How to fall in love with the club again?

RedfromIreland

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Again? If you were around in the 60’s 70’s and eighties you’ll know what I mean. If you love United it’s forever.
 

Maciej

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This thread is a perfect opportunity for some to underline the fact that they feel they are better Reds than anyone else :cool:
 

Paxi

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Bump.

Nice to read my own posts and some others after 18 months.

Well, the answer is easy. You need to have someone who realises what Manchester United means to its fans - me, you, us and them.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer clearly realises it and - you can say that once we get three points, the love has come back - I feel he's one of those who can lose games, but you feel it's your team that you're watching. I can even watch us losing the games, but the excitement, with Ole back in the dugout, is back.
Nice bump. Ole does make it a lot easier. I must admit I'm really rooting for him because he was one of my favourites when playing and he is United through and through. A guy who genuinely loves the club with all his heart. How could you not fall in love with that? I mean there is a downside as well; if it doesn't work out now -- I'll be fecking devastated all around.
 

FreddieTheReddie

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I asked this question to myself after not having seen any games for almost three years. Answer was Ole.
 

RG 11

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This is a great thread which chronicles what I felt post SAF very well. I'm enjoying watching us way more than our Europa league run or the FA cup win.

Under Moyes, we were crap in every single way possible. Under Lvg and Mourinho, it was more about the manager and their philosophy / ego. I finally feel like the focus is finally on Manchester United now. The style of play, the emphasis on attacking and doing things the Manchester United way without any toxicity in the media are how I remember Manchester United being under Sir Alex.

Ofcourse the wins help but it's much more than that. It feels like real progress now.
 

Buster15

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Again? If you were around in the 60’s 70’s and eighties you’ll know what I mean. If you love United it’s forever.
I must admit that it was difficult watching United during the Jose period when it seemed like everything was going wrong.
But. As you rightly say. Once a United supporter always a United supporter.
 

ivaldo

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Yeah, some ridiculous virtue signalling going on
It’s not virtue signalling at all. If you only love the club when we are doing/playing well, then it’s not the club you love, it’s the results and performances, it’s the success. I was as frustrated as the next person with how things were going, but I never for a moment fell out of love for the club.

I think a few people here, including the OP, need to get themselves to a lower division game and observe fans there.
 

deadrevelz

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I agreed with the sentiment behind this thread. For me Fergie was so much apart of United when he left it didn't feel the same and combined with losing Scholes and Giggs I felt a bit detached from the club. Maybe it's my age, but Fergie and the Fledglings is all I've known so it felt like the part of the club died when they left. Then when you follow that up with 3 of the most depressing anti-United managers in a row my passion took a big hit. I still watched every game I just felt indifferent. It's not about winning, I felt equally as bored watching us win trophies under LVG and Jose as when we lost. The last CL game against Valencia under Jose is the first match I have voluntarily missed for about 10 years.

Now Ole is back, all sunshine and happiness, playing the United way. He's the embodiment of the happiest moment of my childhood and my life as a United fan. The massive haul of wins is just gravy. :drool:
 
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It’s not virtue signalling at all. If you only love the club when we are doing/playing well, then it’s not the club you love, it’s the results and performances, it’s the success. I was as frustrated as the next person with how things were going, but I never for a moment fell out of love for the club.

I think a few people here, including the OP, need to get themselves to a lower division game and observe fans there.
I don't think he literally means stop loving the club as in stop supporting it. But for those fans who had only known SAF it's not exactly weird that the feeling of a special bond with the club was tested and strained when he was gone, especially with what followed. That's only natural when the face of the club for all your life is gone, replaced by some guys who clearly don't understand what the club is about.

Yeah it's a luxury problem for fans who are young enough to have been privileged by over 20 years of success by the same manager, but it's not necessarilyjust about doing/playing well.
 

ivaldo

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I don't think he literally means stop loving the club as in stop supporting it. But for those fans who had only known SAF it's not exactly weird that the feeling of a special bond with the club was tested and strained when he was gone, especially with what followed. That's only natural when the face of the club for all your life is gone, replaced by some guys who clearly don't understand what the club is about.

