Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: Lucky Eddie on October 21, 2010, 04:51:26 PM
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If you don't like the media running football and the players wages spiralling out of control you know what you gotta do.
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Yes, but I don't have Sky Sports. It was easier to take over the landlady's subscription than change.
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I realised today that we're spending a frankly ridiculous £71 a month on Sky (all channels bar espn and that 3d guff, hd, multiroom) so I've binned most of it and just got the basic package (music channels, sharks and nazis channels, some other shit) for a more reasonable £21.
The football I will just watch on the internet from now on.
The problem with Sky is you add bits on thinking "It's only £x more" over time and before you know it you're handing over the best part of 900 quid a year.
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I voted "No" but I do have the US equivalent - All the ESPN channels and Fox Soccer Channel. I can watch 4-5 EPL games each weekend if I had the time/inclination, although I usually only watch the Villa matches. Since I moved to the US, access to footie on TV has improved immeasurably.
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Sky > any other TV provider
At the end of the day I think it's how much TV you watch. Sky has all the best channels, has loads of HD channels, movie channels, Sky+ and you can watch loads of sport... in 3D too! For me this is perfect whilst paying a pretty reasonable amount for it all and it's the cheapest you can get it if you're paying for a premium unlike shitty Virgin 'wannabe Sky' Media.
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I have it, but many of the programmes I want to watch are on it.
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I dont have sky i just chose the matches i want to watch down the pub £71 a month that's a lot of money to fork out.
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I pay £61 a month that's with Virgin
This includes, phone, broadband, tv (sky sports, ESPN, V+ and every channel bar the movies).
I don't think that's that bad.
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Never had Sky and never will, and these days I have little interest in non-Villa matches.
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Sky > any other TV provider
At the end of the day I think it's how much TV you watch. Sky has all the best channels, has loads of HD channels, movie channels, Sky+ and you can watch loads of sport... in 3D too! For me this is perfect whilst paying a pretty reasonable amount for it all and it's the cheapest you can get it if you're paying for a premium unlike shitty Virgin 'wannabe Sky' Media.
Yeah but the thing is, right, is that TV is a pile of shit. I can't believe that so many people give a shit about 3D or HD. Just wait for MOTD - or whatever else - to get loaded up to BBC iPlayer/4 OD/ other online thing and you're done.
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SKY are going to lose a hell of a lot of subscribers over the next few years, it's another monthly direct debit bill that many can ill afford.
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Don't have it, I would like it but i can't really afford it and I watch Villa in the pub or on the net
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If it wasn't for cricket i'd have binned it a while back.
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Not got it - binned it when we moved oop North ...have better things to spend my time on - like on here ;)
I barely watch TV at all these days - its a classic case of "more is less" - I have freeview but find myself flicking through looking for something watchable - usually resulting in a programme about Hitlers bodyguards or the world`s most dangerous airports !!!!
Can`t believe how much people give to Sky each month
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Never had a Sky subscription. Never plan to either.
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£71 a month? That's 2 cans of Special Brew a day. Every day!
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All the channels, 3 multi room, HD+.
Well worth it to me.
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Got Virgin+ package.
When I see the Superbowl for NFL I just cancel skysports subscription until September. It is too expensive to keep it running for 12 months.
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If it wasn't for cricket i'd have binned it a while back.
Like he said. Although I may think about getting rid after the Ashes, although its broadband is pretty reliable.
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No and never will.
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Haven't got it, don't want it. If there is a tv series I fancy watching I wait until it's out on DVD. Got no interest in watching Man Utd/Liverpool/Chelsea/Spurs etc.
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Yes but not sky sports.
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We cancelled our sky 2 years ago. The monthly cost was the main reason plus the only channels I really watched were the motorcycle racing and the odd villa game. To be honest I dont miss it at all.
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My folks have Sky with the sports and I'm always on at them to knock it on the head. Obviously it's great when Villa are on but I don't give a shite about watching Blackburn-Sunderland or West Ham-Wigan. Some of these 'other' games turn out to be great but I wouldn't know because I hardly watch them. I'm sure I can pull myself together enough to visit a pub if I want to watch a Villa away game.
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virgin took £108 out of my bank account this month, i will phone them up tomorrow and find out why, they better have one hell of a story for me
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Puliewalnuts: "Sharks and Nazi's channel".
Every SINGLE night there is a documentary called something like HITLERS HENCHMEN or THE SHARKMEN OF THE BAHAMAS. Etc. It's funny cause it's true.
