ac milan

Hollow Victory

AC Milan were victorious last night, as they beat Liverpool 2-1 in the European Cup final. It was a crap game in all fairness – a bit of a damp squib with the excitement of starting a new tube of toothpaste.

But other events at the final made me realise how thick and stupid us football supporters are.

Take a look at UEFA blames Reds fans for chaos (BBC Sport). Here we have a situation where football fans come bottom of the list: 20,000 tickets were given to the "UEFA family" – read sponsors and benefactors. 9,000 were allocated by means of a ballot. That is 29,000 seats gone already out of a 63,000-capacity stadium – about half. The 34,000 remaining were split between Liverpool and AC Milan supporters. Of the 17,000 seats allocated to each of these clubs, Liverpool and AC Milan will have set a significant number aside for their own sponsors and benefactors, and the rest would have been snapped up by the countless thousands of eager supporters that would have wanted to go. Liverpool complain over tickets (EPSNsoccernet).

UEFA blames Liverpool fans for their part in the chaotic scenes as fans desperately tried to see their heroes and saw only disinterested fatcats waltz into the stadium to drink some wine and chat about the weather back home.

But I’m no better. I am seeking to renew my season ticket with Newcastle United. I paid outrageous prices to view the "entertainment" on offer last season at St. James’ Park. If I went to watch an opera or a play and see similar performances, you can bet there would be a queue for people getting their money back. But such is the passion for the game, no-one even thinks to demand a refund on their tickets, and in fact they are often near the front of the queue for the next ticket. And we buy shirts and other merchandise. But when it comes to it, a football club is only as successful as its finances, not the calibre of its fans.

...with one reply so far.

European Crap

I have quite an intense dislike for Liverpool Football Club. It’s not the manager or the players as such. It’s the fans. They’re not bad as people – they’re good for a laugh, as much as the Geordies – but as supporters of a football, they are nobheads in essence… I feel they are a pretentious breed, demanding and expecting success based on long-gone glories. Pot calling kettle black. Apologies.

But anyhow, yes, the European Cup final is tomorrow, as I am sure you are aware. I have to say that I shall be supporting two teams tomorrow: AC Milan and Sky Sports. Before any cretinous half-witted sad person informs me that I should support the “British” team, I shall politely inform them to remove themselves from my vision before my fingers and his nose are in a state of brokenness. The fact is, I reckon most Liverpool supporters do not give a toss about representing Britain, and had Manchester United gone through to face Liverpool in the final, I would have supported them.

As for Sky Sports, I am glad they will be showing the European Cup final. I will not have to endure Clive Tyldesley’s "unique" commentary – "Hello! Hello! We have a game on here!"… Rather we have, probably, Andy Gray, who does not use each sentence as a one-liner to attempt to cement his place in commentators’ history. Unlike Kenneth Wolstenholme ("They think it’s all over…"), Clive Tyldesley attempts to make himself just as memorable as the occasion ("Remember the name… Wayne Rooney" – as if we could forget…).

Rant over, please return to your single-minded and deluded patriotism and your annoying commentary.

...with 2 replies.