Only in thought but never in deed .......... despite half a century in England. If that was a Mag posting on here you'd laugh at him, especially if he said he was also a big Celtic fan. At best he was a fan but he never actually 'supported' Sunderland, in fact he's been more of a drain on our finances than a supporter.
Fan..Supporter. What's the difference? At least you now concede he is a fan. Progress I suppose. In Ireland it's very normal to support one of the Scottish two (Religious reasons) and a club in England. MON chose us. God bless him.
Sorry, there's no progress at all ....... I've never believed he was a 'true Sunderland supporter' as is often claimed. By your logic I could say now that I support Barcelona and that makes me a Barcelona supporter. O'Neill chose of us entirely because of Hurley ............ if Hurley had played for Newcastle then O'Neill would've been a Mag, if you follow your argument through.
Yep. And if my Dad had been a Mag so would I. Fact is. He wasn't I really don't see how you get to follow the lads matters...I'm sure you can inform me though. Fact..MON Supported, followed, was a fan of Sunderland. Why? I don't care to be honest. We all have our own reasons.
Posting fact doesn't mean it's true, it means it's your opinion ......... I don't believe he was a supporter in any way other than as a kid idolising an Irishman who was succesful. You're correct when you say that what you see as 'support' is a matter of opinion. My opinion is that, if O'Neill wasn't famous, no one would ever believe he was a Sunderland supporter after half a century and never once going to watch them play. You believe he is which is your choice.
Not a chance mate, as I've already said. It comes down to a definition of the word 'support'. I used to take the piss out of Mags who'd say Keegan was 'black & white to the core/an adopted Geordie/Newcastle in his heart' so I can't be a hypocrite with O'Neill. Keegan never went to see Newcastle unless he was being paid, same goes for O'Neill and Sunderland. Supporters go to cheer on their team when they have the chance ....... O'Neill must have had hundreds of chances. Not a supporter by my definition especially when he admitted smiling when it went wrong under Di Canio.
True. I just cant fathom why a manager of Villa would tell the press he supported Sunderland in his youth way back in 2007. You keep banging on about not going to see them. Like I already said I support England. I've never paid a penny to watch them. I bet we have loads of fans in Ireland who have never paid to see us play. I read recently there are more SAFC Twitter followers in the USA than Sunderland. I'd bet the vast majority have been no where near the SOL given that only 39% of Americans even have a passport.
Yep, great supporters one and all, especially our die-hard twitter lads & lasses ......... you're right, the 'big Celtic fan' is one of us despite smiling when we got beat However, your England comparison just doesn't work tbh, I 'support' various underdogs right through the FA Cup, League Cup, Euros, World Cups, etc etc etc. That makes me a supporter of Trinidad & Tobago as well as Blyth Spartans and Bastia following your logic. I 'support' any team that has an ex-Sunderland favourite playing for them although not if they're playing Sunderland. If an ex-Sunderland player is on each of two sides I 'support' the team of the player I liked more. I 'support' any team playing against Germany and France but 'support' France if they're playing Germany. I think you're wrong about the American passport stat though, it's more like 20% I reckon.
Smug, you do not have to go to the game to support the club, some people cant naturally get there because they live too far away does this mean they are any less a supporter than you. Your argument does not make any sense. My pound is the same as a kids in australia if he buys a shirt and he is no less of a fan i can go the match as i live 5 miles away he cant cause he live however many miles australia is away. My dad is a prime example he lives in lincoln and was in the forces so never really went to the match and if im honest doesnt not really purchase any merchandise but he watches them if they are on tele and it is the first result he looks for when he puts final score on. But if anyone asks him who he supports he is a sunderrland fan. Are you saying that a person like my dad is not a fan. Some fans go all the time some go rarely and some never go at all.. does not mean they are not a fan just means they are not as devoted or they have other things that they feel are more important or they need to spend their money on. But all fans of Sunderland make up the club wether they go or not or spend their hard earned dime on the club- that is not what is important at the end of the day. Also you will find in o'neills era there are lot of irish supporters of sunderland- ie Barry Glennding the reporter and very poor talk show guy off talksport!! he supports sunderland because his dad did in his words. no other reason.
Smug. I'm confused now - I know it doesnt take much so that'll save the punchline! Whats the difference between a fan and a supporter? I don't get the distinction. I only get to see the lads once every season or so (if I'm lucky - though they usually lose). Am I a fan or a supporter? PL teams spend a lot of close-season time in Asia raking in the big bucks in mini-tournaments. Most of the asian countries have many thousands of football "followers" mad on the PL and the stadiums are usually full. But there'll be thousands more who will never be able to afford to go to a match but will have a club shirt. Are they playing in front of fans or supporters?
That's a question that's been discussed on every football forum in history. There's never any agreement. Fans/supporters/followers mean different things to different people. What I am sure of is that a normal person, other O'Neill, who came on here and posted the same story would be accused of being a WUM or a Mag. "I'm Irish, I liked one of your players when I was a young boy, looked out for Sunderland's results but was actually a big Celtic fan. I moved to England in the 1970's but over the decades, despite a very good income, I've never been to cheer on the Lads. I had a smile to myself when Sunderland were in a mess under Di Canio and have a sly pop at the club now & again." To me that doesn't make someone much of a supporter or fan and if the only reason he follows us now is to see us struggle then he's a ****er. You can't compare some Sunderland fan, on the other side of the world, to someone who's had every opportunity to go to games imo. The Mags always claim Keegan is a Mag supporter, through and through, when we all know he's not ........ I'd bet £100 that he's never paid to go and watch Newcastle in his entire life. He may well 'follow' the results of NUFC but so do I, does that make me a Mag?
I didn't say it was. You seem to have totally missed the point of what I was saying ........ fair enough.
I was responding to your "you cant compare.... other side of the world..." sentence so Im not sure how I missed your point. I would agree with you about ONeill if thats what he said. Doesnt sound like the sort of thing he'd sat though.
I was responding to your "you cant compare.... other side of the world..." sentence so Im not sure how I missed your point. I would agree with you about ONeill if thats what he said. Doesnt sound like the sort of thing he'd say though.
Everything I ever say, on here, is true .......... otherwise I apologise. I've seen him say 'I was a big Celtic fan' but only 'I followed Sunderland as a boy because I idoloised Charlie Hurley'. He's never said, to my knowledge, 'I am a Sunderland supporter'. If anyone can find a quote there's £10, from me, to Children in Need ....... sent through a mod. My point about distance is that O'Neill had thousands of opportunities to cheer on the Lads, he didn't. People in the Far East or Australia obviously don't have that opportunity ....... they have a decent excuse, O'Neill doesn't.
I get your point now. The "sly pop at the club" bit from ONeill sounds bizarre though, for any ex-manager of any club to say.
"When PDC started to struggle, I had a wry grin to myself' ....... to paraphrase. That's no kind of Sunderland supporter/fan/follower I'd have a pint with mate.
