Rival Fans: Why are Utd so unpopular?

Infordin

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We could lose for twenty years and that wouldn't change rival fans would still take extra pleasure every time we fail .
You would basically become Liverpool.
 

Prometheus

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If football was music and clubs represented genres, United would be pop. That's why.
 

SNes

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Growing up in the 70's and 80's the daily trips to school when Newcastle and Liverpool fans would sing the Munich songs whenever football was a topic of conversation was a joy, Comming from Sir Bobby Charlton's home town you would expect better but no they don't like him much either.
It was much easier in the 90's 00's when we won everything.
 

77

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Growing up in the 70's and 80's the daily trips to school when Newcastle and Liverpool fans would sing the Munich songs whenever football was a topic of conversation was a joy, Comming from Sir Bobby Charlton's home town you would expect better but no they don't like him much either.
It was much easier in the 90's 00's when we won everything.
I went to college in Ashington in the 80's
 

SteveJ

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It's because of that Chelsea/Conte thread in the FF, isn't it?
 

AshfordLad

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Still don't consider them a traditional rival based on a period of time we were the top two sides.

Traditional rivals I think City, Liverpool, Leeds. That's really it for me.
Having watched it as a "neutral" would call it a heated rivalry especially during the early to mid-2000's. I guess, your defn of traditional varies from mine.
 

Xaviesta

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Jealousy and success will play a part. Successful clubs also have sources of pride such as their style of play, willingness to give a young homegrown players a chance, giving managers time. Those are things things apply to United and at times it comes across like a superiority complex. When Bobby Charlton spoke about David Moyes's appointment, he preached the idea that "stability breeds success" (not a necessity for a successful club when you look at other clubs) and i read that as United looking down at others. A perceived superiority complex is something that'll rub opposition supporters up the wrong way. My club is like that too, so I can't be too critical there.
 

Reyoji-Utd

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Thing I don't understand is that we made our money and success through decades of building the club (from nothing essentially), the way it's supposed to be done - a proper football club. I don't get why people don't hate the likes of City and Chelsea more - clubs who just had money pumped in and bought success. We have earned anything we have achieved, the same with Liverpool, Everton, Arsenal, Spurs, etc
Maybe that's the reason they dislike us because we do it the way a proper football club should do, building success and earn money and become the biggest club in England and one of the biggest supporting club in the world. Jealousy at its best and also they just can't replicate what we have done and continue to do.

With City, Chelsea, and the likes, they probably just couldn't care less about them.
 

Billy Blaggs

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Maybe that's the reason they dislike us because we do it the way a proper football club should do, building success and earn money and become the biggest club in England and one of the biggest supporting club in the world. Jealousy at its best and also they just can't replicate what we have done and continue to do.

With City, Chelsea, and the likes, they probably just couldn't care less about them.
Yes. And then they want to be relevant.
 

pacifictheme

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I think it's just to do with being in front of everyone's faces for their whole lives coupled with the tribal factor. It kinda makes sense that if we aren't part of their gang but we're always shoved in their faces that they'll end up not really liking us.

I think people also bought into the whole glory supporting bullshit a bit too well.
To be fair there are a feck load of glory supporting united fans.
 

NK86

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If football was music and clubs represented genres, United would be pop. That's why.
Really don't get this analogy. What would Liverpool be? Or for that matter Aston Villa and the likes of City, Arsenal and Chelsea?
 

Billy Blaggs

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When someone beats you up so constantly and them you knock them out is a win.
Doesn't anyone want to knock out the big dog?

If I'm playing as Burnley on fifa who do I want to beat. United or Liverpool.

Then Madrid
 

Ruffian

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1.You are the only club to come close to our success. We never want you to do well because you are a threat to us.

2. Your fans are the nastiest supporters I've ever encountered. I'm talking en masse here. Arrogant, entitled, obnoxious, deeply and viciously ugly and violent. You may have decent individuals, but whenever you come together you behave like twats.

3. Fergie. That sour, seething, rod-up-the-arse look on his face whenever you are losing. His bullying of referees, his pleasure in the downfall of others, his indignant childishness, surliness and autocratic intolerance to not getting his way. His sucking up to Blair. Your embracement of the corporate culture and emphasis on image. His irrational hatred and resentment of Liverpool, his treatment of Alan Hansen. The gamesmanship, the win-at-all-costs attitude.

