GuyGermanLatic Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 (edited) I'm old enough to buy a beer but young enough to ask who Roger Palmer is. I've been brought up with a different generation than most fans I come across who support Latics - just to bring things into context. Recently St. Pauli won 3-0 against FSV Frankfurt ending a losing spell. Beneath a giant "St. Pauli gegen Rassismus" (St. Pauli against racism) flag, I sat down with a fellow fan for a beer and what lead to a long, long discussion. It got round to where I was from. I explained "I'm from Oldham and I'm a Latics fan. Really cold, fantastic half-time pies, always rains etc., etc." "Oh," he replies. Turns out he'd heard of us through the grape vine - mainly about the year 2001. He had a bad impression of English fans, and that's not surprising as the only thing that ever gets discussed is how traditional or racist we are - which he and everyone who doesn't have Suarez shirt knows. But it kind of made me wonder... Oldham is a town with a noticeable Asian community. I had the pleasure of getting my A-levels with some great people of that community and even sharing my love life (do behave). But when I go to watch Latics I see hardly any of that community - if not, none at all. And I think that's really, really, really :censored:e. Are we not good enough? Do we still have a bad reputation? Are our pies not good enough?! Discussing it briefly with a few mates in the past, they had the idea Latics had this connection and was still very "white" in terms of how the fans think. We have players of all backgrounds but does nobody think this is a bit of an issue? I'm not saying it's a problem, but what are the thoughts on this? In terms of the club as a business, this is a possible money gap or if you're into equality, this is a big gap in a small town. And if you're thinking "keep 'em out" then there's always Lazio for you lot. Edited March 4, 2013 by GuyGermanLatic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeslover Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 It's been asked before - my take is based on a thread I once did asking people how they started going. If it wasn't the dad, it was an uncle, or a brother, or mates from school who went with one of the above. That just isn't there with the Asian community. Add to that that some of them will feel (rightly or wrongly) that they won't be welcome and there you go. My dad never liked me going when I was a youngster because he thought of it as full of hooligans, I guess an Asian dad might be concerned about letting his lad go there today, bearing in mind it only takes one, not the whole ground, to be a moron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamjonesyyoafc Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 The Asian community traditionally seem to support the bigger clubs, United/Liverpool are the main ones I see around Oldham. I noticed quite alotat the fa cup games and a few at goodison too which is good. The community trust & kickz side of the club seems to be predominantly asian, so much so that the whole kickz team are asian I think. They may however think they could be vulnerable to abuse from 'less-educated' fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rudemedic Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 Mendi aka Royle Army is of Asian descent isn't he? Our Jewish owner and captain can't exactly be popular with some of the Asian community either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Latics and England Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 (edited) I think it is all about perception. The reality is that we do have a number of fans from various ethnic backgrounds but they are few and far between. I have never known any of them to receive abuse or be made to feel uncomfortable because of their ethnicity. They are few and far between though and part of this has to be because many people from the Asian community in Oldham do not believe that they will be welcome. I'm not sure what we can do about that. The club makes real efforts to attract this section of the town's residents. A large number of the free tickets that are handed out have always gone to schools that have predominently Asian intakes. As LL says the kids will only come back if their parents are interested enough to bring them. Sadly that doesn't seem to be the case. You seem to see a large number of Asian faces at United, Liverpool and Arsenal which suggests they are more interested in watching the bigger clubs. No idea why this is. Edited March 4, 2013 by Latics & England Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeslover Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 You seem to see a large number of Asian faces at United, Liverpool and Arsenal which suggests they are more interested in watching the bigger clubs. No idea why this is. A lot of these might be tourists though. Arsenal certainly attract every nationality in the world passing through London. