Watford FC 1-2 Manchester United - 15/09/2018

I must admit at work the majority are united or liverpool fans same in our village really ,see a few barca shirts as well ! I did find an everton fan on my dog walking circuit , nice chap although there were a few heated discussions of late .
I think the fact that there is a direct airlink to manchester helps to create a lot of norwegian man u and liverpool fans .

 

I live in the South of Norway where there has never been a flight connection to the North West of England.. nearest airports are Torp or Stavanger, which are more than 3 hours drive away. Yet both clubs are massive down here. They have their own supporters clubs and particularly the Liverpool lot are very active.. organising felles tours, bringing ex players over and even organising matches between local teams and Liverpool Legends sides. I once met John Barnes at kristiansand airport cause he'd been over for a presentation evening.
I sometimes talk to a Liverpool fan here who's been going to games since the 1950's. In his 80's now but first went because he was in Liverpool docks with the merchant navy.

I also know supporters here of Stockport County, Swindon, Bristol City, Leeds, Hull City, Telford United, Barnet, Blackburn, Ipswich and Wolves.. as well as those from bigger clubs.

 

I know Clinton Coleman.
He works at Totteridge.
We used to call him 'Onion Head'.
Your story reminds me of a Basil Fawlty line: "Sybil that sort would wear a dog turd around its neck if it was covered in gold".
Then again Mel Brooks: "Merchandising,merchandising,merchandising".

 

For the uninitiated, there are actually two norths: Posh North and, of course, Grim North.

 

Think you have forgotten Sporty North, Scary North, Baby North and Ginger North

 

Loughborough, Bradford, Nuneaton and... I guess Scotland?

 

A I'm disappointed you sound interested.
B Do you mean Harrow, The School or Norf 'Arra?

 

They may now live in the South, but they probably didn't originally come from there. Eg try asking the way in London and see how lucky you are.

 

My goodness, you're right - I've never been to Workington and I'm not any kind of Workington fan.

 

My guess is there still are a lot of very rich ex-Lehman employees around. They probably regard their time there as very successful, even if the rest of the World doesn't.

 

I consider myself very proper and I go to football matches - where does that leave me?

 

My cousins are Man Utd fans. Not only are they from Manchester (shocking I know), but my uncle set up his pharmacy as close to Old Trafford as possible so they could park near the stadium! Now that is commitment.

Also hoping we stuff them.

 

When I was at school during the Furphy era my classmates would have their First Division team whilst still going to the Vic on Saturday afternoon. I didn't because I wasn't a glory hunter. I joined the Bradford Park Avenue Supporters Club because BPA were rubbish. I had never been anywhere near Bradford. Still haven't but I check their results when I remember. I wouldn't class myself a fan of Bradford.

But, marketers and commercial offices have realised that many people develop a weak connexion to sides that are successful and create a brand. I won't labour this because you are all aware of it. What seems to be forgotten in our dislike for this is that they do the same thing for other products too. There are people obsessed with everything about Apple. Steve Jobs is their hero in the same way that Ronaldo is for others. Brand management is about the brand and marketers are manipulators getting people to identify themselves with the brand. Why do people buy t-shirts with Nike or Adidas written on them? Why do people go to Starbucks or McDonalds for inferior food and drink? They are manipulated by marketers. We are all manipulated by marketers. Mrketers are very clever.

Getting back to football, it is easy to create an attachment if there is no rival attachment. If you grow up with a link to a team, that usually remains strong. It stops the way brand marketing works because we believe in some sort of geographical or familial connexion. If you don't have that, marketers will create the link for you. We call people who follow the brand "plastic fans". I don't think that is altogether their fault. Marketers know how to create an image that resonates with people. They then know how to get people to purchase things with that image. They don't particularly care about the object as long as they make money. Manchester Utd, Myra Hindley, so what. Marketers are totally amoral. Manchester Utd paraphernalia is easier to sell than Myra Hindley stuff so that is what they will invest their time and money on.

 

I was based in Norway for a few years in the 70's and 80's and, if I remember correctly they first started showing English football around 1970 and Liverpool won the league about nine times in he next 20 years or so, the FA Cup a few times and European trophy's about 4/5 times as well. The Norwegian equivalent of the football pools called Tippekampen, or something similar, was also very big then and was based on the English First Division, with a selection of (I think) about 8 games matches, that always seemed to include Liverpool's games. They were the stand-out side, and that is where their huge Liverpool fan-base started from.

