I'm pleased to say that ICE have given permission to reproduce the article here but please note that it is copyright to them:
"Footy frivolity. Surely not?
Is football’s Rouble revolution bringing fans closer to the big clubs or has it got people ‘Russian’ for the exits? ICE catches up with an ex-Chelsea fan building new bridges at Brentford’s Griffin Park. Take it away Mr Chelski…
It’s common knowledge that you should choose your football affiliations carefully – as the familiar terrace chant goes, once you start to support a club, you should support it till the day you die. Fans place a premium on loyalty and take pride from standing by their club through thick and thin.
But what of the strange tribe of people who “change” clubs? I’m not referring to those fickle school kids who briefly declare themselves Man U, Arsenal or Liverpool fans, just because these teams are glamourous and successful. We’re talking about proper, grown-up supporters who, after years of devoting themselves to a large club, decide in adulthood to switch allegiance to a less glamourous outfit.
I am one of those rare souls who has made such a journey. As a youth I was a true-blue Chelsea fan. I stood in the Shed for ten years, watching moderately talented players come and go, suffer relegation to the old second division and witness promotion back to the first, all in the surroundings of a ram-shackle Stamford Bridge.
Yet in the early-1990s there emerged a disturbing trend. The entrance prices began to creep up exponentially. Then came the influx of foreign journeymen. The terraces disappeared, too. Having returned to London from Manchester University in 1997, Chelsea had changed beyond recognition. It felt alien. It was as if the club I supported as a kid no longer existed.
Increasingly, I found myself going to Brentford matches. The Bees had always been my second team (I lived equidistant from the two grounds), and I’d go to with my mate John for an occasional laugh. At first it was a kind of ironic, wake-up-still-drunk-on-Saturday-morning type thing. But visits to Griffin Park gradually became more regular, and serious. I realised how much more fun it was. Okay, so the quality of play was dire, but it didn’t cost you an arm and a leg to get into the game, there were still terraces and you could stay in non-segregated pubs till five minutes to three. This was football as it should be.
Until recently I thought I’d merely swapped my first and second teams around. Yet seeing latest developments with Roman Abramovich and the fact that Chelsea fans are now being asked to cough a minimum of £40 for a seat, my affection has turned to contempt.
I am not the only one. ‘I too was a regular at Chelsea for around ten years. I now go to see Wycombe Wanderers’ says Tim, another Stamford Bridge exile. ‘It was around the 1999/2000 season I began to get increasingly disillusioned with the number of foreign players being brought to Stamford Bridge and the cost per day at the football potentially reaching up to £60 all in. The price of a season ticket at Adams Park is the same as about nine games at a premier club.’
Most football aficionados find the idea of changing sides absurd. A brief survey on rivals.net illustrated as much. ‘Call me old-fashioned, but I’ve always believed that you don’t choose a team to support, it chooses you. A bit like falling in love,’ wrote one Shrewsbury Town fan on the message board. Yet others are actually incandescent at the idea. ‘Can I get this absolutely right – you CHANGED your team? Changed it? CHANGED IT?’ screamed one Leeds fan. ‘You don’t have a choice – it starts with where you’re born.’
Football is about pain as well as pleasure. At the same time, those like myself are still treated with some suspicion. People always suspect a convert, perceiving his change of allegiance the symptom of mental imbalance or some kind of pretentious, attention-seeking gesture. To some Bees fans, I’m am still mockingly referred to as “Mr Chelski” and I know that no matter how many games I go
to I will always be known as the ‘ex-Chelsea’ supporter.
There is a price on loyalty. Literally it would seem. And football clubs are exploiting this. Following a club is not like buying a can of beans or a loaf of bread. Clubs know that supporters’ brand loyalty is extremely high, and that no matter how much they hike prices, the vast majority of supporters will never switch brands.
Well, call me disloyal, but don’t call me gullible. Chelsea fans will mutter helplessly, ‘What can you do?’ But most continue to pay through the nose anyway. I’ve decided that I’m not going to be another mug. Five years of supporting Brentford has given me some the most enjoyable days out since University. Their friendly fans are true eccentrics and I thank them for letting me see the light. This Mr Chelski now truly is Brentford till he dies."
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