Not being Irish, I don’t really understand the whole “second team” malarky. When Robbie Keane signed for Liverpool, claiming they were his boyhood team, before signing for Celtic, and claiming the same about them, he was ridiculed on this blog. I, like many, didn’t and don’t understand how you can support two teams. I won’t get in to this supporting your local team debate, given that I’m lucky enough to have Manchester United as my local team. If I lived in the middle of nowhere and my local side were some uninspiring outfit from Division 3, would I love them like I love United? I’d like to think yes but I’m not going to start preaching to others about something I can’t prove I’d do myself. Regardless, the issue of taking on a second team has never been relevant to me. However, now, for the first time ever, can red Mancunians claim to have a second team?
When Roy Keane took charge of Sunderland, less than a year after leaving United, it was natural for us to look out for their results. He had been such a massive figure in shaping our greatest moments over the past decade so of course we would wish him the best wherever he got in to management. If the United connection had ended there, we probably wouldn’t have thought much else of it, but as the years have gone by, this connection has grown.
In the past five years alone, Sunderland have been represented by Andy Cole, Dwight Yorke, Phil Bardsley, Kieran Richardson, Frazier Campbell, Jonny Evans, Danny Welbeck, Danny Simpson, Danny Higginbotham, Liam Miller, David Healey and Paul McShane. Our former keeper, Raimond Van der Gouw has worked at the club as a coach and our former Reserve team coach, Ricky Sbragia, was on their staff and was caretaker manager when Keano left. Mick Brown, our former assistant manager, was their head scout, Neil Bailey, our former youth team coach is on their staff, as well as our former player, Michael Clegg. Not only was one former captain, Keane, their manager, but our captain when we brought back our first title in twenty six years, Steve Bruce, is their current manager.
With John O’Shea and Wes Brown joining those numbers yesterday, it’s pretty hard to deny the link between the two clubs. Whilst some of those players mentioned above weren’t fans’ favourites or hadn’t played at United for a while, these two are well loved by our fans.
In the 2003 run in, United fans took a “We’ve got Wesley Brown, we’ve got John O’Shea, Manchester is dreaming of silverware in May” banner to the away games. Both their songs, particularly Wes’, regularly get sung at Old Trafford and will do for years to come. Seeing these lads we’ve watched grow up at the club wearing the shirt of another won’t feel nice, but it will also make it more difficult to avoid that soft spot for Sunderland.
Clearly though, I’m not actually adopting Sunderland as my second team, but I will probably feel a stronger attachment to them than I have any club that isn’t United before. Just looking at their squad, their back four next season will probably consist entirely consist of our youth team products!
I will be cheering them on though, looking out for their score, and hoping they do as well as possible next season.
Come on Brucey and the lads!
Man Utd News 24/7
It’s…..It’s…..It’s……. what? I can’t stand the tension!
Ha ha I’m intrigued now too
STR
I believe the end of your article is missing, but its clear where you are coming from and I fully agree…. If you are a true supporter of one club, a club that gives you an added reason to wake up every morning, a club that equally gives you as much heartache as joy then in no way could you feel the same about any other club….. Some of us may look out for results of other teams but that comes with no passion whatsoever….. For example I wanted Forest to get promoted last season, they did not and so I moved on with out having any emotional connection with the fact.
The said issue is fairly evident with younger fans these days who when asked who do you support they say ‘well in the PL its Arsenal, in Spain its Barca, in Italy its Milan’ HA???
Being from a small town in Iceland I can understand the whole second team thing. Until recently my local team was poor by icelandic standars so you can imagine how poor they were. But I think that Sunderland ReUnited is a good “second” team to have, it´s a safe bet, they won´t be title contenders or in any way a threat to United and hopefully they´ll manage to upset 1 or 2 of the bigger teams.
I have to say that as a West Ham fan here who loves to see old favourites come back (Judas aside) it is great to hear that supporters from a club as successfull as yours are looking out for ex players as opposed to ridiculing them for not being (ant longer) up to the standard of United.
A good article.
