So, would you rather...

BillinghamPoolie · **Posted:** Sun Apr 08, 2018 2:30 pm

Boro failed to get in the play-offs, or failed, in the semi-final or the final, to get back into the Premiersh*t.

Double Figures · **Joined:** Mon Apr 16, 2012 8:47 am **Posts:** 845

You rarf. I hope they go up. Good luck to them.

aptid · **Joined:** Thu Aug 17, 2006 9:49 pm **Posts:** 1506

I hope they go up too.

Dalton'sHaircut · **Joined:** Sun Oct 05, 2014 9:26 pm **Posts:** 1013

Never understood the wish for others to fail just because we are garbage, look at the #savepoolsday or whatever I was called, which fans came out in force to help/support us.....yep the Boro fans. Would rather Boro went up and North East got another team back up there than us continuing into a spiral of being a footballing backwater

Snowy · **Joined:** Fri Aug 18, 2006 12:18 pm **Posts:** 37583

Established yoyo club. They'll be back down soon enough.

Mumtaz's rucksack · **Joined:** Mon Jan 08, 2007 12:38 pm **Posts:** 1643

Double Figures wrote:

You rarf. I hope they go up. Good luck to them.

This

Mr Irrelevant · **Joined:** Thu Aug 17, 2006 8:25 pm **Posts:** 22671

Ridiculous comment. Whatever your opinion on the fundraising that went to the club it was the Boro fans who were at the forefront of it in terms of other clubs. Good luck to them

Mick Tait's Head Bandage · **Posted:** Sun Apr 08, 2018 7:26 pm

I always hated Middlesbrough Football Club. And i think, in fact I know that dislike stemmed from the biased coverage afforded to them by our local media, whilst us and Darlo (remember them?) used to get a patronising , almost begrudging mention.
However, having spoken with a number of Boro fans who actually turned up to support us 'that' day, genuinely wanting us to get out of our predicament was quite humbling, and I honestly think that they gained a few fans that day, myself included.
I'm obviously 100% Poolie, but I do wish them well. Never thought I'd say that. I've downgraded 'hatred to 'strongly dislike'

Yubep · **Joined:** Wed Jan 31, 2007 6:35 pm **Posts:** 25266

Bit of a sideline comment, just picking up on someone above saying north east Footy n all that struggling...

Interesting read on how local football is suffering in Liverpool

Very similar to the north east this

https://t.co/MGK353pV1N?amp=1

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

BillinghamPoolie · **Posted:** Sun Apr 08, 2018 8:10 pm

Mick Tait's Head Bandage wrote:

I always hated Middlesbrough Football Club. And i think, in fact I know that dislike stemmed from the biased coverage afforded to them by our local media, whilst us and Darlo (remember them?) used to get a patronising , almost begrudging mention.
However, having spoken with a number of Boro fans who actually turned up to support us 'that' day, genuinely wanting us to get out of our predicament was quite humbling, and I honestly think that they gained a few fans that day, myself included.
I'm obviously 100% Poolie, but I do wish them well. Never thought I'd say that. I've downgraded 'hatred to 'strongly dislike'

The opening post was a bit of a 'devil's advocate' statement, this is probably more my true feelings towards the Boro.

horden · **Posted:** Sun Apr 08, 2018 8:32 pm

Yubep wrote:

Bit of a sideline comment, just picking up on someone above saying north east Footy n all that struggling...

Interesting read on how local football is suffering in Liverpool

Very similar to the north east this

https://t.co/MGK353pV1N?amp=1

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Football at that level struggling all over the country , particularly in the North. An endless number of reasons why this could be , changing habits, lack of money, people working weekends, demise of industry etc. Is it a decline or were the 50s,60s,70s just too good to be true in terms of the fabric and structure of communites , and with technological advancement it could never last.

Northshore · **Joined:** Mon Feb 02, 2015 5:34 pm **Posts:** 106

Yubep wrote:

Bit of a sideline comment, just picking up on someone above saying north east Footy n all that struggling...

