Let’s get one thing straight right away. I am not a Manchester United fan. Many people have accused me of being so when I write praise about their side, but I am not, definitely not, a fan. OK?
Recently I wrote an article in which I selected my Premier League team of the year. In the team I put in a few United players. That caused outrage amongst the various people who commented on the article. Typical Manchester United fan they said. Well I hope I’ve answered that one. Typical idiot who only sees the top four clubs, said another. Well, if you’re picking the team of the year aren’t a majority of them likely to come from the four most successful teams?
Actually, as a NEUTRAL I have spotted that Manchester United have more points than anyone else, have scored more goals than anyone else and have conceded less goals than anyone else. I would say that there is an arguable case for United to supply all eleven players for the team!
I didn’t do that though, I looked at the situation without bias and with total objectivity. That, of course, is where I went badly wrong. You cannot be objective about football at all, and don’t ever try to be objective about Manchester United.
So why do Manchester United cause so much discussion? Why are they so loved by millions of people all around the world and so hated by many more? There is a great old joke that says that the only three teams in England with a swear word in their name are ARSEnal, S****horpe and F****ng Manchester United.
Clearly I understand why Liverpool fans and Everton fans and Manchester City fans might hate them. It is only right that you hate your local neighbours. I have an irrational hatred of Luton simply because it is located twenty miles up the M1 from my beloved Watford.
I suppose I can understand why Chelsea and Arsenal fans might hate them because they are in direct competition with them to win the only two major competitions.
Apart from that though, why do the club provoke such extreme emotions in people?
Many people hate their fans. They are portrayed as arrogant and conceited. With due respect to everyone, it is difficult for me to be arrogant and conceited as a Watford fan, but if we became the most successful club in England I might not be able to avoid it. Are Liverpool fans not just a wee bit arrogant and conceited about their historical dominance of England and historical and recent successes in Europe?
Many people hate Sir Alex Ferguson. I’m the first to admit that he doesn’t always come over as being a likeable, jolly fellow. I get as upset with his constant harassing of referees, looking at his watch and gruff manner as anyone else.
Despite having no particular liking for the public character of Sir Alex, I have absolute respect and admiration for him. I don’t really see how it is possible not to, however grudgingly. The thirty-seven trophies he has won over the past thirty years, together with the twenty-one manager of the month awards, seven manager of the year awards and three World Soccer manager of the year awards, tend to make it hard to dismiss his ability.
So is it the players? Well, most people seem to have total admiration for Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes. They have had fabulous careers and even the most fervent hater of Manchester United must recognise the contribution they have made to the game.
What players cause the controversy? Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Rio Ferdinand seem to be the most despised and of course, by many, the most loved. As an England fan I believe that Rio is one of the best defenders in the world and Wayne Rooney is one of only very few players we have that can win a match with a piece of brilliance. As a football fan, forget the whinging and the diving, watching Ronaldo this season has been a joy.
A look at the club’s history produces past greats like Dennis Law, Bobby Charlton and George Best. It shows them to be the first English team to win the European Cup, and for an England fan, again, on the day we won the World Cup there was Nobby Stiles and Bobby Charlton from United right there in the hub of the team.
There was the Munich tragedy of 1958 which was a terrible tragedy to anyone who is not emotionally challenged. They could easily have won that European Cup years before they eventually did.
I’m still no closer to establishing the reasons for this irrational hatred of Manchester United found all over the country. One of the main things that is constantly brought up is that United fans don’t come from Manchester and that all people from that area support City. Of course, that is a myth. They do have many thousands of fans from outside Manchester but a majority of their match attending supporters come from the Manchester area. Everton fans accuse Liverpool of not having any fans from the City. Of course, this is another myth.
I went to school in Watford back in the sixties and seventies. A lot of my mates and I supported Watford but there were many others who supported Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and United. If young people don’t support their local team they are quite likely to pick a team that is successful. Like it or not, over recent years that is quite likely to be United.
People say that most United supporters have never been to a game. Probably true, they have millions of fans worldwide and the ground only holds 77,000 or so. That doesn’t mean that there is very often a spare seat at Old Trafford though!
I’m a Watford fan. I am not a United fan, I have no feelings for them either way. It is just that as a football fan I enjoy watching their team play and admire their record. Why do so many people have such a problem with them? It isn’t jealousy is it?
Graham Fisher writes at Views of a fan.
