Arsenal

[PeterNdlovu081]

Arsenal are a proper club with proper fans, just like City are.

Which clubs aren't proper clubs?

 

[Bladesman]

Which clubs aren't proper clubs?

MK Dons.

 

[Dkc]

All the top teams are 'proper' clubs in theory - they have been around as long as most other clubs

But when they move to soulless bowls they lose some of their identity, especially when the tourists, floating fans and corporate spectators make up half the crowd. Reading, Arsenal and West Ham are three clubs that have lost part of their identity.

Saying that, the new Brighton stadium is a cracking ground, so it can be done right

 

[Inter_blade83]

All the top teams are 'proper' clubs in theory - they have been around as long as most other clubs

But when they move to soulless bowls they lose some of their identity, especially when the tourists, floating fans and corporate spectators make up half the crowd. Reading, Arsenal and West Ham are three clubs that have lost part of their identity.

Saying that, the new Brighton stadium is a cracking ground, so it can be done right

Brighton is a little bit different and there is a proper story behind them getting a ground. The others are just sell outs.

 

[Bladesman]

Which clubs aren't proper clubs?

Warbury.

 

[Maidenhead]

As someone who chose to become a Blade not because of family or even where I grew up I think I can probably give a slightly different perspective. I chose United because primarily of TC and Woody. I loved their style and even kidded myself I looked a bit like TC, looked not played!
I pretty much knew from day one that my choice was unlikely to result in huge success or large numbers of trophies.

Do I regret my choice? Well most of the time no. Have there been occasions when I've stood or sat at games thinking what the fook am I doing here? - bloody loads. Has it ever crossed my mind to abandon them and nail my colours to another mast?

Not a fucking chance!!!!

Have I inflicted the pain and despair of being a Blade on my kids - you know I have!!!

hello my mirror image

 

[Davalon]

Which clubs aren't proper clubs?

The inference was that some of these top Prem clubs are by and large followed by fake corporate fans. They're not. It's just that that element of support has swelled notably in recent times.

 

[shorehamview]

I'm a Blade because of my mother's side of the family, and will always be grateful, particularly towards my Grandma who took me to my first match many years ago. I've met some great people through our mutual support of this underachieving, downtrodden, put-upon, wonderful, mighty club. I couldn't even contemplate switching allegiances to any other team.

If I lived on here other side of the world and went to watch the local team I'd still be a Blade. For me it's in the blood. It's part of who I am. And the fleeting highs we experience together make up for all the lows, all the disappointments, all the woes. For every play-off failure, for every semi final loss there's a storming goal by Brian Deane, Michael Brown, Tony Currie, Keith Edwards, Pesch, Agana, Jags, and Billy Sharp.
For every tear there's a scream of pure joy. For every "you're shit" from the opposition there's a Greasy Chip Butty Song with the ground in full voice.

Being a Blade is more than following a football team. It's being part of an exclusive tribe, a band of brothers and sisters, truly United in every sense of the word. And every other team is shit, even the ones who win lots of shiny silver trophies, because they aren't Sheffield United.

Sheffield United is my religion, and Bramall Lane is my church.

 

[blade too long]

The inference was that some of these top Prem clubs are by and large followed by fake corporate fans. They're not. It's just that that element of support has swelled notably in recent times.

I remember sky doing a talk to the fans after a man utd game , they spoke to around 20 people , not one had a manchester accent
All teams that win the title attract the glory hunting plastics

man utd probably have 40 to 50000 from greater manchester but theres a goodly number from ireland wales and surrey
not to mention the tourist hoardes

I repaired a lot of Irish coaches at old trafford over for the weekend to watch man utd
must be 4 to 5000 stay in manchester friday or saturday night

 

[DaveBassettsgoneonholiday]

My younger brother epitomises what the majority of ManU fans are....hence we don't talk football on any level as his opinion is invalid.
He's tried supporting us,Chesterfield, Derby and Forest but miraculously stuck on the trophy dodgers from Salford.

