Hating the old enemy really needn't involve deriding the dead

The Mirror's David McDonnell raises an interesting issue this morning; the increased nature of idiotic chants amongst football fans. I should probably point out quite early on that the journalist in question is one whose opinions i tend to take with a pinch of salt; he's a United-leaning hack working for a tabloid who repeatedly fail to endear themselves to our supporters. That, however, shouldn't cloud the fact that the issue is one of importance and the general gist of what he and old Whiskynose are saying is correct.

Our supporters are no worse than most, as McDonnell points out. No matter what circles you mix in, football-related or not, some people are just idiots, it's a fact of life. All clubs have them, those with bigger away followings will naturally have a few more. Sadly, football nowadays seems as much about disliking your rivals as backing your own, and as obvious as more broad progress to cut out elements of hooliganism is, some unfortunately still see away days as a chance to act like plums.

Football is, of course, a completely different game now to what it was, even just a decade or so ago. As it's had to become more family-friendly, and with the Premier League's popularity ever-growing, changes in both stadia and supporter demographics have had a negative effect on atmosphere at games, a small price to pay for people's safety, but occasionally frustrating for your more old-school fan, i'm sure.

With increased CCTV at grounds and membership required for purchasing tickets odds are that if you're consistently behaving like a massive bellend you'll face some sort of consequences. Some will still push it, but since moving to Eastlands instances of trouble at least appear to be less and less common. Renditions of songs mentioning the air disaster tend to also be on the decrease, and met with as many rolled eyebrows as accompanying choruses of support.

A by-product of the new audience that Premier League football attracts only serves to internalise the tribal nature of football supporters. Those who go to be entertained are deemed 'happy clappers', meaning some of those who follow the side away regularly see trips to other towns and clubs as a chance to not shit on their own doorstep, and sample an atmosphere more to their liking, with the 'fairweather' fans generally sat at home in their armchairs.

Yesterday's trip to the DW Stadium didn't really involve anything too out of the ordinary in terms of fan behaviour, just the odd idiot and a few unsavoury incidents; a couple of people being spat at or called 'Munichs' for daring to wear their side's shirt in their hometown, or for the unforgivable crime of displaying a sticker of their club's crest whilst driving to the supermarket. For all the progress we're making on and off the pitch, there are still a few who continue to let us down, and the story will be the same wherever you go.

I'm sure nobody wants to completely remove the passion from the game, but you have to worry about the mentality of those who automatically associate watching a game of football with acting like a moron, or who uses a few pints of watered-down lager as an excuse for it. There's absolutely no logical reason why people need to sing a song mocking those who died in Munich; it's not habit, or just a bit of fun, it's malicious, below the belt, and looks bad on us as a club. What's especially annoying is that these songs could be quite easily adapted and still used to full effect to back the team, and to be fair, incidences of this are noticeable amongst some.

I personally don't see how anyone who is either a Mancunian or fan of the game, would take pleasure from disrespecting those who lost their lives in '58. The current setup at Manchester United shouldn't influence your opinions of a sadly-lost great side, to paraphrase the great Jock Stein, some things are more important than twenty-two men kicking a bag of air around a field. Ultimately, those who can't bring themselves to show those men a little respect should at least have regard for the reputation of Manchester City Football Club.

It's by no means just our problem. Elements of Liverpool's support have been known to be just as crude about the disaster. In turn some idiots who follow United see the disregard for loss of life at Hillsborough, or the events of Heysel, as fair game, and you'll find examples wherever you look, if not always as high-profile. The anonymity of the internet only serves to encourage these sort of cretins to vent their vitriol without having to fear reprisals.

For those of us under the age of sixty it's probably difficult to contemplate how much of an effect was had on the city as a whole, not just Manchester United. A cliche it might have become, but a lot of people really did follow both clubs in those days. Frank Swift's early passing in the disaster would surely be enough to make any sane person think twice about mocking it. Matt Busby's integral role in our second ever major honour, though he survived the crash, would, you'd have thought, also enable the minority to put grievances aside.

As supporters of the (sometimes not quite so) beautiful game, and as patrons of the clubs we cherish we have a responsibility to act in a certain fashion. Of course it's not always possible to 'have a word' with someone, but if you can, do. Short of dobbing offenders in there's not too much more we can do than keep ourselves and those we know in check, but if enough of us made a serious effort perhaps some progress could be made.

The club might also want to send out a stronger message, both in terms of educating younger fans about the events and making those who should know better aware that there may be consequences for their actions. Some content on the website or through 'live4city' could be worth considering. It mightn't make a huge difference to the numbers of those who insist on the chanting now, but it could to future generations. Some sort of permanent memorial to Swift, also, as someone pointed out to me recently, might ensure that his death isn't at times conveniently forgotten in the name of 'banter'.