It's MY club....

It has been a while since I have penned some rubbish words, so welcome back to those that have been eagerly awaiting a new blog, yes I am talking to my one and only single reader, thanks mum, keep telling me I'm your favourite and I won't put you in that home,yet.

Thought I'd have a little muse over the whole 'support your local club' debate as I've been thinking about it a lot lately, what with Rubbish & Dustbins finally dying. Shall we take a moment to mourn them or shall we crack open a beer and celebrate? Excellent decision, I'll have a bottle of Estrella Damm please, cheers. Yes i drink Estrella Damm as it makes me feel like I'm on an all inclusive holiday in Spain, I also walk around my house in Bermuda shorts, flip flops and take the piss out of Germans.

Anyway, let me tell you the reasons why I support Northampton Town and not one of the big teams in the Premier League. For starters NTFC really are my local club, I live no more than a mile from the ground, so that has a big bearing of course.
One of the main reasons though is because it feels like my club, I feel a part of it, I feel like I'm appreciated as a fan. Where as with the much bigger clubs obviously there are so many more thousands of fans than it must be impossible to get that same feeling, the sense of community. It must feel like you are just another number, just another numpty following the hordes.
Take the Man Utd fans for example, when they were protesting against the Glaziers with all their green and yellow scarves, half of them had the new kit, that is the intelligence of Premier League fans.

Another main reason is because it really feels like as a fan of NTFC I have a say in what goes on at the club. Take the appointment of Gary Johnson as manager, our chairman David Cardoza pretty much said he showed Gary Johnson all of our messages on www.thehotelend.co.uk about how much we wanted him as our manager and that sealed the deal. You wouldn't get that happening at a Premier League club, the fans don't count one iota. Look at the recent appointment of Alex McLeish at Aston Villa for instance, the club have totally ignored the fans. Although i actually feel McLeish will do well for Villa but he is never going to be properly accepted is he?

NTFC haven't just listened to us the fans regarding the managerial appointment though, oh no! Much more important things have been taken on board and implemented thanks to the fans, such as the type of beer in the supporters bar, the colour of the metal gates between stands, the prospect of a supporters village which should incorporate a big marquee selling beer and possibly a hog roast each game.
Also the kits each season are voted for by the fans so generally most are happy each time and will buy the shirt, where as in the Prem you don't get a choice, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd kits are just decided by the clubs. Take the Liverpool 3rd kit this season, fans hate it because it has a slight bit of blue on it, not taking on board that it is actually a very nice kit.  Everton play in blue of course so i guess no Liverpool fan ever wears anything blue, not even blue thongs, nothing whatsoever.

I guess the reason why it is different at lower leagues is because the clubs really have to listen to the fans if they want to maximise their income whereas at the bigger conglomerate clubs it really doesn't matter what they do because if one sheep stops going then another sheep will turn up in their place. These clubs have fans worldwide, millions of them, the amount of money they earn from merchandise must be amazing. It is totally another world at the top level of football. Take the players wages, a fair few on 100k a week, utterly detached from the real world. However in the lower leagues the players are more like joe public, they have mortgages to pay etc so it is much easier to relate to them.

So what I am saying is all Premier League fans are wankers and the lower league fans are far superior....ha! Of course that is not fully true, however I could never follow a Man Utd, Liverpool or Arsenal type club, it is just not in my character or personality, always back the underdog is my style.
Some say what happens if NTFC ever become massive and make it to the Premier League.....honestly I would enjoy the ride and welcome it of course, however you cannot beat travelling away to stand on a rainy terrace with 200 other die hards.

Long live the Football League.

Thanks for reading by the way and yes I realise this weeks blog is kind of rambling and has no real substance, however, isn't that the point of a blog? When a website/newspaper rings me up and offers me a writing job, then and only then will I start structuring my work, so stop judging me you bastards!