 

[TBW57]

I support Arbroath, fuck knows what I'm doing here.

Tha means Arbroath Nil, surely?

I hate the Premier League with a vengeance. Typically, today, because Rene Sessegnon scored 2 goals for Fulham yesterday the talk was all about "other clubs coming in for him" and I don't think they were talking about Swansea or Middlesbrough. The idea that the lad might decide to stay with Fulham occurs to absolutely nobody. It's taken as read that he'll be off to one of 5 or 6 clubs; the ones who routinely snap up any potential young star just to stop their rivals from getting their hands on them, and to spend money that would otherwise go to the taxman.

How long would Johnny Haynes remain at Craven Cottage if he were around today? Or Matthew Le Tissier at Southampton? He'd no doubt be off in a flash to Liverpool or Arsenal as part of the Saints' annual sale of their best players.

 

[Darkoak]

I think it is too.

Whilst I can just about put rivalries aside and discuss football with Wednesday supporting mates I refuse point-blank to converse with Sheffield-born glory hunters who "follow" the big Premiership clubs when it comes to football because I struggle to hide my disdain. Thankfully there aren't too many of those in this city.

I reckon there may be many more here than you think, Tyler.
We were on the 10am train to Rochdale (via Manchester) the other Saturday and there were plenty of Man Ure 'fans' with local accents climbing aboard the same train - (they were playing Bournemouth in the lunchtime Sky game).
As with you, we refused to converse with these 'glory hunters'.

 

[PeterNdlovu081]

My younger brother epitomises what the majority of ManU fans are....hence we don't talk football on any level as his opinion is invalid.
He's tried supporting us,Chesterfield, Derby and Forest but miraculously stuck on the trophy dodgers from Salford.

Trophy dodgers?

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

Wouldn't swap being a blade for all the silverware arsenal, Liverpool, manure, chelski and citeh have won combined.
I am and always will be a blade.

Wouldn't mind Arsenals problems to tell the truth.

Imagine bitching on here because we'd been knocked out of the European Cup at the knock out stages for the 16th fucking season.

Still rather be a Blade though.

 

[Lord Bos of Eckington.]

Wouldn't mind Arsenals problems to tell the truth.

Imagine bitching on here because we'd been knocked out of the European Cup at the knock out stages for the 16th fucking season.

Still rather be a Blade though.

All down to expectations .

What we blades fans will be like next season remains to be seen .

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

All down to expectations .

What we blades fans will be like next season remains to be seen .

Lets hope we're suggesting the Premiership shove promotion up their arses and we decide to defend the League title the following season.

 

[Fanny magnet]

A London club with French players and African fans
Fuck off

 

[DaveBassettsgoneonholiday]

Trophy dodgers?

I'm sure the fact that they're not influenced his poor decision

 

[Hamburg Blade]

The thing is, what is a proper fan and what is a "plastic"? Most Blades are Blades because of:
Born and raised in Sheffield,
Dad or family member a Blade and taken to matches,
Moved to Sheffield and started going,
Influenced by a friend or married into it.

But I've known people who've claimed to be Blades without any direct contact with Sheffield or family connection. I'm sure there are some on here. They can't so much be accused of glory hunting as sado-masochism, but at what point are they classed as a proper fan? And bearing in mind the increased media attention and attractiveness of a club playing well at the top of the pyramid, why do people joining us at that point get classed as "plastic"?
Not intending this to be a criticism of anyone using the term, it is a genuine question.

 

[BushBlade]

The thing is, what is a proper fan and what is a "plastic"? Most Blades are Blades because of:
Born and raised in Sheffield,
Dad or family member a Blade and taken to matches,
Moved to Sheffield and started going,
Influenced by a friend or married into it.

But I've known people who've claimed to be Blades without any direct contact with Sheffield or family connection. I'm sure there are some on here. They can't so much be accused of glory hunting as sado-masochism, but at what point are they classed as a proper fan? And bearing in mind the increased media attention and attractiveness of a club playing well at the top of the pyramid, why do people joining us at that point get classed as "plastic"?
Not intending this to be a criticism of anyone using the term, it is a genuine question.

