Other games (2025/26)

[Moose]

2 minutes ago, leffe186 said:

Speaking for myself, it’s because they don’t mean anything to me as clubs any more. When I was a young fan it was Arsenal, Liverpool, Man U. Chelsea were a Second Division club when I started going to games and Man City became a yo-yo club. Both pretty inconsequential. Then when Abramovich and the UAE came they became nothing clubs to me. Not a conscious decision, I just didn’t really care or think about them in the same way. 

Somebody has to win each trophy each year, and on the rare occasion it isn’t us I’d rather it was a team I didn’t care about or even think of as a normal club any more.

 

Here, here.

 

City are by the least offensive of the cartel and the red mafia are the most insufferable of the 6

[Turnbull2000]

Those three club (Arse, Man, Pool) were essentially the core proponents of the Super League, with each set to have personal helping run the operation. They're beyond contempt.

 

We or no one else is getting near this lot now, that door is well and truly shut. So happy for City to keep depriving them.

 

 

Edited April 19 by Turnbull2000

[toon25]

ASM's Lens only a point behind PSG in Ligue 1

[St. Maximin]

1 hour ago, leffe186 said:

Speaking for myself, it’s because they don’t mean anything to me as clubs any more. When I was a young fan it was Arsenal, Liverpool, Man U. Chelsea were a Second Division club when I started going to games and Man City became a yo-yo club. Both pretty inconsequential. Then when Abramovich and the UAE came they became nothing clubs to me. Not a conscious decision, I just didn’t really care or think about them in the same way. 

Somebody has to win each trophy each year, and on the rare occasion it isn’t us I’d rather it was a team I didn’t care about or even think of as a normal club any more.

I can understand this and aside from the whole corruption thing I find City pretty inoffensive, but tbh I think it’s pretty hard to get past . We can’t complain about these rules (crap as they are) hampering us and leading to harsh penalties for poorer clubs, but then be ok with the richest and most powerful getting away with it. 
 

Each to their own, but I personally struggle with the concept of a non-entity winning the league nearly every year because it’s better than a team I hate, as I find it quite a disappointing way to look at the league. Arsenal and Man Utd have also been pretty inoffensive to us in recent years and Liverpool only got really annoying over the whole Isak thing. These teams aren’t our rivals. It’s also a good thing to see things mixed up for the good of the game, while it’s also no harm to any of us if Arsenal were to win (they won’t). I mean everyone hates Liverpool and I often hear how ‘unbearable’ it would be if they won ‘because of their fans’. They won last year and nobody cared!

 

 

Edited April 19 by St. Maximin

[leffe186]

25 minutes ago, St. Maximin said:

I can understand this and aside from the whole corruption thing I find City pretty inoffensive, but tbh I think it’s pretty hard to get past . We can’t complain about these rules (crap as they are) hampering us and leading to harsh penalties for poorer clubs, but then be ok with the richest and most powerful getting away with it. 
 

Each to their own, but I personally struggle with the concept of a non-entity winning the league nearly every year because it’s better than a team I hate, as I find it quite a disappointing way to look at the league. Arsenal and Man Utd have also been pretty inoffensive to us in recent years and Liverpool only got really annoying over the whole Isak thing. These teams aren’t our rivals. It’s also a good thing to see things mixed up for the good of the game, while it’s also no harm to any of us if Arsenal were to win (they won’t). I mean everyone hates Liverpool and I often hear how ‘unbearable’ it would be if they won ‘because of their fans’. They won last year and nobody cared!

 

 

 

I get it, I really do. I absolutely detest what’s happened to Chelsea and Man City and I fervently wish it had never happened to them and the game. I hope that if they broke the rules they get the book thrown at them. If I’m blunt, I’d be happy for it to come tumbling down and for them to fold. Sad for the fans, but they had a great decade or two.

 

I think I just see football support through quite childish, unreconstructed eyes. Is there any way to look at this league that isn’t disappointing? I’m nearly 53 and for me Liverpool have been really annoying for about 48 years. I envy you only feeling that post-Isak. That’s less than one.

 

I’ve said this before, but growing up in the late 70s/early 80s in North London my schoolmates were essentially Spurs, Arsenal or Liverpool. They were effectively the big local rivals. The way I feel about most clubs was established in the first 20 years or so. They do exist as peculiar entities in my mind, intertwined with local identities as well as people I’ve known in the past who were fans. I kind of like that.

