I Admit to being Fair Weather Supporter but why not?

Alan Purcell 24/09/2007 26comments  |  Jump to last
I support Everton and will continue to do so but the level of my support coincides with the success that the club has on the pitch. You may argue that this is wrong ? I don't agree. I call it having a degree of common sense.

In the 80s I went to home and away games but my support wained throughout the 90s when very little happened. I then tried a season ticket hoping that Walter Smith might create something ? how naive I was! Players like Campbell and Ferguson being paid in a week more than 90% of the crowd without breaking sweat (or not playing) led me to reject my ticket.

Again my confidence was raised when Moyes took the team into Europe two years ago. This also proved a false dawn not only because of Collina's decision but also with Moyes's lack of tactical awareness. I thought that this experience would have helped Moyes but none of it. How can Moyes say that Metalist ?were better than I thought? and not think how stupid such a comment is. You should never underestimate any team and he should know that.

In what other walk of life or activity would someone pay at least £50 (with ticket costs, parking, petrol etc) to watch 90 minutes of absolute rubbish? Not only is the £50 a waste of money in terms of watching the poor football, people have to remember that this money goes to pay the very people who are being watched including the manager. It also goes to pay for the management costs for those managers who cannot organise ticket issuing. It also goes to pay for the stadium which is an absolute disgrace.

I will not pay to watch Everton again until something drastic happens both on and off the field. Most of you will disagree with this and call it fair-weather supporting but until more people do what I do then I believe the fair weather will not return quickly. The Board should take the brave step and ensure that a joint stadium called Stanley Park is a priority saving the club millions of pounds a year that could be reinvested in the squad or lower prices, which would ensure crowds of at least 60,000 every game.

The manager should change his tactics or be changed.

The players need to take responsibility and remember that £50 is a lot of money!

Reader Comments

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steve pugh
1   Posted 25/09/2007 at 09:12:10

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stay at home then,we have to listen to your like on 606 every week, if you dont support the team when things aint going right then why do you expect a ticket when we get to a final,go and follow wigan or someone
Dave Lynch
2   Posted 25/09/2007 at 09:44:09

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Totally agree with Steve.
Bet you are the first in the line for a cup final ticket if we get there.
Try to post something about the team and not about your failings as a supporter.
We have all had it bad with this club, some of us though, just keep believing.
Michael Tracey
3   Posted 25/09/2007 at 10:15:43

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That really is poor. Why would someone even bother to write it. I can’t beleive Toffeeweb even published this. About a mile across the park there is another team who play footie go support them.
ed casey
4   Posted 25/09/2007 at 11:30:53

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Alan,
Why go to the bother of writing something so antagonistic if you don’t care that much. If you say what is true then, as Michael says, go and support someone else.
As my old man said to me when I was a kid, ’it would be boring to support a team that wins all the time’. I used to think ’bollocks’ it would be great but as I get older I think he’s right. The one thing about being an Everton fan is there really is never a dull moment. Since the end of the 80s we’ve had highs and lows (lots of lows), we’ve had shit players on the pitch, rubbish managers in the duggout and villains in the boardroom and I’ve lost sleep worrying about where the next three points are going to come from. But would I change any of it - not a chance and theres 2 reasons for that. 1 - thats the nature of the game, you win, you lose and you’ve got to take the rough with the smooth. 2 - the team I support are Everton - they may have been shit for way too long now but by god I don’t half get a swell of pride everytime I see the badge, or hear Z-cars, or see a goal go in, or whatever. Since I became an Everton fan that was it - no choice other than to stick with them through thick and thin, come what may. Now I don’t agree with some of the stuff people say on this site but even those that use it to bash the manager and team would agree that Everton is in their blood and they only get angry because they want to see quality. Everyone gets demoralised by poor performance but to say that its ok to not bother with the team when they’re losing goes against everything that it means to be an Everton fan. Alan, if I were you I’d not bother going back to Everton again and start supporting someone who you can guarantee will win 100% of the time - which is no-one!
Gary Clarke
5   Posted 25/09/2007 at 14:14:09

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I don’t go as much as i like to but its got nothing to do with our performances, when i can afford it i go. granted it is costly but who gives a shit if its to see the team i love win lose or draw
That chaps a complete dick if you want to be an armchair fan support man urinals you knob
James Elworthy
6   Posted 25/09/2007 at 15:12:06

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This post is claptrap
Pity the poor bloke who goes to watch Chester or Shrewsbury every week they are true fans with never a hope of winning anything other than the Autoglass Trophy or getting a playoff spot.
Football is all about supporting your club through thick and thin. How many long distance supporters will stop supporting Chelsea now they appear to be in decline.
Whether we have Thierry Henry and Ronaldinho upfront or Brett Angell & Stuart Barlow if they have on the Blue shirt most of us will be there.
neil styles
7   Posted 25/09/2007 at 15:05:20