Interesting read on how local football is suffering in Liverpool

Very similar to the north east this

https://t.co/MGK353pV1N?amp=1

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Depressing read that and broadly true for our area with the notable exception of Stockton Town who are absolutely flying. Very well run club with an outstanding youth setup and an FA Vase final at Wembley to come in May. Not only that but 7 or 8 of the Stockton lads will also be playing in the FA Sunday Cup Final for Hardwick Social Club, which they also won last year.

pooliecrab · **Joined:** Tue Dec 16, 2014 9:31 pm **Posts:** 6028

For Steve Gibson alone they deserve success, has to be the best chairman/owner about. OK Man City's owner spends a helluva lot more but it's pocket change to him. Steve Gibson has spent a good chunk of his own money purely for the love of his club.

As already mentioned, Boro fans wasted no time in helping us when we needed it. Feelings regarding paying other people's tax bills shouldn't affect gratitude there as that wasn't their choice.

Their fans are the biggest bunch of moaners about mind but at least they're not deluded Geordies.

Snowy · **Joined:** Fri Aug 18, 2006 12:18 pm **Posts:** 37583

Mick Tait's Head Bandage wrote:

I always hated Middlesbrough Football Club. And i think, in fact I know that dislike stemmed from the biased coverage afforded to them by our local media,

Even I have mellowed on this and realised the media message we endured for years has now changed and is much more balanced as opposed to crap that alienated a lot of people.

pooliecrab · **Joined:** Tue Dec 16, 2014 9:31 pm **Posts:** 6028

Snowy wrote:

Mick Tait's Head Bandage wrote:

I always hated Middlesbrough Football Club. And i think, in fact I know that dislike stemmed from the biased coverage afforded to them by our local media,

Even I have mellowed on this and realised the media message we endured for years has now changed and is much more balanced as opposed to crap that alienated a lot of people.

Should that dislike not be aimed towards the local media?

Bossa Nova · **Joined:** Sun Feb 01, 2015 1:51 am **Posts:** 376

The Boro and Sunderland supporters I used to work with were always genuinely interested in how Pools were getting on, they were never condescending or arrogant. I wish both clubs all the best in the future. I will keep a dignified silence about the supporters of the NE's other football league club, the one based in the City I currently reside in.

horden · **Posted:** Sun Apr 08, 2018 9:48 pm

This poolie love in with the boro, proves beyond all reasonable doubt that Hartlepool has finally rid itself of its County Durham roots , and been sucked into the Teesside metropolis. Ouch !!

Snowy · **Joined:** Fri Aug 18, 2006 12:18 pm **Posts:** 37583

horden wrote:

This poolie love in with the boro, proves beyond all reasonable doubt that Hartlepool has finally rid itself of its County Durham roots , and been sucked into the Teesside metropolis. Ouch !!

Never.

Snowy · **Joined:** Fri Aug 18, 2006 12:18 pm **Posts:** 37583

pooliecrab wrote:

Snowy wrote:

Mick Tait's Head Bandage wrote:

I always hated Middlesbrough Football Club. And i think, in fact I know that dislike stemmed from the biased coverage afforded to them by our local media,

Even I have mellowed on this and realised the media message we endured for years has now changed and is much more balanced as opposed to crap that alienated a lot of people.

Should that dislike not be aimed towards the local media?

For years it was in the vice like grip of certain individuals who promoted the Boro to the exclusion of others. I recall when Darlo were in the same division as them and the match at Feethams was broadcast as just another away team even though they were also a local team at home in the same division. This arrogant approach went on for years and was complained about, but the attitude was always they were the big boys and you were just support cast. It was guilt by association, even though it wasn't. Powerful thing the media.
It was always the joke that if by some fluke Pools were playing in the Champions League final and the Boro reserves were playing, you'd know which Match would be being commentated on.

horden · **Posted:** Mon Apr 09, 2018 7:58 am

phil wrote:

Interesting article Yubep. I am surprised there isn't more of a link between the erosion of working class communities, clubs and football teams. A lot of local teams are connected to local clubs and pubs, which don't really exist anymore because Wetherspoons is cheaper, and drinking at home on your own is even cheaper still. If teams weren't connected to pubs/clubs, they were connected to your job. The decline of industry has undermined that too. Now it seems everyone is self employed, because companies can screw you out of holiday pay and a pension if they do that.

I love football like, love watching and playing. Yet I've never played for a team. Don't really have a local, and I'm not in a job that would sustain a team. Play 5aside with my friends at least once a week, normally twice, and that seems to do me. I sometimes think next year I'll join a proper team, but I wouldn't even know where to start. Plus I live out of Hartlepool now (far away enough that i couldnt justify joining a local team, anyway) so I don't even know where there are any teams.