 

So yeah, childish me wants the fans of the clubs who were my rivals at school in particular to feel pain and anguish - that schadenfreude has always been there. I also on an individual basis love interacting with fans of other clubs, because we all share something quite deep.
 

But I think when you say “these teams aren’t our rivals” - Arsenal, Man U, Liverpool - do you mean on a competitive level? Or a local level? Aren’t all teams supposed to be our rivals? Ideally we’re all at a similar level competing for the same trophies. I suspect the reason I care less about Chelsea and Man City was because they’re the teams I don’t see as rivals on any level and again, that’s not a conscious decision I made or copium. It’s just how I felt when Abramovich and the UAE bought them and started throwing money at them. To an extent it’s how I felt when West Ham moved to the London Stadium. And I’m pretty confident it’s how I’d have felt about us if we’d moved too. Something intrinsic to their previous character has been lost, or thrown away.

[Mike]

2 hours ago, Gawalls said:

Totally agree, said all season I fucking hate man city and Chelsea for their cheating and don't understand why anyone wants them to win.  Still don't.

 

The fact that they're league sponsored cheaters is why they're preferable. Rather them than a real team.

[St. Maximin]

10 hours ago, leffe186 said:

I get it, I really do. I absolutely detest what’s happened to Chelsea and Man City and I fervently wish it had never happened to them and the game. I hope that if they broke the rules they get the book thrown at them. If I’m blunt, I’d be happy for it to come tumbling down and for them to fold. Sad for the fans, but they had a great decade or two.

 

I think I just see football support through quite childish, unreconstructed eyes. Is there any way to look at this league that isn’t disappointing? I’m nearly 53 and for me Liverpool have been really annoying for about 48 years. I envy you only feeling that post-Isak. That’s less than one.

 

I’ve said this before, but growing up in the late 70s/early 80s in North London my schoolmates were essentially Spurs, Arsenal or Liverpool. They were effectively the big local rivals. The way I feel about most clubs was established in the first 20 years or so. They do exist as peculiar entities in my mind, intertwined with local identities as well as people I’ve known in the past who were fans. I kind of like that.

 

So yeah, childish me wants the fans of the clubs who were my rivals at school in particular to feel pain and anguish - that schadenfreude has always been there. I also on an individual basis love interacting with fans of other clubs, because we all share something quite deep.
 

But I think when you say “these teams aren’t our rivals” - Arsenal, Man U, Liverpool - do you mean on a competitive level? Or a local level? Aren’t all teams supposed to be our rivals? Ideally we’re all at a similar level competing for the same trophies. I suspect the reason I care less about Chelsea and Man City was because they’re the teams I don’t see as rivals on any level and again, that’s not a conscious decision I made or copium. It’s just how I felt when Abramovich and the UAE bought them and started throwing money at them. To an extent it’s how I felt when West Ham moved to the London Stadium. And I’m pretty confident it’s how I’d have felt about us if we’d moved too. Something intrinsic to their previous character has been lost, or thrown away.

Good post and I do appreciate your thoughts. I thought Liverpool have always been annoying to be fair, along with the other ‘red cartel’ teams. I just found them pretty inoffensive to me overall and not that relevant. If they’re winning by being annoying rather than corrupt I can live with that. The Isak thing did change that a fair amount though. 
 

I grew up in Kent mainly so was naturally surrounded by red cartel fans too… however in amongst the frustration I can appreciate these clubs are successful with impressive history and didn’t need unlimited oil money to help get them to where they are. If they’re winning win and square so be it. 
 

I agree everyone are our rivals, but in my experience Newcastle fans seem to despise them disproportionately more than other fans for teams we’ve rarely competed with in the league in recent years and most of these teams couldn’t care less about us. Liverpool fans I met in London were very nice when we beat them and seemed to like Geordies etc. Maybe that’s my confirmation bias though. 