I had Sky sports for about 3 months to watch the last ashes. When the football season started I cancelled as I cannot be arsed to watch Blackburn v Manchester City on a Sunday afternoon etc. I have only a passing interest in watching Spanish football. The only games I'd watch were Villa when work stopped me from getting there (which is most of the time).
I think the problem is that football is now utterly removed from the sport it used to be and is now about only money for every stake holder apart from the people who show up for games. If you take the game of the 50's and compared it to now it is pretty much polar opposite - this we all know. The 60's saw the first celebrity footballer and it's snowballed from there along with all other aspects of celebrity culture. FOotball as a media has now outgrown the game itself and we're now at a crossroads -the Man City experiment has only quickened it. Football as we knew it is over. I must say that the Rooney thing is just another example, the latest since our own Mr Milner, of an unnecessary economics and politics in football. Long live the revolution. Until then I hope for 3 points the weekend. And there you are.
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Sky 'multi-room'? Jesus! Must be the ultimate in opium for the masses. No wonder nobody goes on strike or protests any more in the UK. Get out and burn some fucking sheep!
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I did have it but cancelled it last month. It's bastard expensive, and whenever Villa are on Keys and Gray just end up spouting off about how shite we are (even when we're playing well).
I've got to the stage in my life where I would just rather spend my money on much more important things, like alcohol.
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Yes I have Sky and pay for just about everything - HD, Multiroom, ESPN and think its value for money with how much it seems to get used
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Sky 'multi-room'? Jesus! Must be the ultimate in opium for the masses. No wonder nobody goes on strike or protests any more in the UK. Get out and burn some fucking sheep!
You can't surely have forgotten how evil the weather is in the uk for 90% of the year? It's alright going out a striking and a protesting when you can still wear a T-shirt in October!
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All the channels, 3 multi room, HD+.
Well worth it to me.
How much do you pay, mate?
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Never have, never will.
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I realised today that we're spending a frankly ridiculous £71 a month on Sky (all channels bar espn and that 3d guff, hd, multiroom) so I've binned most of it and just got the basic package (music channels, sharks and nazis channels, some other shit) for a more reasonable £21.
Bleeding hell. Had no idea it could cost up to that much a month. We have had Sky and cable in the past. Depends what you want to spend your money on, and I do understand the arguments from both sides to a degree. My biggest gripe with television in our house is the fact that Mr Lizz has the attention span of a gnat. If he doesn't change channels at least every 15 minutes [and preferably at shorter intervals] he starts to panic. I'd rather not watch television than channel hop.
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Yes I have Sky and pay for just about everything - HD, Multiroom, ESPN and think its value for money with how much it seems to get used
You da man!
I've got pretty much the same thing going on, 50 inch flatscreen in main lounge with HD, 32 inch flatscreen in bedroom with HD and 24 inch flatscreen with just Sky+ in kitchen. Like I said previously, it's value for money for me personally cause I watch a lot of TV (especially at the moment) and Sky+ is a life saviour... if you're a busy person who works long hours, not so much value for money.
Btw, it's cheaper to get the full package on Sky (sky sports, movies, music channels etc...) than it is on Virgin Media.
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SKY are going to lose a hell of a lot of subscribers over the next few years, it's another monthly direct debit bill that many can ill afford.
TV is the last thing people will cut back on IMHO.
I have Sky and probably watch fat too much football. But nothing beats a lazy Sunday afternoon watching it.
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Question 1: What is "multi-room"?
Question 2: Is there anything that Sky gives you that you can't get for free through adthe.net?
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SKY are going to lose a hell of a lot of subscribers over the next few years, it's another monthly direct debit bill that many can ill afford.
They seem to have started out in just the opposite direction.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11604048 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11604048)
BSkyB reports rapid customer pick-up
UK broadcaster BSkyB added 96,000 new customers in the three months to 30 September, leaving it just shy of 10 million in total. Analysts had predicted an increase of only about 69,000 subscribers.
Total revenues were £1.53bn ($2.41bn), a 15% rise on a year ago, as customers took up a broader range of services.
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SKY are going to lose a hell of a lot of subscribers over the next few years, it's another monthly direct debit bill that many can ill afford.
They seem to have started out in just the opposite direction.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11604048 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11604048)
BSkyB reports rapid customer pick-up
UK broadcaster BSkyB added 96,000 new customers in the three months to 30 September, leaving it just shy of 10 million in total. Analysts had predicted an increase of only about 69,000 subscribers.