Our community has become diluted, and we now live much more independent lives than we did 30 years ago. We socialise online a lot more, which makes people think they need their local community less. Stuff like grassroots football loses out.

Meanwhile, those at the top of the game don't care. Why would you play football on a Sunday morning? Sky's coverage starts at 09:00 on Saturday and doesn't end until 21:00 on Sunday. Don't bother getting cold and wet, sit on the couch and watch Chris Kamara and some bland bloke watch the highlights from yesterday for the 4th time since the games finished.

As an aside, I play on 3g pitches when I play 5aside. Did people realise they are banned in Germany? Worries that the dust off the rubber pebbles can cause cancer. They are basically made from churned up tyres, so it isn't a stretch for it to be possible. Whenever I finish playing on it all my joints ache for days too, in a way they wouldn't if I went for a run or played on grass. 3g is being pushed as the potential saviour for grassroots football, but I'm not sure we will be thinking that further down the line.

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Agree ! that's basically what I was alluding to further up the thread, but you have went into it in greater detail. I do think though , it doesn't necessarily have to be as bad as it is. Okay the natural evolution of things mean that there are now less pubs and less factories etc, but the rate of change/decline of community has been speeded up through rampant Capitalism and the governments that support those policies, both Tory and Nu Labour. As people we don't have to accept Wetherspoons pubs on every corner, or SKY starting at 9 in the morning, or 3G pitches replacing grass pitches taken over to build 150k so called affordable housing :laugh:

As citizens we can do something about this, change the laws so that they protect our communities, then we may have better football teams, both locally and nationally. Interesting about the Germans and 3G, doesn't surprise me though, they still care about their communities, its the same with their town centres, whereas we bow and scrape to the car lobby, with our out of town American shopping malls, that decimate our town centres. The Germans don't fook about with their beer either and their impurity laws , no its anything goes in this country, and its hardly surprising we struggle with things like obesity and mental health problems, both things if you had you couldn't even think about playing football, never mind having to get up at the crack of dawn on a weekend morning to drive to Darlo to work in ALDI.

Bluestreak · **Posted:** Mon Apr 09, 2018 9:40 am

I wish all north east clubs the best as quite simply its good for this region!

Montpoolier · **Posted:** Mon Apr 09, 2018 10:38 pm

1) Hartlepool has a border on the Tees.

2) When I was an apprentice at ICI, the most sociable guy in the shop was a Boro supporter and a sincere one at that. He knew I was Pools through and through. At one midweek game, he invited me to go along with him & his own kids to see the Boro when they were pushing for promotion from D3 to D2, just when Pools were pushing for promotion from D4 to D3 and Darlo were pushing for promotion in the opposite direction.
All three of us achieved our goals. I absolutely loved the outing. Boro had some ellish players at the time like Hickton, McMordie, Horsefield, Spraggon, Crossan.

You won't get any Boro hate from me.

Smokin Joe · **Joined:** Sun Apr 14, 2013 7:13 pm **Posts:** 1123

The BBC Tees Boro-biased presenters unnecessary screaming like a pack of schoolgirls whenever their side manages to score a goal (admittedly a fairly rare event in recent times) is quite frankly embarrassing. I also clearly recall the risible Paul Addison within the last 12 months or so stating on air that 'we talk about the Boro because we like to - we talk about Hartlepool because we have to'. Nuff said.

Snowy · **Joined:** Fri Aug 18, 2006 12:18 pm **Posts:** 37583

Bluestreak wrote:

I wish all north east clubs the best as quite simply its good for this region!

I don't get that one. Tell me how it changes things.

Sussex UK · **Joined:** Wed Dec 28, 2016 10:34 pm **Posts:** 3573

Bossa Nova wrote:

The Boro and Sunderland supporters I used to work with were always genuinely interested in how Pools were getting on, they were never condescending or arrogant. I wish both clubs all the best in the future. I will keep a dignified silence about the supporters of the NE's other football league club, the one based in the City I currently reside in.

Same with Darlo.I'd go along with all of this.

Malcolm Dawes Knew My Father · **Joined:** Wed May 11, 2011 4:25 pm **Posts:** 4198

Bossa Nova wrote:

The Boro and Sunderland supporters I used to work with were always genuinely interested in how Pools were getting on, they were never condescending or arrogant. I wish both clubs all the best in the future. I will keep a dignified silence about the supporters of the NE's other football league club, the one based in the City I currently reside in.

