I see the Premier League is returning on June 17th! Contrary to popular belief many teams from County Durham are in the Premier League, some of the most famous been Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham. I always was an Arsenal man myself, I grew up a mere stones from the Emirates near Barnard Castle. A very short drive to the ground for me, only around 260 miles, I sometimes drive it to test my ears and my tongue.

I have never understood why I a Cornish lad albeit weaned on HUFC despite school bullying and peer pressure to support SAFC or NUFC from boys who never watched them anyway, and then going to watch Pools play or in Hartlepool town seeing Hartlepool folk sporting plastic glory teams and even deriding their own. A very strange contradiction. Why is there not this local pride or even affinity towards their local team? I am only one in a long line of others to ask these questions. Having spoken to other fans namely those who follow Tranmere, Bury, Rochdale to name a few, they suffer the same shit. Ah well, its off my chest. "Where are you going sir?" "Well officer. I was just driving from my home near Redruth in Cornwall to Victoria Park Hartlepool." "And the purpose of your visit sir?" "To watch HUFC of course officer." "Really sir. Please take a seat in the back of the police car while we contact the on duty psychiatrist"

[quote="ToTheHartlepool2-0"]I have never understood why I a Cornish lad albeit weaned on HUFC despite school bullying and peer pressure to support SAFC or NUFC from boys who never watched them anyway, and then going to watch Pools play or in Hartlepool town seeing Hartlepool folk sporting plastic glory teams and even deriding their own. A very strange contradiction. Why is there not this local pride or even affinity towards their local team? I am only one in a long line of others to ask these questions. Having spoken to other fans namely those who follow Tranmere, Bury, Rochdale to name a few, they suffer the same shit. Ah well, its off my chest.
people who live in hartlepool and are football fans have not always just supported pools. i know in my family about half went to the boro anyway. if thats their wish or even go to manchester united then thats their business and nothing wrong with it. its those who never go and have different teams replica shirts on depending on the teams success that has gone up since the premier league started.

Most of these people don't actually go to games , just wear the shirt and follow them on tv . It has always happened though , sometimes for good reason , In Swindon a lot of lads followed London teams , because a lot of cockneys moved to Swindon with the car works , their teams being passed from father to son. Same on Teesside , where there are a lot of Sunderland fans , their fathers having moved from mining areas where the pits were closing down to work at ICI. People are generally vain and want to be associated with success , it makes like easier. I had an Arsenal kit when I was 6, what year was that I wonder , oh 1971, strange that them just having won the double. I even remember for the first time in my life seeing people walking around in Blackburn shirts in the mid 90s , I wonder why? by the late 90s it was if I had dreamt it , the next time I saw someone walking around in a Blackburn shirt I was within the confines of Ewood Park itself.

Accrington fan and Horden you both make good points. I guess its just sad to see people walking around Hartlepool and wearing another shirt from HUFC. Horden says people like to be associated with success and we saw some of this in days gone by. Some examples: The two Palace games and the final down in Wales. Sad to see the extra support just melt away.

[quote="ToTheHartlepool2-0" Some examples: The two Palace games and the final down in Wales. Sad to see the extra support just melt away.[/quote]
more annoying is that if pools actually got a plum cup draw at the vic it will be a sell out with a good possibility that exiles who actually attend even a few league games may miss out on tickets.

Fair point that Accrington. As a child I dreamt of Pools defying the odds and reaching the FA cup final and I thought that with only say 25-30 thou tickets to each club everyone in the North East would suddenly become a Pools fan and the loyal 2 thou plus would probably miss out. The first part of my dream was obviously ludicrous but the second...

my old man was a pro for a few seasons and he said that he had never actually seen a cup final ticket. however that long time girlfriend of mine who ruined my sheepslkin jacket had a father who never missed one since WW2. he was only a fine weather halifax town fan as well. suppose being a mill manager and a freemason helped. her indoors had a good job with rotary international before she retired and was offered a couple every year.