Man U is the greatest in English football. Why must we hate each other? We should love each other. Peace. Love Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and others. Without them, Man U could not ever win because they need opponents to play with (in order to win/or lose). The one who should be hated is the fan itself. Who being so arrogant whatsoever, but not the club. Like Mario said, “i hate MU bcuz they have ronaldo if got messi i sure will be MU fan”. He’s not hating Man U actually, the only hatred is to the player (Christiano Ronaldo) himself. Or maybe he just gay…and not really a true football fan. Football really is can unite us as human beings, it also can break us apart…Sobb sobb…uhuuuhhh…uhuuuhhh….( im getting a bit emotional here…)
I’ve watched football since the 50s. Even then MUFC were either hated or loved. I don’t think that it has much to do with their record of success. Even when they were winning nothing and in the 2nd Division I don’t know anybody who liked them. Sure, they are bigger than anyone else but they lack humility and therefore unlikely ever to be the best. Personally, I’d rather go shopping with the wife than watch them.
amazing how people can scrape the barrel trying to justify jealousy, noah for example………..we dont buy black players? best go and google dwight yorke, andy cole, paul parker, paul ince, patrice evra, anderson etc., soft lad, match fixing? since when? another stupid comment, people hate them cos of ronaldo? ahh ok…suppose you all equally hate portugal?….didnt think so, another stupid comment, that idiot sparky talked a load of crap aswell, could have wrote more but ‘had things to do’ more likely he ran out of things to say, which considering his original points were utter crap, was probably for the best.
and arrogance……..how ironic that liverpool fans use that word, they literally are the most arrogant sods on the planet, all you ever here, no matter what the circumstances, is ‘BEST FANS IN THE WORLD’ ‘BEST PLAYERS IN THE WORLD’ ‘BEST TEAM IN THE WORLD’, if thts no arrogance what is?
and also you do all realise you cant base hating united on the conspiracys you have all invented, i.e fergie controls the FA, which is bollox, united always get dodgy decisions, bollox again (and hugely hilarious when said by liverpool fans), just hilarious really the lot of it.
Well, just the day when I first started watching football, I already become the big enemy of ManUnited. I can tell u that the main reason is Cristiano Ronaldog:-@ I can’t find the word to express how much I fucking hate him:-/ He’s really arrogant. Moreover, I also hate Fergie. He’s extremely conceited.
Yeah, some people say I’m jealous of ManU. But NO WAY. I’m Liverpool fan. I’m proud enough of what they’ve got so far. I truly don’t care how ManU or other teams lift the title. Just know that I’m Liverpool girl till I die.
ManU are the main rival of other team. Thus, lots of people hate them. But it’s not a big deal. The point is ManU have many arrogant players and fans, of course. I hate them and I will continous hatred forever. I hate Manchester United.
Liverpool for life:)
The reason and only reason why people hate MAN utd is because of there title success over the past 20 years. Man U haters say that was the reason but when Chelsea were winning titles they were the most hated them in England. FACT!. Teams winning titles are the most hated
I’m agree with Jd. This statment is absolutely true. “they are bigger than anyone else but they lack humility and therefore unlikely ever to be the best.” There can win, but not the proper way!
***************Edit********************
The reason and only reason why people hate MAN utd is because of there title success over the past 20 years. Man U haters say thats was the reason but when Chelsea were winning titles they were the most hated them in England. FACT!. Teams winning titles are the most hated
There is another Brad around here. . . I agree, teams that win are hated, but really it is unnecessary.
But, other Brad, please stop, youre making us and MUFC look bad from what I have already seen.
Indeed, it is stupid to hate Manchester United, or any other team to be frank. Football is meant to bring people together and have a good time. . . it wasnt invented to start wars or riots or ever what the hooligans do. FOOTBALL IS PEACE!!!
I decided to read the posts from phill and the others, and they have good points….
Well, those that are hateful or incredulously biased anyway. . . haha.
I have been a Manchester United fan since I was 4. . . and the first two games I saw Manchester United play were defeats to rivals:
1.) 5-0 to Chelsea (NOT dropping a bomb on the Blues, if CFC Fan reads this, that is a fact that I saw that game)
2.) 2-0 to Arsenal not long afterwards.
You can say I have every reason to hate those two teams, and Liverpool, but guess what? I DON’T!!!! I admire and respect them ALL.
To all Manchester United haters:
If I, a MANCHESTER UNITED fan, can be like that to your respective clubs, why cant you be that way in return?
AND PLEASE DO NOT GIVE ME ANY CRAP LIKE “I HATE RONALDO” OR “THERE AINT NO BLACK PLAYERS” OR “THE PLAYERS ARE TOO ARROGANT” (your teams have players who are just like that, there is no way you can deny it; all teams have arrogant players) OR EVEN “FERGIE HAS A MONOPOLY ON THE FA” (what shit) AND “MUFC GETS THE REF’S BACKING”.
