Liverpool FC Forum

[Dalglish]

Back to the topic that seems to have been so easily misunderstood by many on here.

When you use the term "supporter" you first have to define what a supporter really is. Is it someone who follows that particular teams results ? wears the shirt ? Goes to the games ? Buys an E-Season ticket ? 

Its difficult to truly know someones heart on this matter but heart is what defines the true supporter. Its not so much how he pledges his allegiance on the outside but what happens on the inside that defines him.

Some of the quietest most restrained people I know at games are also the most passionate but these days we define passion and support as what is seen when it's often what is NOT seen that marks the true supporter.

The debate will surely go on and Lyns has expressed her irritation that many who have joined the party recently won't be here when the morning comes but I think that only the individual can answer that question for themselves ......

Walk on ....and On ...and On ........

[graemelebroy]

Now I dont have a problem with this as its good income for the club with shirt sales, memoribilia etc etc. I also dont have a problem with over seas support, but what I do have a problem with is if we dont win nothing big for another 15-20 years the majority of these new fans will be supporting who ever is doing well. What are known as gloryhunters IMO, not like us who have supportered them all our lives and been through the good and bad days and the ups and downs of the club, all that emotion you dont get by saying, Oh hang on a minute Liverpools just won the CL think Ill support them

I was 5 when this happened last time, and i'm still supporting this team. Most young kids will stay with the team supporting them through thick and thin. Like I have. And most of us have.

[looprevil]

I've been a liverpool fan for over 3/4 or my life.  Living in Canada and supporting a team in the EPL can be tough cause you don't have the same access to the games on tv or coverage in the paper.  Thank god for the internet.  Any time a team in any sport is succesful or wins a big tournament it will always garner more support from people that are seen as outsiders.  I think having more fans is a good thing as it boosts the clubs image overseas which means more money for the club.  And if they decide not to support the club after a little while then f--- them, we the true fans will still be here and always will whether we are in the prem or in div 3.

[azriahmad]

I am an overseas based fan and I really wonder where these Real Madrid - 32 million or Barca - 23 million supporters etc. comes from. At best, it is just an estimation based on some random sampling method.

I come from a country which is a former colony of the British Empire and I have travelled quite a bit around my own region. Naturally, in Asia, people tend to follow events in their former colonial masters as when a country gains independence in a peaceful way, they tend to have a good relationship with their former colonial masters - laws and economic trade tend to be stronger and more news of events would also come from there than other countries.

I don't really think that Real Madrid has the biggest following, if you take into account of Asia. Britian used to have a very big colony in Asia and most countries which were formerly under the British empire would have more exposure to the EPL.

Judging from what I have seen, I would say that Manure has the bigger following, with Real a close second because they have done quite a lot of Asia tours and have big-name Galacticos and the glamour of winning a lot of CL over the past 10 years. The rest - Milan, Barca, Juve would be far behind the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelski. EPL teams are big in Asia, but I am not so sure about the Americas.

However, if you are talking about "effective brand penetration", then Liverpool are fqr behing manure and Real Madrid who have toured the Asian region almost religiously without fail the past couple of years.

[laza]

Success will always breed  popularity, and you IMO have every right be annoyed by some of them who will be fair weather fans who be wearing the shirt of next Champion league winner which hopefully means they be needing to buy another next year
But many others will continue to support Liverpool through thick and thin and that only good for the club , fans around globe  means the sun never sets on Liverpool Empire 
Interesting enough i started supporting Liverpool as 10 year old back in 1977 during FA cup which back in those days was only match that was broadcast live in Australia.
The only reason i start supporting them was because MANCs won and i had perverse habit of always going for the underdog ,which is quite ironic considering  it was right in the middle of Liverpool glory era.
It will always be one match for obvious reasons that im glad the MANCs won 

[laza]

Maybe its not that they are glory hunters its probably like they prefer to support liverpool as their team in england.

e.g. Barcelona are my favourite team in spain

Do you know what I mean?

