"It's hard not to feel...

...that the tsunami of money in English football has taken something from the game.  Here the heated arguments about the clubs future seem proof that the old fan culture is still alive.  A tiny ship of pirates in a sea of commercialism."

Jimmy's looking very casual (clap clap clap clap clap clap clapclapclap)

Nice tshirt.

Under Moroccan Skies: ACFC at the CWC 2013 - Parts Five, Six and Seven

Under Moroccan Skies: ACFC at the CWC 2013 - Parts One, Two, Three and Four

1 November 1975 - 21 October 2013

[26 January 2013 - Where once we watched the King Keryn play]

Scoreboard Paddock

“We’ve got too many out of town supporters… it isn’t helping generate the kind of support that the club needs…”.

“If you go to any stadium around England… the atmosphere is not there within British football any more.”

“There’s a myth about certain clubs.  The media will build up the atmosphere at St James Park or they’ll build up the atmosphere at Anfield but if you actually go to those places, apart from the big games, there’s no atmosphere there at all.”

"It's heart that will get you through..."

"Being a jaded, glory-hunting Chelsea fan, I'm used to an uneasy dichotomy of crews of agitated looking guys in quilted jackets doing bumps of nasty gak off their season tickets, and guys in salmon pink trousers talking about the Mata issue over a Nastro Azzurro.

...

That despite "The Emirates Experience" or whatever obscure methods of branding and persuasion the clubs are employing to get you to spend £12 on a Tuborg and a Pukka, most football stadiums actually are like this: transitory settlements of corrugated iron, portaloos and boxed-in coaches.

...

But non-league fans aren't in it for the same reasons that most other football fans are. They're in it because they want to feel part of something. Big business football can be utterly alienating, and who wouldn't rather tour with Black Flag in a bus with no floor than with U2 in a private jet with no soul?"

Read more here:- Vice: Searching for English Football's Soul with Non-League Fanatics

The true spirit of Mancunian rebellion and defiance

- "I just thought, I should be here.  This is where I'm meant to be now."

- "I just thought, this is everything I believe in.  What the f*ck am I doing not involved in this."

- "We're Post Modern Football."

- "It's about community not just about the football."

Mes que un club (More than a club)

“Football fans are not customers, despite what the press and some club’s owners seem to think. The majority do not watch football because their teams win. It’s not about the winning – it’s about your upbringing. Your football club says something about you.

...

FC United is about saying to those who run the game it is not about winning it is about being united as fans. It’s also about improving the community in which you are located which is something we will continue to do.” - Andy Walsh, CEO FCUM

Read more about FCUM's community work here:- Football club proves it's a winner on and off the pitch

From our Scottish correspondent (again)

"They provided an important insight into a world when footballers were still at one with those who watched them play, a time when England captain Billy Wright travelled to Molineux on the bus and Tom Finney might be fixing your broken tap in the morning before you paid to watch him tormenting full-backs in the afternoon.

...

The mutual respect between player and fan was evident in these small gestures and is something that must be retained within the game, rather than slavish and detached adoration."

Read more here:- In praise of older supporters, who carry with them stories of football's past

Tra la la la la la la la Borussia!

Ho! Hey! TeBe!

Fans gegen Antisemitismus, Homophobie & Rassismus!

"If you want to rob a bank these days...

...don't get a balaclava and a shot gun, get a £1000 suit and go work in the City."



Trailer for upcoming FCUM documentary released 22 June 2013.

United! United! Antifascista!

FCUM do a close season tour of Germany.  Here they are mingling with Nulldrei supporters in the stands and on the pitch after the SV Babelsberg 03 game.

Note:- not a police officer in sight and no harassment from security.

"Volunteerism is the backbone of the club"

"Having the volunteers... it just means alot more to you as a player.  When you go out you know people have come in to help you... they're not getting paid for it so you know you've got a lot more to do when you go out there on a Friday night..." - Danny Murphy, Defender, Cork City FC.

"I think the cooperative model is the way forward." - John O'Sullivan, (former) Chairman, Cork City FC.

"It's our City.  It's our Club." - John Kennedy, Volunteer, Cork City FC.



(Thanks to Westham1 for putting me on to this)

Organizzazione non a scopo di lucro

Photo taken from Mark Lee's Kendal Town FC v FCUM matchday photographs.

"there are principles which are much more important"

"We have a sacred obligation to the millions who were wiped out by Hitler, Mussolini and Franco to oppose fascism wherever and in whatever context this evil creed raises its head particularly at a time when working people are again being forced to pay for capitalism's crisis as they were in Europe in the 1920s and 30s." - Dave Hopper, General Secretary, Durham Miners' Association

Read more here:- Durham Miners Demand Banner Back From Stadium Of Light and Miliband Steps Down

In that moment, we were infinite

"There’s a story we tell ourselves, people like us. It’s one of our commandments, perhaps the commandment. That being a football fan isn’t actually about football. It’s about everything that goes with it. Family. Belonging. A collective purpose. However you want to describe it. It’s the most selfish and the most selfless I feel. It’s not about me, it’s about us, but it’s still one of the most personal aspects of my life.

...

That final half hour, being stood in that stadium was a confirmation of everything I’ve ever thought true about being a football fan. Everything I’ve ever wanted to be true. It really isn’t about the football. My team were about to suffer the heaviest defeat in League Cup Final history, and I didn’t want to be anywhere else. I couldn’t have imagined being anywhere else. As the (wonderful) Swansea City fans applauded our pride, I tried to burst into song with everyone else, and nothing came out."

Read more here:- The Width of a Post - Things they'll never see (Bradford City v Swansea City)

(How great are the comments at the end of this piece!)

we believe there is a bigger picture here

Millwall’s FA Cup fourth round match against Aston Villa was set down for Saturday 26 January.  It was moved to Friday 25 January at 7:45pm.  The reason for the switch was that a march protesting cuts to the local Lewisham Hospital was to take place on the Saturday.  Now normally clubs get a bit peeved about fixture changes but not only were Millwall OK with the switch, they took an active role in promoting the march and encouraging their supporters to take part in the demonstration.

“Whilst changing the date of our Cup tie is an inconvenience to us, we believe there is a bigger picture here.
Millwall Football Club, our players, staff and many thousands of fans have, over the years, had reason to be grateful for the resources, facilities and care we have received from our local hospital.
We are not persuaded by the arguments put forward in favour of closing the A&E department, childrens ward, intensive care and maternity services at Lewisham.
Consequently, we have given permission for hospital staff and supporters to hand out leaflets and collect signatures for the petition at tomorrow's match, in an attempt to persuade the Secretary of State Jeremy Hunt to reverse the decision.
Our players will also be warming up before the game against Burnley in special t-shirts in support of the hospital and we would also encourage supporters who feel strongly about this issue to attend the demonstration next Saturday."

Read more here:- Millwall Football Club - Show Your Support

Punk punk, a punk rocker