Total revenues were £1.53bn ($2.41bn), a 15% rise on a year ago, as customers took up a broader range of services.
Just read that, amazing.
I couldn't have been more wrong.
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I had a row with Sky about 6 years ago and cancelled my subscription. I felt pretty good about myself, landing a mortal blow on Murdoch. 1-nil to the little man and all that.
Then, after about 2 days, I started getting twitchy and realised that sitting at home reading books and having conversations with the missus was no substitute for watching Premier League Darts, Wet Nets, Wheeler Dealers and Man vs Food. I grovelled to Sky and begged them to switch me on again.
I feel dirty about it, but there you go. Now me and Mrs Hamilton sit on the settee each night in perfect isolation.
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I just moved into a place and my landlord was expecting me to get Sky because the aerial only takes Sky and NTL and he's taken against NTL. But instead I've got myself a freesat. Fuck Sky.
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I realised today that we're spending a frankly ridiculous £71 a month on Sky (all channels bar espn and that 3d guff, hd, multiroom) so I've binned most of it and just got the basic package (music channels, sharks and nazis channels, some other shit) for a more reasonable £21.
Didn't they offer you a better deal to keep all the stuff you have?
I've got Virgin Cable, its all the football, films, kids stuff, phone (which I don't think I've ever used) and broadband for about £60 a month, I still end up paying extra for PPV films as I've seen all the ones they put on for free.
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Puliewalnuts: "Sharks and Nazi's channel".
Every SINGLE night there is a documentary called something like HITLERS HENCHMEN or THE SHARKMEN OF THE BAHAMAS. Etc. It's funny cause it's true.
Someone should really tell The History Channel that at least a proportion of history happened outside of 1939-1945.
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SKY are going to lose a hell of a lot of subscribers over the next few years, it's another monthly direct debit bill that many can ill afford.
They seem to have started out in just the opposite direction.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11604048 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11604048)
BSkyB reports rapid customer pick-up
UK broadcaster BSkyB added 96,000 new customers in the three months to 30 September, leaving it just shy of 10 million in total. Analysts had predicted an increase of only about 69,000 subscribers.
Total revenues were £1.53bn ($2.41bn), a 15% rise on a year ago, as customers took up a broader range of services.
Just read that, amazing.
I couldn't have been more wrong.
What surprised me is that they get £1.53b from 10m customers, so £153 per customer, so overall they're getting more or less the same per customer as the BBC Licence Fee of £145.50, with 10m customers compared to BBC's 25m.
Then Sky spends, on its entire output, less than what the BBC spends on BBC1 (£1.37b) and BBC2 (£575m). Which makes me wonder who's ripping me off more.
(also £199m on BBC Online, £75m on 5 Live, £133m on local radio, £64m on BBC News, etc.)
(numbers from http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/annualreport/pdf/bbc_executive_2009_10.pdf)
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Puliewalnuts: "Sharks and Nazi's channel".
Every SINGLE night there is a documentary called something like HITLERS HENCHMEN or THE SHARKMEN OF THE BAHAMAS. Etc. It's funny cause it's true.
Someone should really tell The History Channel that at least a proportion of history happened outside of 1939-1945.
That and also that there are other fish.
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I'm rather surprised at the number of high posters with opinions on seemingly every other topic raised on this site that haven't expressed an opinion on the single thing most destroying the sport that we all grew up to love yet love no more.
Ashamed? Something to hide? [touch paper lit - runs for cover] winkymanting
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SKY are going to lose a hell of a lot of subscribers over the next few years, it's another monthly direct debit bill that many can ill afford.
They seem to have started out in just the opposite direction.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11604048 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11604048)
BSkyB reports rapid customer pick-up
UK broadcaster BSkyB added 96,000 new customers in the three months to 30 September, leaving it just shy of 10 million in total. Analysts had predicted an increase of only about 69,000 subscribers.
Total revenues were £1.53bn ($2.41bn), a 15% rise on a year ago, as customers took up a broader range of services.
Just read that, amazing.
I couldn't have been more wrong.
Digital Switchover I guess?
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If it wasn't for cricket i'd have binned it a while back.
Like he said. Although I may think about getting rid after the Ashes.
Same here, but the wife loves shit like "my tumour is bigger than my breasts" type of programmes.
I go on a crawl round the village pubs..
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From that BBC article above:
The broadening uptake of the media company's product offering pushed the BSkyB's "average revenue per user" - an annualised measure - up to £514, from £469 a year ago
That's more than the cost of my season ticket. In fact, both those figures are.