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Your stand as an Evertonian, Alan is not at all different from well over a third of Liverpool FC fans and thats understandable I suppose but am I the only one who actually feels closer to the club when times are tough? Personally I feel EFC often times reflect my own feelings and my own life. When our boys are winning I feel like its me and the community at large that is winning. When our boys hit slumps - and not just this little one we’re experiencing now, I mean a proper slump a la circa 1993- I find it brings me closer to the team. I feel sorry for the younger Man Utd/Cheslsea fans; they will never experience the range of emotions our club evoke. In short, while EFC do drive me crazy, I appreciate and understand how important the bad times are.
john k
8   Posted 25/09/2007 at 15:15:38

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put that in your pipe and smoke it
Michael Newton
9   Posted 25/09/2007 at 15:16:40

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What pisses me off about armchair supporters is that on 606 you will get 1 Everton caller with a scouse accent who went to the game and 4 Redshite callers, 2 with cockney accents, 1 with a Bristol accent and 1 with a South Wales accent, none of whom went to the game but keep on referring to the RS as we. If these long distance guys went to the game I dont mind you referring to the RS as we, but half of them do not go, same as the Man U lot, anyone can support succesful clubs from afar but unless u get off ur arse and go see that club your just on a gravy train.
James Elworthy
10   Posted 25/09/2007 at 16:05:56

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Michael: The Corporate fan, or prawn sandwich brigade as Roy Keane says, annoy me, ambling back to their seats 10 minutes into the second half in the main stand, sitting in the best seats whilst the real fans are up in the gods courtesy of Mr Wyness who took all the front row seats off the loyal fans last year for these day out merchants only there because some other f****r is paying for them.
Jon Berry
11   Posted 25/09/2007 at 15:54:29

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Michael - I just wanted to offer a different perspective on your post.

I wasn’t born in Liverpool and have no reason for following Everton apart from a very entertaining cup final in 1986 when i decided as a 9 year old boy that Everton was gonna be my team.

I know i am not a real supporter but just a southern follower. That said, i have followed results every weekend for the last 20 years and i’m genuinely affected by results good and bad. I remember jumping for joy when Rideout sealed the cup win in 95, albeit from sofa in Wiltshire! Other southern friends of mine are the same with Man U and Liverpool, Tottenham etc. They have no blood connection and don’t financial support the teams like the real fans do by regularly going to games, but they care about what happens to the club and have done for many many years.

My point is not all southern followers are jumping on the gravy train of success. Well certainly not in my case ;) We just chose to follow good teams when we where kids and have stuck with them ever since.

Michael Newton
12   Posted 25/09/2007 at 16:31:16

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Jon Berry I accept your point, we have no gravy train for you to get on, if you have allegiances to us I am pleased you do and that is genuine support. I am just annoyed with ’fans’ who only follow for success reasons. Like the people who have followed Chelsea for 3 yrs but never before that.

Its like having a favourite NFL team because we watch the games on Sky and have a favourite team mine is a shite team who never win anything so I suppose I am not on a gravy train myself.
Paul Okell
13   Posted 25/09/2007 at 16:39:04

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Michael you are from the Tony Marsh camp if you can’t see the Liverbirds from your living room window you cant support Everton.


We need lots of fans like Jon Berry, i am always made up when I meet someone when I am away who support Everton though they are not from this area and these guys know alot more than most about the club.
Lue Glover
14   Posted 25/09/2007 at 16:56:35

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Paul, I can see the Liver Birds, the Pier Head, the cathedrals from my bedroom window but live over 30 miles away in wild and woolly Wales - does that mean Tony MIGHT like me????
Yes through thick and thin, support your team but it would still be nice to watch some good footy. Come on you Blues.
Like Jon, I have no affinity with the city other than seeing it every morning when I open the curtains.
Oh and there’s EVERTON of course, the love of my life after ’im outdoors’.
paul harrison
15   Posted 25/09/2007 at 17:48:57

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i’m not sure this article merits a lengthy response but i had to add something because it annoyed me so much. i’m not one who insists that to be a REAL evertonian you need to follow them home and away but you can’t just dip in and out when we are winning or losing. i can’t remember when i committed myself to the blues, or was chosen, but i understand that i’ll more often than not have indigestion every saturday afternoon on my way home. being an evertonian is a pride and it cuts through individual teams, players and performances. i’ll carry it all my life. i’ve lived a stones throw from old trafford for 6 years and always suffer the utd game. alan might be better joining their ranks as they have a better chance of winning and he can link up with their ignorant fans. bloody ell that was quite a long reply!!
alan
16   Posted 25/09/2007 at 17:14:07

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As I suspected a difference of opinion with you all! I think it rattled a few cages...

My point simply is that it is not just about the losing that cheeses me off its the way its achieved!

I understand the need to support your club as well through the bad times but get a team who give 100% on the pitch and a management team in place that are not a laughing stock then I will pay.

There is a big difference between making decisions that are different than I would make and absolutely stupid ones that people like Walter Smith made and David Moyes is now making.

There is also a difference between players who couldn’t give a damn about the people paying their wages and players who do. A team with a few more players with the determination of Alan Stubbs would be great to watch even if not winning.