4. Roy fecking Keane. Has there ever been a greater cnut to play football? The fecker should have been imprisoned for his assault on Alfe Inge Haaland.

5. Your tradition of stars over team ethic.

6. A kid I knew at school. They came from Manchester, his Dad a recovering alcoholic, his Mother looked like the Honey Monster. All of them rabid Man Utd fans. All of them were monsters, bullies, animal abusers, filthy scum. Thicker than the thickest pigshit. Neanderthals. Fascist sympathisers. This may have tainted my impression of the club.

7. Liverpool, by contrast. We will have within our ranks violent dickheads, racists, homophobes, wife beaters, but as a group I know of no better fans in the world. We have real passion for the club and our history, we support our players through bad times and good. We have a culture of humour and wit. We were battered in the 80's by Thatcher and the Tories but we fought back. We never gave up over Hillsborough. We have Socialist traditions.
 
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Billy Blaggs

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1.You are the only club to come close to our success. We never want you to do well because you are a threat to us.

2. Your fans are the nastiest supporters I've ever encountered. I'm talking en masse here. Arrogant, entitled, obnoxious, deeply and visciously ugly and violent. You may have decent individuals, but whenever you come together you behave like twats.

3. Fergie. That sour, seething, rod-up-the-arse look on his face whenever you are losing. His bullying of referees, his pleasure in the downfall of others, his indignant childishness, surliness and autocratic intolerance to not getting his way. His sucking up to Blair. Your embracement of the corporate culture and emphasis on image. His irrational hatred and resentment of Liverpool, his treatment of Alan Hansen. The gamesmanship, the win-at-all-costs attitude.

4. Roy fecking Keane. Has there ever been a greater cnut to play football? The fecker should have been imprisoned for his assault on Alfe Inge Haaland.

5. Your tradition of stars over team ethic.

6. A kid I knew at school. They came from Manchester, his Dad a recovering alcoholic, his Mother looked like the Honey Monster. All of them rabid Man Utd fans. All of them were monsters, bullies, animal abusers, filthy scum. Thicker than the thickest pigshit. Neanderthals. Fascist sympathisers. This may have tainted my impression of the club.

7. Liverpool, by contrast. We will have within our ranks violent dickheads, racists, homophobes, wife beaters, but as a group I know of no better fans in the world. We have real passion for the club and our history, we support our players through bad times and good. We have a culture of humour and wit. We were battered in the 80's by Thatcher and the Tories but we fought back. We never gave up over Hillsborough. We have Socialist traditions.
That's it bud. I hate you like you hate me.
Well played. We're the same
 

Lentwood

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1.You are the only club to come close to our success. We never want you to do well because you are a threat to us.

2. Your fans are the nastiest supporters I've ever encountered. I'm talking en masse here. Arrogant, entitled, obnoxious, deeply and visciously ugly and violent. You may have decent individuals, but whenever you come together you behave like twats.

3. Fergie. That sour, seething, rod-up-the-arse look on his face whenever you are losing. His bullying of referees, his pleasure in the downfall of others, his indignant childishness, surliness and autocratic intolerance to not getting his way. His sucking up to Blair. Your embracement of the corporate culture and emphasis on image. His irrational hatred and resentment of Liverpool, his treatment of Alan Hansen. The gamesmanship, the win-at-all-costs attitude.

4. Roy fecking Keane. Has there ever been a greater cnut to play football? The fecker should have been imprisoned for his assault on Alfe Inge Haaland.

5. Your tradition of stars over team ethic.

6. A kid I knew at school. They came from Manchester, his Dad a recovering alcoholic, his Mother looked like the Honey Monster. All of them rabid Man Utd fans. All of them were monsters, bullies, animal abusers, filthy scum. Thicker than the thickest pigshit. Neanderthals. Fascist sympathisers. This may have tainted my impression of the club.

7. Liverpool, by contrast. We will have within our ranks violent dickheads, racists, homophobes, wife beaters, but as a group I know of no better fans in the world. We have real passion for the club and our history, we support our players through bad times and good. We have a culture of humour and wit. We were battered in the 80's by Thatcher and the Tories but we fought back. We never gave up over Hillsborough. We have Socialist traditions.
Well I did ask....