Yeah it's a luxury problem for fans who are young enough to have been privileged by over 20 years of success by the same manager, but it's not necessarilyjust about doing/playing well.
It's not a special bond if the moment we start to struggle he falls out of love with the club. If that's the case he needs to explore the reason why he fell in the love with the club in the first place. If it turns out it's because he's a glory hunter then that's fine, I have absolutely no issues with that, but let's not pretend it's something more.

Having been born in 88' I've only really known the Fergie era, but a level of objectivity and reflection is needed. Having a manager you don't like shouldn't challenge that connection you have with the club. This notion of being a "supporter" seems so lost on an increasing number of people. It doesn't mean you have to blindly agree with everything the club does, or pretend the football is magnificent when it isn't, but there needs to be a degree of acceptance from the individual irrespective of how well the team is currently performing, otherwise that connection is shallow and myopic.
 

Andersons Dietician

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The reason many fell out of love wasn’t because we weren’t winning, we won a Europa cup and as many liked to trot out how can we say Jose is a dud when he finished 2nd.
Some will just never understand that people love this club for more than just winning, but it looks like the same people again just not understanding the point so many were making under Jose and trotting it out again like they are better supporters because they stood by Jose when he was destroying everything the club was.

Supporting isn’t turning a blind eye to problems, people like that are just part of the problem.
 

Lynty

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I fell out of love with Manchester United on the day Jose signed.

I still loved the club that was led by Moyes and LVG, even when it was painfully bad. But Jose's appointment was against everything that the club had stood for. He was, and will always remain in my eyes, the enemy.
 

OldPop

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I get where Maciek is coming from. Having strong belief in the manager (and not just when it comes to results, but to entertain and want the best for the club and its fans too) is surely a big part of being a United fan and it's one of the things that has always given me that nice feeling inside growing up supporting us.
It's not just about form. At one point (well, more than one point) most people were disappointed with the upper management, sick to death of the manager, fed up of the players seemingly not giving their all, and it seemed like there wasn't much to want to get behind. There's no shame in admitting that.
I can only agree, well said!
 
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It's not a special bond if the moment we start to struggle he falls out of love with the club. If that's the case he needs to explore the reason why he fell in the love with the club in the first place. If it turns out it's because he's a glory hunter then that's fine, I have absolutely no issues with that, but let's not pretend it's something more.

Having been born in 88' I've only really known the Fergie era, but a level of objectivity and reflection is needed. Having a manager you don't like shouldn't challenge that connection you have with the club. This notion of being a "supporter" seems so lost on an increasing number of people. It doesn't mean you have to blindly agree with everything the club does, or pretend the football is magnificent when it isn't, but there needs to be a degree of acceptance from the individual irrespective of how well the team is currently performing, otherwise that connection is shallow and myopic.
Yeah, but I don't think the important thing is whether the club struggles or not. I just know for my own part that I would still be less enthusiastic even if Mourinho had some success. It wasn't the same, and I don't think there's any shame in talking about that. Doesn't make you any less of a supporter in my eyes, especially when you're trying to find your way back.
 

17Larsson

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The important thing is that kids can fall in love with United again.

For the last five years there's not too many young eyes that would have watched a game and thought that is beautiful, exciting, brave, passionate football like a lot of us were lucky to do and then go on to experience some of the best moments of our lives because of falling in love with this club at an early age.

But if things continue the way they are kids can find their sport through Manchester United again
 

ivaldo

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Yeah, but I don't think the important thing is whether the club struggles or not. I just know for my own part that I would still be less enthusiastic even if Mourinho had some success. It wasn't the same, and I don't think there's any shame in talking about that. Doesn't make you any less of a supporter in my eyes, especially when you're trying to find your way back.
I do. If we were still getting whipped do you think he would've still bumped this thread?

