Sutton United – What price integrity? What price your soul?

John McCormick: We're not bottom, so is it a Happy Christmas?
John McCormick: it has to be said

On a weekend off, if it’s too soon to do a relegation review (which it is), I’d normally take a trip around the Northwest and bring you up to date with the tribulations of clubs such as Blackpool, Bolton, Blackburn and even some who don’t begin with B – Morecambe being the most recent.

And that was my intention until I read earlier today that Green Go Waste won’t be making an appearance on Monday’s TV.

I don’t know who they are, I don’t know exactly what they do, but I do know who their replacement is, and I don’t like them, not one bit.

After we drew with Liverpool at New Year there were some very bitter people down here. Their failure to beat us was our fault because we were so dire, or something like that. And this kind of thing went on and on until, on FA Cup 4th round day, I found myself in an encounter with a group of LFC-supporting gobs**tes who were giving it large to a couple of Evertonians and myself before their mighty team demolished Wolves on their way to lifting the trophy.

I can’t describe them any other way, their behaviour was beyond normal banter, to the point of being obnoxious. I haven’t seen or heard them since, of course, given that their cup dreams, indeed their whole season, have disintegrated but the result of the encounter was to make me wish ill of their club. I don’t want Liverpool to win anything this season. I don’t even want them to qualify for Europe and I’ll be delighted if they don’t.

This isn’t usually the case; I’m married into the red side of Liverpool and if we can’t do it (and when can we?) I’d rather Liverpool win any competition than, say, the usual London or Manchester suspects. I’ve rather enjoyed the buzz and lift that has come from Liverpool’s success over the years, and haven’t minded their gloating at all (well, not much). I still wouldn’t go to see them, apart from when they play us, but we did take my sister and her husband to see “Beating Berlusconi” when it was staged to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their 2005 European Cup win and we had a great night. But not now, not this season. Not after the events of 28th January.

Even so, I stand firm with Liverpool FC on one thing – their attitude to the Sun.

LFC have banned the Sun from its grounds.

It’s not a club thing, however. It’s a city wide movement and it’s not going away. Last September Merseytravel asked news vendors not to sell the Sun and you’ll now be hard-pressed to find it in a station. If you follow the link above you’ll see taxis are being branded (it’s not two,  as per the webpage, it’s now over 50, with the aim of having 96 done by 15 April) as part of a campaign which has, in modern parlance, gone viral. Visitors for our game at Goodison next week are likely to find the shops and pubs they visit shunning the Sun. We just don’t want it in any place in the city, or anywhere else for that matter.

Now, that said, it’s not for me to say how others should behave.  But while I can’t tell anyone what to do, I can tell them how I feel. And I feel really unhappy with Sutton United, who will be wearing special shirts, with a Sun logo, when they play Arsenal on Monday.

Sutton are, by all accounts, a well run club. They have a long and praiseworthy history and are deserving of anyone’s respect. They will be getting, and well merit, gate money, prize money, TV money and everything else that comes from a cup run.

So do they really need to sell their souls?

I’m sorry, Sutton United. As a neutral, I’ve always, always, wanted the underdog to do well in the cup. And I don’t particularly want Arsenal to win again because of… …oh, lots of reasons, mainly based on jealousy and anti-south irrationality.

But on Monday, when you walk out onto the pitch wearing those shirts, with that logo, I’ll want you to be destroyed. You’re selling football down the river. You’re selling your birthright for a mess of potage. You’re selling your very soul. And I really can’t wish you well because of it.

 

 

3 thoughts on “Sutton United – What price integrity? What price your soul?”

  1. I recall sitting in the stands at Anfield in 1980s when they beat Brighton in a cup game 4-0 and the the 3 Liverpool fans behind me moaned about their teams preformance all game!

    Spoilt is the word.

    I also recall after our 2-0 defeat in the 92 FA cup final a Sunderland fan berating a set of glum looking Liverpool fans sitting outside Wembly.He could not believe they were not singing and celebrating ,they just looked at him gesticuling in front of them with about as much enthusiasm as Rodwell in front of goal.

    Again spoilt springs to mind.

    That said it is a proper old fashioned community club.Not like your Man Utds and Arsenals.
    The Sun thing is abit of a sacred cow,and anyone going againts that will no doubt be villified.but I will.

    I do not like what the Sun did,it was disgraceful and knee jerk,and they have been shown to be wrong on every issue they printed after Hilsbrough,,they were sadly not the only
    ones.It is some relief the truth had come out and I doubt many look at the Sun in the same way.It really is up to Liverpool fans and individuals to make their own minds up….and quite right
    I cannot find it in my heart to condemn Sutton Utd though,let them take the Sun’s Money….call it atonement if you like…the roots of football get little enough as it is…..that the Sun is having to give some money back to football is appropriate particualrly in the FA cup.And they are playing Arsenal!

    Btw I do not buy the Sun.

    • A lot of Sutton fans are apparently unhappy, I’m told some have been in touch with campaigners here.

      As I saw Sutton come out and the “Sun” banners around the ground I did hope they would lose. When Arsenal scored I thought “serve you right”. I’d be lying if I said I felt any other way.

      I suppose Sutton have nothing to apologize for, and neither do I.

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