Most Popular UK Football Team In Ireland?

Henrik7

Hi there, tried to post this in the soccer thread but couldn't for some reason?

There is a question that has bugged me for a while - what british team has the biggest following in Ireland?

You see, I'm from Glasgow with Irish grandparents and like many glaswegians - a strong irish identity. Not bigots - just people proud of our roots.

I'm a big celtic fan and all my life I have been called an Irish fenian and all the rest by the blue mob! I've always been proud of the strong link that Celtic has with Ireland and have always felt that it has been reciprocated by the Irish, but all I ever hear about on UK tv etc is how big the support is for english teams.

I saw a list today of the 3 biggest British teams in Ireland.

1. Man U
2. Liverpool
3. Portsmouth (!)

Surely this isn't correct? Celtic has to be up there somewhere?

I would have thought that an Irish kid growing up in Ireland would identify with Celtic, a club formed by a priest from Sligo for poor Irish families. A club that flies the tricolour above its stadium and plays in green. And 60,000 fans who sing Irish ballads like the fields of athenrye and wave the green white and gold. Why support a foreign team that has to connection to Ireland and couldn't give a toss about Ireland?

So who is the biggest team in Ireland? Who do you think would be the biggest if Celtic played in the premiership (wont happen but theoretically)?

Hail Hail!

Rob_l

The majority of irish soccer fans would have dual/supportership with one beign an english team and also then would support celtic.

Guy:Incognito

Henrik7 wrote:

I would have thought that an Irish kid growing up in Ireland would identify with Celtic, !

I dont in the slightest. I'd imagine Celtic sell a hell of a lot more jerseys here than there are actual fans.

In before lock

Terry

Feynooooord

Here's the deal.
You need a certain amount of useful posts before you are allowed access to the soccer forum. (50, I think).
You then need to apply for access here.
I suggest you take a look around the 900 or so different forums here, find one you like, make a contribution and then apply for access to the soccer forum.
Or you can just stay here and make inane posts. Either way, it's all good.

I can lock this thread now, or I can allow it to descend into chaos. The choice is yours.

AdrianII

portsmouth - thats not right

id say arsenal, villa or chelsea would be ahead of portsmouth

in general id say liverpool or utd have the majority of fans

Rob_l

Terry wrote:

Here's the deal.
You need a certain amount of useful posts before you are allowed access to the soccer forum. (50, I think).
You then need to apply for access here.
I suggest you take a look around the 900 or so different forums here, find one you like, make a contribution and then apply for access to the soccer forum.
Or you can just stay here and make inane posts. Either way, it's all good.

I can lock this thread now, or I can allow it to descend into chaos. The choice is yours.

thats mental fifty posts before the soccer forum wants me!

surely that would only encourage people who want to post about soccer to leave boards

Terry

Feynooooord

Also. http://store.theonion.com/the-sports-team-from-my-area-is-superior-to-p-83.html

Photi

Henrik7 wrote:

Why support a foreign team that has to connection to Ireland and couldn't give a toss about Ireland?

er....qft

Rob_l

AdrianII wrote:

portsmouth - thats not right

id say arsenal, villa or chelsea would be ahead of portsmouth

in general id say liverpool or utd have the majority of fans

a lot of fools became blackburn followers after their one succeasful season.


I mock them:D

Terry

Feynooooord

Rob_l wrote:

thats mental fifty posts before the soccer forum wants me!

surely that would only encourage people who want to post about soccer to leave boards

And they are the people the soccer forum do not want.

The thing is, some people take it waaaaaaaay too seriously and their posts are checked to make sure they are not trouble makers. It's all in the name of a peaceful forum.

Rob_l

Terry wrote:

And they are the people the soccer forum do not want.

The thing is, some people take it waaaaaaaay too seriously and their posts are checked to make sure they are not trouble makers. It's all in the name of a peaceful forum.

thats fine screw them im a member of my particular teams dedicated forum and im happy to post there about football.


I also by their branded toilet paper but never wipe my arse with it

Henrik7

So back to my question... lol

Terry

Feynooooord

Henrik7 wrote:

So back to my question... lol

Dude, this is not a soccer forum.
I told you it would go off track.

W don't care for foreign games here.