There's a massive disconnect between supporters of top clubs and football in general. Having slight downturns in form is something almost every professional club in England expect on a regular basis, and fans of these clubs will be turning up to watch far poorer football than what we have seen these past few years. Having less enthusiasm is natural, but that's not the same as no longer thinking of it as your club, that's something else entirely.
 

Andrew~

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I think some of you 'top reds' forget just how weird supporting a football club is. It's such an unimportant thing in the grand scheme of things but if the club is following the right blueprint, it's easy to forget that and have something like this bring you a lot of joy.

I didn't watch much football during the Moyes season, it just wasn't worth getting annoyed about. I was starting to go the same way with Jose this season, hearing him talk down the club's history and all these young players we've got genuinely pissed me off and you start to question your own sanity, getting annoyed over something as trivial as football - so it's easier to just ignore it and sort of 'fall out of love', for lack of a better phrase.
 

crossy1686

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I fell out of love with Manchester United on the day Jose signed.

I still loved the club that was led by Moyes and LVG, even when it was painfully bad. But Jose's appointment was against everything that the club had stood for. He was, and will always remain in my eyes, the enemy.
I find it hard to believe you didn't celebrate winning those trophies in his first season...
 

ivaldo

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I think some of you 'top reds' forget just how weird supporting a football club is. It's such an unimportant thing in the grand scheme of things but if the club is following the right blueprint, it's easy to forget that and have something like this bring you a lot of joy.

I didn't watch much football during the Moyes season, it just wasn't worth getting annoyed about. I was starting to go the same way with Jose this season, hearing him talk down the club's history and all these young players we've got genuinely pissed me off and you start to question your own sanity, getting annoyed over something as trivial as football - so it's easier to just ignore it and sort of 'fall out of love', for lack of a better phrase.
So "waiting until we start winning again/player better" is your answer, and that's a fine answer to have. There's nothing wrong with being a "glory hunter," but don't dress it up as something it isn't.
 

Andrew~

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So "waiting until we start winning again/player bettet" is your answer, and that's a fine answer to have. There's nothing wrong with being a glory hunter, but don't dress it up as something it isn't.
:wenger:

Call it what you want mate! I'm not exactly going to get upset about being called a glory hunter. If getting excited about where the club is potentially going under a manager who understands the club is glory hunting, then sign me up!
 

ivaldo

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:wenger:

Call it what you want mate! I'm not exactly going to get upset about being called a glory hunter. If getting excited about where the club is potentially going under a manager who understands the club is glory hunting, then sign me up!
Good, embrace it, there's nothing wrong with that, it's what l keep saying.

You can pretend it's something more than just how we are currently performing or who the manager is all you like, but if you fall out of the love with the club because we've fallen to 6th in the country and our football is only better than 85% of the teams in the national leagues, then you might want to consider what your "love" for the club really is.

Who said there isn't? Get excited.
 

Andrew~

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Good, embrace it, there's nothing wrong with that, it's what l keep saying.

You can pretend it's something more than just how we are currently performing or who the manager is all you like, but if you fall out of the love with the club because we've fallen to 6th in the country and our football is only better than 85% of the teams in the national leagues, then you might want to consider what your "love" for the club really is.

Who said there isn't? Get excited.
Meh. This is like saying your missus should still love you even if you let yourself go, become a fat mess and gamble all of your savings on an accumulator - nice in theory but in practice doesn't work.

I'll always love United no matter what, but there's more to life than football. And if I find myself fuming every weekend cos of football, I'd say it's time to take some distance and regain some perspective.
 

lysglimt

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Been a United-supporter for 35 years - Atkinson(not that I remember much of the first few years), the early Ferguson-years, Moyes, LvG - never did i fall out of love with United. The first 4 months of this season with Mourinho - I hated almost every minute of it.

In the end I couldn't be bothered watching the games - getting the love for football back is reason good enough for me to hire Solskjaer full-time.
 

lysglimt

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Good, embrace it, there's nothing wrong with that, it's what l keep saying.

