The Premier League takes pride in its melting pot of nationalities, but don't expect stars like Pep Guardiola to hand in their cultural identities with their passports at Heathrow - 5 POINTS

  • The FA could have had a more proactive path on Pep Guardiola's yellow ribbon
  • Serge Aurier has not impressed as Tottenham's alternative to Kieran Trippier
  • Jose Mourinho is pragmatic and can build a team to rival Manchester City 

While I accept that you are a Remainer and that you think you are always right, you are wrong about the 48 per cent needing to have their views listened to when, if the result had been reversed, do you think the views of Brexit supporters would have been taken into consideration? European Union rules would not have permitted it. And there is the real problem. Keep politics off your sports column. Mktandhs, Sheerness.

Just because they lost the vote doesn’t make them any less real. That was the point I think. KJM, Geneva.

In a nutshell, KJM. We’ll get onto the tyranny of real later in the column, but I would first like to pick our poster from Sheerness up about one point. The reason I mentioned the 48 per cent, is because we are being told that 52 per cent is the voice of Britain when, as anyone can see, it is rather a small majority and the country is significantly divided. Indeed, it is such a small majority, that those were precisely the numbers – a 52/48 split – that a certain politician used to illustrate the type of defeat that would necessitate a second vote or at least a continuation of the debate. He imagined his side losing, closely, and told the Daily Mirror: “In a 52-48 referendum this would be unfinished business by a long way.” That politician’s name? Nigel Farage. So let’s not pretend that the Leave campaign would not be agitating exactly the same way as Remain is now, in similar circumstances, or that they would not deserve a voice, or that I should keep politics out of this, or any, column. Because, Mktandhs, I actually read up on it. And if you wish to pronounce on it in such a condescending way, you should do the same. Five points up next, when we will be turning the clock back to 2011. As does this.


Point one: some old views, revisited, reconsidered, reappraised.

Totally agree with the criticism of the Football Association – it was stupid to allow the poppies on the pitch. They have certainly become a political symbol, but didn't the Daily Mail pressurise the FA to allow them in the first place? Courlis, Manchester.

Yes, Martin Samuel himself, in a 2011 article, implored the FA to defy FIFA's ban. Ian, Swansea.

I just read the article from 2011. It’s actually good. Would be interesting to see if Martin responds to your comment in the debate because you can not only see a changing of opinion but also a difference in writing styles. Richard, Northamptonshire.

Well, if we would all like to get on the same page, you can read that column, from November 9, 2011, here. The style hasn’t changed, Richard, but it was probably the last time I wrote from this standpoint. I have increasingly come to believe that club crests and commercial logos are all that should be worn on football shirts. I’m not losing sleep over it, but I have changed my mind. 

I didn’t see the problem with poppies in 2011, while the argument remained nuanced and concerned personal freedom. Once it moved to the dogmatic, with alternative views silenced, once it became something that had to be done, rather than something we had a choice to do – that was when I began to see problems, and deserted this argument. 

FA chief Glenn believes that poppies 'are not political symbols, that yellow ribbon is' 

Premier League football teams have worn poppies emblazoned on their shirts before

Re-reading the column I can see a number of other things, too: I see a writer who does not support the stance of his newspaper in demanding football teams wear the poppy, but does not wish to cause embarrassment by stridently opposing the campaign, so is a little on the fence; I see me edging, gently, towards my present stance, beginning to see the poppy as another symbol in our modern desire for demonstrative mourning; I see someone who has only contempt for FIFA, which endures; and I see someone who feels strongly about national sport, that it should remain distinct and different, and be embraced for that. And that view hasn’t changed either. 

I also dug out columns I wrote about poppies and remembrance for this newspaper outside the sports pages in 2009 and 2010 and both argued strongly that it was the choice of the individual – also, that it shouldn’t be a fashion accessory, as this was the time expensive poppy broaches were beginning to appear. By 2015, I reckon I was where I am now: able to see both sides, but increasingly sceptical about the relationship football has with remembrance, feeling the personal has been made into a public show, turning it almost into a festive season, with services starting in October, diluting impact. 

