Are You A Glory Hunter?

Jose Mourinho

A survey reveals one in seven “fans” are happy to swap their football teams.

Ah, the modern football fan. What a curious breed.

One might be forgiven for assuming you support a certain football club because their ground was a short bus ride away from where you grew up, or you used to go every other Saturday with your dad.

But no, apparently 13% of fans choose their team based on 'a history of success'. Surely this is the most sordid definition of a glory supporter. You can't possibly follow a team purely because they won a few things before you were born. That's like saying you'll move to England because Elizabeth I did quite well against the Spanish Armada.

And who would support Hull City?

The 2008 Barclays Global Fans Report gathered the opinions of 32,000 'fans' (in the loosest sense of the word) from 185 countries. But it appears none of them knows anything about the beautiful game.

The Barclays Premier League is broadcast to 611million homes in 211 countries worldwide, reaching a global audience of 4.77billion people, yet the people surveyed contrived to vote the press conference in which Jose Mourinho declared himself 'The Special One' as the third best moment in the history of the Barclays Premier League.

What is going on? We have come to a sorry state of affairs if a media gathering is voted above action on the field.

The Big Four have dominated the Premier League since 1995, but 45% of those who took the online survey ranked 'competitiveness' as the most appealing thing about the top flight.

We're not talking about a Roy Keane tough-tackling competitive nature here - 14,400 people said they watched the Premier League because the competition between clubs is so strong.

Hull might be riding high in the table at the moment but, let's face it, in August you didn't have to look further than Stamford Bridge, Anfield, Old Trafford or the Emirates to see where the trophy might end up in May.

Perhaps the most worrying statistic was the fact 85% said they would never switch allegiance to another football club. This means 15% would happily swap red for blue, or stripes for hoops.

Even more terrifying were the 12% of Portuguese fans who said they would be tempted to support the team their favourite player decided to join.

In the money-motivated world of professional football we expect nothing less than players vowing their undying love for a club and then moving on, but did you ever envisage your regular Evertonian turning to the red of Liverpool when Nick Barmby crossed the Stanley Park divide? Worrying, indeed.

Manchester United's huge following in the Far East meant the Red Devils did very well from the survey. As did David Beckham, whose wonder goal from the halfway line against Wimbledon in 1996 was voted the best moment in Premier League history. Nothing at all to do with the fact the vast majority know him from the pages of glossy celebrity magazines, of course.

Old Trafford was hailed as the supporters' favourite stadium and United and Liverpool were deemed to be the Premier League's favourite teams, with 26% of the votes each. Some of us might decry the lack of individuality in such blindingly obvious choices, but that would just be cynical.

Sir Alex Ferguson also scooped the double of favourite current and all-time Premier League manager. Sir Alex has managed United for the 16-year history of the Premier League and his achievements are unrivalled, but a 'favourite' manager?

Surely every self-respecting football fan would choose Sir Bobby Robson, the man for whom even Sir Alex overlooked his vow of silence with the BBC to present the Lifetime Achievement award at the Sports Personality awards last year.

Yes, Sir Bobby's golden years in English club management were with Ipswich Town back in the days of Division One, but he encapsulates everything that football should be about.

Talking of England managers, only 14% of those surveyed would like to see Fabio Capello manage in the top flight. The optimists would say that's because the vast majority want to see the Italian stay with the national side as, brace yourself, the people who responded to the survey tipped England to win the World Cup in South Africa in 2010. Now that would be a nod to a by-gone era.

The top 10 players in Premier League history were: Thierry Henry, Steven Gerrard, Eric Cantona, David Beckham, Dennis Bergkamp, Alan Shearer, Cristiano Ronaldo, Fernando Torres - who was also voted the top current player - presumably when he's not nursing his hamstring injury, Roy Keane and Gianfranco Zola.

No goalkeepers or defenders made the cut, reflecting the modern supporter's penchant for fast, attacking football. But for the fan on the terraces, it is the Schmeichels, Carraghers, Keowns, Adams and Terrys of this world who really make the difference.

Finally, 81%, or 25,920 people, said football was their most popular topic of conversation. This is all well and good, but it's going to be a limited chat if you're restricted to talking about the competitiveness of the top division. Though you could always move on to which team you're going to support next week.

Would you ever consider changing clubs? Do you know of anyone who has changed clubs? Is the Premier League competitive? Who has been your favourite Premier League player? Do you agree with the survey?

If so, let us know by leaving a comment in the box below or share your thoughts with other readers in the 50connect forums.

Have your say...

This is further evidence that football is no longer about club support but about brand support. Youngsters must wear the correct brand and now apparently must also support the correct brand; logo over loyalty. There have always been glory hunters but the vast majority of supporters signed up for life and identified with the club of their choice and its players. In return the clubs charged them affordable prices to stand in ramshackled stadia to induldge in male bonding ceremonies and to proclaim their undying loyalty to the club and its players, who by and large were of similar backgrounds to themselves. Then the clubs started to regard the fans as customers, the players became multi millionaires in search of the next big contract and the leagues sold out to the TV schedulers. So what is left to support? Some clubs will go the way of Woollies, after all where is the difference? A once treasured and fondly regarded institution stops giving its customers what they want. Customers desert in droves to Tesco, Asda etc; bye bye Woollies.

Ant