 

I was always in my Watford top north of Nottingham since 1989

 

I was also on that train-so that 3 of us on this forum for a game nearly 40 years ago but we were heading for promotion that year to Div 2 for what was then only the second time in our history. Specials-there's something that also passed away not that many years later.

Memories eh

 

I've been to Workington on a Tuesday night in November, not watching the mighty Watford mind but actually playing and it was maybe a Saturday. Does this make me a glory supporter?

 

Regarding being a 'proper fan' as opposed to a 'plastic' one (or a glory hunter, as we still refer to them as) - my take on it comes from when I was a kid.

Growing up in leafy Hertfordshire, all of my mates (and many others at my junior school) supported Liverpool and Tottenham. This was the mid 80's, and their chosen teams were because of the relative successful spells those clubs had in the years prior (Liverpool having dominated English football for ages, and Spurs having a run of success in the FA Cup and winning the UEFA Cup).

I had a keen parent that wanted my brother and I to actually experience games live - hence our love affair with Watford being born, due to its handy locality. I was mocked endlessly by the other kids for this choice (bear in mind, I missed the early GT years when we would beat the top sides; we were now in to Bassett territory). My only come back was " how many games have you been to?"

Those same people - 30 years on - have still only attended barely half a dozen games. In 30 years. As has been mentioned in posts above - if you want to mock me for my team's results against yours, then you need a better back catalogue to do so.

I noticed in the workplace about ten or so years ago how there were suddenly lots of Chelsea fans springing out of nowhere, coincidentally around the time of them winning back-to-back league titles. It just comes across as so fake and insincere to me, and I can never take them seriously.

Having a genuine reason to like a certain club - fair enough. Supporting them because they win the most - not good enough, imo.

 

12 games are selected these days.. and you'll be pleased to see we are game no.1 on the Lørdagskupongen this week.. https://www.norsk-tipping.no/sport/tipping#daytab

Tippekampen was actually the name of the program that sent live football from England.. one game every Saturday afternoon from late 69 onwards. The name meaning 'the betting game' and was one of the games from the coupon that week. I was interested to find out we were shown twice in the first 11 live sendings..
https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tippekampen

In the 70's/80's you could often see Norwegian advertising boards at English football grounds.

 

I am 50km South of Stavanger at work there is a derby fan even a stoke city fan ! Funnily enough us being joint top means I don't have to explain where Watford is anymore .

 

Just like add that I've been to Workington. Went on a special with 300 other nutters, got hit on the head by a full can of beer flying across the carriage, cost £2.90 still got the ticket. Won 1-0, ran on the pitch as it kicked off with the locals, met Elton and he signed my program. Can't remember too much more as I might as well have been watching basketball
too many Long Life's. Them were the days.

 

As someone who wasn’t born into a Watford supporting family, I could make the argument that I’m a better fan than those that have attended the Vic their whole life.

I chose the club. I wasn’t born into it.

And anyway, how far down the divisions do you have to go to be a proper fan? Are Watford fans born in Middlesex to be chastised for not supporting Harrow Borough or Wealdstone?

I think there a whole load of kids whose parents don’t take them to football matches. So they watch teams on TV. Great teams get more airtime, and inspire greater repeat watching.

If somebody in Brighton supports United and watches all their games on TV, that’s fine. I don’t really have a problem with it.

I do however think that they’re missing out on the best part of football, which has never been shown to them, which is a shame.

Anyway roll on the weekend. A 2-0 win for my favourite club. Lukaku with a brace.

 

Aren't Grim North and Sporty North the same person?

 

My definition:
Anyone who supported a team from a young age because they were winning things, then doesn't grow up when they reach 13 and start to support their local (ish) team is a plastic.
Caveats:
Your father was a genuine fan and since moved away but got you into them.
An actual family connection to the club, (being the son/daughter of a plastic doesn't count).

Everyone else is a football fan.

 

2 OG’s? Unlikely.

 

Since when were there rules about what makes someone a proper fan, or a better fan?

If people want to support Utd from afar that's their choice

Good job we can like music without having to go to every concert, or a film without having to stalk the actors

 

Not so far from me then.. somewhere near Egersund?

 

Your gf s dad sounds like a total cxnt.

 

Presumably you were just fitting in with the locals.

 

Aylesbury lad?

 

Duck born and bred.

 

It’s just bangers this season.

 

Do I remember Workington Town?

Nasty feeling I do.

A game for Welbourne to step forward.

Whilst we’re joint top, WT is now a semi pro rugby league outfit.

A divergence of fortunes which even Sawyer would struggle to chart.