Clubs you always root against

Mr. Wednesday

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 27, 2007
1,590
Eastern MA
I always thought this was a common but highly overblown perspective based on the final.
I'm not sure it's a fair critique of the Dutch as a whole, but it's absolutely a fair critique of De Jong. I believe he seriously injured a U.S. player on a horror tackle (I'm vaguely remembering it being Stu Holden).
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
SoSH Member
Jul 22, 2006
8,232
Falmouth
I'm not sure it's a fair critique of the Dutch as a whole, but it's absolutely a fair critique of De Jong. I believe he seriously injured a U.S. player on a horror tackle (I'm vaguely remembering it being Stu Holden).
De Jong was a reprehensible character and he had 3 yellows in the 2010 tournamnet and should have had more.
But there was a narrative that started right after the final that the Dutch were a bunch of anti-football savages and I never bought that, while acknowledging that the final was a ghastly affair.
 

67YAZ

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 1, 2000
8,729
Unless you’re looking to throw down With a very tall dude, best not to mention this match to Dutch folks. It’s still a sore one. My Dutch friends saw DeJong as a necessary evil - it was a quick, technically skilled squad that needed a brawler to disrupt opponents. Not exactly the Cruyffian ideal, but effective. If Robben had buried those 2 chances...
 

JayMags71

Member
SoSH Member
Liverpool fan here.
Chelsea annoys the crap out of me.
I was enjoying a few years of schadenfreude from ManU’s struggles, but that may be morphing back into active distaste.
Real, and especially Sergio Ramos should all eat shit and die.
 

DJnVa

Dorito Dawg
SoSH Member
Dec 16, 2010
53,837
Spurs fan, so Arsenal and Chelsea and a floating hatred for clubs ahead on table.

The whole "Pulisic on Chelsea" thing makes this more difficult.
 

Titans Bastard

has sunil gulati in his sights
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 15, 2002
14,446
I'm not sure it's a fair critique of the Dutch as a whole, but it's absolutely a fair critique of De Jong. I believe he seriously injured a U.S. player on a horror tackle (I'm vaguely remembering it being Stu Holden).
Yup. Screw that guy. It wasn't a one-off aberration for de Jong; that's just the kind of player he was.

While we're on Holden, screw Jonny Evans too.
 

Gunfighter 09

wants to be caribou ken
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 31, 2005
8,548
KPWT
Spurs fan, so Arsenal and Chelsea and a floating hatred for clubs ahead on table.

The whole "Pulisic on Chelsea" thing makes this more difficult.
My youngest brother is an Arsenal fan. Me being a Spurs fan makes the rivalry fun for us. Yesterday our brother who has been without a real EPL allegiance for the last decade or so that we have been following the league declared himself a Chelsea fan, because " I have to root for Pulisic." If this is the price of finally having a world class American player, I don't know if it is worth it. The worst part is that my newly declared ally of Putin brother cannot tell you who John Terry, Diego Costa or any of the other utterly contemptible Chelsea figures over the years are or why everyone hates his team that is suddenly filled with 4 or 5 of the most exciting young players in the world.
 

fletcherpost

sosh's feckin' poet laureate
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
12,139
Glasgow, Scotland
I loathe Rangers with all my soul, like to the point where it borders more on nausea than white-hot anger (although there's ample room for both on my Rangers Hate Train), but I will say this: I care more about Scottish soccer as a whole than my hate for Rangers, so when it comes to Europe, I find myself sometimes rooting for the fuckers.

I freely admit it's complex. If that disqualifies me from being a True Believer, so be it.
I can relate to this. I live across the road from a Rangers pub. I can hear the noise from Ibrox when Rangers score. Sometimes when Celtic lose the local orange lodge get the drums and flutes out and you get an impromptu performance. All the big marches come past my street. I've stood on Paisley Rd West on the day of a Indy Rally wearing a green jacket and Rangers had just played and the fans were steaming out and i felt if i kept my jacket on longer i was gonna take at least a punch.

Some Rangers fans look like evolution has no further plans for them...but maybe you can say that about certain fans of most clubs - maybe. Recently there was some right wing UKOK guys who wanted to protect the statues and monuments in George Square...none of these people were Celtic fans. I hate the Union Jack association Rangers have. I hate their songs. But a lot of people grew up with the team and love the club in the same way every fan loves their club. And Rangers are a fuckin institution, no getting away from that. And they do raise funds for food banks, they do stuff in the community. Less of their fans are problematic now than ever before. There's a lot of Indy supportin Gers fans cos 70 odd% of young uns are pro Indy so i can't hate on the kids.

And I need Rangers to do well for Scotland do to well, in Footballing terms.
 

tmracht

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 19, 2009
3,070
My youngest brother is an Arsenal fan. Me being a Spurs fan makes the rivalry fun for us. Yesterday our brother who has been without a real EPL allegiance for the last decade or so that we have been following the league declared himself a Chelsea fan, because " I have to root for Pulisic." If this is the price of finally having a world class American player, I don't know if it is worth it. The worst part is that my newly declared ally of Putin brother cannot tell you who John Terry, Diego Costa or any of the other utterly contemptible Chelsea figures over the years are or why everyone hates his team that is suddenly filled with 4 or 5 of the most exciting young players in the world.
Smart man that brother of yours. He would have absolutely adored Terry and Costa and Drogba. Been so torn on Cole and Fabregas initially then loved when they played well against Arsenal. Yes we all love to hate Arsenal.
 