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I am currently traveling around central america and (excluding the World Cup) watched about 10-hours of TV in seven months. Have I missed it. Nope - not slightly.
However, I now have an absolute addition to the internet.
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Ditched Sky when we moved house about 6 years ago, kids were getting addicted to the Disney Channel and I was watching too much crap football (I can watch ITV4 for that and it's free). Since then I have been really glad I did as I can't believe that one man, Murdoch can wield so much power in our country.
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Sport is a huge part of my life. As much as i may dislike Sky for their contribution to the current state of English football, i couldn't do without watching Cricket, Golf, Rugby, The NFL etc etc live on a regular basis.
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As I've argued on other threads it's not Sky that is ruining football it is the Premier League. They've pimped the game out to the highest bidder and if it hadn't been Sky it would have been another broadcaster, the money might not have been as much but the pissing around with fixtures would have been just the same.
I've got Sky and don't see that changing as long as I'm working.
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I actually don't watch much footy. The missus watches it more than me - will be watchinng this winter for the Ashes though....
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I stopped SKY about 6 years ago. Murdoch hasnt had a penny from me since.
If I want to watch a game, I will go and watch it in the pub or watch it for free on the internet.
I pay for my season ticket and the odd away game so I put my money in.
This afternoon I fully intend to watch the Sunderland game in my local and it wont cost me a penny.
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If you don't like the media running football and the players wages spiralling out of control you know what you gotta do.
What exactly do you mean regarding "the media running football" ?
Is it just the changing of kickoff times or is there more to it than that for you ?
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I stopped SKY about 6 years ago. Murdoch hasnt had a penny from me since.
If I want to watch a game, I will go and watch it in the pub or watch it for free on the internet.
I pay for my season ticket and the odd away game so I put my money in.
This afternoon I fully intend to watch the Sunderland game in my local and it wont cost me a penny.
Yet Murdoch will charge the pub you drink in for the Sky TV, so the money you spend having a beer or two in there will partly and indirectly go to him.
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No.
I will avoid giving my money to Murdoch directly, if I can possibly help it.
But, I guess, the hypocrite in all of us, doesn't prevent me heading off the pub when there is a Villa match I want to see.
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I was going to point out what an anti-union, tax-dodging, racist scumbag Murdoch is, but then I realised i didn't want my phone tapped, with the police refusing to do anything about it...
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Never have and never will. I have enough trouble finding anything to watch on Freesat channels without having to trawl another hundred channels full of crap. Not really interested in watching other football outside Villa games. The only thing I miss and which really pisses me off is some of the big golf and cricket events, but no way will I part with my hard earned to the likes of Murdoch.
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As I've argued on other threads it's not Sky that is ruining football it is the Premier League. They've pimped the game out to the highest bidder and if it hadn't been Sky it would have been another broadcaster, the money might not have been as much but the pissing around with fixtures would have been just the same.
I've got Sky and don't see that changing as long as I'm working.
Yes but if people don't subscribe to or watch this broadcaster...
And it's not just the kick off times (which wasn't overtly mentioned in the OP) it's the astronomical wages being paid to the players due to the TV money that are ruining or perhaps rooining to coin a poor pun the game. If a broadcaster offered less money there might be fewer incidences of players getting head-spinningly ridiculous wages.
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No.
I will avoid giving my money to Murdoch directly, if I can possibly help it.
But, I guess, the hypocrite in all of us, doesn't prevent me heading off the pub when there is a Villa match I want to see.
Without being evangelical about it, I half-heartedly try to directly avoid contributing to Rupert Murdoch's empire, but it's not easy. Here's a list of some of companies he owns (http://www.woopidoo.com/biography/rupert-news-corporation.htm)
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A good article from Sabotage Times:
http://www.sabotagetimes.com/football-sport/the-shit-hits-the-fan/
We’re football fans.
We get behind the lads. We stick with ‘em – through the wind and the rain. Over land and sea. We’ll always be there – with our little pick and shovel; we’ll be there.
That’s what we’re like. We’re bonkers really. Totally bonkers. We can’t get enough of it. We watch Soccer AM. We post on message boards. We buy Robbie Savage’s autobiography. We stand around in pubs wearing 3D spectacles.
We’re like that Paul Whitehouse character; we drive up and down motorways, talking loudly in regional accents about the club of our choice. That’s what it’s all about.
And these are halcyon days for us. Football supporters have never been so popular. Everyone loves us: advertisers, media, politicians, criminals. They all want to be in our gang. They share our passions. And that’s great.