Thanks
In terms of support, there can always be only one club that you “support” with your heart out. If there is more than one on that list, then you are not a supporter of either. You are just someone looking to kop an easy way out when one club succeeds and the other fails.
But in terms of having a soft spot, there can be any number of clubs. These are clubs you want to do well, you want them to beat your rivals and you want them to beat anyone else except the club that you support. There is nothing wrong with this. I’ve got many in fact – Everton and Sunderland mainly.
I want them to always have great seasons and if possible make it to the Europa League. If they don’t, I’m not going to be eternally sad about it as I would if United didn’t win the league. And therein lies the difference.
And I mean “second team” as a team you can watch when United isn´t playing.
degea
rafael rio vida evra
carrick
sneijder rooney
nani hernandez young
time to get a new username for me after 3 years using this one
Never been one to support anyone but United, but since sunderland are more or less Man Utd B, I will definitely be looking out for them next season and hoping they beat all our main rivals and do well ( finish 2nd behind us ofcourse) in the league. Best of luck to Brucie and all the other United lads there.
True.
Not the second team but the team with most of our former players involved in games i will really support. There is nothing we can do about it..
Everytime Sunderland are on, I want them to win, just because of that connection, except when playing us obviously.
I’m not even from England, from Malta, where football is shit, and my town’s team is the worst of the lot. So why bother? I was born in 1988 and started supporting United because I was a kid and supported the winners, a natural glory hunter at that point. But I would NEVER support another team, not even a local one.
When Keane took over at Sunderland i seen a few split down the middle home United/Sunderland jersey
@long john o’shea: how about jolly phil jones?
Still got the pirate feel to it?
@ willie nuts are red : Happy Birth Day Bro!
@ Has anyone seen Balaji Silverman?
@smartalex : we have a new ZULU friend in @bayobuya . Hello bayobuya , i was refering to @smartalex as the zulu to join me in Fergies dream.. Join us ,probaly around december,we see how da season is going first.
Matt
I know for a fact that Malta has one of the best overseas United Fan Clubs in the world…. The boss and many players always pay a visit….. Are you a member?
Nah, usually when a player leaves OT I stop following their tracks. Funny isn’t it? Sunderland are United’s B team and City are Arsenal’s.
My team is United. However, I do feel the urge to support all teams that play against Pool scum, Leeds scum, Shity scum and Arse scum. They are not “second teams”; their support are simply born out of the hatred for my team’s rivals.
Costas
Who would be Liverpool’s B team then?
Would’t EVER go as far to say I “support” them, but I have had an eye on Sunderalnd since Keane joined as Managerl. Bruce for me is the Dogs Bollocks, so when he joined and steadied the ship, I’ve been “supportive” of his efforts, just wanting to see a United Legend succeed. Same thing with Ince at Blackburn, although I did lmao at Hughes after the Owen goal.
When Welbeck arrived I watched SundIreland even more, just to see if Welbeck has it, and im glad, because that 3-0 over the Rent Boys was brilliant football, and Welbeck was class for all Season. So im already one foot on the Sunderland bandwagon, but I could NEVER “support a second team”. I’ve only ever supported one team since a little boy and thats United. Having said that, its still brilliant watching Bruce put his stamp on Sunderland as one of ours – buying Gyan after the WC was a top signing, and with Brown and O’Shea he’s got a great defensive options. Good on him.
Personally I want Kiko to go there on loan.
Agree with the article, however I’d never seriously adopt a second team to the point were I’d go to watch them play or anything like that. Wes was my favourite United player of recent years and O’shea will always be considered a fans favourite for his goal against Liverpool on the kop, So I will definatly be paying attention to how they get on this season, but I was already keeping an eye on Sunderland because Brucey was there.
Can see Sunderland having a good season they’ve signed some good players, I fancy them for the carling cup.
@Clint-IamYourPapii : Yo Papii ! Your list there is not the final list,maybe one more or 2 to be released. Matt James and Danny drinkwater have not made the waves on loan,so have to wait and see if they get more time when the reserves team is rebuilt
The reason I am saying rebuilt is cos , a group of those players were on the brink,first team or released. Gradually the team has been getting smaller and smaller.