CodPiece XL

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 4, 2007
2,422
Scottsdale, AZ.
I can relate to this. I live across the road from a Rangers pub. I can hear the noise from Ibrox when Rangers score. Sometimes when Celtic lose the local orange lodge get the drums and flutes out and you get an impromptu performance. All the big marches come past my street. I've stood on Paisley Rd West on the day of a Indy Rally wearing a green jacket and Rangers had just played and the fans were steaming out and i felt if i kept my jacket on longer i was gonna take at least a punch.

Some Rangers fans look like evolution has no further plans for them...but maybe you can say that about certain fans of most clubs - maybe. Recently there was some right wing UKOK guys who wanted to protect the statues and monuments in George Square...none of these people were Celtic fans. I hate the Union Jack association Rangers have. I hate their songs. But a lot of people grew up with the team and love the club in the same way every fan loves their club. And Rangers are a fuckin institution, no getting away from that. And they do raise funds for food banks, they do stuff in the community. Less of their fans are problematic now than ever before. There's a lot of Indy supportin Gers fans cos 70 odd% of young uns are pro Indy so i can't hate on the kids.

And I need Rangers to do well for Scotland do to well, in Footballing terms.
Oddly enough, my dislike for Rangers has wained the last few years, they are more a source of entertainment than anything else. I mean seriously, you couldn't make up half the shit that has happened to them the last few years. Due to the timing and locations of my vacations in Scotland last year, I saw Rangers play twice and Celtic zero times. I was a guest at a Rangers supporters club in Stornoway. They seemed a bit more timid than I can remember. Memories are fading, the arrogance has tapered, their identities slowly ebbing away. But that can all change.

Back on track:

Can't stand Roma, Lazio, Millwall, Marseille and the English National team. I blame Jimmy Hill for the last one.
 

InstaFace

The Ultimate One
SoSH Member
Sep 27, 2016
21,753
Pittsburgh, PA
If Robben had buried those 2 chances...
No era penal.

(and, like, I'm no Mexico fan...)

Some Rangers fans look like evolution has no further plans for them...
This is a delightful turn of phrase that I hope to have the wit to employ at some point.

Can't stand Roma, Lazio, Millwall, Marseille and the English National team. I blame Jimmy Hill for the last one.
Can I ask why Millwall? I don't know what their historic associations or trends are, I just know that this was fuckin awesome.
 

Brand Name

make hers mark
Moderator
SoSH Member
Oct 6, 2010
4,397
Moving the Line
Olympique de Marseille, pretty clear cut and obviously so, flip side of Le Classique. The best thing they’ve ever done was provide me my favorite Cavani moment a few years ago, on a last second equalizer to deny them a win against PSG that they’ve lacked for so long.

Saint-Étienne. Oh so big and strong, play a tough game they claim, but really a cheap club that better resembles CONCACAF national sides. Angers they aren’t, who play very physically but I can at least respect for not being dirty. Doubly steaming after Mbappé.
 

CodPiece XL

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 4, 2007
2,422
Scottsdale, AZ.
No era penal.

(and, like, I'm no Mexico fan...)


This is a delightful turn of phrase that I hope to have the wit to employ at some point.


Can I ask why Millwall? I don't know what their historic associations or trends are, I just know that this was fuckin awesome.
Millwall had a reputation for having some of the most violent fans in England. " If we can't beat you on the pitch, we will beat you off it" type of mentality. Even the ever so polite and dignified Bobby Robson once said to take flame throwers to them. For such a "provincial " London football they were regarded as being the most destructive. Of course they had their fair share of fans linked to the National Front, but what London team didn't during the 70's and 80's. This didn't really affect me living in Scotland. Clips on the BBC of Millwall fans running riot regularly didn't turn me against Millwall.

Things got personal in my second year at Uni. We had campus accomodation and I shared a flat with a freshman ( Ian) from Warrington, he was painfully shy but a Man utd fan. Really nice kid. Studying forrestry if I remember right. Anyway, during one of the vacations he and his brother went to see Man Utd play in London. I can't remember all the details but they weren't in a crowd of Man Utd fans. They were minding their own business walking down a street, they had their Man Utd scarves on. They were set upon by a bunch Millwall fans, double figures. I guess there had been a game going on somewhere and their fans were returning via the Underground. Ian landed up being slashed across face with what appeared to be an open razor, his brother didn't fare much better. He was badly scarred both physically and mentally. He left Uni because of it. Anyway, that's why I hate Millwall, it's not exactly rational but it's my reason.
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
SoSH Member
Jul 22, 2006
8,232
Falmouth
Also, Millwall plays on the field the way their fans play off the field. No one likes them, they don’t care.