Like i said, I am not looking to create a tit for tat thread of back and forth abuse or even really refute any of the points made

What is clear is that this kind of dislike is a genuine, deep rooted dislike from a supporter of our biggest rivals. Its definitely an interesting post but I can see why Liverpool fans dislike our fans and vice versa. I am intrigued to see whether non-geographical or clubs who haven't historically challenged us for trophies feel the same way
 

duffer

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It's because of that Chelsea/Conte thread in the FF, isn't it?
For me personally, 100% this. I'm a little annoyed my thread is being used as an experiment to see how the Cafe would be without a newbie forum.

A lot is to do with success.

A lot is to do with the fact so many glory hunters support United.
Realistically, this (especially the second part).
 

Ian Reus

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If football was music and clubs represented genres, United would be pop. That's why.
Can't say i agree with that analogy.
Bob Dylan would suit it more, surely?
Traditional but have the capacity to reinvent themselves according to the era.
Worldwide exposure and following with the continuity of success.
My 17yo son loves Bob Dylan just like i do and did when i wasn't much older than him.
His friend hates Dylan though and would rather listen to dance music.
Edit: rock music if it's genres you're referring to.
 
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Siorac

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7. Liverpool, by contrast. We will have within our ranks violent dickheads, racists, homophobes, wife beaters, but as a group I know of no better fans in the world. We have real passion for the club and our history, we support our players through bad times and good. We have a culture of humour and wit. We were battered in the 80's by Thatcher and the Tories but we fought back. We never gave up over Hillsborough. We have Socialist traditions.
A tiny shame your brilliant fanbase openly supported racism.

The whole list was exceedingly hilarious but this one took the cake. The stars over team ethic thing was golden, too. After openly worshipping Steven Gerrard for a decade even when he assaulted someone in a bar or continuing to support Suárez simply because he was good.

All football fans are basically partisan twats when it comes to their own team. Liverpool fans are somewhat worse at this than most, actually, because they've been starved for so long; when they have an actual half-decent player they go to any lengths to proclaim him god.
 

Raees

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Easy to see why United are hated in the modern context. More interesting to read about why United were hated even Pre Fergie and also whether or not Liverpool were hated as much as us during the 80s.
 

FCBarca

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Crikey, Yanks comparing United to the Dallas Cowboys :houllier:

Certainly no hatred on my part, there's an overall level of arrogance in English football that probably peaks with United owing to their greater success compared to rivals. Like any big club, United suffer from bandwagon fans - this is just the nature of winning, it attracts the casual fan and United has arguably the greatest marketing presence on the planet so they're more likely to have a larger proportion than other clubs
 

lewwoo

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1.You are the only club to come close to our success. We never want you to do well because you are a threat to us.

2. Your fans are the nastiest supporters I've ever encountered. I'm talking en masse here. Arrogant, entitled, obnoxious, deeply and viciously ugly and violent. You may have decent individuals, but whenever you come together you behave like twats.

3. Fergie. That sour, seething, rod-up-the-arse look on his face whenever you are losing. His bullying of referees, his pleasure in the downfall of others, his indignant childishness, surliness and autocratic intolerance to not getting his way. His sucking up to Blair. Your embracement of the corporate culture and emphasis on image. His irrational hatred and resentment of Liverpool, his treatment of Alan Hansen. The gamesmanship, the win-at-all-costs attitude.

4. Roy fecking Keane. Has there ever been a greater cnut to play football? The fecker should have been imprisoned for his assault on Alfe Inge Haaland.

5. Your tradition of stars over team ethic.

6. A kid I knew at school. They came from Manchester, his Dad a recovering alcoholic, his Mother looked like the Honey Monster. All of them rabid Man Utd fans. All of them were monsters, bullies, animal abusers, filthy scum. Thicker than the thickest pigshit. Neanderthals. Fascist sympathisers. This may have tainted my impression of the club.

7. Liverpool, by contrast. We will have within our ranks violent dickheads, racists, homophobes, wife beaters, but as a group I know of no better fans in the world. We have real passion for the club and our history, we support our players through bad times and good. We have a culture of humour and wit. We were battered in the 80's by Thatcher and the Tories but we fought back. We never gave up over Hillsborough. We have Socialist traditions.
It's good to have a laugh on a miserable sunday morning. Thank you.
 