 

 

Edited April 20 by St. Maximin

[triggs]

12 hours ago, toon25 said:

ASM's Lens only a point behind PSG in Ligue 1

Ligue 1 gets a lot of hate but the players they develop are much better and much cheaper than those from the Bundesliga

[leffe186]

44 minutes ago, St. Maximin said:

Good post and I do appreciate your thoughts. I thought Liverpool have always been annoying to be fair, along with the other ‘red cartel’ teams. I just found them pretty inoffensive to me overall and not that relevant. If they’re winning by being annoying rather than corrupt I can live with that. The Isak thing did change that a fair amount though. 
 

I grew up in Kent mainly so was naturally surrounded by red cartel fans too… however in amongst the frustration I can appreciate these clubs are successful with impressive history and didn’t need unlimited oil money to help get them to where they are. If they’re winning win and square so be it. 
 

I agree everyone are our rivals, but in my experience Newcastle fans seem to despise them disproportionately more than other fans for teams we’ve rarely competed with in the league in recent years and most of these teams couldn’t care less about us. Liverpool fans I met in London were very nice when we beat them and seemed to like Geordies etc. Maybe that’s my confirmation bias though. 

 

 

 

I mean, Liverpool had the Pools money. Most successful clubs have had one time or another where they were helped by a massive cash injection to get where they are. Literally in Arsenal’s case - the Chairman of Fulham bought shares in Woolwich Arsenal and tried to merge the two clubs because he thought other London clubs were getting too good. When the Football League told him to fuck off he used his friendship with the Archbishop of Canterbury to buy a new ground in North London and then bribed his way into the First Division. They were called the Bank of England club, throwing money at Herbert Chapman and loads of players to build their foundations.

 

A lot of it is just banter, but that falls away when you can just spend silly money (or taxpayer money). There is no “fair and square” and never really has been, but I think I do have a line that Man City and Chelsea very obviously crossed. Crucially, they crossed it during my lifetime.

 

I love football, and I love English football, and that’s part of the reason I’m on here. As a fan you’re constantly faced with these little contradictions and hypocrisies. I love chatting to other fanbases and representing my own, but all fanbases are populated by cunts of all descriptions . There are just differing proportions. I understand the relative merits of how Man U, Man C, Brentford, Liverpool etc got and remain successful but it doesn’t affect the bottom line that I want to win all the things all the time. That would ruin football, and I’d bite your hand off for it.

 

 

Edited April 20 by leffe186

[leffe186]

@St. Maximin Also - do you really think Newcastle Utd fans dislike those three clubs disproportionately more than other fans?  
 

Other than the baseline hatred of other teams’ success that all fans share, in my experience you hate Man U primarily because of the Keegan-Ferguson years. There’s a particular hate for Liverpool’s sanctimoniousness and the fawning press coverage (and refereeing) they have always had that is shared by all fans, older fans hate Liverpool because we all did in the 70s and 80s, middle/aged Newcastle fans will have had them as a rival in the 90s (the 4-3s) and young fans have had Klopp and the Van Dijk affair. Do you really hate Arsenal disproportionately more than, I dunno, Villa fans? Genuine question. 

 

My gut feeling is that it’s because you don’t hate them as much as other Newcastle fans, and if that’s the case, maybe you could explain why. Is it something to do with growing up in Kent, or your age?

 

Edit: I hasten to add, that’s not a dig, just a genuine question.

 

 

Edited April 20 by leffe186

[Choppy Chop Chop]

The team that lost 4-3 yesterday off the main page, well done forum 

[St. Maximin]

3 hours ago, leffe186 said:

@St. Maximin Also - do you really think Newcastle Utd fans dislike those three clubs disproportionately more than other fans?  
 

Other than the baseline hatred of other teams’ success that all fans share, in my experience you hate Man U primarily because of the Keegan-Ferguson years. There’s a particular hate for Liverpool’s sanctimoniousness and the fawning press coverage (and refereeing) they have always had that is shared by all fans, older fans hate Liverpool because we all did in the 70s and 80s, middle/aged Newcastle fans will have had them as a rival in the 90s (the 4-3s) and young fans have had Klopp and the Van Dijk affair. Do you really hate Arsenal disproportionately more than, I dunno, Villa fans? Genuine question. 

 

My gut feeling is that it’s because you don’t hate them as much as other Newcastle fans, and if that’s the case, maybe you could explain why. Is it something to do with growing up in Kent, or your age?