Fans of the Bar Codes clearly don't give a toss about our current rivals the Heed, judging by the miserable gates they get, and half of them live in Gateshead!

born toulouse · **Posted:** Tue Apr 10, 2018 9:11 am

I knew lots of decent Newcastle fans when I lived and worked there but there were a lot of odd ones as well. The odd ones seem to see themselves as some sort of superior supporters and believe that being a Newcastle fan is somehow morally better than following any other club. Most of this type turned up after Keegan got them promoted whereas the decent ones were going before that.

The weirdest thing of all is that in the late '90s and early 2000s teachers and social workers could get promoted very quickly if they were in the Labour Party and had a season ticket for 'the Toon'. The shittest head of department I ever had suddenly morphed into a head teacher quite quickly once he developed a sudden but passionate interest in right wing Labourism and football.

Bossa Nova · **Joined:** Sun Feb 01, 2015 1:51 am **Posts:** 376

The problem with the barcodes, is that they truly think that they're traditionally "big" club. They think their natural habitat is in the Champions League with Barcelona, Juventus etc - despite historical evidence to the contrary. I can remember one workmate, after "The Toon" had been beaten by Manchester City, stating that "we always get beat by the small clubs". His criteria, which I doubted, being that Newcastle's attendances, when totalled up over the years, exceeded that of Manchester City!
Geordies in general think that Newcastle, as a party City, is up there with Rio de Janiero and New York. Which it is, if your idea of a party is watching half-naked, middle-aged women staggering through fast food detritus in Arctic cold, hitting on lads young enough to be their grandchildren!

Snowy · **Joined:** Fri Aug 18, 2006 12:18 pm **Posts:** 37583

The trouble is, if ever they do achieve some sort of success, they become insufferable. The local 'meeja' become even more so and whatever success it is will enter folklore and be talked about for eternity.

Bossa Nova · **Joined:** Sun Feb 01, 2015 1:51 am **Posts:** 376

If they ever do bloody Lindisfarne - or what remains of them - would definitely reunite and be on Look North floating under the Tyne Bridge in some vessel singing some twatish dirge about it.

accrington fan · **Joined:** Wed Jan 20, 2016 3:22 pm **Posts:** 19832

good luck to all the north east clubs including darlo. its those scouse gits i,d love to see crash and burn. they think they know all there is about football and all think they can actually play it too.

horden · **Posted:** Thu Apr 12, 2018 12:08 pm

Apart from Pools, Sunderland , Gateshead ,Horden only teams in North East I want to see do well. Would of added Blyth and Spenny in the past, but bloody hell, they could soon be our rivals.

Seagull, Seagull, Seagull. · **Joined:** Tue Dec 02, 2014 11:44 pm **Posts:** 477

I perhaps see it differently being an exile but I wish all NE teams well. Admittedly, I don't have to suffer colleagues of the 'bigger' teams on a daily basis, which could well sway my opinion!
I've never been motivated by hatred of another team though - seems pointless to me. I just love and support my home town.

horden · **Posted:** Thu Apr 12, 2018 12:30 pm

When I was an exile, often went to Bristol, Bath , Oxford or Reading to watch the Mags, SAFC, Boro or Gateshead. Think sometimes it was just to hear the accent of people from a place I dearly missed ( I miss the South now , grass is always greener and all that)

It was easier in those days, just to pay on the day, stand in the away end amongst strangers from same part of the world. Wouldn't and probably couldn't do it now due to all seater etc

Montpoolier · **Posted:** Thu Apr 12, 2018 12:57 pm

There was a time when I went to Roker Park regularly if Pools were playing outside my (pocket money-limited) reachable radius.
Although to be fair, I didn't actually care whether they won or lost.

Snowy · **Joined:** Fri Aug 18, 2006 12:18 pm **Posts:** 37583

Here's an odd one. I started going to Pools because it was my hometown club and quite frankly are the only team of interest to me. The hoary oid all the North East clubs going well means absolutely nothing to me, sentimental bollox.
How for example Newcastle winning the Champions League (:laugh: :laugh:

) would improve my teams prospects is a mystery. In fact it would probably do it more bad than good. It's a market place and they're voracious feeders, not an Old Pals club.
Frankly, they're no more of interest to me than Yeovil, Ipswich or Crewe.

So, would you rather...

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