[North-Bank-1987]

I was at Loftus Road on Saturday and I know what you mean Frank, but then this is just a new generation of away gooners coming through. I class myself as one of the younger group of fans, I'm 24 years old and have been going to away games regularly for about 4 years now, there's normally about six or seven of us who all go together.

We're not trouble makers or wannabe hooligans, we're there for a few beers, a day out together as a group of mates, a sing song, seeing the regular away game faces and obviously the Arsenal.

Having said that, we did get some trouble at QPR with the police after the game, but that's not through our lot being mouthy or trying to stir trouble or start a fight, that's through the police being heavy handed and trying to cause more trouble than there was in the first place.

And yeah we mouthed off back to the QPR fans outside the pub on the way back to White City tube, but that's just part of the banter you get at any football match, it was never going to kick off there.

I like this post, its not about hooliganism, its about a terrace culture thats what I love about away days, The only time I would ever jump in is if shirt wearing gooners were in trouble, but it dosnt happen like that and never used to, you only get trouble before/after a match if you look for it. I like to have a good sing-a-long but the moment I was to throw a punch unprovoked I would feel like a mug.

[Dan_85]

It seems that the OG is the new Firm Site.

I'm so reassured that when it goes off, half of this site will be there to fight for the Arsenal name.

Pwopa nawty. Me popper's always flappin' when we're off the Arsenal manor...

[worthing_gooner]

I was at Loftus Road on Saturday and I know what you mean Frank, but then this is just a new generation of away gooners coming through. I class myself as one of the younger group of fans, I'm 24 years old and have been going to away games regularly for about 4 years now, there's normally about six or seven of us who all go together.

We're not trouble makers or wannabe hooligans, we're there for a few beers, a day out together as a group of mates, a sing song, seeing the regular away game faces and obviously the Arsenal.

Having said that, we did get some trouble at QPR with the police after the game, but that's not through our lot being mouthy or trying to stir trouble or start a fight, that's through the police being heavy handed and trying to cause more trouble than there was in the first place.

And yeah we mouthed off back to the QPR fans outside the pub on the way back to White City tube, but that's just part of the banter you get at any football match, it was never going to kick off there.

Bloody hooligan!

I is a bad man innit. Don't mess wid me n my crew bruv trust

[safcftm]

I think all clubs are getting a bit of an influx of Danny Dyer wannabees tbh. Now that football violence at grounds is virtually a thing of the past you get more and more gobby arseholes trying to impress their mates by "offering out" opposition fans (normally ones with scarves and replica tops like), knowing perfectly well that fuck all will happen. Its the usual wave people on whilst backing away frantically, preferably to behind a police line brigade. These pretendy hooligans can normally also be noticed by the mobile phone filming of their hard man exploits which will later be expanded upon and made into a pitched battle. Most of these lads would shit themselves if any actual lads had a go at them.

I'm no football hooligan meself, I'm soft as shite me, but I've been thankful of some of our lads being around before when I've been targetted at away games and I have a fair bit of respect for the lads who want to fight each other, dont attack normal fans and stick up for the normal fans if they get targetted by arseholes. These gobby little pricks are just wankers though, they're so far removed from the hooligans they wish they were that its beyond a joke.

Having said that, worthing gooner makes a fair point- there are some lads who are just out for a drink and a bit banter and sometimes mouthing off to opposition fans is just a response to their shouts etc, its only when lads are doing the whole "fucking come on then, I'll smash you" stuff that its embarrassing

[Sutch]

The people that have been mentioned, granted they can show themselves up with all that fake hooligan stuff, they make noise though right? I'd rather have a load of people like that than the JCLs/AKBs who infest home games.

[mikehutch86]

I can totally agree with the title of this thread. I've been to the majority of away games this season and go on my own, and can usually pick out the same numpties that are spending more time watching the home crowd than the game and throwing w@nker signs to 70 year old men. Although this is by no mean the majority, met plenty of genuine fans on my travels this season.

[worthing_gooner]

I can totally agree with the title of this thread. I've been to the majority of away games this season and go on my own, and can usually pick out the same numpties that are spending more time watching the home crowd than the game and throwing w@nker signs to 70 year old men. Although this is by no mean the majority, met plenty of genuine fans on my travels this season.

This is maybe not a majority opinion but the way I see it, going to away games is about a number of things. Not just the football.

First and foremost, it is about the lads we go with, the laughs we have together. Even if Arsenal were in the conference and played the worst football in the world, I'd still go to games because we're a group of mates who have a good laugh regardless of the result.

Then in no particular order: it is about the banter with the home fans. I'll mouth off at the home fans all day long. It's all part of the laugh. Obviously I'm not just going to scream at some old bloke who isn't interested, but that banter back and forth with opposition fans is one of the things which makes away games so much more of a laugh than home games. It doesn't make anyone a hooligan or a wannabe Danny Dyer. It doesn't make them go out and have a punch up. It's just a laugh. It's football and it helps keep the atmosphere going.

It's obviously about the football. If Arsenal lose the match, I'm pissed off and it spoils it, but it wouldn't stop me going as I said even if Arsenal were rubbish.

So I think it's a bit harsh to just make a sweeping judgement on these fans who mouth off at the home fans. Sure, if they're genuinely picking fights with home fans fair enough, but I've personally never seen that this season. The majority of people who go to away games mouth off at the home support. It's a part of going to an away game and to make this out to be some kind of new phenomenon is ridiculous.

[Sutch]

I can totally agree with the title of this thread. I've been to the majority of away games this season and go on my own, and can usually pick out the same numpties that are spending more time watching the home crowd than the game and throwing w@nker signs to 70 year old men. Although this is by no mean the majority, met plenty of genuine fans on my travels this season.

