To think people should support their local football teams, rather than premier league ones?

[HuwEdwardsBottom]

Is it wrong that I silently judge people I see in a Man City/Liverpool/Man United etc shirt when they have a local team on their doorstep? Might not be premier league but still doing good things.

My local football team were absolutely dire for a very long time. They were also very badly run and suffered dreadful financial problems but they’ve also always had a very strong and loyal following both at home and away. Things have changed a lot in the last few years and we now have good owners and are doing well but you still see the glory hunters out and about in their premier league kits and I’m like why when you have all of this happening on your doorstep? We are literally miles away from all premier league clubs. I can’t fathom it out at all.

Had many a nice away game at Wrexham back in the day. Enjoy your season Op, was pleased that Notts County were promoted as well.

My DH doesn't support his local team, he supports one of the big clubs. The club supported by his father, grandfather and great grandfather, his dad cousin was a multiple trophy winning manager at one time and everyone's got a brick at the stadium so our family name is literally written into the club at every level.
Geography won't change a thing 🤷‍♀️

I supported Liverpool as a kid despite no where near there - my reason is because I was totally mesmerised by John Barnes as a 7 year old (and it grew to fancying him ) . That's literally the only reason. Then through my youth they weren't actually that great. It was all about Man Utd when I was growing up and turn Chelsea. But it's always been Liverpool for me. I am a member though if my local club and go watch games there. They are my 2nd team

I live in Highbury, am I allowed to support arsenal?

Meh. Not interested in football but as with all sports (even superior ones like rugby union 😁), there’s a reason local players are local players.

Another person who comes from generations of WHU from both sides, with East End roots!

There was never any doubt! I have two girls with no interest in football but have a newborn son, if he's into football he'll have no choice 😂 as DH is also a Hammer!

I support both my local teams and a premier league team. I do occasionally see one of those local teams play but as it's getting darker it's getting harder to get there and home safely.

I live in Essex now of course, but my mum and dad are still East End and my dad is a season ticket holder..

I'm a Spurs fan living in Kent, however my grandparents were born and bred in North London and used to take me to home games as a child in the 90's. I do have a 2nd team (Kent team in League 2) and go to every home game and have done since having my own DC.

I know a lot of football fans in my area though and the majority are all about the Premier League teams and couldn't even tell you where Gillingham are in the table although they were all fans when Leicester came to town back in January 🙄

I’m in Essex as well but I’d say it’s definitely mostly WH here - with a few Arsenal and the other lot I won’t mention 🤣

DS is 18 now and his mates a mix of ones who support family teams and couple who are Man U.

I’m still a season ticket holder for a club in a city 300 miles away and I haven’t lived there for 30 years. We travel down a couple of times a month.
I tried giving a local team a go, went to a few games and DD had been to some youth events but then they signed a rapist and tried to imply it was because they’re lower league they can’t afford big players, fans and sponsors kicked off but it’s left a bad taste. I won’t be back.

DH is a Man Utd fan despite living in the midlands, but it was his team of choice as a child in the 70s and in those days you could actually afford to go and see these teams regularly (which he did)

We both support our home town team, absolutely love non league football! Hard core support of 2000 odd which is good considering how many ‘big’ teams there are in a 20 mile radius.

Like others have said, it’s often a family thing. My dad took me to our local ground as a kid and I’m in my 50s now still going.

We have a premier league winning team in our town and while they haven’t won it in a very long time they’re still competitive. They’re also very big on working in the community.

It’s a shame then to see a lot of kids running around in City, United and Liverpool tops (a few years ago it was Chelsea). It’s a bit on the glory hogging side to be honest. 🤷‍♀️

I'm a Tranmere supporter but I also follow Arsenal.

Another one who now lives miles away from their ‘local club.’

My grandad starting watching Spurs in the early 1920s because they were his local team. He was still the holder of a season ticket when he died in 2016. My parents have season tickets still. I grew up going to matches (rarely traveled with them but went every home game) in the days before you had to prebook a ticket.
We’d be watching Saints and Greavsie and dad would suddenly yell “Kids, we’re at home today. Grab your coat, let’s go.” And we’d shovel the last of our lunch in and run to the car. We stood in the same place each match and got to know loads of the people who also stood round us.

I will be a Spurs fan until the day I die, even though I now live a few hundred miles away and haven’t made it to a live match in ten years. I’m emotionally invested in a way I’m not with the little local teams round here. I’m not ‘glory chasing’ - I wouldn’t be a Spurs fan if I had been!!

@HuwEdwardsBottom I've been watching Welcome to Wrexham and everything you said matched. It's very enjoyable

I’d go as far as to say that teams should feature only people from the local area. Manchester a United should only be allowed to have players born within 20 miles of Manchester. What is the point in calling in Manchester United if no one on the team has any connection to Manchester?!

DH is a sports / football fan He has a favourite English Premier club that he has ‘supported’ for ever, primarily because of key players they have had over the years whom he has followed.

In Scotland he has a favourite SPL club, which is our original ho,e town club, who used to be fab and are now shite, but he’s fairly loyal;

and we support, literally, with sponsorship cash, whichever minor league club(s)our nephews are playing for at the time.

But though neither of these are his teams, he tells me nothing compares to being at Ibrox for a Glasgow derby, and listening to the singing. Spine chilling apparently 🤷🏻‍♀️

At the non league team I support many fans also support one of 2 local EPL teams. Not all of them go to the premier matches but some do. They can do both. We had the thrill of playing an EPL team in the FA cup a few years ago.

We also played Wrexham in the cup the following season. I was a steward then and had the pleasure of checking Rob McElhenney's ticket. No Ryan that day though

My team owe their current resurgence thanks to your fans @babybythesea ❤️

Nah.

4DC between them follow 3 Premier League teams that are hundreds of miles away.

They also support local lower division team.

🤷‍♀️

They are devoted football fans.
That's the way it is.

The judging is more about you tbh since those kits are sold literally all over the world.

@Mylobsterteapot Absolutely. You could support any team you liked, all the players will be from somewhere else, these days even a different country. Local lads will be in the minority. And they get transferred between teams so will have played for different clubs anyway.

My brother is a lifelong, die hard Liverpool fan. He recently had to explain this to a drunk in a pub who accosted him for wearing a football shirt. Once he had explained that our father was Liverpool born and bred and a huge fan, and he himself follows them all over the country and Europe, and has been to Anfield many, many times, including all the Hillsborough anniversaries, the man shut up. I believe they ended up buying each other drinks.

I couldn’t give a shiny shit about football.

My son and some friends of mine support both! They are in different leagues though so no conflict.

I think there are many reasons as to why someone supports a certain team and they are all fine. It's a personal choice as to who you support.

My son supports the same team as his dad. Not local. But it's been a lifelong support from oh and son is following in his footsteps.

However, we also support local amateur teams.