You can pretend it's something more than just how we are currently performing or who the manager is all you like, but if you fall out of the love with the club because we've fallen to 6th in the country and our football is only better than 85% of the teams in the national leagues, then you might want to consider what your "love" for the club really is.

Who said there isn't? Get excited.
I don't think anyone fell out of love with the club because we ended 6th. I loved us when we ended 13th or whatever it was in 1990. But if the manager doesn't want to be here, and the players don't want to be here - why should the fans love to be here supporting the club ?
 

ivaldo

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Meh. This is like saying your missus should still love you even if you let yourself go, become a fat mess and gamble all of your savings on an accumulator - nice in theory but in practice doesn't work.

I'll always love United no matter what, but there's more to life than football. And if I find myself fuming every weekend cos of football, I'd say it's time to take some distance and regain some perspective.
Yeah, thats the same as dropping to 6th in the league and only winning 3 trophies. :lol:

More like, your wife got hit by a car, and although she's going to make a full recovery, you don't visit her in hospital because her hip can't handle a romp in the hay yet.

You seem to have gotten this about face. It's not the "top reds" that are fuming, it's the fairweather merchants.
 

ivaldo

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I don't think anyone fell out of love with the club because we ended 6th. I loved us when we ended 13th or whatever it was in 1990. But if the manager doesn't want to be here, and the players don't want to be here - why should the fans love to be here supporting the club ?
Then why support a club at all? Why not just follow a player or manager you like instead, if that's all a club is. Imagine if we were Sunderland or Plymouth, Portsmouth or Wimbledon, if something genuinely shit happened to the club, I'd like to think I'd still be supporting it.
 

minoo-utd

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Never missed a game. During our time post SAF there was time that I did not want to watch but I just couldn't let my self, but I was watching but lost caring specially the Jose's latest few months, I was just sitting like it was a heavy duty. Then oh you know, Ole well the man brought few things from our best time and now I can not wait for the next game and the one after. So maybe all we needed is someone who knows exactly who we are and who we were not someone decreasing our ambitions or tell us ever now and then we are not good enough.
 

Nas-JR

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Good, embrace it, there's nothing wrong with that, it's what l keep saying.

You can pretend it's something more than just how we are currently performing or who the manager is all you like, but if you fall out of the love with the club because we've fallen to 6th in the country and our football is only better than 85% of the teams in the national leagues, then you might want to consider what your "love" for the club really is.

Who said there isn't? Get excited.
passive aggressive much?

I think you're taking the falling out of love too literally.

Personally, its the apathy on my behalf (and majority of fans I personally knew) that struck me the most at the start of this season. it wasn't just the results or even the performance; As others have pointed we've had glory under mourinho and finished 2nd last year (not 6th). What pushed fans to lose that special bond with the club is our betrayal of our values, from the upper hierarchy all the way down to the players. That is, how we conducted ourselves off the pitch (*Ahem* mourinho and his clear lack of professionalism and cynical behavior) and on it (the lack of the united never-say-die, suffocate with relentless waves of attack, attitude, along with the general positive approach to football). That, to me at least, represents my love for this club, so deserting these values understandably put a massive strain on emotional attachment to the club.

thankfully, we seem to be heading back in the right direction with both ole and his backroom staff. long may it continue
 

Andrew~

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Yeah, thats the same as dropping to 6th in the league and only winning 3 trophies. :lol:

More like, your wife got hit by a car, and although she's going to make a full recovery, you don't visit her in hospital because her hip can't handle a romp in the hay yet.

You seem to have gotten this about face. It's not the "top reds" that are fuming, it's the fairweather merchants.
I never said the top reds are fuming, I just said that most people don't approach football the way they do - which is cool. The main problem here is you're so focused on results and league position, I want to watch United play the way United have always played; I want to see United attack with pace and play football with ambition and character whether we are 1st 6th or 20th.