They do have a very good track record of charitable contributions, but as we discuss elsewhere in this site, being charitable doesn’t negate being a shithead.
 

InstaFace

The Ultimate One
SoSH Member
Sep 27, 2016
21,753
Pittsburgh, PA
Thanks for those notes guys. And Codpiece, no excuses needed, it seems a better reason than most of us have for our lists here, frankly.
 

Seven Costanza

Fred Astaire of SoSH
SoSH Member
Apr 11, 2007
3,016
Additional Millwall evidence:

A football fan has spoken of how he was stabbed eight times by the London Bridge attackers as he attempted to single-handedly fight off all three of them unarmed.

Roy Larner, 47, told reporters he shouted “Fuck you, I’m Millwall” – in an allusion to the club’s association with football violence – as he charged into the attackers in the Black & Blue restaurant and bar in Borough Market.
...

“Like an idiot I shouted back at them. I thought, ‘I need to take the piss out of these bastards’. I took a few steps towards them and said, ‘Fuck you, I’m Millwall’. So they started attacking me.”

“I didn’t think of my safety at the time. I’d had four or five pints – nothing major,” he said. “I can handle myself. But I was out with an old person and it was out of order.”
 

InstaFace

The Ultimate One
SoSH Member
Sep 27, 2016
21,753
Pittsburgh, PA
Yeah I linked to that event earlier - I think that's a dramatic point in favor of their supporters, not against. Guy probably prevented several further murders that day.

Would a fan of another team, sitting there in a pub, jump up and take the same opportunity? Maybe, maybe not. But he made his decision to do so all about his fan identity, so I'll credit that.
 

Royal Reader

Member
SoSH Member
Sep 21, 2005
2,275
UK
I've seen both sides of Millwall. Their community trust does great work. When I went round London last summer going to every league ground, Millwall was the most welcoming (Spurs were the least. Wouldn't even let me next to the entrance to the stadium. According the the Wall security guard, this is because the Met had been round London checking every club's counterterrorism procedures, and Spurs along with Barnet let the undercover officer in the stadium with a backpack). I've had good chats with older visiting Millwall fans on the way back from games, but also seen them rampage through city centres. They've mostly avoided the gentrification of many London clubs, which has its good (The atmosphere at the Den is streets better than, say, Loftus Road) but definitely its bad (far too many fash bastards still attached to the club).
 

CodPiece XL

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 4, 2007
2,422
Scottsdale, AZ.
There is a documentary by the Panorama BBC1 team about Millwall fans. It was filmed in the late 70's. The rumor was that Millwall had invited the BBC to show that their fans had been cast in a bad light by the media, it was an overblown reputation. The whole thing kind of backfired. I seem to remember a classic line about 12 rabid Millwall fans charging into 2000 Spurs fans. You can find it on Youtube.
 

Seven Costanza

Fred Astaire of SoSH
SoSH Member
Apr 11, 2007
3,016
Yeah I linked to that event earlier - I think that's a dramatic point in favor of their supporters, not against. Guy probably prevented several further murders that day.

Would a fan of another team, sitting there in a pub, jump up and take the same opportunity? Maybe, maybe not. But he made his decision to do so all about his fan identity, so I'll credit that.
Ah sorry, missed it. I also should have added "presented without comment"- although I must admit the absolute absurdity of it all always makes me chuckle a bit.
 

bsj

Renegade Crazed Genius
SoSH Member
Dec 6, 2003
22,774
Central NJ SoSH Chapter
Irrational
Bolton. QPR and Bolton had a pretty nasty battle for EPL survival back in 2011-12 and there was a LOT of nasty vitriol between the two fan bases. It's stuck for me. That being said, they've been struggling mightily so much of that has waned.

Rational
Fulham.
 

Stanley Steamer

Member
SoSH Member
Jan 11, 2012
1,436
Rossland, BC
Man U. Almost felt sorry for them for falling so far, but they better not even think about winning the league anytime soon.
Barca. Love Messi, but enough already. I should hate RM but somehow don't. Do like Sociedad though.
Bayern. Enough already, part zwei.
PSG. 4th treble in 6 years? That's just great.
Didn't like Milan, but who cares anymore?
Don't care for Sunderland, or Middlesbrough for that matter. Don't like Sheffield United but Chris Wilder has tempered that.
On the national front: Germany, lately France (but I rooted for them in 98), Mexico. I previously didn't like Italy or Argentina, but that is changing.
 
Last edited:

Gunfighter 09

wants to be caribou ken
Moderator
SoSH Member
Jul 31, 2005
8,548
KPWT

Add me to the list. Though my little brother being a Gunner makes it kind of fun.

Can't stand Bayern since I go really into Dortmund during the time CP was there.

Feel kind of dirty removing PSG from my list of "oil money teams I don't like" since Poch is there now.

Though Liverpool have special place in my heart of hate, seeing how they completely own my team, ruined what could have been our greatest moment and got my favorite Red Sox player ever traded (ducks). At least they have removed my conflict about having to like LeBron.