Henrik7

why not just let it go and see how it goes? Its not very controversial?

KdjaCL

Henrik7 wrote:

So back to my question... lol

Tough question really.

As an irish man your born to support Celtic*

But as tv watcher you watch and enjoy whats best on tv.

So
1.Man utd play nice ball.
2.Liverpool won a league sometime a long time ago.
3.Whoever the bandwagon is parked outside right now its a battle between Keano and Jose



* i hate Celtic


kdjac

Oral Slang

Rob_l wrote:

The majority of irish soccer fans would have dual/supportership with one beign an english team and also then would support celtic.

As Rob said, most irish people like both.. My two brothers are both fanatical Man U & Liverpool fans but also follow Celtic.
So its hard to tell whether or not Celtic would have more fans than the english premiership..

Timans

I do not support Celtic at all. Actually, I don't see why I'm "supposed" to. I do not buy into the religious side of the football. Or, any other side to football than the football itself. Celtic do not play particularily nice football, I did grow up watching them and I do not live in Glasgow so why would I support them?

And anyway, aren't Hibs just as Irish as Celtic?

Pal

Timans wrote:

And anyway, aren't Hibs just as Irish as Celtic?

Celtic were founded by Hibs. Bloke called Brother Walfrid.

Exit

Historically, both Liverpool and Manchester had high Irish immigrant populations too. That may be a reason why they have been popularly supported here.

I don't support Celtic. This may be controversial but I'd imagine a lot of the people here who support Celtic would also be big into nationalism. Also, there are people who wear the jersey and 'support' Celtic, but would only ever watch the Old Firm games.

As a kid, I had a favourite team in all the big leagues. Rangers were my Scottish team. I had no idea about the Catholic/Protestant rivalry but I did know it was a bit taboo to support them. An older cousin would always point out how unusual it was (not that he had a problem with it) Still, didn't stop me having a couple Ally McCoist posters on my wall.

KdjaCL

Exit wrote:

As a kid, I had a favourite team in all the big leagues. Rangers were my Scottish team. I had no idea about the Catholic/Protestant rivalry but I did know it was a bit taboo to support them. An older cousin would always point out how unusual it was (not that he had a problem with it) Still, didn't stop me having a couple Ally McCoist posters on my wall.

Walk tru your town with a Rangers jersey the day of an Old Firm game, sure its only a football match.


kdjac

Henrik7

Thanks for your replies

Incidentally, Hibs were started before Celtic for the same reason and Brother Walfrid (who had no involvement in Hibs) did the same thing in Glasgow.

Hibs have never really held onto the irish connection though, nor made any efforts to do so.

Guy:Incognito

Exit wrote:

This may be controversial but I'd imagine a lot of the people here who support Celtic would also be big into nationalism. .

I'd imagine most are called Anto too.(no offence meant to any Anto's who dont support Celtic and may be supporters of Inchicore based EL clubs )


I've been supporting Liverpool since '87 I think and a couple of years leater when trawling the various European leagues to pick my favourite in each , Rangers were dominating in Scotland and became my unoficial Scottish team.

Zaph

Rob_l wrote:

The majority of irish soccer fans would have dual/supportership with one beign an english team and also then would support celtic.

I'd dispute that, the majority of people I know have absolutely no interest in Celtic, or any other team outside their chosen one. Personally I hate the whole "you're Irish so therefore you must support Celtic" thing. Why? Apart from the whole sectarian crap, which I won't even bother discussing, the standard of Scottish football wasn't great for years as there was little money in the sport there, so given the choice of watching it or better quality English football the latter always won. Of course it wasn't even an issue when I started watching football because Scottish football wasn't shown then, it's a relatively recent addition to the tv schedules here.

As for the biggest clubs here, the list is wrong to include Portsmouth, I've never met one in my life, and I doubt I'm alone. The biggest clubs are traditionally Man U and Liverpool. Added to that are different clubs depending on age, so a lot of people I know who are around the same age as me are fellow Leeds fans, with the odd Chelsea fan thrown in, because they were two of the biggest clubs when we were kids. Variously I know Spurs, Villa, Forest and Blackburn fans, because when they were at the age of picking their team those were the teams that were successful. In the coming years there will be a younger generation of Chelsea and Sunderland fans, that's just the way it goes.

