Opinion on Norn Iron and our fans

**norn_iron_healy** · 21/09/2004, 11:36 PM

Ok so I sort of got the jist from my last post that you think we are crap, ok I can deal with that because we are!

But what I want to know do u still we are a bunch of bigoted fans.

I just want to find out what people think of us, because whatever was said about us it was always a few that caused big headlines and stupid rumours. Things have changed and no matter what happens you cant take ,us out singing 60,000 welsh fans for 90mins, away from us.

We are the best fans in the world no matter what u lot say! Yes u are good fans but u have had a bit to cheer about!

One question who will you want to win Norn Iron or Eng

**�anna** · 21/09/2004, 11:52 PM

being perfectly honest (and I'm not trying to be offensive here) I have no time whatsoever for "Northern Ireland". As far as I'm concerned there should one team representing the UK and one representing Ireland. NI can either row in with the ireland team or the British one, but I can't see how a manufactured statelet is allowed to compete in international competition as a separate entity. I'd love to see an all Ireland league and national team really, because the NI fans do seem to make a tremendous amount of noise at away games in particular and would probably liven up landsdowne (largest open air meeting of the sky sports fan club) a bit. As for the whole bigotry thing- I just think its ironic that NI fans have the reputation for it over one incident involving a handful of people when a far greater proportion ofthe prats who fill landsdowne every now and again are just as bigotted as witnessed by their sectarian harrassment of anyone who plays for Rangers

**norn_iron_healy** · 22/09/2004, 12:35 AM

So you would like to see an all Ireland team and a GB team of scotland, wales and england

I understand what ur trying to say and im not going to take it bad. but ur lucky there are no scots or welsh about as they wouldnt even think about team GB!!

But we a football nation no matter what the politics are behind it, and i would never change that.

Am all ireland team would never work! and if anyone thinks it would ur more mad than the english thinkin they will win somit

**Pat O' Banton** · 22/09/2004, 7:50 AM

Originally Posted by norn_iron_healy

Ok so I sort of got the jist from my last post that you think we are crap, ok I can deal with that because we are!

But what I want to know do u still we are a bunch of bigoted fans.

I just want to find out what people think of us, because whatever was said about us it was always a few that caused big headlines and stupid rumours. Things have changed and no matter what happens you cant take ,us out singing 60,000 welsh fans for 90mins, away from us.

We are the best fans in the world no matter what u lot say! Yes u are good fans but u have had a bit to cheer about!

One question who will you want to win Norn Iron or Eng

Firstly there are v. few people on the site who would be in a strong position to comment as so few hve been to Battenburg Park. Those who I've spoke to say that the atmosphere has got better (eg less sectarian)
From looking at websites its clear that Occupied Without Consent oppose songs that would make nationalists feel uncomfortable amoungst the support, which is clearly an important development in terms of promoting a more positive attitude, however I should add that a quick look at the posts of people who claim to support Narnia and go to sites like followfollow - admitedly rangers site - show that some who support the occupied territories are little more than neandertal man (far worse than anything that even the people who boo at Lansdowne have ever said.)

Will actually be supporting Ingerland for many personal reasons (first and hopefully one of the last times) and I think that I am in a minority of one here.

By the way why beggars?

**green goblin** · 22/09/2004, 8:11 AM

[QUOTE=Pat O' Banton]

Will actually be supporting Ingerland for many personal reasons (first and hopefully one of the last times) and I think that I am in a minority of one here.
QUOTE]

**drummerboy** · 22/09/2004, 10:10 AM

Was in Winsor Park when Alan McLoughlin scored to secure place in 1994 world Cup. Will never forget the hatred expressed from large sections of NIron fans. Then again England fans thrashed Landsdowne road. I'll propably hope NI sneak it just to watch the Brittish gutter press tear Engerland and their manager apart.

**norn_iron_healy** · 22/09/2004, 10:41 AM

Even though that was 10 years ago and alot has changed.

Just say.....

David Healy scored in a playoff at landsdowne to send us to Germany

Norn Iron fans wouldnt get a bit of abuse thrown our way????

**NY Hoop** · 22/09/2004, 11:41 AM

Look everybody thinks their national teams fans are the best in the world. Well I can tell you straight off that your fans are better than ours. I've heard more atmosphere in my bog than at a home game (which I gave up going to a decade ago because of the sheer amount of knobs going).