The core thats left is :
Amos
Brady
Brown
Laet
Gill
Drinkwater
Norwood
Petrucci(maybe got time ,just inducted into the reserve last term)
Matty
King(bright star,jusr inducted into reserve last term, on loan)
Wootton
Marnick
These 12 are all thats remaining,the rest have been released or sold. Matty and Drinkwater like i said maybe off too soon.
We know that Morrison,Tunni and Pogba will join them this term.Other than that have to wait and see.
@Cedard
No one. Their players are so crap, no one wants them.
CedarsDevil, apart from it being one of the best, it is the first supporter’s club.
I’m not a member no, I never get around to joining. My dad’s a Chelsea man so he wouldn’t have taken me there to sign up, and I enjoy watching games in the comfort of my own home, so I’ve never really seen a real reason to join the club (sadly I cannot afford to fly to Old Trafford at the moment).
Gary has just promised Malta’s club that he’s going to buy them a premises so they can stop renting the current one, the man loves the country, so do a lot of other players.
Some say the boss owns a huge villa here too.
Cedard? Sounds like retard, which mind you might not be far from the truth!
Nice response though!
Thanks Dave for the hearty welcome.
It will be hard to ignore Sunderland results esp the clean sheets ‘if any’ coz admittedly last season I was following their action and praying each time for Welbeck momemts of glory and I must say the lad didnt dissappoint.
Was waiting for a spurs reference seeing as this came up on news now spurs.
Still I quite like fulham with the ex spurs there. Used to like utd till when it was you v arse at the top, now though after unsettling and buying our best players in recent years I’m not quite as parcial.
Also the style of football you guys play now is not as attractive as it once was but when you are on song especially in Europe there arnt many other teams I like watching as much
One team, United.
Of course, if anyone fucks with those I have loved, it enrages me.
That includes trying to beat them in a football match.
Trouble is, most of the non-United games I watch are from the Premiership and there’s usually several ex-players connected to both teams.
As Sunderland hold the most cards, I will no doubt be rooting for them above all others.
One team, United. Many ex-players fondly remembered and happily cheered!
@ wjo..
spot on mate, good too see such level headed rival fans like you in this blog, hope you will have a good time..
yeah we always support our ex players except few like the Cunt tevez..
i wish the Big Sam will bring you guys back to PL..Upton park and hammers deserve it..
#################
regarding the second team,
well well well,
i m sure and i know that we all love ONLY UTD..
its kinda supoorting the sunderland when they play our rivals and keep looking out for their results..
not with passion but just curiousness..
someone mentioned that kiko should be loaned to Sunderland..not a bad option at all..bring ion welbeck and send out kiko..
good luck to our lads, they will always be remembered..
Matt
I hope the day will come when you will be able to afford a trip to OT and watch the boys live, I am sure it will be one of the best days of your life…. As for the United connection with Malta, it seems it has existed for many years and long may it continue…..
One smartalex, one BOFA
@smartalex: hello bro! theres another zulu in da house, @boyabuya.
@boyabuya: u welcome,say hi the the scotsman zulu in @smartalex.
Has anyone seen @Cedard ?
Good afternoon Reds!
Happy Birthday willierednut! Come out! Come out! Wherever you are!
Zulus in the house. Yeah! Hello bayobuya! Dave Malaysia, we await your call …
What’s cooking CedarsDevil? Did Costas chop off the Devil’s tail?
@smartalex: hopefully we will be singing in Fergie’s dream, ‘ur a genius boss’ .
@aww willierednuts in da cave ,no come out !
@Cedard ,whaere art thou?
smartalex
I think Costas tried buddy, hence the saying ‘Never trust Greeks bearing gifts’
Bugger trying to chop my tail off, the devil in me would then die!
Dave Malaysia
It’s really gonna be so fucking wierd to see Sheasy and Wes chasing down Hernandez when we meet them..
I’d want us to beat them home and away,even if we have to do by all means necessary.
I woke up to all this transfer business and i was like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkKOqij_Tdw&feature=player_detailpage
Then I called Fergie and I was like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zkJqC78b_w&feature=player_detailpage
Then I wa happy Like This :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vF8vZM-O3hc&feature=player_detailpage
Ok everyone beware of The Greek bearing gifts!
