Comments on: Rio – I Was Going Bananas In The Stands When Kiko Scored

By: Anant

Anant — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:50:14 +0000

no complaints . its your choice what you want to believe .

but old trafford is bound have mixed accents . due to the fact that our fanbase is a gazzilion times bigger than city , you are definitely going to get people from all over england (and the world) , like myself (at some point of time, hopefully), paying over the odds to watch their favorite team play .
day-trippers , if you like . this is further compounded by the glazers hiking up prices and forcing the working class of manchester to watch from their television sets .

sadly , this is not the scenario at citeh .

anyway , i think its immaterial where your fans come from in this day and age . the fact is – the premier league and its clubs are not only about football , they are now global brand names . just ask man city’s arab sheikhs .

By: villa_brian

villa_brian — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:26:50 +0000

I can only go on what I hear at Old Trafford and Eastlands. Old Trafford is a complete mixed bag on accents, Eastlands is always Manc accents. That is my own personal ‘research’, and it is about as scientific as the ‘research’ in the article your refer to, i’m sure!

By: Anant

Anant — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:25:29 +0000

brian – open it . you’ll be surprised . there are links to other sites , with actual facts and figures quoted . you’re talking about bias and propaganda ? i think its people like yourself (no offense) who are biased by the media propaganda making you believe manchester is blue . i wouldn’t know , but i trust the sources scott used .

By: villa_brian

villa_brian — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:13:21 +0000

Stop exaggerating about Milner. Your perception and the reality do not match. Just before ‘Kiko’ as you call him received the ball, Ashley Young was taken from behind, I can’t recall by whom (probably the cheat Vidic). But then Mike ‘the red’ Riley just waved play on and it has been completely forgotten about because the injustice was ours and not yours.

And Anant, if you think i’m gonna read an article from this publication spouting about more ‘Man U fans in Manchester even City agree’ than you must not understand the words ‘objective’, ‘bias’ and ‘propaganda’. I don’t even need to read it to be able to predict it’s full of made up statistics and bloated opinion.

By: olusanjo

olusanjo — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 12:56:55 +0000

villa_brian, i guess that was the goal that killed your dreams of a top 4 finish. why did you not comment about the fact that milner wasted time while walking off the pitch? you think that does not count? you are kidding me. the added time in a football match is the discretion of the referee.
i am sure you will not have any issue with the 5 mins if we did not score that goal.

By: Anant

Anant — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 12:31:51 +0000

brian – if that indeed is your point then i suppose i wouldn’t be the best person to argue with that. i still see some people (like cockney reds) having an issue with your stance , but i’ll leave it to them to carry on this conversation .

about your point that there aren’t nearly enough united fans in manchester – scott had written an article sometime back ..
http://therepublikofmancunia.com/manchester-is-red-even-city-fans-agree/

which brings me to your statement that you expect to find united fans in india . yes there are plenty of us . but our population is slowly dwindling . the arrival of abrahamovic brought with it thousands of converts (who jumped ship – united to chelsea . them i truly despise) . there are legions of arsenal and liverpool fans as well . but most disconcerting is this new section of ‘holier than thou’ la liga fans (and they’re growing by the minute) .

finally – kiko’s goal against villa – it was brilliant . please allow us to marvel the quality , timing and scorer of the goal that was so vital to us . i need to see the ashley young incident again . but since the result didnt have a massive impact on your season, please let it go..referees are human and make mistakes . over the course of a season their decisions even out (unless its in a cup final or knock out tie!)

By: villa_brian

villa_brian — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 10:30:10 +0000

Clam down Anant. My point is to domestic (e.g English) fans who support Man U just cos they’re successful. I appreciate and indeed embrace the global nature of the Premier League. Foreign fans are the reason our league has grown so huge and I appreciate that. Unfortunatley for you Anant, it is hard for you living in India to appreciate the tribal, fiercly localised nature of football in this country. I don’t have an issue someone from India supporting Man U (indeed that is what I expect) but I cannot understand anyone from Surrey with no connection to Man U or indeed Manchester the place from supporting them. Football in this country is all about local identity…..or at least it once was. Maybe I am lamenting and romanticising too much, but for me that is why football is like no other sport. It is a lifestyle. And like I said before, that ‘winner’ you talk of shouldn’t have even existed for the reasons stated previously.

By: Anant

Anant — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 09:40:32 +0000

villa brian – i’m 21 years old from india …i have been supporting united for the last ten years . watched roughly 95% games in that period . i stay up until 3-4 a.m at times to watch us play championship teams in the carling cup . tell me , is it my fault i wasn’t born in manchester ? or that i wasn’t born in the 70′s or early 80′s to show how much i truly love my club ?!!
what is your argument based on mate ? are you jealous that villa have no global fanbase like united ? (which adversely affects their revenue)

p.s.- this article was for united fans to reminisce about a glorious late winner which proved to be the catalyst in our title defense . why did you have to sour this ?..such behavior is expected of scousers n those deluded blue bastards from the wastelands . villa are a respectable club and i hope they do well next season . peace .

oh and i do no about newton heath…and i do know my billy merediths and brian kidds

By: villa_brian

villa_brian — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 07:27:30 +0000

Good argument Billabong Bob, well put. I do understand some people have a good as claim to support their team for the reasons you state, and those who do follow thier team regardless of location are somewhat vindicated. It is those that just don a ‘sky 4′ top for no other reason than succumbing to the media’s propaganda that gets my goat. You see, for me and many others, football fans are unique for the tribal nature that it inherently fosters. You identify with your team and therefore your town or city. Villa-United football arguments could quite easily turn into Birmingham-Manchester debates (you win the football debate but not the city one – we are more than twice your size in that one!! See, I couldn’t help it!!) Therefore, I will never understand a brummie lad, who has never been outside the West Midlands, quite happily shouting ‘Manchester, la la la’ for as long as I live. Unfortunately for the genuine Man U fans, it is the globalised cartel that are contributing to your loss of identity and impacting so negatively on supporters of other English clubs outside of the ‘Sky 4′. I think even the most ardent of Man U supporter must sometimes grieve at the theft of ‘their’ club – see FC United as evidence of that!

By: Billabongbob

Billabongbob — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 06:04:31 +0000

My comment is for Villa Brian. My first game of football that I went to was Brighton & Hove Albion v Aston Villa in a Div 3 game. Villa were top and Brighton second. It was in 1972 and Brighon won 1 – 0. I went because my younger brother was a Villa supporter and Brighton was close to were we lived (Slinfold) I suppored Man United prior to this game and have continued to do so since even during the lean years and derision of relegation in 1974. No i don’t come from Manchester nor does my Brother come from Birmingham. I would like to think that neither my brother or I are fair weather supporters or glory hunters. We all pick up teams for various reasons, some because the team is successful (Liverpool have lots of supporters that don’t live in Liverpool due to success during late 70′s and 80′s) and no doubt if Villa had a successful run they would pick up supporters outside of Birmingham (my brother apart). Where you live shouldn’t preclude you from supporting a team, we all have different reasons why we chose one over another. Stop bleating on about United getting luck and decisions all the time as facts prove you wrong. (take your reference to penalties, check the records and see exactly how many are actualy given at OT to United then cross-reference with other teams and see if there is any correlation to your conspiracy theory) I suggest that you read, digest and think about this quote by a famous golfer “the more i parctice, the luckier i get!” may be its because Fergie put on extra forwards instead of playing out for a draw (ie Benitez) is the reason we win so many games late on.