Again the real fans are the only ones who come up with anything resembling an atmosphere. At lansdowne it's "ole ole", "Ireland Ireland" and the Fields of Athenry. Suppose you cant expect these people to come up with an atmosphere when they spend their lives screaming at a tv screen "supporting" an english team.

Was at the 4-0 game 10 years ago and while there was dogs abuse it's nothing that I havent heard before at a Rovers game except the religious **** of course!

Four of us went up ticketless, did our best nordie accents and 3 of us got in separately. Another Rovers fan got sitting beside a linfield fan covered head to toe in loyalist tats but the 2 of them spent the game chatting about how they hated idiots "supporting" english football! My point being that REAL fans will always get along because we know what each other goes through to follow our teams.

Norn Iron or ingerland. Would have to be norniron but dont tell my cliftonville pals!!

KOH

**RedX** · 22/09/2004, 9:32 PM

Personally i would hate to see Ireland as one team.It would develop into a situation like the rugby where half of the players would not even want the National Anthem played and instead make up some new snobby one like the rugby heads.I remember the game well when Mc Loughlin scored in '94.The hatred towards our team at that game showed exactly who is supporting your team above.You say times have changed but if so why was Neil Lennon put through such hassle.I will not be supporting Northern Ireland or England during the games.I only worry about REP OF IRELAND...

And also about having the best fans in the world up North?.Seriously dream on.Linfield Bigots...

**norn_iron_healy** · 23/09/2004, 2:47 PM

Things have changed and lennon was the turning point. Once that happened the ones causing the trouble wer banned!

And as i said before ,if we won in dublin to go to germany there would be no hatred at all ???

No matter what you think, we are very very good fans! and no not linfield bigots!

**A face** · 23/09/2004, 5:41 PM

Originally Posted by norn_iron_healy

But what I want to know do u still we are a bunch of bigoted fans.

Dont know really ..... most people (for the most part) haven't had the chance to attend a game with you all in recent times. I suppose eveyone would like to think that it has all gone quite on the hatred front. Has it ??
That would be the deciding factor i'd say.

**TheJamaicanP.M.** · 24/09/2004, 3:18 PM

Originally Posted by RedX

Personally i would hate to see Ireland as one team.It would develop into a situation like the rugby where half of the players would not even want the National Anthem played and instead make up some new snobby one like the rugby heads.I remember the game well when Mc Loughlin scored in '94.The hatred towards our team at that game showed exactly who is supporting your team above.You say times have changed but if so why was Neil Lennon put through such hassle.I will not be supporting Northern Ireland or England during the games.I only worry about REP OF IRELAND...

And also about having the best fans in the world up North?.Seriously dream on.Linfield Bigots...

RedX, you have summed everything up perfectly. In 1993, they abused the likes of Kernaghan and Bonner. Also Paul McGrath on the basis that he was black. How could we ever join forces with the North and their thugish element of supporters? Just coz they sang their hearts out in Cardiff does not redeem their actions. Lets keep the Republic for the Republic and leave Norn Iron to languish with the also-rans of international football.

**brendy_�ire** · 24/09/2004, 3:37 PM

Originally Posted by norn_iron_healy

No matter what you think, we are very very good fans! and no not linfield bigots!

Never had a massive interest in NI meself. Wanted them to do well, watched games on TV, but always supported the Republic.

But the whole Lennon craic (which, yes, I know, was a small minority of fans), that done it for me.
Maybe I was just naive, but I didn't actually think NI fans cared what religion their players were, after all, they're all stil representing the north.
NI can rot for all I care, fans like that don't deserve to do well.

Another really off-putting are the Union flags at Winsdor. Why? The NI flag is pretty offensive as well, though I can accept it being present at international games.
And then there's the sectarian songs. Aye, efforts are being made to stop them, but they're still about.

I'm considering going to the NI-England game in Windsor, but if I go, I'll be going along with English people. Wouldn't take a chance going into the northern section. (though I'll be hoping for an NI win)

**MariborKev** · 24/09/2004, 9:27 PM

Fantastic thing the internet

As you say, allows people who haven't been to Windsor to pass "informed judgement"

I have been at a number of the recent games, thanks to the efforts of the QUB NISC and have to say the Northern Ireland fans are significantly better than the home support at Lansdowne "Home of the Greatest Fans in the World" Road

As someone who attended game as a young child a decade ago, the atmospher has changed significantly and as a nationalist it is much less intimidating(worn my Derry top at recent games) than in the past, yet significantly louder

The crowd sign consistently and any "party tunes" are now drown out by those trying to improve the atmospere.