Hide yer tails!
Offer him yer rum !
Then walk him on da plank but WAIT get Cedars tail back ,then let sharky do the rest!
I can understand the whole second team thing
. Because of my dad,I grew up supporting both Benfica and Manchester United. In Portugal it is quite normal to support a foreign team mainly from Spain or England. My dad was a die hard Benfica and United supporter. He even went to Old Trafford a few times especially when he came to England on business. When I came to live here in England most people assumed I decided to support United because of their success but my hearts knows better and that for me is more important than what everyone else things.
I have had people on here telling me that I cannot honestly say that I support both teams equally especially when they play against each other (which has happened in recent years). But like my dad used to say ” tell that to my heart, it really wishes I didn’t” .
Hope you are all well.
Actually, I’ve long been a supporter of ‘second teams’, and I’m certainly not amongst the modern kids you mentioned as being symptomatic of the trend. Though United have always been where my football passions reside, I have also taken an interest in other leagues as well, most notably Spain, where I became a Barcelona fan during the Cruyff era – imagine how conflicted I felt during the recent CL final, watching my beloved reds being beaten by my favourite Spanish team! In Scotland I’ve been a Rangers fan for almost as long as I’ve supported United, while closer to home my attitude is that if United can’t win the title I’d rather see the Gunners take it out over the likes of Liverpool or Chelsea – one because I like the team’s style, and two, because any United supporter would die rather than see Liverpool or Chelsea win the championship! At World Cup level I’ve always been a huge fan of Brazil, which is not particularly earth shattering news – plus a fan of whoever’s playing Italy at the time. Interestingly, I’ve never had the least interest in the other two major European leagues in Germany and Italy – probably because I hate the way both teams play their football at international level. Over and above all this is interest in other sports which makes life so interesting – a 49ers/Yankees/Lakers fan where American sports are concerned, Collingwood/Roosters fan with regard to Australia, All Blacks in rugby, etc, etc.
http://www.manutd.com/en/News-And-Features/Football-News/2011/Jul/smalling-signs-new-contract.aspx
Fantastic news and totally deserved.
Will never forget his towering display against the Bitters at Old Trafford.
I don’t fully buy the 2nd team concept, but Blackpool were probably the closest to it last season for me, apart from a brief 24 hour thing I had for Stoke on a random Saturday near the end of May
But with these red reinforcements, I’ll be rooting for the mackams next year I guess.
Need to change that silly stadium name though. Never sat well with me.
portugueseprincess
You have my full support in whatever you do darling…..
Blimey I am getting senile!
@smartalex and @boyabuya : pls start practising for december where i think we will be dancing in Fergies dream.
this is the dance u need to learn,good luck!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=QiTD1Jzb3JM
@CedarsDevil, hahahahahahha. Thanks for making me smile xx
@STR : mE PUT SOME DA VIDEOS ON ME DA POST ,WHY DA U PUT IT UNDER MODERATION,HUH?
@ Dave Malaysia – That ‘s my dance that kid is doing!
Dress me in a kudu-kilt, give me bagpipes and a knobkerrie and I’ll read the future in the entrails of my haggis! An imp is a little devil, and an impi is a zulu warrior, so we’ll Impress the boss.
@ Dave Malaysia
If you post a comment containing more than 1 link, it is diverted for moderation.
I’m a red, but I’m not from Manchester, so I also support Hannover 96 which is my home team. When Zieler, a goalkeeper who came from the United acedamy, transferred to Hannover, I was very happy.. but apart from that my favorite team and my home team don’t get in each other’s way.. so i guess a second team is not a problem, as long as they are not playing in the same league, I mean, you can’t support United and Chelsea at the same time, can you? That would be crazy….