At least this shows that, when some on here claim I never change my mind, this isn’t true. My thoughts on various subjects continue to evolve. I still don’t see the harm of a poppy armband, worn by individuals, on Remembrance Day. A lonely, understated gesture, with real meaning. I don’t like what it has become: demonstrative, showy, unquestioning, a command. So while I don’t stand by everything I wrote back then, but I certainly stand by the sentiment in the final line of the 2011 column. ‘People died for our freedom; and that certainly includes the freedom to say no…’ 

And now, onwards to 2018.

Point two: about tying yellow ribbons.

I can’t wait for James McClean to proudly wear his Easter Lily. MM, Newry.

Indeed. And those who do so also claim it as a symbol of remembrance. It just so happens that it commemorates those who died in or were executed after the Easter Uprising of 1916, and was latterly associated with terrorism. Its wearers will argue those men died fighting for freedom just as British soldiers did in their foreign wars. As I have said on this subject before, Japan’s war memorial shrine contains the names of 14 people we consider Class A war criminals. Remembrance is not as simple an issue as we make out.

Take Pep Guardiola out of the equation for a second. How dare anyone have the audacity to try to compare the poppy with the yellow ribbon. The ribbon is a political statement and signifies unrest. The poppy is remembering the death of all servicemen and women during the world war and is a sign of peace. The two are polar opposites. Big Nose Bert, Manchester.

Only in your interpretation, Bert. While I do feel the poppy and yellow ribbon are different, the poppy is not limited to the dead of world wars; it commemorates, in the Royal British Legion’s own words, ‘the Armed Forces community, past and present’. Here is their explanation. ‘By wearing a poppy, you aren’t just remembering the fallen: you’re supporting a new generation of veterans and service personnel that need our support.’ And, Bert, you may consider that a noble cause and so will a lot of people; but these wars, particularly those in the Middle East, cannot be divorced from the political. 

You cannot argue that the poppy has no connection to unrest when it implies support for soldiers serving in the Gulf. Not everyone agrees with those wars, and certainly they have had little connection with peace. I understand what it means to you, Bert, but if that isn’t what the Royal British Legion says it means, then we can’t take your individual interpretation to divorce it from politics, or even yellow ribbons.

Pep Guardiola has an FA charge for making a political statement by wearing a yellow ribbon

Pep Guardiola has an FA charge for making a political statement by wearing a yellow ribbon

Condoning a flagrant disregard for written rules will make the Football Association look weak and inept. I'm on neither side but I think Guardiola is overdoing it. You can't keep stepping on toes just because you're an exceptional manager. I also totally disagree with the notion that the FA should put up with his disregard for their rules just so that it doesn’t end up pushing him out. Is he expecting a pat on the back? He is not doing the Premier League a favour by being the manager of Manchester City. If he quits, it will be because he wants another challenge, as he has done before. Rilycks Rankin, Nigeria.

I don’t disagree, I simply think from the FA’s perspective there could have been a less controversial, negotiated path, or one that was proactive, not reactive, acknowledging that the poppy win over FIFA would in time impact on their own rulebook. I also feel that, if all else fails, and Guardiola is facing bans from the touchline that would damage his professional impact, it would not be wrong of Manchester City to remind him of his duties as an employee. 

Ultimately, they pay him to manage their football team and he knew the rules of engagement when he took the job. If a personal stance is negatively affecting his ability to work, they would be fully entitled to confront him on it. Looking at the league table, I would imagine they would look for a peaceable solution before it got to that, though.

I watch football. I’m not interested in attending political rallies. Why are Manchester City fans now wearing a yellow ribbon? Peej, Manchester.

The Football Association has just ensured that each Manchester City game will be a sea of yellow ribbons. We wore them in thousands on Sunday. Preacher John, Sheffield.

Yes, but as Peej asked, why? If it is purely in support of Pep Guardiola, then you might wish to look at the Catalan independence issue as a whole, rather than the aspect of it that simply aligns you with a successful manager of your team. It is a vastly complex issue with historical as well as modern economic and nationalist issues to consider, but here is one tiny thread to tug at to get you started. 

