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Whenever you meet new people, be it at school, University, in a new job or moving to a new area, one question inevitably pops up more often than not – “Which team do you support?” My answer used to be Manchester United, but now it’s Stevenage Borough. But why?
My first memory of football is as a seven year old child talking in the playground about the 1993 FA Cup final between Arsenal and Sheffield Wednesday. I didn’t support either side before or indeed after the two games but my head had been turned by the start of the 1993-94 season; I was a Manchester United fan.
Maybe it was getting Sky Sports for the first time with all the hype of the Premiership that surrounded it, school friends wearing replica United shirts, Eric Cantona wheeling away, arm in cast, after scoring a cracker against Arsenal or a combination of all three but I was undeniably a Red Devil.
That side still sticks into my mind to this day: Peter Schmeichel, Paul Parker, Gary Pallister, Denis Irwin, Steve Bruce, Lee Sharpe, Paul Ince, Mark Hughes, Brian McClair, Roy Keane, Eric Cantona, Bryan Robson, Andrei Kanchelskis, Ryan Giggs, etc, etc, etc.
I remember sliding on my knees in my living room as the Reds won the 1994 FA Cup Final, going from utter desolation to unbridled joy and jubilation on ‘That Night in Barcelona’ (copyright Clive Tyldesley) and being part of the scenes in Manchester as the side won the Champions League for the third time.
I still have numerous books on the club and the history that surrounds it in addition to a picture of Old Trafford on my wall. However, I also have a Jackson Pollock imitation that my sister created when she was still at school, so make of that what you will...
So why the change?
I’ve always been and still am a fan of football in general so I certainly can’t put it down to falling out of love with the game. Nevertheless, I have become frustrated at certain aspects of the game, especially in the upper echelons, that may go some way to explaining things.
The Premier League is, to all intents and purposes, a lot duller than it has been in recent years. José Mourinho raised the bar for what it takes to be champions when he came in at Chelsea with his side being completely relentless in their pursuit of the league title. Sir Alex met the challenge head on and has arguable raised that bar yet again with three titles in as many seasons, which has made the gulf between the top sides and the rest increasingly wide.
The top four sides have been the same for five of the last six seasons, with Everton being the only exception to that rule in the 2004/05 season. The riches that this brings via UEFA’s top competition also help to turn the gap into a chasm.
Geography is also a major contributing factor in my change of heart. I live 177 miles from Manchester, at least a three-hour trip. At University in Huddersfield, I was a measly 36 miles from Old Trafford – a quick half hour blast on the M62 sandwiched between some ‘A’ roads at either end. In and around Manchester the rivalries are there: Manchester City, Liverpool, Leeds. In the south though, the club has an almost entirely different identity – Liverpool are still seen as rivals, but more due to the title situation. The rest? Well that’d be Arsenal, Chelsea and to a lesser extent, Tottenham. Huh?
There’s other points I could mention such as ‘Cockney Reds’ not actually knowing any of the club’s chants or songs (because they’ve not been to a match), the seemingly ever-continuing Cristiano Ronaldo saga or the fact that many wouldn’t even be able to tell you who Sir Matt Busby was. Obviously there will be some Manchester natives who have migrated to various parts of the country and even the world, but they are the exception rather than the rule.
Being in and around Manchester, or even within a fair distance of it is a totally and utterly different experience for a Manchester United fan than it would be living in Surrey, Kent or Cornwall. Despite it being a worldwide brand, there is still that sense of community amongst fans in the surrounding area of the city that cannot be replicated anywhere else.
So where does Stevenage fit in to all of this? Well as you’ve probably guessed by now, I live in the town and have done since before I can even personally remember. I’ve always gone to a few games a season, followed where I can and taken an interest. I’ve been lucky to experience things such as the 1995 Conference title win, the epic games with Newcastle in the FA Cup 4th round in the 1997/98 season as well as two FA Trophy victories at the new Wembley.
I can go to games with friends, I can see how a team can lift a town as well as the devastation it can cause, and I can even go to my local pub and be served a pint by Stevenage’s goalkeeper as he runs the bloody place. Most of all though, I can call it my club, my side and my team.
Maybe the phrase ‘support your local team’ does ring true after all...
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