@smartalex: ok get it,tq.
kudu kilt ,bagpipes and a knobberrie!
haggis readin gettin me into the harry potter final segment mood!
see u later impi , hungry need go find dinner!
great news about Chris!.
for me its not a second team just teams hope do better than others.some teams i out and out hate,other teams i admire,everton being one,like david moyes,players play hard for him and the team proves still be a top team in the prem without having a ton of money. like sunderland sir alex has done quite a bit of business with them,sunderland for obvious reasons will be a team i hope does well.think there is a pattern with sir alex helps out managers he likes,bruce and moyes gets lots of love from the gaffer.
portugueseprincess
Always a pleasure my fellow die hard RED
Marseille have been my second team since the glory days of Fabien Barthez, Basile Boli, Jean-Pierre Papin and, erm, Chris Waddle. Doesn’t stop United being my first and true love.
That said, the game last season in the Velodrome between my two loves was probably the most boring game I’ve seen since I started supporting United about 20 years ago.
@ Long john O’Shea & Gerkeo
Nah if your goin pirate it shud be Phil Jones’ Locker
I have my own team, but pick a team to support from the lower leagues to keep an eye out for their results and occasionally go watch, I dont think theres anything wrong with it.
In terms of boyhood clubs from players I reckon the best/worst example of that was Teddy Sheringham, who supported Millwall, West Ham, Spurs, Forest and no doubt United as a boy and would go to their home games as a youngun. Id love to see the bus pass that allowed him to do that!
Having said that, when he was at West Ham, Teddy managed to play in a Saturday late kick off game away at Bolton, but was still spotted in the VIP bar in Faces in Gants Hill before 11 the same evening, so I suppose it must be possible!
All any united fan can do is wish them well. I don’t feel any urge to follow every sunderland result but you would be lying if you said you didn’t care how our former players faired on there own. I take great pleasure out the sheer number of former greats that are now managers and coaches and alot are very good managers at that.
I was considering following Everton when they had Landon Donovan on loan, it was a spillover from me following the USA when they played in the Confederations cup that year. But when he left they were so boring.
Isn’t Sunderland a country club offshoot for MUFC anyway? Seems like it, though I have to say I’m a fan of Asamoah Gyan.
@ gerkeo @ green red….
cheers lads, Im going with Phil Jones’ Locker
@Dave Malaysia & Smartalex .. The baby has cool moves but would give the gaffer a nightmare make sure its nowhere near matchday. BTW the sound track is from DJ Cleo another Zulu from RSA.
“It was one of those things,” he said about leaving the champions. “I was there for 13 fantastic years
http://www.manutd.com/en/News-And-Features/Football-News/2011/Jul/oshea-on-old-trafford-exit.aspx
I live Peterborough, do you think I support “The Posh”? Do I fuck!!!! Manchester United is my Religion and if you think I’m gonna let geography dictate that then you must be mad. I have enough love for one team and one team only.
This blog explains exactly how United became so popular in Ireland. There have been Irish players playing for United for over 100 years, so when local lads (dont forget the population of Ireland is only 4 million, so everyone is local) went to a club like United it was big news, still is.
Naturally Irish people took an interest , some (most) ended up supporting United, others Liverpool, Leeds or just about anywhere there was a close connection.
I know people that support Ipswich, Leeds, Liverpool, West Ham, Chelsea, Aston Villa, Everton, City and now because of the Irish connection at Sunderland there are a few of their shirts knocking about.
Also hhaas a great picture of Bruce.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/premiership/bruce-delighted-by-new-recruits-16021180.html
I’m Irish and I couln’t give a flying fuck about Celtic or any other shower for that matter. I
personally wouldn’t swap a United Community Shield for an Irish World cup win. So
bollocks to Sunderland who would kick the shit out of us if they needed to beat us to stay
up. It’s Simple. United and only United!!!!!
….