Critics of the Catalan independence movement argue that this is largely a middle class revolt. Catalonia is very prosperous, with good industry and a strong financial sector. Those doing well think the central state misuses their tax money and would rather keep it for their own purposes in the region. They may have a point. I’m not a Spanish taxpayer, I do not know enough about Spanish government efficiency to say. 

I do think, however, that an independence movement that has considerably more support among the middle strata of society than in working class areas – and this is true in Barcelona – may not be the glorious uprising of the downtrodden that is imagined among City’s faithful. Let’s say London wanted independence because too much of its tax revenue was being wasted on projects in the north. I don’t see anyone at City wearing a ribbon for that. 

And now a musical interlude that the more Fall-centric of you will have seen coming a mile off. Gone but never forgotten.

You are missing one vital point. This is England. If Holland want to ban English players from wearing poppies then go for it, but are we not allowed to have a national identity? Why connect paying our respects to people who paid with their lives decades ago, to taking sides in a present day fall out in a country on the verge of civil war? Darthtater, Simonstone.

As established, Darth, the poppy is not solely about remembrance of generations past, but very much of the moment. As for this being England – the Premier League takes pride in its melting pot, cosmopolitan nature. With so many nationalities not just welcomed but encouraged, we can hardly expect them to hand in their cultural identities with their passports at Heathrow.

Political or not, the poppy has really lost its use as a sign of remembrance. It is now proof of how much you love your country, much like the yellow ribbon. Meaning neither are required in football. ParanoidisAndroid, Leeds.

At Wembley last Sunday, I was in Costa, whiling away time before the media gate opened. A guy asked if I was using the other chair at the table. Normal guy, but I noticed he was wearing a tiny, metal poppy on his lapel. It’s February. What’s that about? I’m not saying he was harming anyone, he probably feels that we should always remember, not just one day a year but every day, and I get that. He is perfectly entitled to his standpoint. 

But if every day is remembrance day, then no day is remembrance day, because the power and meaning of the gesture is diluted. If a poppy is permanently attached to your outer layer of clothing, how much do you really think about putting it on? Please don’t think I am judging him. These are just my questions, because I consider these subjects constantly. I respect his right to wear what he likes, when he likes – but I also see PA’s point that these decisions are changing meaning, making the poppy as much about patriotism as remembrance.

Guardiola is a total hypocrite. He is an ambassador for the Qatar World Cup, taking their cash when we all know about the injustices in the country, as well as the mistreatment of the stadium workers. FIFA and UEFA, along with Guardiola, have legitimised regimes such as of Qatar. Guardiola then takes the coin of the United Arab Emirates – one of the top ten human rights abusers in the world. Guardiola would be imprisoned in the UAE for making political statements. Whinger, London.

‘It is what it is,’ when asked about these ethical anomalies was certainly an unimpressive answer. I won’t try to justify either regime, although I find Qatar’s links to terrorism the most troubling aspect of all, and the UAE seems to be on the right side of that argument. 

Equally, there are attempts in most gulf countries to modernise, to allow greater freedom and tolerance, but it will take time – just as it did here. We didn’t become a modern, western democracy overnight, either. No-one does – but sport is one of the areas we hope will help countries open up. Worth remembering too, that the portfolio of the Abu Dhabi Investment Group does not stop at Manchester City, so Guardiola is not alone in benefitting from links to the country. 

Now consider China, Russia, Qatar. It would be quite a line if every British resident, or British person, employed or linked to a troubling authoritarian regime, had to justify his position.

Regarding rainbow laces, since when was sexuality political? Glennjo95, Londonderry.

Try being gay in Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, Cameroon, Chad, Kenya, Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia or Zimbabwe – and that’s just the African continent – and you’ll find out.

Football teams have hijacked the poppy to make headlines and make themselves look good in the media. All the furore yet until the 1990s no-one did it: does that mean they didn't care all those years? It would be better if they had kept it separate. Macca123us, Aberdeen.