And what about Blades from Rotherham, Chesterfield, Barnsley, Worksop, Dronfield? How far is too far? Matlock?

 

[ourbob]

Just had a 2 month sky football package for free and watched man Utd v Liverpool and........
That's it.
Just something about that premier league I hate,yes,I have plenty of money to pay the £100 plus a month but I just like the "less media the better" for me.

Proper football.

 

[BushBlade]

Just had a 2 month sky football package for free and watched man Utd v Liverpool and........
That's it.
Just something about that premier league I hate,yes,I have plenty of money to pay the £100 plus a month but I just like the "less media the better" for me.

Proper football.

I prefer BT as it has pretty good European coverage and also quite a few National League games. Better variety. Some PL games are good, some are a bit dull, same as any level. I probably appreciate the standard of the PL more if I've just watched Solihull Moors v Tranmere or Dundee United v Hibs.

 

[Yellarbellyblade]

The thing is, what is a proper fan and what is a "plastic"? Most Blades are Blades because of:
Born and raised in Sheffield,
Dad or family member a Blade and taken to matches,
Moved to Sheffield and started going,
Influenced by a friend or married into it.

But I've known people who've claimed to be Blades without any direct contact with Sheffield or family connection. I'm sure there are some on here. They can't so much be accused of glory hunting as sado-masochism, but at what point are they classed as a proper fan? And bearing in mind the increased media attention and attractiveness of a club playing well at the top of the pyramid, why do people joining us at that point get classed as "plastic"?
Not intending this to be a criticism of anyone using the term, it is a genuine question.

Not having a go but how many years do I have to do to stop being "plastic" then?

Mate of mine is from near Wakefield, no Blades in his family but followed them for forty odd years home and away. Is he allowed to call himself a Blade yet?

I've watched us in every division and all without the excuse of "I had no choice because of family/born in Sheffield/etc etc."

Spent more money than I care to think watching them bearing in mind that I travel to every home game and in fact some away games are closer. Can I call myself a Blade yet?

Is there a hierarchy of Blade or is the statement "We're all Blades aren't we?" actually all that's important?

 

[Hamburg Blade]

Not having a go but how many years do I have to do to stop being "plastic" then?

Mate of mine is from near Wakefield, no Blades in his family but followed them for forty odd years home and away. Is he allowed to call himself a Blade yet?

I've watched us in every division and all without the excuse of "I had no choice because of family/born in Sheffield/etc etc."

Spent more money than I care to think watching them bearing in mind that I travel to every home game and in fact some away games are closer. Can I call myself a Blade yet?

Is there a hierarchy of Blade or is the statement "We're all Blades aren't we?" actually all that's important?

You may have misunderstood my post; I'm asking essentially the same question.

There have been references to "plastic fans" on this thread and I am genuinely interested in what people consider that to be. As has been mentioned, Man Utd are widely considered for having plastics and glory hunters. I can't say I completely disagree. With your background, what's your view of them?

 

[Lord Bos of Eckington.]

You may have misunderstood my post; I'm asking essentially the same question.

There have been references to "plastic fans" on this thread and I am genuinely interested in what people consider that to be. As has been mentioned, Man Utd are widely considered for having plastics and glory hunters. I can't say I completely disagree. With your background, what's your view of them?

Plastic fans at the big clubs , London , North West based .

Who the fuck came up with plastic fans for the Blades .

We are a club that has real support , wherever they live . Let's get real as fans . Fucking hell .

 

[Yellarbellyblade]

Sorry mate misunderstood. I think we have all earned the right to call ourselves Blades. My best mate has been a Blade for 25 years after he started coming with me. He's from Bradford. His eldest travels home and away - he lives in Bedfordshire. He has now started taking some of his mates. They're all from down south.