 

Edit: I hasten to add, that’s not a dig, just a genuine question.

 

 

 

I’d say so yeah, but like I said it might just be my confirmation bias. I lived 12 years of my life (I’m 36) in Newcastle, so have probably spent more time with them than any other particular team. 
 

I thought that about Man Utd rivalry too, but it was quite a while ago now. We’ve unfortunately not competed with them much since and same with the other ‘red cartel’ teams. 
 

Growing up in Kent I imagine played its part, but also meant I was surrounded by those fans also. Admittedly without really caring I have a soft spot for Arsenal - mentioned before here but it’s probably clear now . However, that does stem from the Wenger era. I find Arteta pretty unlikeable and same with a lot of the fans, but that’s the same for any massive fanbase full of whoppers online. People don’t dislike City fans much because they’ve had nothing to complain about in recent years, whereas Arsenal constantly bottle it having previously won plenty of trophies, so not surprising things are a bit toxic. They at least seem like a ‘real’ team to me and therefore it would be refreshing if they stopped Man City in the same way it was with Liverpool last year. 
 

FWIW I don’t care what people think of these teams. Mainly I find it a shame we’re happy for a team that has (potentially) significantly broken rules over many years that we all complain about hampering us and also leading to harsh penalties on poorer clubs. Lots to dislike about these other red cartel clubs, but I don’t think we can accuse them of screwing other clubs over - at least nowhere near the same extent. They’re just a bit annoying. 

 

 

Edited April 20 by St. Maximin

[joeyt]

Me tonight:

 

 

 

[El Prontonise]

Not Russell Brand FFS.

 

 

Edited April 20 by El Prontonise

[Nucasol]

4 minutes ago, joeyt said:

Me tonight:

 

 

[Nucasol]

Just now, El Prontonise said:

Not Russel Brand FFS.

@joeyt later:

 

[joeyt]

Was trying to highlight that the worst people in the world are West Ham fans yet I'll be supporting them if it means Spurs go down

[Moose]

34 minutes ago, joeyt said:

Me tonight:

 

 

 

 

Aside from those 2, West Ham have quite a strong line up of celebrity fans. Triple H, Iron Maiden, Elijah Wood, any cockney actor from those early 2000's mobster films (probably)

 

 

Edited April 20 by Moose

[Stifler]

10 minutes ago, Moose said:

Aside from those 2, West Ham have quite a strong line up of celebrity fans. Triple H, Iron Maiden, Elijah Wood, any cockney actor from those early 2000's mobster films (probably).

Don’t forget every cast member of Eastenders.

[Moose]

3 minutes ago, Stifler said:

Don’t forget every cast member of Eastenders.

 

John Cleese, Keira Knightley, Alfred Hitchcock, Dave Grohl, Chris Jericho, King Olav V, Lennox Lewis, Vera Lynn, Barack Obama, Queen Elizabeth II, One Pound Fish Man and MC Hammer too amongst many others according to Wikipedia 

 

Jeremy Kyle too just to balance it all out 

[Stifler]

1 minute ago, Moose said:

John Cleese, Keira Knightley, Alfred Hitchcock, Dave Grohl, Chris Jericho, King Olav V, Lennox Lewis, Vera Lynn, Barack Obama, Queen Elizabeth II, One Pound Fish Man and MC Hammer too amongst many others according to Wikipedia 

 

Jeremy Kyle too just to balance it all out 

Feels like West Ham fans see a celebrity on TV and go to wiki to claim them.

[Dr.Spaceman]

2 minutes ago, Stifler said:

Feels like West Ham fans see a celebrity on TV and go to wiki to claim them.

 

Sounds like a mackem thing to do

[Colos Short and Curlies]

West Ham win and Spurs pretty much done for?

 

Would need to beat Leeds and Everton at home plus one of Wolves, Chelsea, Villa away you feel

[Decky]

If Palace were any kind of real club they'd be giving West Ham 3 points tonight.

[Decky]

12 minutes ago, Colos Short and Curlies said:

West Ham win and Spurs pretty much done for?

 

Would need to beat Leeds and Everton at home plus one of Wolves, Chelsea, Villa away you feel

 

People seem to think they'll just show up at Wolves and get 3 points, I think they'll lose that.