I agree. Generations of footballers that had actually lost team-mates did not wear a poppy to play. Yet remembrance meant more in those times when 11am on November 11 had a power that is increasingly lost.

Point three: Alas, Serge Aurier.

Aurier is a liability. Why didn’t Mauricio Pochettino rotate Kieran Trippier with Kyle Walker-Peters this season? The Voice of Reason, England.

Pochettino sees these guys in training so I can only presume Walker-Peters hasn’t looked ready. He did in his cameo on Wednesday night, though, and I fail to see how he can have looked quite as callow as a man who committed three foul throws in the same match and who simply hacked at Douglas Costa in the match with Juventus, conceding a foolish penalty. I think having spent the money Pochettino simply has to use Aurier as the alternative to Trippier – because little about his performances justifies that place.

Serge Aurier fouled Douglas Costa and conceded a penalty when Tottenham played Juventus

Serge Aurier fouled Douglas Costa and conceded a penalty when Tottenham played Juventus

Point four: real fans, real protests, Bill Hicks and Alexis de Tocqueville. Say what you like about this column, but we’re not dumbing down.

When was the last time you actually paid to watch a game of football, Martin? You don't seem to understand that for us it is not so much about 22 players running around on a pitch but about community. Karren Brady, David Gold & David Sullivan have ripped that community apart in the name of nothing more than sheer corporate greed. The march will go ahead on March 10 and we will make our feelings known. It’s easy to sell your soul, but unfortunately not so easy to get it back. Bkem, London.

If it is only about community, why does everyone go nuts when West Ham lose, and walk out? They did at Upton Park, too, no matter the rose-tinted memories. The community isn’t affected by the result. The same people are all there. Might it be that West Ham fans, like all fans, also want a decent team and winning football. Yes? Well, that’s what the board was trying to deliver by moving to the new stadium. Bigger gates, bigger revenue streams, more money, better players. They haven’t handled it well. The investment, once sales are taken into account, is not as promised. But the move was an attempt to grow as all of their London rivals have grown; to avoid being left behind. 

As for me, February 10 was the last time I paid to watch a game. March 10 will be the next time. As I explained in this column several weeks ago, I’m a West Ham season ticket holder, but I work weekends and midweeks, so I give the ticket to one of my boys. One day, when I retire, I’ll be able to go as a fan again. And that’s my point. You presumed to speak for me, for what I would want out of West Ham. But there is no uniformity of opinion. 

I know West Ham fans who were furious that the team lost to Wigan in the FA Cup, others who thought it was the best thing that could have happened because it meant focusing on staying in the league. I don’t consider either view more authentic. Same with selling Dimitri Payet. Some fans upset, others couldn’t wait to get rid of him. So who’s real in that argument? It’s a far wider debate than just a local disagreement about West Ham, though. So here’s Bill Hicks talking test audiences, polarised viewpoints and the film, Basic Instinct. But wait. This contains very adult themes, very adult language and is very much for open-minded adults only. Please do not click if you are likely to be offended, or have ears.

There are no Newcastle fans who think Mike Ashley is doing a sound job. If there are then they aren’t the real fans. We are often told, mainly by the southern press, that we should be grateful Ashley pays the bills. Why? He bought it, he is responsible for it, paying the bills is the least I expect. Staying up is far from guaranteed, and if we do make it be assured it will have had nothing at all to do with Ashley. CC72, Newcastle Upon Tyne.

And proving the point here is CC, who presumes to speak for all Newcastle fans on the grounds that anyone who challenges him isn’t real. And yet, when I write about Newcastle, there isn’t a uniformity of opinion below the line, and when I went on a Chronicle article and read the comments to further gauge opinion of the proposed Amanda Staveley takeover, I noted that it had far from universal approval either. As I said in the column, those making the case for Ashley in Newcastle will not be plentiful, but they will not be wholly absent either – and it doesn’t make them less real.

David Sullivan and David Gold have always claimed to be West Ham fans. The ‘Real West Ham fans’ Group’ is a message to them. How does a Hammers fan not know that, Martin Samuel? KAlN, United Kingdom.