This is maybe not a majority opinion but the way I see it, going to away games is about a number of things. Not just the football.

First and foremost, it is about the lads we go with, the laughs we have together. Even if Arsenal were in the conference and played the worst football in the world, I'd still go to games because we're a group of mates who have a good laugh regardless of the result.

Then in no particular order: it is about the banter with the home fans. I'll mouth off at the home fans all day long. It's all part of the laugh. Obviously I'm not just going to scream at some old bloke who isn't interested, but that banter back and forth with opposition fans is one of the things which makes away games so much more of a laugh than home games. It doesn't make anyone a hooligan or a wannabe Danny Dyer. It doesn't make them go out and have a punch up. It's just a laugh. It's football and it helps keep the atmosphere going.

It's obviously about the football. If Arsenal lose the match, I'm pissed off and it spoils it, but it wouldn't stop me going as I said even if Arsenal were rubbish.

So I think it's a bit harsh to just make a sweeping judgement on these fans who mouth off at the home fans. Sure, if they're genuinely picking fights with home fans fair enough, but I've personally never seen that this season. The majority of people who go to away games mouth off at the home support. It's a part of going to an away game and to make this out to be some kind of new phenomenon is ridiculous.

THIS.

I remember being on the train back from a game about three years ago and some Gooner about 28ish said how he hates people that focus on the opposition fans and that anyone who does that is not a true fan. This superfan was more than likely sitting down the whole game in complete silence politely clapping, and I very much doubt he was going to Arsenal in the 80s. It's this type of fan we're infested with, this is the type of fan that backs Wenger no matter what and this is the type of fan the club wants - politically correct people who will buy from the shop and won't make any noise

[SteveO 35]

There are of course people like me and I suspect thousands of others that want Wenger out, don't buy anything from the shop, refuse blindly to give the club any of their hard earned money while the Board treat us all like fools.......but can still go to away games without acting like an extra from Football Factory.

The funniest thing this season was seeing so called Geordie 'super fans' in the away corner at the bowl still concentrating on giving middle fingered gestures to the Family Enclosure (god I wish I was that hard), when RvP equalised about 20 seconds later.

[RVP2]

My biggest issue with away games (and top level football in general really) is how much it's costing now. £52 for a sh1t lower tier corner seat is simply not ok. Great banner at Schalke this week aimed at Bilbao (charging 90 euros for their europa league match) that said (in Spanish) "€90 per ticket = one euro per minute? Football is not phone sex!"

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/soccer-di ... 22592.html

[frankbutcher]

My biggest issue with away games (and top level football in general really) is how much it's costing now. £52 for a sh1t lower tier corner seat is simply not ok. Great banner at Schalke this week aimed at Bilbao (charging 90 euros for their europa league match) that said (in Spanish) "€90 per ticket = one euro per minute? Football is not phone sex!"

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/soccer-di ... 22592.html

Joke prices at Loftus Road. Had a decent seat behind the goal, lower tier. Still effing daylight robbery.

[Dan_85]

Prices ain't going down until people stop paying 'em!

Moan, moan, moan... then pay up! It's the British way

[Henry Norris 1913]

Prices ain't going down until people stop paying 'em!

Moan, moan, moan... then pay up! It's the British way

you wish you were greek or turkish, setting fire to directors boxes and threatening the club presidents

[Dan_85]

Prices ain't going down until people stop paying 'em!

Moan, moan, moan... then pay up! It's the British way

you wish you were greek or turkish, setting fire to directors boxes and threatening the club presidents

We'd soon see ticket prices drop And those pesky dayglo stewards would soon piss off.

Woo yeah, rioting! Rah!

[mikehutch86]

I can totally agree with the title of this thread. I've been to the majority of away games this season and go on my own, and can usually pick out the same numpties that are spending more time watching the home crowd than the game and throwing w@nker signs to 70 year old men. Although this is by no mean the majority, met plenty of genuine fans on my travels this season.

This is maybe not a majority opinion but the way I see it, going to away games is about a number of things. Not just the football.

First and foremost, it is about the lads we go with, the laughs we have together. Even if Arsenal were in the conference and played the worst football in the world, I'd still go to games because we're a group of mates who have a good laugh regardless of the result.

Then in no particular order: it is about the banter with the home fans. I'll mouth off at the home fans all day long. It's all part of the laugh. Obviously I'm not just going to scream at some old bloke who isn't interested, but that banter back and forth with opposition fans is one of the things which makes away games so much more of a laugh than home games. It doesn't make anyone a hooligan or a wannabe Danny Dyer. It doesn't make them go out and have a punch up. It's just a laugh. It's football and it helps keep the atmosphere going.

It's obviously about the football. If Arsenal lose the match, I'm pissed off and it spoils it, but it wouldn't stop me going as I said even if Arsenal were rubbish.

So I think it's a bit harsh to just make a sweeping judgement on these fans who mouth off at the home fans. Sure, if they're genuinely picking fights with home fans fair enough, but I've personally never seen that this season. The majority of people who go to away games mouth off at the home support. It's a part of going to an away game and to make this out to be some kind of new phenomenon is ridiculous.

I agree with you mate, and I'm not talking about people who banter with the home fans, I agree that is part of an away game, as with all the points in your above post. I can assure you i am not a football fan who sits there just watching the game quiet the whole 90 minutes which is the reason away games are better than home ones.

But as was originally brought up in this post its the people giving it the bigg'un, shouting out 'wheres your firm' (which i heard more than once at man city) that are the divs.