RateTheRef

Quote from: REDSTRIPE on Mon 19 Apr 2021 11:42

Quote from: Microscopist on Mon 19 Apr 2021 07:55

I waited for the official announcement hoping that my club, Manchester City would not be listed as those joining the "super" league.  I'm saddened and a little surprised that we would want to join with those who sought to have us excluded from Europe on spurious grounds.  Only a little surprised as commercial interests have clearly taken preference over  principles and I guess "keep your enemies closer" comes into play.  Whilst I have long considered the footballing authorities at international, continental and national level to be inept I don't have much confidence that this will improve matters.  I have posted before about the inevitability of football braking into two  codes and I have read, whether fact or fantasy based I know not, that there may be changes.  Possibly games decided as in rugby on a points basis - goals from outside the penalty area counting more points than those from within, a game of four quarters rather than two halves and so on - true or not I don't know?
A straw ;poll of around 1000 City fans show 95.7% against.  What do I do?   City are my club - I believe that my great grandfather played for them, dad was a lifetime supporter and they have always been my team.

It's tough to know what to do.......for what it is worth I won't be renewing my Arsenal supporters club membership

It's people like you guys I feel the most for.  Proper fans who are having their clubs completely stolen away from them.  We all know the big clubs have many plastic armchair fans but they do have a lot of real fans as well and it is the real fans that will suffer. The armchair fans however, will continue to buy their TV subscriptions and claim to be the top fan, never missed a game etc. but the majority of them wouldn't be able to even pinpoint the ground on a map, let actually alone go to a game.

More than ever I am glad I don't support a big team. I struggled enough with AFCB going into the PL. My little tinpot club that I thought nothing of jumping in a car and driving for 8 hours to Carlisle to watch them in League 2 (maybe league 1) and them getting hammered 3-0 - bank holiday Monday many years ago. I'd do that time and again. Rarely missed a game home or away.  We had no money, we were on 1st name terms with the bailiffs, our squad was threadbare but there was something special about it all, it was our club. As soon as they reached the PL, they stopped being my little tin pot club and became a corporate entity and I hated it. I watched the first season in the PL, well most games anyway and held a season ticket for the next 3 years although never attended, nor did I watch the games on TV. I gave my season tickets to a fan led charity that used them each game to send a disabled or terminally ill child and their carer to a game. A little bit of magic for those kids. Then for the first time in 25 years I gave up my season ticket, it was easier than I thought.  I'd go and meet up with team ref for a coffee (if they are friends of mine) and then go home and watch the NBI. I live just 7 miles from the ground. I remember one such coffee meeting, when I asked the referee who they were playing that day - the look of shock on his face is still with me. He's known me 20 odd years and he said something like, he never thought he'd see my love for my club die and in all the years he'd known me, I'd know every result, every goal scorer, every referee (and what colour shirt they had worn), every attendance figure etc and now I didn't even know who the opposition were. It was at the end of that season I didn't bother renewing my ST. They're still my team, to a degree.  You don't lose 40+ years of following a club completely. I was 3 weeks old when I went to my first game but my heart went out of it due to the money league.

Covid aside I'd think nothing of jumping on a plane to Budapest on a Friday morning, watching live NBI games on Fri night, Saturday & Sunday, possibly a non league game (I have 2 non leagues teams in Budapest), possibly an NBII game as well - kick off times dependant and flying back to the UK on Sunday night. I did that one weekend when AFCB were away to Man Utd in the PL.  It cost me the same for the flights, my travel cards in Hungary & food, accommodation is free for me there, as it would have to have gone to the Man U game & I know which was better value and what a fab weekend I had.