Because I’m not a real fan, that’s the implication, isn’t it? And, again, it sort of proves the point. Yet my brother didn’t read it that way, either, and he has three season tickets, and his boys didn’t, and my boys didn’t, and my dad who has been going since just after the war didn’t, and my mate who is also a season ticket holder didn’t, either. So if the Real West Ham Fans name was purely a message to the board, it wasn’t a very clear one. 

And, by the way: when I started going more than 40 years ago, I didn’t know anyone who made that silly crossed arms ‘Hammers’ gesture, or called it the Boleyn Ground instead of Upton Park. Yet a lot of fans now do. Does that make them less real, or me less real – or should we stop labelling each other with fake tests of authenticity, and agree that we’d all pretty much like the same thing, even if we disagree on how we get there.

West Ham's move to the London Stadium is yet to be the success many fans hoped it would

West Ham's move to the London Stadium is yet to be the success many fans hoped it would

Gold and Sullivan wanted to change the name to London FC. AN74, Royston.

Actually, that’s just a lie. This rumour took hold around the time the badge was being redesigned, but London was only ever intended to feature on the new emblem. There was no question of West Ham being renamed. 

Here’s Sullivan, from a 2014 interview in the Daily Mirror. 'Demographically, we are the only club in east London and Essex – there is actually an argument that we should put ‘East London’ on the badge, but we’ve gone for ‘London' because, internationally, we want people to know that we are a top London club. I wouldn't change the name of the club, because I am a traditionalist. We will always be West Ham United FC. It will just be a big 'West Ham United' on the badge and a small ‘London’ underneath.'

One of my lads did his graphic design dissertation on the crest redesign projects at West Ham and Manchester City, and he found a lot of West Ham fans would have preferred East London. But if the board are trying to grow the club internationally, that makes it appear very parochial. So I can see why they put London on there, to raise awareness that this is a club from London’s capital. I’m not sure people beyond this country actually know that – like discovering that Rayo Vallecano are actually another club from Madrid. And I know that none of this matters to fans, but staying competitive does, and that means competing in the market place to compete on the pitch – however alien that may feel.

The other evening, I was in the away end at The Den watching Sheffield Wednesday lose to Millwall. Just before they scored their second goal, our defender mistimed a sliding challenge and went down injured. There was a 13-minute delay as a result. As the goal went in, a bloke near me started shouting abuse at our injured player, screaming ‘I’m a real fan Glenn Loovens, you’re rubbish! Get up, you’re just embarrassed!’ He kept up his real fan rant for a few minutes getting more abusive and irate, berating our captain. The player who mistimed the tackle and was injured, was actually Jordan Thorniley. My experience is that ‘real fans’ don’t know any more or less than the fans they look down on. Michael, Watford.

Brilliant, Michael. I think we all recognise that. The guy who spends the whole match berating his own supporters for not singing, then looks at his watch and leaves ten minutes before the end. I can remember coming home from an England friendly in Austria in 2007, standing in a check-in queue with some lads who had been to the game the night before. They were slaughtering Steve McClaren. 

I said he hadn’t done the best job, but he got no luck. Wayne Rooney was already out of the qualifier with Croatia, and now he’d lost Michael Owen. What’s wrong with Owen, they asked. England’s main striker had gone off injured after 34 minutes. 'Oh, we must have missed that,' one said. 'We were a bit pissed.'

This march is for the fans to show the board that we are fed up with all the lies and the botched stadium move. We were promised a world class team with a world class stadium. This is possibly the worst football ground in the country, the seats are held together with temporary scaffolding, with embarrassing gaps between tiers. A fake poll regarding the badge stuck the word ‘London’ on it just for tourists, and they lied about redeveloping Upton Park, stating we had the plans rejected by the council when in actual fact they were approved and can be seen online. Our club died when we left Upton Park. All for money, our owners saw a club in trouble financially, bought for a cut price, moved to a rented soulless bowl, and will sell in five or ten years to make a mint. So the real fans are standing up for what is right. ComeOnYouIrons, Essex.

