Switching your support?

Matt Dickinson in The Times this morning, is suggesting that switching your support from one club to another shouldn't be such a crime.
Could you do it? If only due to another club being close to where you now live, or someone else gets you free tickets.
It's a no go for me. It's Bolton or the canal.
Do you know anyone who has done it?

In my lifetime I've supported Liverpool, Southampton, Bolton and Chorley.

I'm undecided on next season, I may wait to see who makes the best start.

Southampton is an interesting choice. Care to give us some background on this Nat?

I did support Liverpool as a kid till i saw the light. I follow other clubs such as Hitchin Town as i went to watch them play last year when visiting my Sister in Law and St Pauli in Germany as they are Leftys like me but no one can replace the Super Whites.

My son supports City and i do take him to the odd game and the football is good to watch but i don't get excited about it like a true City fan would. Last game i went to was a Champions League game against Atalanta that they won 6-1 i think but i only got excited when we were leaving and noticed on the tv screens that Bolton had won their first away game of the season at Bristol Rovers 

I did look into other local teams when it was a possibility we could fold like Bury and the nearest club to me is Stockport County so i would have probably started watching them if the worst happened.

If we went bust I'd probably turn to Daisy Hill.

boltonbonce wrote:If we went bust I'd probably turn to Daisy Hill.

Aren't you a bit old to start chasing after women?

Boncey would be like Benny Hill chasing her round 

Norpig wrote:Boncey would be like Benny Hill chasing her round 

Sluffy is outrageous. 

I have neither the legs, nor the lungs to do much chasing these days.

I can admire the skills and workrate of the Prem's top teams, but one tame goal for BW or some poxy fluke by the opposition produces far more emotion in me than any wonder strike by Liverpool or Man City.....

boltonbonce wrote:
Sluffy is outrageous. 

I have neither the legs, nor the lungs to do much chasing these days.

..there's a joke about pushing up Daisy's in there somewhere but it's probably best left well alone.

I've always had a liking for other teams in addition to the mighty Wanderers including Stirling Albion, Mainz 05, Mechelen and Al-Arabi but the prospect of supporting a different English club is an absolute non-starter.

okocha wrote:I can admire the skills and workrate of the Prem's top teams, but one tame goal for BW or some poxy fluke by the opposition produces far more emotion in me than any wonder strike by Liverpool or Man City.....

I completely agree Okocha...

xmiles wrote:Southampton is an interesting choice. Care to give us some background on this Nat?

We were on holiday down South one August in the mid-nineties. It was pissing down so my Dad suggested a trip to The Dell, Southampton's ground back then.

We arrived thinking we'd just see the outside of the ground and maybe one or two of the players if we were lucky. We went into Reception to ask if there was a stadium tour, but there wasn't one that day. A bloke walking through (we later found out he was a Director) said he'd show us round. We expected a quick 15 minute race round but what we got was a 2 hour tour of everything.

He introduced us to several of the players...Matt Le Tissier, Bruce Grobbelaar and many others who I forget, let us walk onto the pitch, in the changing rooms, the club bar.....and even the manager's office where Alan Ball was on the phone but stopped to say hello. Then this Director bloke let us have lunch in the canteen with him and a few of the players.

This was a brilliant day for a 10 year old kid, so I decided to ditch Bolton and support the mighty Saints instead. It lasted until at least the end of the month before I returned to my first love, BWFC.

Natasha Whittam wrote:

We were on holiday down South one August in the mid-nineties. It was pissing down so my Dad suggested a trip to The Dell, Southampton's ground back then.

We arrived thinking we'd just see the outside of the ground and maybe one or two of the players if we were lucky. We went into Reception to ask if there was a stadium tour, but there wasn't one that day. A bloke walking through (we later found out he was a Director) said he'd show us round. We expected a quick 15 minute race round but what we got was a 2 hour tour of everything.

He introduced us to several of the players...Matt Le Tissier, Bruce Grobbelaar and many others who I forget, let us walk onto the pitch, in the changing rooms, the club bar.....and even the manager's office where Alan Ball was on the phone but stopped to say hello. Then this Director bloke let us have lunch in the canteen with him and a few of the players.

This was a brilliant day for a 10 year old kid, so I decided to ditch Bolton and support the mighty Saints instead. It lasted until at least the end of the month before I returned to my first love, BWFC.

If bribery is the way to your heart, Chorley must have given you shares in the business and a penthouse in Preston to match that

First game I went to was Bolton v. West ham, with my dad and uncle, (on a complimentary ticket). That was in the 1962/3 season. I still remember everything about it, and I've supported them ever since, regardless. Thought of following, but not suporting Cheltenham Town, but couldn't do it, (especially now).

When I see top sportsmen off the pitch, I'm always amazed at how huge or powerful they look. Le Tiss is much taller and broader in his civies than he looked to me on the field. I once played golf behind Alan Ball and Le God....they both hit it absolutely miles!

 But the man who really surprised me when he came to present the prizes at my cricket club a few years ago was David Gower who looked weedy to my eye on TV, but in the flesh had forearms like Popeye!

Those 50/50 football scarves were a great idea for fans such as Arsenal supporters. Every other week when they get beat at home by a lowly prem side they can turn their scarf around before they start to leave the ground and pretend that they support the other side. Thus avoiding looking like an idiot as the walk through the car park after the game.

okocha wrote:When I see top sportsmen off the pitch, I'm always amazed at how huge or powerful they look. 

What gets me is how skilful many of them are despite looking like donkeys on the pitch. I played footie with some Man United and Liverpool rejects who'd not been offered contracts at 17/18 and their skill, touch, speed and all round ability was just phenomenal - and they were the rejects.

wanderlust wrote:
What gets me is how skilful many of them are despite looking like donkeys on the pitch. I played footie with some Man United and Liverpool rejects who'd not been offered contracts at 17/18 and their skill, touch, speed and all round ability was just phenomenal - and they were the rejects.

I once saw ex-trotter and England international Ray Parry playing on the local fields at Crompton Way, years after he'd retired from professional football. He stood out a mile from the rest who, to my very young eye, had looked terrific until that moment. His ability and power, even at that age, were stunningly superior. At 15, he was the youngest Trotter ever to play for us in the first division, but here he was, well into retirement, thundering about in midfield, dribbling rings round the opposition at pace and crashing in a goal or two with his left peg. Work-rate phenomenal, linking defence and attack.

Surely with the way things are going - heartless corrupt business people walking into football clubs and shitting all over them not to mention the knock on effect of Covid - more people need to be asking themselves this question.

I don't see why it should be a big deal. Just be honest with yourselves, if you grew up in Darwen/Brownhill/Little Harwood as opposed to Halliwell/Deane/Farnworth/Astley Bridge, there's a considerable chance you would be a Blackburn fan and either really dislike Bolton or not give a shiny shite one way or the other.

Obviously nobody can expect you to feel the same about your new team whoever it is, but surely nobody could be blamed for trying.