Terry

Feynooooord

Henrik7 wrote:

why not just let it go and see how it goes? Its not very controversial?

Oh it is.
Just wait until the faithful arrive.

Also expect some grief for supporting Celtic.
Apparently the only Irish people who are allowed to support them are gun toting 'Ra heads.

Henrik7 wrote:

Hibs have never really held onto the irish connection though, nor made any efforts to do so.

I always found that strange.
Hibernia is the Roman name for Ireland, Caledonia was Scotland and Britannia was England and Wales.
You would think that those who wanted to support an Irish type of team would support Hibs instead of a team with a hard "C".

zAbbo

Only scumbags support Celtic, Fact

http://blogorrah.com/blogimages/srfron250207.jpg

stovelid

Whatever team is currently most successful (or Orish cf: Sunderland or Celtic) so they can squeeze their corpulent bodies into the away /third kit and waddle down to the boozer


Except if England are playing, then they waddle down to the same boozer in the same kit and cheer against the 'English'.

MooseJam

Everton FC FTW

Gingervitis

stovelid wrote:

Whatever team is currently most successful (or Orish cf: Sunderland or Celtic) so they can squeeze their corpulent bodies into the away /third kit and waddle down to the boozer


Except if England are playing, then they waddle down to the same boozer in the same kit and cheer against the 'English'.

Sad but true. You gotta respect those who don't follow the glory teams, teams which have ups and downs, as opposed to the big 4/5 (if you count Spurs).

Timans

Well, I support Man United because I grew up watching them and being told by my uncle to support them

I had no clue who were winning what titles etc.

Zaph

Gingervitis wrote:

You gotta respect those who don't follow the glory teams, teams which have ups and downs

If it's ups and downs you want come join us Leeds fans, every season's a rollercoaster ride. (or should that be )

KdjaCL

Stekelly wrote:

I'd imagine most are called Anto too.(no offence meant to any Anto's who dont support Celtic and may be supporters of Inchicore based EL clubs )

hehehehhehe

Only scumbags support Celtic, Fact

http://blogorrah.com/blogimages/srfron250207.jpg

I mean the picture says it all, i have utter contempt for that guy and his 575,000 other mates who buy celtic jersies in ireland, he is the epitome of the complete and utter ****ing retard. And sadly i have never met the guy to tell him that.


kdjac

Anto McC

Born and bred in Dublin with a soft spot for Rangers. Well to be honest i'll do anything to piss off Selthick fans.

Mahou

zabbo wrote:

Only scumbags support Celtic, Fact

Uefa fairplay award to Celtic fans

Henrik7

Terry wrote:

Oh it is.
Just wait until the faithful arrive.

Also expect some grief for supporting Celtic.
Apparently the only Irish people who are allowed to support them are gun toting 'Ra heads.


I always found that strange.
Hibernia is the Roman name for Ireland, Caledonia was Scotland and Britannia was England and Wales.
You would think that those who wanted to support an Irish type of team would support Hibs instead of a team with a hard "C".

There is actually a debate about what the correct pronounciation and spelling of keltic/ celtic is. Last I saw, they were saying that Celtic is the correct pronounciation.

As a life long fan of my local team, I have never really got the whole 'support the team thats winning the league' mentality. I am a fourth generation celtic fan and grew up with rangers winning 9 in a row, so I'm definately not a glory hunter.

Guys who pick Chelsea or Blackburn because they won the league/ are playing well will never really know how good it feels for lifelong born an bred fans when the ball hits the nit in the 93d min. They might think they are happy, they might jump up and down, but they will never really feel the way a lifelong Man U will feel when they score against Liverpool.

As for Irish people supporting Chelsea? Have they ever met their supporters? I cant imagine they'd welcome irish catholics. Don't they have a fascist element?

biko

Most Popular UK Football Team In Ireland?
It's called soccer here.

Terry

Feynooooord

As for Irish people supporting Chelsea? Have they ever met their supporters? I cant imagine they'd welcome irish catholics. Don't they have a fascist element?

I have absolutely no idea. and I don't really care.

Anto McC

Actually now i think of it, the most popular UK football team in Ireland is probably the National team. Where it seems no Irish need apply.