Wumminator

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For me personally, 100% this. I'm a little annoyed my thread is being used as an experiment to see how the Cafe would be without a newbie forum.



Realistically, this (especially the second part).
I have moved around England quite a bit. Spent a lot of time in the midlands. Few months down south a few summers ago.

I fecking hate most United fans. They'd be unbearable if I supported anyone else.
 

Wumminator

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I went to sixth form in Stoke. Just as they'd gotten into the Prem. I remember I used to give the lads stick, they'd give me stick. But at the end of the day they'd go every fortnight to the Britannia to watch their club and I'd get tickets to Old Trafford about fifteen times a season.

You'd then have a few lads who would just mercilessly rip into the Stoke fans. Saying they played rugby or that they were going down. But these lads had been to Old trafford three or four times. At most. They had chosen United because of Beckham or trophies or some nonsense. They had basically decided they were going to be winners and insult those beneath them who has a relationship with their fathers or their local club.

That's why United fans are hated. Football is a communal bonding experience between families and communities and not about "banter" and rubbing your superiority into other people's faces.
 

SimonD

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Ultimately I think it's because we're the club that people who only have a slight/vague interest in football feel they have the most affinity to and I think that irks a lot of people. People who aren't fans of any one club usually look out for our result. We're the football club for people who don't like football. The housewives' favourite. I think much of that is a relatively modern phenomenon too. People will cite the Munich air disaster and subsequent 'romance' associated with how it was rebuilt by Busby. But I think being the only club pretty much on terrestrial TV in the 90s on ITV in the Champions League is more of a factor to our casual audience/fanbase today. Which, of course, is resented.

I agree with this, and it's especially true in my work place. I'd say Liverpool are the most supported, followed closely by United/Arsenal but outside of the banter you can generally have a decent football conversation with fans of any team - barring most of the United 'fans'. They're generally the type of people that don't watch games, will come into work on a Monday morning with no idea of the weekends results, but will then be the loudest when it comes to winding up fans of any team that has dropped points.
 

devil in me

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The Moyes/Van Gaal era.... i saw the hate for United drop. People who spent the last 20 years despising us werent really arsed anymore. Why? Becasue we were 7th in the league.
Now i see it starting to rise again.

Its basically success, and all the bi products of being successful (spoilt fans, glory hunters etc etc etc)
 

Wumminator

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The Moyes/Van Gaal era.... i saw the hate for United drop. People who spent the last 20 years despising us werent really arsed anymore. Why? Becasue we were 7th in the league.
Now i see it starting to rise again.

Its basically success, and all the bi products of being successful (spoilt fans, glory hunters etc etc etc)
No chance. We were hated throughout that time as well.
 

thegregster

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1.You are the only club to come close to our success. We never want you to do well because you are a threat to us.

2. Your fans are the nastiest supporters I've ever encountered. I'm talking en masse here. Arrogant, entitled, obnoxious, deeply and viciously ugly and violent. You may have decent individuals, but whenever you come together you behave like twats.

3. Fergie. That sour, seething, rod-up-the-arse look on his face whenever you are losing. His bullying of referees, his pleasure in the downfall of others, his indignant childishness, surliness and autocratic intolerance to not getting his way. His sucking up to Blair. Your embracement of the corporate culture and emphasis on image. His irrational hatred and resentment of Liverpool, his treatment of Alan Hansen. The gamesmanship, the win-at-all-costs attitude.

4. Roy fecking Keane. Has there ever been a greater cnut to play football? The fecker should have been imprisoned for his assault on Alfe Inge Haaland.

5. Your tradition of stars over team ethic.

6. A kid I knew at school. They came from Manchester, his Dad a recovering alcoholic, his Mother looked like the Honey Monster. All of them rabid Man Utd fans. All of them were monsters, bullies, animal abusers, filthy scum. Thicker than the thickest pigshit. Neanderthals. Fascist sympathisers. This may have tainted my impression of the club.

