The Old School Football Fan

[ManUtdDaredevil]

Dear Football supporters across the nation, I salute you.

I’ve observed a trend recently which I must say I find disappointing with the current football fan and it worries me and I wonder if I’m out of touch with reality or just a grumpy old git (I’m 31 by the way).

The modern day football fan demands instant gratification from his club, players, manager etc and gone are the days of the level headed supporter.
There is a disturbing trend of criticism of young players, established players and even managers and I’m concerned as to the expectation of the current group of football fans.

Whatever happened to patience? Why are young players expected to be superstars from when they are 18 and why do fans call for the heads of players who aren’t consistent in their early careers?

Young players are frustrating at times but have bags of potential and need a good run in the side to cement their places and whilst we have quality players like Messi, Ronaldo and Fabregas not everyone peaks at the same time. A lot of footballers get better with age, even at Utd that has been the case, Paul Scholes being a perfect example.

I know we all want our clubs to be successful but as supporters it is our duty to support our team and manager not only in the good but in the bad times and get off the backs of our players.

I just wanted to sample the opinion of people on the site. Are my expectations ridiculous? Should young players, though frustrating and inconsistent at times be given a chance? Should we sell players who do not perform instantly? If that were the case, Evra, Vidic and Nani would not be United players now.

Finally do you support a football club because you want to brag about success or do you feel a genuine connection to the club, players and manager? We all moan about players but the constant berating of our players on and off the pitch by some is quite frankly disgusting and sadly typical of the modern day football fan.

So am I out of touch and are the current bunch a true and factual representation of the current football fan base?

Your thoughts are welcome

[jonathan tighe]

Goodpost pal! I totaly agree I like yourself am an old git like yourself (33) and have a real connection to the clubs roots, history and legacy, all through our glorious and not so glorious history we have always had a legacy of promoting youth, but in the past we have had patience from supporters we never turned on our players, never demanded our players sold and always looked after our players when they retired, recently i have heard mainly through twitter that Rio is finished and Carrick should be sold, whilst i agree both of these players have probably had their best days but thy have done an excellent job for our club and deserve our respect and support. We have to learn patience, the answer to united prob will not be provided by getting out the chequebook but by being patient and letting Cleverly, Morrison, Pogba, Tunniclif, Keane brothers to develop and when you consider Nani, Jones(19) Young, Smalling, Rooney, Hernandez are all still young and still trying to fullfill their potential the future is exciting if only our supporters could look beyond the next game and see the bigger picture

[ManUtdDaredevil]

Thanks mate, thought it was just me. Some of the fans we've got are a disgrace and I would gladly go trophyless for decades to get rid of them.

[jonathan tighe]

I hear ye man, heard someone say we need a new manager, rediculous, Alot of our fickle fans are just glory hunters! probably dont even know we have a reserve team and youth teams. had one conversation with some lad a year ago on twitter and said and i quote "pity BusbyBabes were killed in that train crash they could of been a great team" we dont need supporters like these

[nolhman]

This is a well thought out article. However, I can only see it getting worse.

[jonathan tighe]

Yes the fickle fans wont like it thrown in their faces but has to be said, some of us need a reality check

[Red_Indian]

Good article but seems while writing the author is listening to his heart than his brains.
You say our fans want our youngsters 2 b superstars since 18. Show me one single post where anybody has said that our youngsters should get a 10/10 rating every game. That's utter nonsense you have spoken.
I along with almost every poster is willing to give our youngsters enough time to develop.
You say the young generation of our fans want instant success and want our players to deliver every game. Well I am no teenager and certainly have followed United for a considerable amount of time to know our history and our traditions and I certainly would be patient enough to wait trophyless so that our youngsters may develop and carry the United flag on their shoulders.
But at the same time you have forgotten that when once in a lifetime ultra talented guys like Rooney/ Ronaldo come up (Goetze/ Hazard etc now) we shouldn't waste time thinking and look to snatch such players.
Everybody including the OP needs to remember one thing that "YOU CANNOT WIN TROPHIES ONLY ON THE BACK OF YOUR ACADEMY BOYS" except unless you are Barcelona. But lets accept this that they are the greatest club side ever (better than Sacchi's Milan) and our academy isn't that good to produce that quality of players(It's still better than every other top clubs' though).
So buying and sometimes even breaking the bank for a certain player ex Rooney shouldn't be considered a sin. In fact it's a sign of your dominance. Nobody has criticized our best players but when Andersons,Evans, Gibsons get so many chances yet fail to deliver while being a obstacle to new signings ex Ando then it's perfectly justifiable for the fans to complain. People/OP need 2 rmembr this is 2011 and not 1960-70.Football runs on $$$

[Vanvillan]

"YOU CANNOT WIN TROPHIES ONLY ON THE BACK OF YOUR ACADEMY BOYS"

 

This sounds remarkably similar to "You'll never win anything with kids".  

 

I don't think the OP is advocating a full clear out of the squad and a first 11 of YTS boys, but is more making the point that young players should be given a chance in a squad blended with experienced players.  The knee-jerk reaction is to always buy The New Drogba / Messi / Ronaldo (or whatever the red top headline is), but in reality these players also need a season or two of bedding in, so why are fans so ruthless with the home grown youngsters?  

 

On the older players - I'd say (as a Villa fan in peace) that Rio is getting on, but he has a wealth of experience that is valuable as a squad member.  If he'd come and train with Villa for the rest of the season he might be able to impart something onto our two main CBs.  Villa fans would love to magine a world where Dunne and Collins take a second to look up before hoofing the ball at the opposition's corner flag, and Rio's effect on the youth would no-doubt be positive too.  Look what happened when you let Paul McGrath go because he was passed it ;)

 

Villa are in a similar position to Man U in some respects - a transitional season or two where there are a large number of younger players with huge potential who are going to either sink or swim.  The big difference is that if yours sink, I'd expect Fergie to bring in some other great talent (but only after the youngsters have had a fair crack).  If Villa's young boys don't live up to their promise, then our owner has some tough decisions to make.

 

[SalfordRed]

Indian - its clear you know fck all about the ethos of this club and what united has stood for decades upon decades. The fact that your daft enough to say that you can't win anything off of academy players shows how detached your head is from your own shoulders. You are nothing more than the next success driven prat that attaches itself to the flavour of the month. I would trade any success atall to
weed out muppets like yourself. I read your drivel on here everyday and I can't keep my gob shut anymore.

 Go fck off to city. I hear theyre on the up.  

[jonathan tighe]

Well said mate, We cant turn our backs on the philosophy and ethos of our club that has served us so well so long just so we can go in hunt for short term success, people that suggest we flash the cash to sort out every single problem are short sighted morons, if we bring in a 40m CM that limits the oportunity of the likes of the Pog, Ravel and Tuni. So the manager knows CM is a bit weak but he is holding off in spending big money in hope 1 or 2 of the players i mentioned step up, which to me makes perfect sense. Imagine this scenario....We bought schneider and he stays for 5 or 6 years keeping morrison out of team so morrison moves club so he can get to play and he turns out (which he will) to be top class, how sick would our fans be then, letting go a player which would cost us 30-40m to buy back, bigger picture folks for long term success you have to be patient and promote the acadamy as much as possible as it is not sustainable to just buy buy buy, what do you think is going to happen to city and chelsea when the owners stop bankrolling the clubs?

 

Think long term folks, supporting united is a life time privelage in good times and bad times, be a true RED not a fickle plastic glory hunting supporter

[ManUtdDaredevil]

To red_indian

 

You need to read the article again. It's quite clear you didn't understand it. You also need to engage your brain before you post.

You'll come across better, trust me.