My eldest lives in Birmingham he takes his mates. I remember he once came home from school where all his mates supported Arsenal, Liverpool, Man U etc and said "well dad no one can call me a glory supporter can they?" (Top lad!)

Everyone of us is red and white through and through. The fact that not one of us is from Sheffield is irrelevant we've all paid our dues in pain, disappointment and cash over the years.

I do get it when you go to some prem grounds and it is packed with tourists with half and half scarves and Nikon cameras. That's a plastic in my opinion. Not sure we have too many of them (yet). Not in a hurry either to see them although if we do it probably means we've become successful - mixed blessing I guess!

Now there's a thought - having to cope with the Blades being successful.

 

[secretchief]

Ask him if he'd swap places with us after they have won the cup.

Just following up on this.

 

[JJBlade]

I would take whatever fans of these clubs say with a pinch of salt

There's nowt stopping them supporting another team like Enfield if they're so disillusioned

 

[Bell4]

I've got plenty of Arsenal supporting pals. Not the type of idiots you see all over social media but proper, working class, down to earth Arsenal lads who've supported them since the 80's.

I was chatting to a couple after the Bayern game and they were quite rightly distraught/embarrassed. One of them, a bloke in his 50's said "I'd swap places with you (Blades) in a heartbeat"...it got me thinking. He was gutted to leave Highbury, a proper ground with a decent atmosphere and he despises what the club have become. I've heard Citeh fans say similar.

Taking into account our lack of success, turbulent league form over the years/decades, Do you count yourself lucky you're a Blade?

The Blades are lucky I'm a Blade , along with the rest of us who year after year have followed trash , bad decision making and rank bad leadership . But when we get the good times - its fantastic - until we crash and burn which we always have . This time though i really think we could be on the verge of something great (in context for a club our size) and get to the Prem in a couple of seasons under CW . It really is fascinating times and it will be interesting to see how CW manages the club and the support he gets in the next couple of years. We are at another tipping point . We've blown it time after time and whilst i live in hope ....well , we will see

 

[tomtheblade]

You may have misunderstood my post; I'm asking essentially the same question.

There have been references to "plastic fans" on this thread and I am genuinely interested in what people consider that to be. As has been mentioned, Man Utd are widely considered for having plastics and glory hunters. I can't say I completely disagree. With your background, what's your view of them?

Following on from this, was thinking along these lines recently. What exactly are glory hunters/plastic fans and their effect on football.

The conclusion that I came to is that supporting a club is a kind of emotional investment. This is built up over years primarily through going to games, but also listening on the radio/online, following club news, debating with other fans, buying merchandise - essentially anything that involves interacting with the club on a personal level.
The upshot of this is come 5pm on a saturday we as football fans can feel elated or miserable, despite whatever else has happened that day. We could be at a friends wedding, and have every reason to be ecstatic, yet if that were the day Sheff U were relegated (and maybe someone even has this story) we would feel gutted. That is a true football fan.

Glory hunters or plastic fans are those who want the emotional outcome without putting in the emotional investment in the first place. They want the glory of victory without being willing to actually go and experience their team play, because they can't as a result of choosing to follow a team miles away from their home town, simply because of that teams success.

This is why although plastic fans do annoy me, it doesn't bother me that much, as in the end they're only cheating themselves. Sure, a Man Utd fan may feel pretty good every weekend when they win, but there's simply no way he or she feels the same way about that victory as a Blades fan who's been to hundreds of games and experienced just way too much pain and heartbreak.

Of course there are many genuine fans of successful clubs as well, so I guess they're the truly lucky ones. I actually think though that the best possible experience would be as a fan of a team which has seen both the lowest lows and the highest highs. So think if Bournemouth, who have been a lower league side for almost all recent history, were to somehow win the Premiership and/or Champions League. In this sense I guess Leicester fans have it lucky, as they've simply had an incredible rise over the past few years.

Despite everything, there's simply no way i'd swap being a Blade for anything else, no matter what heartbreak comes my way.