To Ed Casey - do you seriously prefer to have the ups and downs of Everton compared to perhaps winning european cups, premier leagues, fa cups etc etc. If Everton were as successful as say Chelsea, Man U or even Liverpool would you say it was boring, or would you gloat about your successes to fans of less successful clubs?


steve pugh
17   Posted 25/09/2007 at 23:37:39

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being an evertonian is not about where you born,its about what you feel inside, its a load of shit to say you cant support the team just because you cant see the liverbird from your yuppy flat or else where, you will start to say cockneys only come from within the sound of bow bells, the world has got bigger
my grandad was a bootle boy and my dad were born near everton valley, i was born in kent,now live in southampton so do i pass the test,first home game at 7 years old, if not then can you tell me at my next game, ill be at derby will the essca lads supporting the boys as i did at villa, shame the likes of alan purcell wont be their unless we are top of the league, fuckin light weight
steve pugh
18   Posted 26/09/2007 at 00:13:24

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having read this crap again i now believe this mans is using an alias he must be ALAN CARR
enough said good night
complete piss take
Patrick Taylor
19   Posted 26/09/2007 at 00:57:38

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I can’t see the Liver Bird from Toronto but I could from my birth home on Rose Place off Scotland Road. I spend most of my disposable pension on watching Everton play in London, about four time a year. It is to time consuming to travel up to Liverpool from Heathrow. I was booked with Lufthansa to fly from Toronto to Kiev via Frankfurt to watch us play Metalist. I have had my fare refunded and I won’t be watching Everton until Moyes and Kenwright have left the club. Having watched Everton, man and boy, for sixty-two years, it might mean never watching Everton again. So be it.
Bill Goodall
20   Posted 26/09/2007 at 04:19:18

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Supporting Everton is not something you should be able to switch off. Being angry about bad results, style of play or prospect of moving grounds is fair enough. But to say that you would not support EFC until they play how you want them to is wrong.
If that was the case I know that I would not be following any football.
i have never been to Goodison or any other ground as I have grown up in Ireland and Australia where i have to get up at 2 and 3 in the morning to watch us play.
Yes we are playing with no style.
yes we have a tactically unaware or naive manager
Yes we have a owner who cannot provide us with the funding we need.
Yes we will end up moving to a stadium out of the city.
No way will any of that stop me wearing my blue jersey every saturday and sunday. Becasuse no matter how bad they are they are my club
Tim Keen
21   Posted 26/09/2007 at 09:57:41

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Football must be the only industry in which we are similtaneously told:

(1) The players deserve £50k a week (and in some cases more even if they have been injured for nearly an entire year Mr Cahill) because it is the entertainment industry.
(2) We have no rights to expect entertainment and if you refuse to spend £50 watching it you are disloyal.
Tim Keen
22   Posted 26/09/2007 at 10:02:59

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Oh and another thing.....people like the original poster are exactly the type of people the Kirkby move is supposed to attract.

Those 4m people in the Liverpool-Manchester corridor who currently don’t like football but will pay £50 each to watch us in 4 years time.
All you die hards whinging on about loyalty should give up nowm we don’t want your type in the brave new world of retail park football.
Ed Casey
23   Posted 26/09/2007 at 11:47:07

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Alan,
I didn’t say that I would prefer the ups and downs to continual success. Of course thats what we all dream about but I was responding to your glib piece and trying to demonstrate that the ups and downs are part and parcel of being an Everton fan which is something that most of us wouldn’t (or couldn’t) turn off just when things are going a bit badly.
alan
24   Posted 26/09/2007 at 19:54:33

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At what point generally do things change in football - when fans firstly react by shouting at the manager and secondly by not turning up in numbers and finally when the chairman has fans screaming outside the ground.

If Everton had 40000 supporters singing from the roof tops even when things are going badly do you think anything would change?

I am just one of the first to react before others follow but you wont call them fair weather supporters.
Lee Kidd
25   Posted 27/09/2007 at 13:16:33

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Stupid logic.

If everyone did that, we’d have people packing the gates after a 4-0 win and, if we get beat 4-0 the week after, absolutely no one turning up until we win again.

Tom Hughes
26   Posted 29/09/2007 at 13:12:16

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Patrick Taylor: My family are from Rose Place. Where you a St Joseph?s or Friary boy? I will mention your name to my aunty who still lives in St Anne?s Court and seems to know everyone. In the meantime mate..... keep the faith. You certainly must have seen much worse Everton teams than the current lot in your time.
Ian Ankers
27   Posted 30/09/2007 at 20:34:28

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That is quite possibly the most pointless ’Fan (and I use the word fan very lightly) Articles’ I have ever seen.

Yes we’d love Everton to win trophies every year, but its not all about that for the fans. Its about games like the 3-0 derby last season which for me was worth the price of my season ticket alone! Its about finishing in the top four or top six and getting into Europe, its about the drama of every game, admittidly sometimes lacking in quality, but I wouldn’t miss it!

You are of course entitled to go or not go to the match as and when you choose, but why you had to come out with all that on a site full of fanatical Evertonians is beyond me? I can only assume you like getting peoples backs up for pointless self satisfaction?


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