel guilty that I got a seat when a 'hardcore' fan could have had mine? Hell no. It was on general sale meaning that anyone could've called up and bought one. I have a ticket to the home matches against Bolton and Hull and again, general sale means anyone can buy one. I'll also attempt to get a ticket to Arsenal in a few weeks should any hit general sale.

 

I'd love to be able to have a season ticket and go each week but the sad reality is I can't so I go when I can. Sure I haven't been to St James in a year, but tell me, have any of you ever had a bad year where you just couldn't spare the money? I'm envious of everyone on here that gets to go to games week in week out, and there are more than a few people that have probably laughed at me and my over-excitement before games while we've been in the Trent because getting to a match just means that much to me. I don't see this as me trying to justify myself or my position, just that for some of us arsehole out of towners it's just a fact of life that we can only do what we can, where we can.

 

Sure I could move to Newcastle tomorrow and get a pub job because it's all us Aussies are really qualified to do anyway, but I love what I do and I keep hoping that maybe one day I can do that AND get to live locally so I can go to matches each week.

I have nothing against you Steve, the only person you have a net row with seems to be LM. However, if my dad was from North Shields, I'd loosely consider my blood to be geordie, even though you've been born in Australia, it's clear you're ashamed of that country and who wouldn't be? So you have as much rights to tickets as anyone.

[Scottish Mag 3]

I know Stevie doesn't like me and thinks I'm a casual fan and that's fine with me. My situation is that I have family that emigrated to Australia in the 1960s from North Shields. Much like the other Aussies on here I followed the club as best as I could from home, and I guess I tried to contribute in my way by buying my shirts from the club shop and all that, but then I moved to the UK.

 

Now, my job is a little specialised and while I've been able to live all over the UK doing it, there's not a huge demand in the north-east. Fine, so be it, my employment agency have known for four years that I would kill to get a position in a Newcastle hospital to the point that I've built a good reputation and I'm going to be the first one informed when one becomes available, but I digress.

 

I am an out of town fan. I get to matches when I can however I guess I'm just not loyal enough because I wasn't willing to travel from Portsmouth, Southampton or Torquay each week to get to the match because while I could've afforded the ticket each week, the travel costs alone would have been crippling. Now, I managed to luck into a ticket to Old Trafford last weekend when they went on general sale. Do I feel guilty that I got a seat when a 'hardcore' fan could have had mine? Hell no. It was on general sale meaning that anyone could've called up and bought one. I have a ticket to the home matches against Bolton and Hull and again, general sale means anyone can buy one. I'll also attempt to get a ticket to Arsenal in a few weeks should any hit general sale.

 

I'd love to be able to have a season ticket and go each week but the sad reality is I can't so I go when I can. Sure I haven't been to St James in a year, but tell me, have any of you ever had a bad year where you just couldn't spare the money? I'm envious of everyone on here that gets to go to games week in week out, and there are more than a few people that have probably laughed at me and my over-excitement before games while we've been in the Trent because getting to a match just means that much to me. I don't see this as me trying to justify myself or my position, just that for some of us arsehole out of towners it's just a fact of life that we can only do what we can, where we can.

 

Sure I could move to Newcastle tomorrow and get a pub job because it's all us Aussies are really qualified to do anyway, but I love what I do and I keep hoping that maybe one day I can do that AND get to live locally so I can go to matches each week.

I have nothing against you Steve, the only person you have a net row with seems to be LM. However, if my dad was from North Shields, I'd loosely consider my blood to be geordie, even though you've been born in Australia, it's clear you're ashamed of that country and who wouldn't be? So you have as much rights to tickets as anyone.