Imagine just having a casual walk down the street – you see a City fan wearing his new shirt proudly – what do you think ‘glory supporter. ’ You see a Chelsea fan in a pub with a shirt that says ‘Legend’ on the back, followed by a number 11. Again the first thing that comes into your mind is the fan is somewhat of a glory supporter. Not a die-hard fan, but someone on a whim, who cares little about the club apart from the trophies they have achieved. Likewise, the age old joke, most United fans live in London – yet are these actually fair claims, or are they what can only be described as an insult to the born and bred fans?
Don’t get me wrong, I am fully aware of the ‘prawn sandwich brigade’ type of supporters, who are only interested in fun filled away trips in Europe or a big game to discuss on the golf course the following Monday, yet what about those real fans – the ones who would describe it was a total insult to be a dreaded ‘glory supporter?’
There are Chelsea fans who remember the days before Abramovich and his Russian billions took over the club, for whom the victory in Munich will only ever tie with a Jesper Gronkjaer goal against Liverpool to save the club and get fourth place in the Premier League.
Not to mention the City fans who were there for the second division play-off final against Gillingham many blue moons ago – leaving it late far, far before the days of Aguero goals, and of all the clubs it is perhaps City fans who take the tag hardest.
These are by no means the only clubs who’s fans get such a tag – any club that has recently come into money or trophies – or usually both – suffer the same fate, and ironically you will find that the genuine fans are the ones who hate the new breed of supporters at their clubs the most.
The running joke last season for new City fans was that they had come by their shirt by putting their old Chelsea one in the wash on a high heat to dye out the dark blue – how insulting to real fans, yet such a valid accusation for the new breed, who when it looked like City were about to lose out on the title were about to declare they had loved United all along.
It is such a fine line in modern football, where loyalty from the players is also a thing of the past in most clubs, and you don’t get many like Craig Bellamy who would play at a club they loved for half the money they were being offered elsewhere – it is somewhat mercenary these days, and in some cases this is the situation for fans too.
Of course, all clubs no matter how small have their die-hard fans – those Rangers fans who will turn out every week for third tier Scottish football, or the Leeds fans who were their when they were splashing the cash and are still there now, and it is full credit to them, and they are the people who keep the clubs going, not the new influx of fans each season who come armed with their ‘Champions’ shirt and prawn sandwich, and it is those fans who rightly feel aggrieved when asked exactly how long they have supported the club – they are about as far away from a glory hunter as you can get.
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