If you give me shit on a stick football for six years, stupid managers who spit in the face of fans and all the clubs traditions, then I will lose interest.
 

ivaldo

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I never said the top reds are fuming, I just said that most people don't approach football the way they do - which is cool. The main problem here is you're so focused on results and league position, I want to watch United play the way United have always played; I want to see United attack with pace and play football with ambition and character whether we are 1st 6th or 20th.

If you give me shit on a stick football for six years, stupid managers who spit in the face of fans and all the clubs traditions, then I will lose interest.
Eh? I've mentioned several times the quality of the football, alongside the results. Have a reread.
 

Paxi

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The reason many fell out of love wasn’t because we weren’t winning, we won a Europa cup and as many liked to trot out how can we say Jose is a dud when he finished 2nd.
Some will just never understand that people love this club for more than just winning, but it looks like the same people again just not understanding the point so many were making under Jose and trotting it out again like they are better supporters because they stood by Jose when he was destroying everything the club was.

Supporting isn’t turning a blind eye to problems, people like that are just part of the problem.
I actually loved winning the UEFA Cup seeing as it's the only major trophy we haven't won and it's still a European trophy.

We've been mediocre for 6 years and the thought of Ole being the one to take us to the top again is making me all warm and fuzzy.
 

ivaldo

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passive aggressive much?

I think you're taking the falling out of love too literally.

Personally, its the apathy on my behalf (and majority of fans I personally knew) that struck me the most at the start of this season. it wasn't just the results or even the performance; As others have pointed we've had glory under mourinho and finished 2nd last year (not 6th). What pushed fans to lose that special bond with the club is our betrayal of our values, from the upper hierarchy all the way down to the players. That is, how we conducted ourselves off the pitch (*Ahem* mourinho and his clear lack of professionalism and cynical behavior) and on it (the lack of the united never-say-die, suffocate with relentless waves of attack, attitude, along with the general positive approach to football). That, to me at least, represents my love for this club, so deserting these values understandably put a massive strain on emotional attachment to the club.

thankfully, we seem to be heading back in the right direction with both ole and his backroom staff. long may it continue
No, not at all. I'm being genuine in what I say. A huge portion of our fanbase are gloryhunters and fairweather merchants. You've got to be incredibly naive if you beleive otherwise. If that's the level in which a large portion of fans want to enjoy football, then what's fine with me. Let's not dress it up to be something it's not though.

It's funny, when we're doing well people are happy to turn a blind eye as to what's happening at the club and what the manager is up to. Fergie is a legend and I love the bloke to bits, but let's not pretend the man wasn't a grade A bellend at times. The perceived lack of professionalism and cynical behaviour from Jose can be comfortably matched by Fergie. And you've got selective memory if you think we played attacking football at all times under Fergie, too. He was as pragmatic as any manager. There was some absolutely tumescent football rolled out well before Moyes got the job, VDS's clean sheet record for one.

Take a look at Sunderland and the attendances they're getting in the 3rd tier of English football. They love their club, a couple of years of mediocre football with a few trophy successes shouldn't turn you away.
 

Class of 63

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I think some of you 'top reds' forget just how weird supporting a football club is. It's such an unimportant thing in the grand scheme of things but if the club is following the right blueprint, it's easy to forget that and have something like this bring you a lot of joy.

I didn't watch much football during the Moyes season, it just wasn't worth getting annoyed about. I was starting to go the same way with Jose this season, hearing him talk down the club's history and all these young players we've got genuinely pissed me off and you start to question your own sanity, getting annoyed over something as trivial as football - so it's easier to just ignore it and sort of 'fall out of love', for lack of a better phrase.
It's funny you should say that as I was saying exactly the same thing to those charming young men who were chasing me down Seven Sisters Road with scaffold poles back in 1979 after we'd won at their ground :lol: Would they listen !?
 

RedDevil@84

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Never did.
I am not sure what I would do if I ever fall out of love with United.
 

Tony247

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I asked this question to myself after not having seen any games for almost three years. Answer was Ole.
Same here. Almost given up on football. Enjoying my other hobbies.

Just when I thought I was out, Ole pulled me back in.