Been wanting to ask y’all this question,but wat does T4M mean when he types this”…”?
redscottx,i type that to when i have nothing to say so i can have feedback sent to my mail box
if you base the choosing of your team purely on locality, having a second one makes little sense. if you base it on other things however (i.e. family connections or dual nationality etc.) it can make perfect sense. im both a diehard United and Celtic fan. being half english and half scottish there’s some justification, but its not a logical decision. i have a brother who i adored who grew up a celtic fan. he also started supporting United during and after the ’85 cup final (supporting United throughout as they were the 10-men underdog). knowing they were his teams, i too became hooked. but once you fall for something, rational understanding and logic dont really apply. that said, i dont think you can feasibly support two teams from the same country/league. but given my two teams seldom meet apart from friendly affairs, ive yet to face any major conflict of interest. at the end of the day, its what you feel that counts. and my heart still impulsively skips a beat every time either a United or Celtic player scores a goal. thats why i have some connection and empathy with the likes of Robbie Keane… i dont think for a second he was lying about celtic and liverpool being his two teams. indeed, he was often spotted at celtic games down the years. Craig Gardner? well, he’s another story.
Been a United fan for over 20 years and I believe that it’s kinda next to impossible for a United fan to have a second team. While I may have admired the Barca and Milan teams over the last 15-20 years, even seeing either of them doing well in Europe would piss me off. I would rather have had United doing the business in Europe instead of them. Likewise for teams like Madrid, Porto and Juventus, who have won countless domestic titles, I’d rather they don’t win anymore, so that United is the team in the whole of Europe with the maximum number of titles. But then it’s to each his own. Not judging anyone else over here. I will say however, that life does become a bit difficult for a foreign United fan. There’s too much suspicion and labeling that comes with the pedigree. But it’s all worth it – being a United fan is privilege. The class of the gaffer and the overwhelming majority of lads who’ve played for us over the years, and CLASS as men, as individuals make you thank the fact that it’s United that rocks your world. When one listens to what most dippers have to say, just generally abt stuff, the kinda venom they have – you sit up and realize, rarely any United fan in the world would spout verbal crap like this. I thank God I’m a Red Devil!
My gran was born near Sunderland and her family supported Sunderland when she was young. She started supporting United as an adult in the 50s…my family have supported them ever since! So I’m not a true Mancunian, but I love United and would never support another team. Yet at the same time I do have a soft spot for Sunderland due to heritage and as you said as well
Thanks Dave Malaysia
I am probably the oddest Local United supporter ever!
I was born in East London
Moved to Bradford at 3
Moved to Rochdale at 5
My Dad got a job in Manchester when i was 6
Left when I was 9 to go to Leeds for a year
Then Moved permanently to live in southhampton
At 18, I left home to study & work in London But Occasionally visit family in Southhampton,bradford,rochdale & The Great Manchester. & To also go OT as much as possible.
When Im not working im in 1/4 of the 4 cities above.
I have followed United since I was 6 & the only team i look into mostly out of other clubs are QPR, only out of interest because it is close to where I work and recently have got well known owners but if they got relegated I couldn’t give 2 shits.
“We’ve lost wesley brown,we’ve lost john o’shea at least we picked up ashley young,young phil jones and de gea”Sorry!
The Curious Case Of Michael Owen
http://unitedbanter.blogspot.com/2011/07/curious-case-of-michael-owen.html
I can understand the whole “second team” thing because I go and watch FC when United aren’t playing…
Well, I think i understand it. I mean, I’m from a small town in Hungary… I can’t enjoy the Hungarian football. There are 2000 people in the stadiums, and I don’t they even like their own players…
United is much different. I don’t think that we have as much fans here as FC Barcelona, or any other scum, but it’s cool.
Anyway, i couldn’t enjoy any Hungarian matches – the Hungarian national team is the only exception. They’re playing an acceptable football, with a bunch of fans… There is a fantastic atmosphere at their matches, and when there’s a Hungary – Sweden match, i get as excited as an United – Chelsea. So… maybe my “second team” is my national team.
A second team due to utd affiliations? Then Its gotta be FCUM.
Hope Steve B does a Phil Neville and makes one of them Captain, would be great! but all in all Sunderland is our B team now. Good one Scott…
Always liked Sunderland and their fans since their fans went past Old Trafford on their way home in 1996 after having secured the Championship title while we won the premier league up at Middlesbrough.
We celebrated together on the forecourt and in the pubs and I have enjoyed great times with Sunderland fans after that as well in the pub before games against them. It’s not about having a second team for me to cheer for but about having had the pleasure of dealing with their fans and realising they are a great bunch of people.