**Plastic Paddy** · 24/09/2004, 10:06 PM

Originally Posted by norn_iron_healy

I just want to find out what people think of us, because whatever was said about us it was always a few that caused big headlines and stupid rumours. Things have changed and no matter what happens you cant take ,us out singing 60,000 welsh fans for 90mins, away from us.

I hope you have changed, and I'm prepared to believe it. I guess the test will come when we meet each other competitively again. Although I guess you were too young to be there the first time around, no repeat of Windsor '94 please.

Originally Posted by norn_iron_healy

One question who will you want to win Norn Iron or Eng

No question, the six.

You'll have to bin the "national" anthem first, though...

Originally Posted by norn_iron_healy

No matter what you think, we are very very good fans! and no not linfield bigots!

Well, as far as I can see, if they were all like you, we'd banter to the nth degree but we'd get on just fine. And that's exactly how it should be.

Keep up the good work young man!

PP

**Duncan Gardner** · 25/09/2004, 9:35 AM

This is a wind-up Brendy, right?

You realise only a small minority barracked Lennon, yet all our fans deserve not to do well. With that logic, as every international team on the planet has a core of bigots, they all deserve to lose every game

You take offence at union and Northern flags in Windsor, yet you plan to watch the game from the ENGLAND end- as part of the biggest loyalist love in in years. Do you think someone from Derry will stand out less there than in the Kop?

Don't take offence at this- it's a genuine question rather than a snipe- but, given the way you feel, I wonder why you chose Queen's rather than Magee or one of the southern unis? Congrats on getting in though.

**HarpoJoyce** · 26/09/2004, 9:31 PM

I've been to a few internationals at Windsor in the last ten years. Even saw the World Cup trophy been paraded around the game before N.I. played France. Less said of the actual match the better.

But the athmosphere at the recent Poland W.C.Q. was a lot better than in recent years. More of the ground was making noise and the Kop stand only shut up after the third goal went in.

I'm not impressed with the new shirt though. The little blue triangle at the neck, on the back, makes the supporters look like a scout troop.

**lopez** · 26/09/2004, 10:51 PM

I'm with Eanna: International football is for nations, coutries, etc. NI is not a nation (nor are the Faroes come to that). It is either an 'integral part of the UK' or an occupied part of Ireland, whatever your politics: When NI gets 'dominion status' or independence, then that's when I'd call it a nation. As for the Scots and Welsh: Likewise: get your a*ses out of the Union, get yourselves your own country (like we did) and some self respect along the way.

As for NI fans, NIH: Yes great support, which I saw myself in the game against Spain. But, we were exactly the same in the early to mid eighties: Poor team, good hardcore support, taking 5000 to the game against Holland in 1981. Get a decent team and you'll get all the Malone Road Rugger boys taking your tickets and you'll be in the same predicament as some of us now. As for 'greatest supporters in the world'. Well it was FIFA who gave us an award one year (1995 perhaps). Don't think we take this title seriously.

Pat O'B: Wash your f*cking mouth out.

**Duncan Gardner** · 27/09/2004, 9:35 AM

Lopez: why don't ye include England in the list of countries needing to improve self-respect by striking for independence?

Or, indeed, Bulgaria. I'm sure you celebrated long into the night when Jack's boys won that mini-tourney against them and Iceland. But, at the time, veteran commie dictator Todor Zhivkov was still in charge- the man who tried to sign up his country into not just the Warsaw Pact, but yer Soviet Union itself. So, as the Bulgars weren't a proper country at the time, the result don't stand...

Our fans are no 'greater' than,say, Spain's (who brought a fraction of our Albacete support to Windsor, or even to the finals in Japan/ Korea). It's just that without being too arsey, 'fan' culture is different in these islands and we're more likely to travel.

Harpo Joyce: I'm with ye on our new shirts. Not good

Davros: no-one in NI, not the hardest-line UVF hitman, supports an independent Ulster. Few ever did. It's a complete fantasy.

I don't have any paranoia, religious or otherwise. You know perfectly well who I want to be in charge of the country- an arese-kicking socialist utopia, of course...

**Duncan Gardner** · 27/09/2004, 10:31 AM

It was indeed the Czechoslovaks in that tourney, I confused it with the qualifiers for Germany 1988. My apologies.

I have no problems agreeing occasionally with Sinn Fein (to abolish selective education, say) but anyone thinking they are a socialist rather than a nationalist party needs to improve altertness via a bean-based hot breakfast beverage...