Timans

I really don't think that this is a very good image for Celtic fans. Like, why must people look beyond FOOTBALL!?

They're football teams, not fascists, not religious biggots, football teams!

Support who you want, preferably your hometown.

admiralofthefleet

if i had my way rangers would be the most popular foriegn team here, c'mon the gers.

Anto McC

admiralofthefleet wrote:

if i had my way rangers would be the most popular foriegn team here, c'mon the gers.

A man talking sense

mike65

biko wrote:

It's called soccer here.

Indeed but only to differentiate it from bog-ball.

The most popular team is almost certainly Manchester Utd simply due to 17 recent years of winning stuff which always helps. Liverpools upturn is down to the same thing - the 2001 treble and 2005 CL has got a new bunch of 8-16 year olds wearing Gods true colours.

Some of us feed off the folk memory of actually picking up the league championship.

Supporting Celtic is a reflex/inherited action if you live here. No one would if they thought about it in footballing tems.

Mike.

Pherekydes

Terry wrote:

I can lock this thread now, or I can allow it to descend into chaos. The choice is yours.

Chaos, FTW!

Yay, I get to post on a soccer thread!

Here's a few bonus exclamation marks before Terry bans me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Terry

Feynooooord

Nobody picked up on my mistake, so I'll continue stirring the pot.

Why don't you all support your local team instead of spending your money on foreign teams?
If you gave enough money to LOI teams, then the players might not leave for foreign teams.
Or maybe those you are supporting are just in it for themoney.
I remember my friend getting "Kanchelkis(sp) on the back of his ManU jersey, only for the guy to leave a few weeks later for more money elsewhere.

philstar

glasgow celtic...."great irish club"........oh ya???:rolleyes:

the last time i heard glasgow is in scotland.....which makes them scottish and british

Timans

Terry wrote:

Nobody picked up on my mistake, so I'll continue stirring the pot.

Why don't you all support your local team instead of spending your money on foreign teams?
If you gave enough money to LOI teams, then the players might not leave for foreign teams.
Or maybe those you are supporting are just in it for themoney.
I remember my friend getting "Kanchelkis(sp) on the back of his ManU jersey, only for the guy to leave a few weeks later for more money elsewhere.

Well, what about people who can't get lifts to all the LOI matches?

I would love to support Wexford Youths more but I cannot get to the matches as much as I would like where as, I can 80% of the time, watch a match on tele.

mike65

No amount of money from the fickle public will turn the LOI into anything other than what it already is. Nope, Russians is whats required.

Mike.

Terry

Feynooooord

Timans wrote:

Well, what about people who can't get lifts to all the LOI matches?

Allow me to give you an example.
I'm a big U2 fan (yeah, shoot me, I like what I like).
In 1993, when I was 17 years old, I made my way to Cork to see them. I had nowhere to stay overnight, but I didn't care because I got to see them play.
If you are that comitted, you will find a way.

mike65 wrote:

fickle public

Nail. Head. Hit.

Anto McC

It's funny because these same people who claim it's a problem to get to Tolka park/ Finn park/ Terryland park etc also regularly travel to Old Trafford/ Parkhead/ Anfield once or maybe twice a year.

Remember my mate laughing at me for travelling to Cork to see Shels and then a week later he went to Anfield.

Timans

Terry wrote:

Allow me to give you an example.
I'm a big U2 fan (yeah, shoot me, I like what I like).
In 1993, when I was 17 years old, I made my way to Cork to see them. I had nowhere to stay overnight, but I didn't care because I got to see them play.
If you are that comitted, you will find a way.


Nail. Head. Hit.

Ok then, would you do that Every Weekend then?

robinph

Other (named and flamed)

Accrington Stanley anyone?






Nope, thought not.

LeixlipRed

Supporting foreign teams is stupid. Simple as. I support Shels. An Irish team. Not Celtic, a team with a tenuous link to Ireland. Watching your team every week on TV is not support. That's being a fan of a team. Those who pay in every week, go to away trips are the real fans. Travelling all the way to Derry and back last year in one day to see Shels lose on penalties in the League Cup final eafter having 80% of the possesion is what real football supporters do