In the world
of social media and in particular Twitter it is easier than ever to talk with
football fans both local to your area and beyond. This is a fantastic thing.
You would be hard pushed to find anybody who does not think the sharing of
ideas is a bad thing and that goes far beyond football. But unfortunately this
comes with some negatives because poisonous views and beliefs of a few can
spread like wildfire. On top of that Twitter and other social media sites have many keyboard warriors or trolls who
take every opportunity to point out other people's mistakes or more to the point
for this article mock and ridicule other football fans for not having the
popular or as I like to call it “pop opinion” of the day.
The poisonous
belief amongst Manchester United fans right now is that the club should win by any means necessary. A view that Michael Carrick recently echoed which
disappointed me to say the least. I strongly agree that Louis Van Gaal needed
to be sacked, but one thing I greatly respected from the man (even if he did
overdo it) was the fact that he stood by what he believed in until the very
bitter end. And while many United fans
will have no respect for the Dutchman many of them could learn from the FA Cup
winner. He stood by his traditions and if Manchester United want to be truly
successful they need to stick with their principles within reason in a sport
that is always changing with the times.
This is
important because identity is important to every person, business and
organisation. Would Apple still be Apple if they stopped making IPhones? Would
Twitter be Twitter if they scraped the 140 character limit? I think you get the
idea. There are just certain things that make people, businesses and
organisations who they are. So in this piece I am going to be talking about the
5 main reasons why I support Manchester United or in other words what I think
makes this club special. And because if these things after 15 or so years of supporting the club I still have the
passion to be writing this at 3 o clock in the morning and before you ask
yourself no it can’t wait till the morning because I’m just that annoyed.
Living in
Ireland depending on your family, football may or may not be the first sport you
come across. For me it was not. Nobody in my family had any interest in the
sport at all. My mother loved Gaelic Games, my father athletics. This was so
much the case they often joked that they did not know the difference between a
football and a rugby ball. So unlike most who choose a team because of a
relative or they live near that team. I had complete control over who I
supported and why. So here are my five reasons.
1 Youth
This is by
far the most important one to me. Even without having a club, like so many
other children I dreamed and wanted to be a professional footballer. Even at
that age I remember thinking to myself “how is this going to happen?” Luckily I
soon came across a Manchester United game and low and behold there were these
two kids playing. Their names? Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo. In a split
second the connection was made that this club gave young kids like me a chance
and like every impatient child I wanted this to happen as quick as possible so
“why not these guys” Since then I have learned so much more about this
tradition from the days of Sir Alex, Matt Busby and most recently Louis Van
Gaal. One of the beliefs that makes this club what it is, is the concept “if you’re good enough your old enough” and to this day I find that inspiring, chasing my
own dreams even if they have changed since I was five. Because of this I will never accept the idea
of only buying big expensive players to have success every year. I really would
rather see the club finish 1st and 2nd every second year
with a balance between youth and big names than come first every year with just
big names.
2 Attacking Football
While this
is not always possible the general belief of any Manchester United side should
be to attack with pace power, width and conviction in order to entertain a
crowd who pay more than most. While there is nothing wrong with parking the bus
away to Barcelona or when you have a 1-0 lead with five minutes remaining and
you’re down to 10 men we as a fan base cannot accept consistently boring football. Thankfully that was the case this season and because of that Louis Van Gaal departed Old
Trafford 12 months too early for some. There
will always be desperate times that call for desperate measures and when the
club will do anything to win but for the most part this club plays football and
conducts itself in a positive manner that fans can be proud of.
3 Consistency
With the
exception of Bayern Munich, few if any football clubs keeps the same players
for as long periods of time better than Manchester United. On top of this the Red
Devils often keep these players involved with the club in one way or another
after they retire. This can vary from a role as a coach like Ryan Giggs or
Nicky Butt, or a club ambassador like Ji Sung Park and Sir Bobby Charlton. In
the modern game where players and managers are out the door almost as soon as
they come in, the continued connection can mean a lot. As a fan you can look at
the former player and think “he’s still one of us, he’s still part of the
family”
4 The Irish
connection
As mentioned
already in this piece I am Irish. Manchester United shares a rich history of
Irish men both as players and managers. Whether they were from the Republic or
the North. Ireland can boast having some great Manchester United players like
George Best, Roy Keane, John O Shea and even today Paddy McNair who will
hopefully get more opportunities next season. So much about been a fan of a club is the
special connections that make it stand out from the other. As a foreign fan
effectively (realistically I’m across the pond) it is great to have so many
connections to the one club. It’s something you simply can’t buy. Living in
Cork I have spoken with Roy Keane a couple of times. After you look back on the
experience and you realise “I just spoke with the former captain of Manchester
freaking United” It’s enticing. This is not a standalone event. It is no
coincidence that Manchester United are incredibly popular in Asia after signing
players such as Park Ji Sung and Shingi Kagawa.
5 Never say
die attitude
First of
all, it’s not called “Fergie Time” for nothing. While this is one tradition
that has faded in recent years. The never say day attitude around this club is
something that one cannot help but admire and want to be part of. That belief
in yourself and your team mates to never say die when all seems to be lost was
something I grew up with. I always felt that no matter what the score was
Manchester United would find a way of winning. I didn’t know how it would
happen but I knew that it would. As I was only four I won’t pretend I was
screaming with joy in 1999 but there are many games I will never forget. For
example when Robin Van Persie scored his first hat trick for the club against
Southampton to win 2-3 at Saint Mary’s or that Federico Macheda winner against
Aston Villa which produced one of the most well-known pieces of commentary from
Martin Tyler. It would be madness to want Manchester United and Jose to be
losing 2-0 every week just so we can have some great dramatic wins to look back
on but when it does happen I’m going to love every moment of it.
The idea of
winning at any cost, makes us just like any other club. This is not just any other
club, it is England’s if not the world’s leading club. Like all leaders the club
must lead my example and show why it is called the beautiful game. The idea that winning at all costs is not
something I want at mine and yours club. If we wanted a club that bought success
we would support Manchester City, if we wanted a club which tolerated players
like Pepe we would support Real Madrid and if wanted a club that accepted it
was average and lived off its past we would support Liverpool. But that is not the
case. This club attacks the opposition and the moment, it gives youth a chance
and most importantly it never gives up and does not lose itself in order to
achieve success yesterday. The club like everybody else will always need to
adapt and change but these basic principle can never change because if they do,
it’s just not Manchester United any more.