Fuck all those sorry excuses. . . They are useless.
wot ever u sit in the pub are sing about man u, half bloods, try buying a ticket. things are changing, utd are in nearly a billion pounds worth of debt. utd have had the financial backing in all the years theyve done well. wot goes up must come down, hopefully all the way down to the second division, w”^*$!s
Fuck that. Man Utd. wont fall out of the PL at all. We are too good a team (face it yall, its true) to be fighting a relegation battle and lose. It has been around thirty years since we were last relegated. We wont mess up the record.
Besides, I cant go to Old Trafford. I live in the U.S. . . . totally stinks. . .
The facts state that, yes, what goes up eventually comes down, but in this case, with the kind of firepower MUFC has, it will be quite a good while before that happens to the Red Devils.
As a footnote, I am a pureblood MUFC fan. Have been since the first time I ever saw them, in a 5-0 loss to Chelsea (I think I already said that).
And there is no way MUFC is in a billion pounds of debt. If we are buried anywhere NEAR that much, Real Madrid would be defunct by now, as they have spent far more money in the past year or so than we have in two or three. I dont know how much debt we’re in, but it isnt nearly as much as Rea THIS! claims. That is the kind of debt Obama has put the U.S. into. . .
You’re right Graham, hating Luton Town is irrational. You know you love us deep down!
Mick, I know you mean well, but the article is not called “Why do so many people hate Luton Town?” it is Manchester United.
We dont hate manchester united. Manchester united is the one that hates us. so we hate them too.
i just hate the arrogant w**kers, i hate the fans, the club, the management, the former players everyone the only former players that i like is van Gol and CR9( obviously because he is Madrid Fan and never loved Utd with his heart. its the arrogance of them claiming to be the best in the world when they cant even match the like of Real Madrid, AC Milan, even barca are better than utd.
i think my hate will go down a little bit when fergie is gone he is the supreme C*NT, i’d choke him if i ever had the chance. he is just a a complete hypocrite and always complaining about refs then getting away with it, complaining about cheaters without looking at the biggest cheaters in football MAN UTD.
Rant Over……….
Liverpool Fan:
I am a Man United fan, as you should know, but in a previous comment on this page, I said I respect all other teams. Grudgingly, perhaps yes, but still, I think you would rather reluctant respect than none at all.
Madridista:
that was stupid. everything you said just didn’t sound educated except for Fergie’s occasoinal rants about the ref. . . but that happens with other managers, too. especially mark hughes and arsene wenger.
we will be particularly hated because of our success. simple
People hate us because they are jealous we are better than them, and they secretly know it. Manchester City want to be us, but they never will, after getting a lot of money they are no longer a team, they are just players who play on their own and try and score desperate to earn more money which they do not deserve. To everyone other than Chelsea, beating United is better than winning the league. Everyone knows we are the best, so everyone hates us. I love being hated
Why? Simple. They hate us not because we are ARROGANT, they hate us because we are BETTER as we Manchester United fans always say. Well people, suck it up. It wont stop 4a long, long, long time!!!
I’m an Arsenal fan myself, and at school people bag the team out. Most of them go for Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United, but this is usually because they’re going for the winning teams and peer pressure. The first EPL match I watched was between Chelsea and Liverpool…I prefered Liverpool in that match but had nothing against chelsea. Also, (no offence) most Man Utd fans (that I know) are up themselves. You can clearly see as of the comments section, they think they’re the best. I went for Arsenal because of the way they played and because of Onre! Can’t believe Barcelona took him!
It’s the way Alex Fergusan talks. He talks cool as though there is totally no pressure in him. He’ll probably become the most arrogant 70 year old man in the whole universe! Real Madrid won 31 league, and 9 CL!! Barcelona won the SEXTUPLE in a single year!!! but i never hate them for being SO good. But i don’t know why i just HATE Manchester United? and then suddenly, the Man U fans started to claim that: “Oh, we are not arrogant. we are just BETTER”. wtf, they are not even CLOSE to Real Madrid or Barcelona or AC Milan and many more! and they want to say : “Oh we are just BETTER”.
