There are some fans unaware of club history, any fan who does, would just ignore the question as I'm going to after this post. Whatever you think you've done to irritate Spurs, it doesn't come close. If rivalry history is represented as an hour, Chelsea occupy about 5 minutes...the question's quite tragic when you look at it like that.
Its difficult to answer. I know Arsenal are our biggest rivals, the target is to beat them, wind up the fans etc, BUT I can't help feeling that beating Chelsea is worth more, if only for the amount of money they have, its the same with City.
That's true of a large number of rivals, including Spurs and Arsenal. They're your real rivals, just as Millwall are West Ham's.
Chelsea fans are the biggest bunch of slimey faced irritating wee ****s! however you can't replace the natural hatred for the goons as they are our main rivals in every sense. Chelsea & West ham fans genuinely can't stand spurs! while both the previous teams mention dislike each other. Our only "friends" are the hoops and fulham.
I never understood why Leeds fans have an issue with us, frankly - there's no grounds for a rivalry, unless we rival them as Most Successful Team To Wear White.
Both. Arsenal, well because they're Arsenal. No other reason needed. I used to quite like Chelsea, and used to go to some games with a mate, years ago. However, I dislike the current Chelsea. I intensely dislike your owner, your Captain is a numpty of the first order, and some of your fans are starting to adopt that sense of entitlement attitude that so endears Liverpool fans to us all. Nothing personal, I detest Man City even more, but I hate the way that both of your clubs are run. This "we'll just buy whatever we want" attitude.
I know who I'm supposed to hate the most, but it's a semi-free country so I now choose to dislike Chelski and Citeh more, because of their buy anything policy and arrogant claims that the success this creates is merited and not artificial. I think they are representative of a new breed of money no object clubs that will ultimately ruin football. Basically we've done pretty well these past few seasons because those two teams shouldn't really be above us! I obviously retain dislike for Arsenal but since these other two have come along I can't wind myself up enough about them. The ones coming up on the rails are Pool though, because of the media love-fest for them and the fact that the club, the pundits and the fans can't accept the reality of their current situation. It's a bit like Newcastle were a few seasons back, but they've had a reality check and I really don't mind them at all now.
Not so sure about that. All they've been going on about is the 5-2 "thrashing" since, after the 2-1 they were bitterly complaining about the ref everytime the game was brought up(something we always get accused of) and as for the 3-2 comeback they were all as gutted as we were delighted. Anyway, I hate Arsenal more as a club but I hate Chelsea's players and fans(that I've actually met, not on here) more. Who would I rather beat? Well we've got two embarrassing scorelines to avenge but I'd rather take Chelsea down a peg or too with an early win than Arsenal who have already been humbled with Van Persie's transfer request. To further complicate things with one last statement, I'd rather finish above Arsenal
I dislike Arsenal as a club far more but at the same time I know more Chelsea fans who, by and large, are really quite obnoxious about football. Someone else mentioned a 'sense of entitlement' and I agree entirely with that. With one or two exceptions they seem to have this attitude that they are entitled to every success and that really gets to me. Arsenal fans are Arsenal fans at the end of the day but the very few I know are at least capable of having reasoned debates on most footballing issues whereas as a contrast most of the Chelsea fans resort very quickly to cheap insults and jibes in place of a discussion, mainly due to their unfortunate inability/unwillingness to have one. This is based on real life interactions btw, I don't think it's possible to really gain a view on a group of fans from an internet forum because a) people will say/do things over the anonymous internet that they wouldn't do while having a chat in the pub and, b) because the loudest, most ignorant WUMs tend to get the most attention on this forum when they post on other club's boards, so it can be difficult to gain a proper impression. Arsenal are still our biggest rivals but I think that the Chelsea rivalry has really developed quickly in the last few seasons as we've caught up. With big results for us to avenge against both teams, not to mention the whole CL situation with Chelsea, all 4 games are going to be seriously big this year.
That's because they realise the gap between you and them is minimal if not non-existent. The 5-2 was great for them because deep down I still believe they thought they were going to lose that and finish below you. Traditional rivalries like the North London Derby tend to be at their best when the teams are more evenly matched. These things always have a habit of changing anyway. In the 60s Tottenham were the team everybody in London wanted to beat In the 70s it was More Arsenal but still Spurs for periods In the 80s it was more Arsenal/Spurs and for a short period even West Ham In the 90s it was definitely Arsenal And then in the 00s it was Chelsea I'd argue even now in the 10s it's still probably Chelsea
According to Oxford the definition of a rival is the following: a person or thing competing with another for the same objective or for superiority in the same field of activity: With all due respect PNP I don't think that what you are saying fits the bill. I don't know a Chelsea fan that thinks Fulham are a rival or even dislikes them. I actually like Fulham a lot and used to go their games every now and then. Footballing rivalry isn't the same in South or West London as it is in North or East. I'd describe Fulham as neighbours but certainly not rivals
Yeh I completely agree... I don't mind Fulham at all but they hate us. They are certainly neighbours and not rivals.
Because up until recently beating United and Chelsea always meant more to them but they realise now they aren't on the same level as them especially the former hence why they've lowered their aspirations. From about 1997-2004 every Arsenal fan I know said United were their biggest rivals. From 2004-2010 it was Chelsea but bear in mind I am South London based so can't carry the opinion of North London B&B Gooners as most of my family are based South or West London
When have Chelsea and Arsenal both seriously challenged for the title? Once, twice maybe? It's always been one or the other since RA with 10+ points seperating you. Arsenal fans might claim that they were bigger rivals with other clubs but that in itself is just an attempt to belittle their actual rivals(us) where the real history lies. Alternatively it could just be ignorance on their part.
98/99, 03/04, 04/05, 07/08, 09/10, 10/11 I don't think they want to belittle you but for a good 10 years you were no match for them at all therefore other games became more important, it's a bit like the Manchester Rivalry
I hate both Spurs and Arsenal almost equally and far more than anybody else. West Ham are up there too. I personally hate QPR, but nowhere near as much as they hate us!
Nobody is disputing periods of dominance, the fact remains that Arsenal are and always will be our biggest historical rival, anything Chelsea does today cannot change that. Our matches are billed as the NLD, matches against you are billed as what? It is correct to say there is a rivalry between the clubs given recent matches and current circumstances, but overall our rivals in that sense of the word are the Goons. All big clubs that i can think of have immediate rivals, so I understand Chelsea fans attempts to try and find one, because on the arse of football you're just a spot!