Yes, but what are you going to do? Upton Park is gone now. Have the march, but it needs to come backed with proper, achievable ideas, not memories of a set of plans lodged with Newham Council by a previous regime. Personally, my ideal would be to buy the ground and start redeveloping it as a football stadium, but I don’t know if the lease allows it, or it can be negotiated, or what the costs would be. And if the board did that to keep the fans happy, but the costs were such no money could be spent improving the team, would there still be all this talk of community as a priority – or would you continue wanting the world class team, too? 

I can’t buy into the idea that West Ham are dead. West Ham is still West Ham. It’s just not perfect right now. Arsenal have a world class stadium, but haven’t won the league since moving there. Some fans would rather be back at Highbury and be successful, I’m sure. Yet had Arsenal stayed put they could never have maintained success anyway, because they wouldn’t have been able to compete with the revenues of their rivals. So modern football is hugely complicated and there is no one solution: meaning no answer is more real, or authentic.

There are many Newcastle fans unhappy with Mike Ashley's ownership of the club

There are many Newcastle fans unhappy with Mike Ashley's ownership of the club

Martin Samuel just does not get it. Newcastle fans are real fans. Name me any current Premier League team who would sell out 52,000 against Ipswich at home in the Championship. You would struggle. Newcastle fans stick with their team through thick and thin despite having nothing to shout about over the last 20 years. Manchester City cannot fill their stadium. Chelsea fans call for the sacking of a manager who won them the title. Manchester United fans are tourists or 1990s born glory supporters. West Ham fans are petulant and violent. I will be waiting for you to name some teams with fans that match those of Newcastle who live purely for football. Jay94, Leicester.

Here that whooshing noise, Jay? That was the point flying over your head, at 100 miles per hour. All fans who go are real supporters of their team, and just as special as yours. Newcastle were top of the Championship getting 52,000 against Ipswich. I think a few teams would do that now, fill the house if top of the league, certainly many of those you mentioned. 

Manchester United, for instance, who have always had high attendances. Manchester City got excellent crowds, even in the third tier, and the Etihad looks full whenever I go there. Chelsea fans are completely behind Antonio Conte by the way, and not all West Ham supporters are petulant and violent. But if you want to believe you are special, you probably are. The rest of us will stay as we are. Here’s some special Geordies with a song that’s about something else entirely, but the title sounds appropriate.

Without speaking for them I think West Ham’s fans want to highlight the difference between the traditional support and the new type of fan that is going to games now. At Tottenham we’re starting to get the idiots who want to make themselves famous on Youtube and spend the whole game filming themselves rather than watching the action. They go round calling themselves super fans but then are nowhere to be seen when we play Swansea away on a Tuesday. We also get a lot of tourists, which is understandable with the popularity of English football across the world. Maxj, London.

Max, you have my sympathy. We even get it in the press box now, people standing up during the match to film themselves with the action in the background; particularly at World Cups where some press men can get a little excitable. I can see how annoying it must be for a fan who has bought a ticket and is surrounded by tourists. 

My lot were next to a guy from China at the West Ham-Tottenham game who had bought on the black market and was over with his mates to watch his team, Arsenal, who were playing on the Monday night. He kept shouting ‘Arsenal’. One of my lads explained that if he continued it at a West Ham-Spurs game, 50,000 people were going to punch him at once. Then again, he’s come all the way from China just to watch the Premier League. Can’t say he’s not a fan really, can we?

Martin, I have been following Chelsea from India for the last 13 years. I have never attended any of their matches in a stadium, but I do watch the majority of their matches on TV. I regularly read about them on the Chelsea website, I have seen the highs and lows, I wept when John Terry missed his penalty in 2008 and leapt in joy when Didier Drogba converted his in 2012 – all seen live on TV. I was furious when our players downed tools in 2016 leaving Jose Mourinho high and dry. I have also bought Chelsea merchandise several times and felt proud to wear the blue shirt. Can I be termed as a real fan of Chelsea? Yusuf8187, Mumbai.

Absolutely. But the context of the original article was about two sets of fans in the stadium, with one side judging the authenticity of the other for holding different views. I wasn’t writing about supporters overseas. That’s a completely different type of real.