7. Liverpool, by contrast. We will have within our ranks violent dickheads, racists, homophobes, wife beaters, but as a group I know of no better fans in the world. We have real passion for the club and our history, we support our players through bad times and good. We have a culture of humour and wit. We were battered in the 80's by Thatcher and the Tories but we fought back. We never gave up over Hillsborough. We have Socialist traditions.
Do you know the history of Liverpool?

What about Liverpool FC sucking up to Thatcher?

A red scarf saved the day for Mrs. Margaret Thatcher, the Conservative leader, when she made Liverpool F.C's Anfield headquarters her first port of call during a hectic 24-hour visit to Merseyside.
Mrs. Thatcher was wearing a powder blue and white costume when she met team captain Emlyn Hughes, wearing blue slacks, in the trophy room.
Emlyn suggested the leader of the Blues was wearing the wrong colours.
Quick as a flash, Mrs. Thatcher whipped out a bright red neckerchief and put it round her neck. "I've come prepared," she joked.
There was another slight problem when Mrs. Thatcher admired the U.E.F.A. and Football League championship cups.
Emlyn warned: "Don't try to lift that. I couldn't and the boss couldn't, and we both dropped it."
When Mrs. Thatcher lifted the large trophy, the base fell off.
After being presented with a gold necklace, with a Liverbird on it, by the chairman of the club, Mr. John Smith, Mrs. Thatcher went to see the famous Kop.
She heard that it was fifty years old and that the reconstruction work on the stands was to cost £420,000.
When manager Bob Paisley invited the Tory leader to visit them and watch a match, Mrs. Thatcher said she would love to.
http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/103055





Liverpool were owned by major backers of the Tory party. Liverpool screwed over the small clubs in the 80s along with the rest of the big 5 by ending the sharing of gate receipts. They tried to breakup the TV deal so they could negotiate their own rights a couple of years back.


They are the greatest hypocrites in football.

Liverpool fc has no socialist traditions.
 
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M4YON

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A tiny shame your brilliant fanbase openly supported racism.

The whole list was exceedingly hilarious but this one took the cake. The stars over team ethic thing was golden, too. After openly worshipping Steven Gerrard for a decade even when he assaulted someone in a bar or continuing to support Suárez simply because he was good.

All football fans are basically partisan twats when it comes to their own team. Liverpool fans are somewhat worse at this than most, actually, because they've been starved for so long; when they have an actual half-decent player they go to any lengths to proclaim him god.
100% agree even this past month things like this happen.

Rooney - Gets drunk at a random wedding, national disgrace.

Firmino - Caught drink driving, not a peep from anyone.
 

thegregster

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3. Fergie. That sour, seething, rod-up-the-arse look on his face whenever you are losing. His bullying of referees, his pleasure in the downfall of others, his indignant childishness, surliness and autocratic intolerance to not getting his way. His sucking up to Blair. Your embracement of the corporate culture and emphasis on image. His irrational hatred and resentment of Liverpool, his treatment of Alan Hansen. The gamesmanship, the win-at-all-costs attitude.

.

It's this sort of delusion that makes you a laughing stock.

If this is so bad why do Liverpool do it as well? Why did Liverpool become the first professional club to have a shirt sponsor? What could be more corporate than that?

Your real problem with United being so commercially successful is they are just better than Liverpool at it.
 

Boycott

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In the modern day it's glory-hunters and bandwagon fans that get on people's gripes. These type of fans look down on others for supporting a far lesser club (their local team).

You can understand the resentment when someone who turns up at Carlisle every week gets ribbed on by a bloke who only recently followed Utd because Carlisle are a "tin-pot club".

I posted this in a thread a few weeks ago and it rings true here:

Casual fans aren't appreciated for sure. There was a radio debate on this last season with Leicester.

Leicester is a fairly big city but a lot of people supported the big clubs rather than their local side (mainly Utd).

Which made some old school Leicester supporters pissed when these fans jumped on the bandwagon last season as they never showed any interest "when we were in League 1".
Factor in people from London who have lots of pro clubs in the city - 5 or 6 in the Prem yet he instead follows a side 200 miles away.

Is it right? Many people from outside Manchester are loyal, time-served fans and are unfairly brushed as glory-hunters.

Others you can't really blame as Utd were the only side who aimed globally in the 90s making the most of the PL boom.