No I do not know what you mean.

How can you have "another" team that you support ?

Yeah i do they are called
Whoever is playing Manchester United

[112-1077774096]

their former colonial masters

and dont you forget it, now get round to my office and polish my shoes           

[woof woof !]

It wasn't until the 2002 World Cup that I realized how much I loved soccer (sorry about that word!), and Liverpool was the club with which I immediately identified. I started following them at the height of that massive run of bad results that year, and have been hooked ever since. I even bought the e-Season ticket, which wasn't chump change for a college student. I believe the first game I watched was us getting knocked out of the FA cup by Palace . But the end of that season, with the Worthy cup and the final, if failed push for the CL was so great...I knew this was the club for me.
Now, I do support my local team, the New England Revolution...but there's absolutely no chance that either of the two will ever play one another, aside from some freak friendly that'll likely never happen (Though the owner of the Revolution, who's an absolute football - both kinds - fanatic and genius, has made motions as to buying Liverpool). And, I'm going to be over in Troyes, France teaching English, and I'll probably go to their games and cheer them on...but I won't love them. So yeah, I think it's possible to at least enjoy other teams, especially considering that the Revolution might as well be a basketball team, they're so far away from the Reds. And yes, Liverpool takes precedence over all of the others when it comes down to it.
I did, however, manage to give a few of my friends the LFC bug when the CL games started showing up on ESPN2. Sure, you might consider them bandwagon fans...but I guarantee, even if they stop following football with any regularity, they'll be rooting for Liverpool whenever they happen to see them play

Nice read mate , if you're gonna be in France , keep in mind London is only 2-3 hours away by eurostar (train) maybe you might get over and see the reds in the flesh .

[Ace Ventura]

CGGY this seems to be a thread you have started cos you are a bit p@ssed that these people havent experienced the bad times like we have and are just taking all the glory and media praise.
I wouldn't worry about it, these fans won't have experienced the same feelings of euphoria that genuine fans did the night we won the cup.
They wont have goosebumps now thinkin about that night, or thinking about being in that parade the next day.
I am a supporter from over the water in Birkenhead, not sure if that makes me any less a supporter than some one from Anfield or the city itself, but like said in a previous post. Its all about the emotions and feelings of each individual.
People who care less, get less out of it, thats not there fault but its a fact.
At the moment we should all be happy that a lot of extra revenue will be generated for the club due to this win.
The so called new supporters that SAY they support the club are only kidding themselves and will NEVER get the same ammount of pleasure from our great club.

[Red Rafa Revolution]

EURO CHAMPS ARE BRITAIN'S BEST SUPPORTED CLUB
Mark Platt 19 July 2005 
  Liverpool are now considered to be the best supported British club across the world, according to a leading sports consultants company. 
A report published today by German-based Sport+Markt AG has revealed that following the recent Champion League success our worldwide fan base has increased by 10 million.
 
It goes on to say that we can now boast 18 million supporters across the world, a figure bettered only by Real Madrid (32 million) and Barcelona (23 million) in Europe.
 
Spokesman Oliver Butler says: "The huge increase in the number of Liverpool fans showed how influential success can be in the size of support. The size of the increase would also point to a high level of latent support which had gone underground due to a recent lack of success."
 

Sport+Markt AG's top nine best supported European clubs

 
1. Real Madrid
2. Barcelona
3. LIVERPOOL
4. Juventus
5. Milan
6. Manchester United
7. Arsenal
8. Bayern Munich
9. Chelsea 

Clicky

look at our fanbase....don't know figure sound dodgy to me. how come this never translated to merchandise sale?

[LiverpoolFan00]

Look some of you have missinterpreted my post, I have nothing against OOTERS or Oversea fans, what I do have a problem with is, will these new fans still be supporting us if we dont win anything? I will put my house on it, they wont be.
And I am not having a go at any one on here either.
OOters and overseaers also have a say on this matter not just scousers you know it is your club also.

