he age old question of 'glory hunters' and 'plastic fans' came to my mind last week as I watched my Arsenal side fall 1-0 to Man U in the first leg of the Champions League Semi Final.  


The pub I go to watch the majority of games is about a 10 minute walk from my house in zone 2 London.  It is a great footballing pub with good food, a great atmosphere and an outside screen to watch games when the weather permits.  One of my favourite things about the pub is that it is somewhat off the beaten track and attracts a type of fan who is loyal to their team and their team's cause.


As i took my place in the Garden last tuesday, i looked around and saw a number of Arsenal fans and a few Utdfans who i see week in week out.  There was however, one group ofMan U fans that i didn't recognise.  


It was as the game kicked off that my anger started  to boil.  One of these fans was making a particular twat of himself.  Berating Sagna's hair, screaming when Ronaldo was not given a free kick for a blatant dive, and getting over excited about the most ridiculous things.  As a football fan, you kind of expect this from opposing fans when you watch a game, what annoyed me so much this time was that the individual in question had a cockney accent and had quite obviously never been any further north than the M25.


I am not saying that you have to support your local team, but there is something wrong with somebody from London supporting Man U.  I  could live with a supporter of a lower league team - such asStevenage Borough- supporting one of the top four as a second team, or somebody from the UK, following Barca or Madrid as a second team, but there is something inheriently wrong with a cockney supporting Manchester United.  SS touched on this a couple of weeks ago.  What is wrong with these people? Do they not have any sense of local pride? Are they ashamed of where they come from? Are their lives so shallow that they ahve to cling  on to something successful to fulfil a gap? Who knows? not me.  All i know is that they make my blood boil


I am watching tonights game from the comfort of my home.  3-1 Arsenal - come on boys. you know you can do it!

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