Nok nå: Manchester United
Alle fotballinteresserte mennesker har et forhold til United: Enten så hater man dem, eller så elsker man dem…
Manchester United er en legendarisk klubb, med legendarisk manager, legendarisk historie og spiller i tillegg vanvittig vakker fotball. Så hvorfor er det så mange som finner dem uspiselige? Her er noen av grunnene:
Kun i medgang
United er medgangssupporternes lag. Det er laget til alle som er middels interesserte i fotball, under middels intelligente, og som bare har et favorittlag når de vinner. Lagets triumfer blir dermed behørig bejublet, mens manglende suksess blir møtt med taus likegyldighet, av en fanskare hvis majoritet gir beng det sekundet de møter reell motbør. For all del: Alle som heier på United er ikke idioter, men alle idioter heier på United.
På fredag
leverte Ferguson på ny en tirade mot FA. Det samme FA som virker å operere med to sett fotballregler, ett for United og ett for alle andre lag. Det samme FA som oppnevner dommere til Unitedkamper som hverken har klokke eller briller med seg. Laget som ikke har fått en feilaktig straffe imot på 20 år presterer altså å klage på forbundet som gir dem denne fordelen….
Enda verre
er det at det ikke bare er forbundet som virker å være gjennominfiltrert av skapdjevler, det gjelder også i media. Viasat sender gladelig et allerede kvalifisert United i Champions League, fremfor kamper hvor man faktisk har noe å spille for, og det er alltid like “interessant” å høre reportere kommentere favorittlaget sitt. Til tross for denne massive støtten presterer de likevel å boikotte store deler av britisk media, og nekter navngitte journalister adgang på pressekonferanser.
Men det verste,
det aller mest frustrerende med United er at de er så forbanna gode. De kan plukke evneveike tomsekker fra nest øverste hylle og få dem til å fremstå som verdensklassespillere. De kan spille som fulle bavinaer i 85 minutter, men likevel vinne kampene sine. Og dette hører unntakene til: De leverer stort sett angrepsfotball av verdensklasse, og scorer jevnlig mål som er så pene at man må bite seg i hånda for ikke å klappe.
Derfor
er det så forferdelig trist at United er så uspiselige. De er gode nok til å klare seg uten dommerhjelp, de er store og rike nok til ikke å trenge halvdaffe medgangssupportere, og de er respekterte nok til at de ikke trenger å boikotte media. Likevel gjør de alt dette mens de med et syrlig glis innkasserer sølvtøy i kilovis.
Heldigvis
varer ikke dette evig. Ferguson blir ikke yngre og den stakkars personen som skal ta over for ham kommer til å møte et forventningspress av en annen verden. Derfor er det lov å håpe at en sesong, om ikke så altfor lenge, kommer hegemoniet til å ta slutt.
Det kommer til å bli herlig!
Men også litt tomt og trist…. Det er tross alt ikke hver dag man finner et verdig hatobjekt!
Yeah im an arsenal fan…..and i hate MAN U fans…and not MAN UTD…like writer…i have same feeling to them as to chelsea and all.BUT the thing is….the fans who follow MAN UTD as a brand and not as a club..worlwide….are arrogant..!They wont even C all the matches even on T.V…but they arrogantly…hold their head high when wearing MAN UTD shirt…as if they won sme Kind of war….THESE ppl are not called followers!
Hi there. As what I consider to be a fan of Manny U(I like them more than any other team, and I watch as many of their matches as I can on tv, because I live in the states, but I plan on – at some point – making a trip to Britain and going to a few matches while I’m there, when I’m older and able to do so). Do I think Manchester United is better than a lot of other teams? Yes I do(dare I say, I KNOW it). Are there some teams I don’t really care for? Of course – most of all, Manchester City. But do I hate any of the other teams? Of course not.
I can kinda understand why a lot of people might night like them, but seriously guys, there’s no need to hate them(Judging from what I’ve heard about a lot of the fans, though, maybe it might be kinda hard to get along with them, but try not to generalize, okay?)
I agree with other Brad(the orange one). Football is meant to be enjoyed, not a cause to fight.
Sorry for the double(now triple) posting. I was typing my first comment right towards the end of 7th period and the bell rang before I was finished, so I wasn’t sure if I’d submitted it or not, so when I got home and didn’t see it up, I thought I didn’t so I retyped it(and then some, now that I’m not pressed for time). So yeah, sorry. Try to ignore my first comment. The second one’s better in my opinion.
I hate man united because they always manage to get more injury time than any other club. They have Tim Howard in thier pocket ,
As a United fan it’s all irrational to “hate” a football club or its fans (who are only doing what you are doing by supporting there favourite team).
I understand some fans can be a bit over the top but that’s true of all clubs. Just be glad its not the 70′s with all the hooliganism. Its FOOTBALL ffs…..