A Man U supporting friend of mine just posted this picture on Facebook.
I'm sure it's all in the name of, ahem, 'banter', but they surely aren't trying to one up each other on this are they?
Honestly, Man Utd and Liverpool fans claiming the high ground in the 'you've got plastic fans' argument? It's like Tupperware and a Supermarket carrier bag arguing about who's less plastic. As someone once said - "beyond parody".
Apart from anything else, I'm sure I remember Man City getting huge crowds even when they were in the third tier, so surely the claim about them isn't even true?
Deluded, blinkered, glory hunting fools. Support your local team.
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I lived in South Norwood for an early part of my life, walking distance to the stuff of nightmares.
manutd.com/en/Fanzone/Local-Supporters-Clubs/Overseas/Asia.aspx
One of my nieces' husbands in Northern Ireland supports Manchester United; the other Liverpool. But only on Sky you understand, neither has actually been to a match!
I'd love to see Charlton winning the League, yet the sad fact is that if anyone asked who I supported... No doubt I'd be called a plastic for supporting them despite the fact that I've not missed a season at the Valley since 1998, yet have seen one Play-Off promotion | two titles | four relegations
I can't begin to imagine the rows that part of your family must get into.
For me that is what a plastic fan is
Liverpool fans are just clowns. Real Liverpudlians support Everton. Anfield is filled with those bussed in from leafy Cheshire or the London tourists.
Sloshing around in mid table of Prem is dream stuff for us but junk for the big boys
Sloshing around in mid table league one is junk for us but dreamland for fleetwood
So a win to us in the Prem was a big deal a loss to the big boys is a big big deal
Vice versa for us in league one
Liverpool fans who are 40 odd now started supporting during the glory years and relative to their past the last few years have been crap for them but would be dreamland for us
I don't like the we are better than them cos our clubs not so successful attitude because I don't think fleetwood fans are better than me cos their clubs not as successful
Liverpool and Man Utd have got monster sized support home and away and no doubt they'd still have ridiculous numbers if they slid down the leagues like MAn City did
Crowds have risen from when I started watching Charlton in the late 70's and took off with the premiership and all the revamped bollox bringing new fans in
Good I say , the more the merrier who like football
Man city have always had the support, regardless. I think alot of em may prefer the old days of playing at Maine road etc
Arsenal fans are starting to like of forget why they support arsenal.
Liverpool have always had the loyal supporters but obviously pretty much mirror manu in this sense that they will get alot of plastics.
Chelsea....that's the bandwagon jump club.
My Dad was born in 1933 in Hackney. Moved to Mottingham when he was 5 and then lived in Eltham and Mottingham all his life. He started supporting Charlton in 1947 (when he was 14). I used to call him a glory seeker.
I started supporting Charlton when we were fighting relegation at Selhurst (although I did attend about 7-8 games at the Valley prior to Sept. 85, including the very last game agsinst Stoke. I was just a kid and supported Liverpool at the time). I too am a glory seeker. It just hasn't happened yet.
As I grew up I was a Spurs fan in Primary School (Because of mates) and then became a Man Utd fan in 1992 when we got SKY at home. In 1994 I got free tickets through Primary School to go see Charlton v Stoke, was my first ever game and watching it made me realise that due to locality I stood more chance of seeing Charlton than any other team so might as well support them.
My Dad worked with someone who goes to Charlton (least I hope he still does as havent seen him there for years now) who took me on a few occasions which helped cement my support for the Addicks... My only disappointment is that I loved Charlton at Wembley but I never understood the magnitude of what we'd managed which sort of diminishes the day for me... i.e. If that happened now I'd go mental and doubt Id survive the day.
All that wouldnt have happened though if not for the free tickets and reckon I would be a Man Utd myself still
Pure AIDS.
The thing is, it all comes down to personal opinion on what makes a plastic fan as much as the team these people pick does. Loads of people see Chelsea as a plastic club since the money came in, but my mum has supported them since the 60s and saw them relegated so I have a harder time getting upset about their more recent success. They were also always a great cup team pre-Abramovich. On the other hand because there were so many arrogant bloody Man Utd fans around me when I was young I've grown up despising that club. Personally I like City; I respected them and their fans when they didn't have cash and I like that there's additional teams to challenge at the top of the Premier League. Cristiano Ronaldo, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Rio Ferdinand hardly grew up watching Utd from the Stretford End and they've been setting British transfer records since 1962, so if it's just an influx of money that makes fans 'plastic' then I suspect Utd and Liverpool fans are just upset that they've got more challenge at the top. Sod them
I took them to their first game at The Valley on Boxing Day 1997 against Norwich. They were 6 and 8 and for weeks and weeks leading up to the game I was saying 'won't be long now' - they were so excited.
Come the day we drove up to The Valley, parked up and started walking towards the ground. When the ground came into view I stopped and, bare in mind they were shaking with excitement at this stage, said to them that they had a choice to make. If they walk through the turnstiles they are committing to support Charlton Athletic for ever, and if they didn't want to make that commitment and have the option to support another team we would turn around and walk back to the car. Guess what they decided? Manipulative yes - but it worked and nearly 20 years on they are probably more passionate about Charlton than their old man!
My point really was that a generalisation about supporter 'plasticity' from these particular sets of fans is ironic in the extreme. So I lazily threw that generalisation back in.
There are a lot of reasons for supporting a particular team and, to an extent, who are we to judge? If I followed my 'support your local team' advice, I would now support a team in Dubai, but I don't. Considering the various places I lived growing up, I could justify supporting, as a 'local' team, Charlton, Welling, Barnet, Spurs, Arsenal, West Ham or Dagenham and Redbridge.
In the end, my dad's influence outweighed that of my uncles and stepdad (West Ham) or following success (Arsenal or Spurs).
At the end of the day, we can all support who we like, but many feel like their reason is better than that of the bandwagon jumpers. I don't think my reason is more worthy than others, but I do find it disappointing that so many people blindly follow one of the big teams "because they're good".
By the way, I've been approached three times this week by kids at my school asking which team I support. Each time I answered "Charlton" and each time the response was: "No, which Premier League Side?"