'If you go, if you pay, you're real enough.' Let’s expand on this a little, Martin. If you buy your team's kit or merchandise, you are a real fan. If you subscribe to pay-TV to watch your team, you are a real fan. Not everyone has the luxury or geographic convenience of watching their team in a stadium, but they are still fans nonetheless. Without the contribution of non-attending fans, the Premier League wouldn’t be where it is right now. The only reason Sky and BT can afford to pay billions in broadcasting rights is because of the demand for cross-licensing with regional providers from non-attending fans. Rugrats, Huyton.

'If you go, if you pay, you're real enough.' That statement doesn't necessarily exclude the other groups you talk about from being fans and it really wasn’t the point. The article wasn’t a top trumps of fans, with one set being more real, more relevant and more correct in their opinion. Dave H, London.

Exactly. I simply wanted to make a distinction between groups in the stadium, and those who might feel their authenticity was being questioned, simply for not holding the majority view. It wasn’t an attack on those who couldn’t afford to go, those who work Saturdays, or those who live at opposite ends of the country to their team. Although I will say I have a soft spot for the attendees because they are the ones who dedicate the most time to it.

What was it Alexis de Tocqueville pointed out as being the biggest problem in 19th century America? The tyranny of the majority – as it will always tend to believe it is infallible and identify its interests with those of society as a whole. Soon as the majority makes up its mind about something, it silences opinion. Shades of this in the Brexit debate, seeing as you mentioned it, with Leavers telling Remainers to quit moaning and go back to their corners, and indeed in the West Ham or Newcastle examples you give here. Not very encouraging, to say the least. ArdiJanjeva, London.

Democracy in America, volumes I and II, if you’re interested, folks. Written between 1835 and 1840 and now regarded as one of the first significant modern contributions to sociology and political science. De Tocqueville was a French diplomat, who travelled widely through early 19th century America. ‘Life is to be entered upon with courage,’ he wrote. You can spend ten years on Twitter and never find anything as simply profound as that.

Your biggest issue is the name of the fans group? Is that it? Not the fact that the club has been mismanaged for years? Not the fact that the current asset stripping is going unchallenged? Not the fact that our transfer strategy appears to be based on FIFA 2009? Not the fact that the athletics stadium is fit only for athletics? The fans group name, right. Saltyseadog, England.

Well, no, because I’ve written about the rest of it. The new stadium, the dismal transfer policies, the infighting, the undermining of managers, the sale of Payet – all subjects covered in various columns, and all topics that divide opinion. Hence my consideration of real fans in this column.

Point five: an obligatory Manchester United bit, to feed the conspiracy theorists who believe we’re in the pay of a shadowy cabal to include them.

Manchester United have far less of a player problem than a manager problem. I like Mourinho but he’s not a proper fit, long-term United manager. There is no way a team that has Paul Pogba, Alexis Sanchez, Anthony Martial, Juan Mata, Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard and Ander Herrera should be struggling this much in attack. Watching United is painful, the slow, timid, cautious, predictable football is becoming harder to defend and much harder to logically blame on Pogba. I can excuse a safety first approach against Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich or Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League knockout stage – but against Sevilla who are sixth in La Liga, against Newcastle or Burnley? That's unpardonable. Pogba is not our problem. Alexis Number Seven, United Kingdom.

This was posted the day after the Sevilla game, so before that very important win over Chelsea. I agree that United have a strong squad, particularly going forward and perhaps that should be better reflected in their play, but I don’t think United are anywhere near as negative as their critics claim. Mourinho is not cavalier, but he is not defensive either. He is pragmatic, which is very different. 

Anyway, the club knew what it was getting with Mourinho and I don’t see a change in the summer as any solution. Let him build the team as he wants, and I feel he will challenge Manchester City, just as he challenged Barcelona with Real Madrid. No, it does not look good by comparison right now – but I see it continuing to improve with time. 

And that’s all for this week. I’ve just clicked my random tune generator and it’s come up with this. It means Driving, Driving, Driving, in Welsh, as I understand. Marvellous. Until next time.

 

 

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