It doesn't need to part of the problem - there's a way to behave, and some people crossed the line last night IMO.
Ultimately do we want to be a club like Accrington (but with more fans and much bigger crowds!) where the supporters get behind their team enthusiastically and treat the opposition with respect - meaning away fans want to visit and reciprocate Stanley's welcome when they host them, or a club like Fleetwood that cause trouble and people look to avoid/think are utter pricks? That's up to individuals involved, and to a certain extent the club (although the club has always presented itself as one that prides itself on inclusion and friendly family environment), but hopefully people will conclude it's the former when they reflect.
For the life of me I do not know why our supporters were chanting anti-Mackem rhetoric throughout - I think they saw it on a tok-tik
or something? Some suggestions that there were some Newcastle fans in attendance, but I think this is being generous. One or two perhaps. "Feed the Mackems" seemed a bit rich, given the abject poverty and reliance on food banks (collection at the next home game btw) in our own town - one of the most deprived areas in the country. I get that some people might find this type of thing humorous because other local 'big' clubs who are rivals like to goad one another with this kind of 'banter' - but we aren't a big club, and have no beef with Sunderland, so it was all rather embarrassing to be honest. I don't know what the underlying objective was? If it was to create a good atmosphere - it did not work because some people were excluded from participating, myself included.
There were more songs about Adam Johnson, than there was in support of our own team. Admittedly the team did not give the supporters much to chant about - but such chants were heard at 0-0 before the players entered the pitch. Surely we can come up with something more original, and funny that everyone can join in with? Preferably not a rebranded Manchester United song. That's not to say we need to be a soft touch, clowning around in Eric Morecambe gear 'don't let the football spoil your day out' type attitude - but somewhere in the middle.
The smoke bomb was just downright stupidity, and whilst I don't think the intention was to throw it down to the next tier - this is where it ended up. I don't think I'm being pathetic to say that had the canister landed on somebodies head from that distance, a small child say in the family section below, it could have been a very different outcome. Thankfully nobody was hurt.
What you cannot fault is the numbers we are getting home and away these days, and the general enthusiasm for the club. It has certainly reinvigorated my interest and enjoyment in supporting the Shrimps - pre-Derek Adams 75% of my mates (3 of the 4) had pretty much given up supporting the team mainly because the football was terrible and the club was only FL in name - severely lacking any ambition, happy to merely exist so long as it was getting a solidarity payment. Overall, things have changed significantly for the better recently and long may that continue. 400+ on a Tuesday is fantastic support for us. I hope this is just an isolated incident, we do have a good reputation in general - and because of that we are given a bit more leeway vs other clubs with Police, what pubs we can go to, etc. I don't see why this needs to change. Have a beer, enjoy the game/day with your mates, cheer the lads on, celebrate/console yourself with the result, moan on social media/here if you must (it has got me through 25 years largely unscathed so far), go again.
Gone_Shrimping wrote:Heaven only knows how much Sunderland's wages budget is but it will be comfortably several times what Morecambe's is.
Did you not get the memo about 'Goodbye Little Old Morecambe'? We are a serious club now, with serious objectives. I don't think the financial reality of Sunderland vs Morecambe is lost on anybody, but you can't use that as an excuse to justify some of the shambolic defending last night - nor should you try. We were pathetic, the manager and players have already acknowledged this. I don't want senseless fighting at games, but I can also do without this defeatist attitude that has held the club back and allowed it to sleepwalk into situations like the fat Brazilian shafting us whilst being chauffeur driven around the country... or some crazy homeless Italian man plotting an underwater casino (If he can get a loan from HSBC Morecambe branch) whilst crashing in the MFC boardroom. Or Wild Boar burgers in the airport departure louge/Globe Bar & No Grill (this one is for you Posh).