I understand where you are coming from. i'm from Ireland and remember back when Blackburn won the prem, there was people all over the place here popping up in Blackburn jerseys who have since vanished.
I think if we don't win anything for the next few years we will lose  some of the people who started supporting since the CL win but some will continue supporting. Success helps attract kids to support a club and a lot once they start to follow a club will stick with it.
I know i started supporting liverpool 20 years ago because they were succesful, but didn't start supporting another club when we weren't so succesful. I will always be a supporter of LFC, they always have been and always will be the only side that either send me into delerious happiness or massive depression, but i love the club and always will

[DrTNT]

I became a Liverpool supporter in 1998 (I live in Ireland) and before that I didn't support any team because all I wanted to do was play football not watch it at the time. My friend, who's family have been Liverpool mad for as long as I can remember, was the one that got me watching their matchs and that is how I became a Liverpool fan. I am in no way opposed to these 'new' fans for how ever long they say with the club and am more than happy that they will contribute to the club by buying shirts etc etc. I think a number of them would stop supporting the club if we stopped winning but I hope that Rafa will stop them from even considering supporting another club by guiding the team to many more successes in the future both in Europe and at home. These fans may be influential in bringing about this success with their added financial support for both the buying of players and anything else that Liverpool may need to help bring success to the club. I may have only supported Liverpool for seven years but in that time I have for the want of a better phrase 'fallin in love with the club'. Any true supporter of any club will know what I mean. In the CL final Liverpool put me through a rollercoaster of emotions and when Gerrard lifted the trophy I was emotionally exhausted and it took a few days for it to sink in that Liverpool had won the European Cup. As we all know we (Liverpool) have the best supporters in the world and I can see the that some people may see the supporters that have joined since the CL final as an insult to all the true loyal supporters that have been through the good and the bad times. This is my take on what has been posted.

[zarababe]

... this is tremendous news.. i know we have the 'best' supporters in the world.. but to alos be one of the best supported is awesome..

.. I wonder if the teams hunkiness has anthing to do with it .... but seriously the club must make the most of this remerged fame.. and become a world power..

[azriahmad]

Nice to see you posting again, peewee...even if you are taking the mick off me.

Big problem, this close season, because apart from transfers there's nothing much to talk about football.

In case you misunderstood or missed something big, the word is PAST as in former or "used to be". So, now that you are up to date, you can polish your shoes yourself by wiping then up the part of your body where the sun don't shine because the miosture would help to give them a "polished" look... 

You are always good for a light hearted banter!

[The Canadian Red Army]

Now I dont have a problem with this as its good income for the club with shirt sales, memoribilia etc etc. I also dont have a problem with over seas support, but what I do have a problem with is if we dont win nothing big for another 15-20 years the majority of these new fans will be supporting who ever is doing well. What are known as gloryhunters IMO, not like us who have supportered them all our lives and been through the good and bad days and the ups and downs of the club, all that emotion you dont get by saying, Oh hang on a minute Liverpools just won the CL think Ill support them
You cant do that. But if this figure is right we will be loaded this year anyway 

Liverpool's dramatic victory over AC Milan in the Champions League final last May has more than doubled the fan base across the world according to a report by sports consultant Sport+Markt AG.
The club's fifth European title helped attract an additional 10 million new supporters across the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain giving the Reds 18 million fans. Only Real Madrid with 32 million and Barcelona with 23 million have more followers.

"The huge increase in the number of Liverpool fans showed how influential success can be in the size of support" said Sport+Markt spokesman Oliver Butler. "The size of the increase would also point to a high level of latent support which had gone underground due to a recent lack of success."

By comparison Chelsea's first league title for 50 years raised their fan base to around the 10 million mark which puts them ninth in Europe behind Bayern Munich, Arsenal and (McDonalds Buccaneers) in sixth. Milan and Juventus were fifth and fourth respectively.

you better not have a problem with over seas supporters