[kj] OT : It was a conspiracy, but the truth is out !

[iPat]

Email from a Stoke City fan to Trizia of the Chelsea Irish Supporters Group

The whole Chelsea thing intrigues me to be honest. In fact, I can thank
Chelsea for revitalising my interest in Premiership football. As a lover of
lower league football I had lost interest in what had become an
uncompetitive league dominated by clubs with no regard for anyone but
themselves. I still can't forget Martin Edwards comments around 85/86 when
he said that the smaller clubs were bleeding the game dry and needed to be
put to sleep. No coincidence that within a few years the Premiership was
formed. So I personally hope Chelsea continue to be a major pain in the
butt for the likes of United, Liverpool and Arsenal.

The media's attitude to Chelsea has been incredulous to say the least and I
include a wickedly biased Irish media in that. You rarely get to read a
good news story about the Stamford Bridge club. My own club, Stoke, were
allowed use Chelsea's new state of the art training ground before our game
at Highbury this year in the cup. So were Yeovil Town on preparation for
their game at Charlton. Last season Chelsea contributed one-third of Notts
County's survival fund. I didn't see too many media outlets report these
stories.

I think it is definitely true that there's little or no balance when it
comes to reporting on the Premiership in the Irish media. The problem is
that the majority of sports journalists in this country are Reds, be they
Man U or Liverpool. As well as that they are actively pro-establishment.
I've often heard it said by real football fans that outside of Lpool, Utd
and Celtic no other clubs exist in the eyes of the Irish media. The Holy
Trinity I call them. Although to be fair to the Examiner it does give fans
the opportunity to at least voice their opinion and I enjoy reading
"Terrace Talk" even if I don't always agree with the sentiments expressed!

I know for a fact that fans of lower league clubs are delighted the
establishment have been rocked. When I am travelling to Stoke to watch the
Potters, I often come across fans of teams like Swansea and Cardiff as well
as fans of London clubs on the night boat over to Fishguard and that's what
they tell me. With the exception of the so called big clubs and fans of
West Ham and Spurs (although it should be remembered that as sets of fans
West Ham and Spurs have a historical dislike of Chelsea) the vast majority
of lower league fans are absolutely thrilled that Chelsea have them all on
the run - trust me!

I've also noticed that some papers are making snide remarks about people
jumping on the Chelsea bandwagon and maybe they are. Isn't that a bit rich
though? We live in a country where over 80% of people who follow English
football claim allegiance to Man U and Liverpool who just happen to be the
two most successful sides in English football! It's funny you know because
I actually went the Carling Cup final this year with a mate of mine who is
a Liverpool fan. We travelled over by boat. There were as many Blues fans
on the boat as Liverpool. What was even more interesting was the age
profile of both sets of fans travelling. All the Chelsea fans were in their
30s, 40s and 50s. The majority if Liverpool were early 20s to early 30s. No
I wonder which of those sets of fans jumped on the bandwagon?

I work in a building with over 400 other people and I am lucky enough that
I have flexible working arrangements which mean I can get to watch anything
up to 25 games a season across the water. There's not that many football
fans in the building - I guess around 50 or so but only a handful would
actually go to games. There are about 15 or so who follow Liverpool - none
of them went to the Carling Cup final. There are three Chelsea fans in the
building - all three of them went to Cardiff as well as both legs of the
semi final. Now that tells me something. As for me? Well, it's little old
Stoke for me and I wouldn't have it any other way. Costs me a fortune but
it's worth every penny. I also get to see Swansea playing if they are home
mid-week. Morning ferry over and I come back on the night boat. Sad really!
Still, looking forward to visiting their new stadium next season that, from
the outside at least, looks fantastic. So, if you ever want anyone to do
"Terrace Talk" on the lower divisions just give me a shout as I've done
stuff for Stoke fanzines in the past.

-- 
iPat
live for today, live for tomorrow
"Truth is a pathless land. Man cannot come to it through any
organisation, through any creed, through any dogma, priest or ritual,
nor through any philosophic knowledge or psychological technique. He
has to find it through the mirror of relationship, through the
understanding of the contents of his own mind, through observation and
not through intellectual analysis or introspective dissection..."