Because it never used to be like this. We used to be a wretched bunch. We were more trouble than it was worth: gobby, prone to violence and with little in the way of a disposable income. The only attention we got was from police, porridge manufacturers and local businessmen.
Thankfully those dark days are behind us. Over the past 20 years we’ve had a Gok Wan style makeover. They’ve removed our nasty habits and taught us the correct way to behave. We’ve had to lose a few along the way but it’s been more than worth it.
We strode out of the fitting room to gasps of delight: look at us now. Just look at us. It’s an astonishing transformation: we’re just like them!
Society can finally absorb us. No longer are we the troublesome outsiders. We’re just like everyone else. Take away our nylon shirts and we could be at Last Night of the Proms or watching Formula One or listening to The Hoosiers.
“We’re bonkers really. Totally bonkers. We can’t get enough. We watch Soccer AM. We post on message boards. We buy Robbie Savage’s autobiography. We stand around in pubs wearing 3D spectacles.”
We’ve learnt how to channel our emotions in a positive direction. To sit instead of stand. To do as we’re told. To let our money do the talking: season tickets, ringtones, padded jackets, Sky Sports packages. That’s what it means to us. That’s the passion. That’s our way of kissing the badge.
We’re the best consumers in the world. The customers you can’t get rid of. Go ahead and try it. Buy yourself a football club and do whatever you want: flog the ground, cripple it with debts; use the club to launder dirty money. Hike up the prices. Insult us. Ignore us. It doesn’t matter; we’ll keep coming back.
Because the role of a supporter is to support. That’s what we do. That’s our thang. We’ll continue to shuffle through the turnstiles. We may write naughty things about you on message boards. We may hold up red cards in your general direction – but we’ll keep supporting the lads.
We don’t care who you are. You can be a rapist. You can be a war criminal. You can have a history of asset stripping football clubs. It doesn’t bother us. All we ask is that you drape yourself in a club scarf and make some vague promises about future investment. That’ll do us. We’re living the dream.
And, please, don’t take our spineless and servile attitude as a sign of weakness. It’s the exact opposite. It’s what makes us so strong. We’re like a battered housewife who leaves casualty and returns straight back into the arms of her loved one. That takes real strength. That’s commitment.
And that’s what being a fan is all about. We’re fanatics. It’s not rational or logical. It’s deeper than that. We’re crazy. We’re bonkers. All we want to do is get behind the lads. To stick with ‘em – through thick and thin.
Green army!!!
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I stopped SKY about 6 years ago. Murdoch hasnt had a penny from me since.
If I want to watch a game, I will go and watch it in the pub or watch it for free on the internet.
I pay for my season ticket and the odd away game so I put my money in.
This afternoon I fully intend to watch the Sunderland game in my local and it wont cost me a penny.
Yet Murdoch will charge the pub you drink in for the Sky TV, so the money you spend having a beer or two in there will partly and indirectly go to him.
I think our local does it with an illegal feed, they are not supposed to show Sat 3pm games anyway are they ?
In fact I even walked there, didnt have anything to drink while I was there, and then walked back.
Thats tight fisted in the extreme I know, and despite us losing I have a smug satisfaction that the whole thing didnt cost me a penny.
Me 1 Murdoch 0...back of the net !
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I may disagree with how they've affected top flight football, but the money they've put into cricket has improved the club game and club facilities by some distance, so for me it's a necessary evil.
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I stopped SKY about 6 years ago. Murdoch hasnt had a penny from me since.
If I want to watch a game, I will go and watch it in the pub or watch it for free on the internet.
I pay for my season ticket and the odd away game so I put my money in.
This afternoon I fully intend to watch the Sunderland game in my local and it wont cost me a penny.
Yet Murdoch will charge the pub you drink in for the Sky TV, so the money you spend having a beer or two in there will partly and indirectly go to him.
I think our local does it with an illegal feed, they are not supposed to show Sat 3pm games anyway are they ?
In fact I even walked there, didnt have anything to drink while I was there, and then walked back.
Thats tight fisted in the extreme I know, and despite us losing I have a smug satisfaction that the whole thing didnt cost me a penny.
Me 1 Murdoch 0...back of the net !
Sky sell rights to the games all around the world, the provider that you watch will have paid them for it. It's also worth remembering that News International currently only own 38% of Sky so it is wrong to see this as a wholly Murdoch driven issue. However, unless Vince Cable remembers where he keeps his integrity that might very well change in the near future.