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Wight Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 (edited) I go oldham sixth form and there's a large asian group there, and most of them who do like football support manchester teams, they wouldn't have been brought up supporting oldham because it is most likely that their parents or grandparents migrated here, and I doubt they would have chose oldham as their team when they did. I don't think I've actually heard of any of them actually going to the games. Most of the time when I hear them talking about it after a game is "did you watch the game" which strongly suggests they watched it on the TV, so in the end I think it's just more cases of armchair fans more than anything. Edited March 4, 2013 by Jack Wight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fyldelatic Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 (edited) I feel it isn't predominantly about racism or perceived racism among Latics fans, but the same reasons as why there are only 3-4000 home fans of any ethnicity in a town of 250,000. Most kids are brought up on a diet of saturation TV footballl coverage so they (armchair-)support big, glamorous clubs that play attractive, exciting football like United, City and Liverpool. Asian kids are no different from their white counterparts, hence you see them wearing united tops. The fact there were more Asian kids and parents when we played Liverpool or Everton bear this out. They came not so much to support Latics as to see Premier League stars in action right on their doosteps. If we get a new stand, and if we get promoted and start playing more attractive oppositions, I'm sure more will come through turnstiles, including Asians. Also historically, in the Indian subcontinent, the No 1 sport has been cricket and in UK there are still more Asians of all ages playing cricket in local leagues than football or rugby. Evidence the fanatical support for their touring team when they play England in tests, one-days and 20/20s. Other towns and cities with large Asian populations like Luton, Bradford, Blackburn, Leicester or Birmingham don't have significant Asian fanbase, though some perhaps do better than others. Edited March 5, 2013 by Fyldelatic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuyGermanLatic Posted March 5, 2013 Author Share Posted March 5, 2013 I expected these sort of replies, I guess. I wonder what the majority of fans think about it though. I can't imagine everyone would be so happy if more Asians were to attend - which is ridiculous. If a club in our situation isn't targeting the audience of Oldham to try and turn the tables then it's no wonder we have problems - and that's in general. Why haven't the clubs gone at this instead of just tagging onto the national campaigns and sticking an orange sign behind the advertising boards nobody reads? Our Jewish owner and captain can't exactly be popular with some of the Asian community either. I honestly didn't know that. I can't imagine that hardly known fact is a deterrent. Unless he has "IDF 4 LIFE" tattooed on his arse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
owdumer Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 At the Liverpool game I remarked on how many Asian faces there were in the Chaddy end ,however when we scored not one in our vicinity reacted at all which rather supports the theory that only the big teams seem to attract their support. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamjonesyyoafc Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 I used to bring my friend 'Atta' to Latics games, he seemed to enjoy it in parts but he was predominantly a United fan and didn't enjoy the :censored:e served up at some home games. In fact, I think his favourite aspect of coming to matches was the Cheese and Potato pies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BP1960 Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Cricket is still the major sport I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slystallone Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Made a friend for life at Uni, an Asian lad from Royton, and he used to come to come to games with us.......until a moronic woman, one of our fans, away at Grimsby * racially abused him. He stopped going after that, rather unsurprisingly. He was talking of getting a ST with us the following season too. He now just checks the results on TV, and didn't even want to make a re-appearance for the Liverpool or Everton games this season. I would guess every club has them.....but I have to say I doubt many of the Asian community will be falling over themselves to come to games, when there's still a decent section of the fan base who will make them feel the exact opposite of welcome. .* the Zola and Cooksey 3-3 game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opinions4u Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Which lower league clubs have successfully attracted Asian football supporters? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rudemedic Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Which lower league clubs have successfully attracted Asian football supporters? There was a thing about Bradford doing OK at this, possibly because there was a woman in a hijab (if that's the right version) on telly at Villa in their cup run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magic Mikey Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Asians don't like drums. FACT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longtimeblue Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 The Asian community in Oldham is quite insular anyway. Don't know the broader reasons behind it but I don't think it's the club's, or the fan's, fault that we've not managed to attract the community in great numbers. There's unfortunately a divide and the problem's more town than football related. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
De_La_Vega Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Two incidents spring to mind, one being at Liverpool and the other amusingly at Charlton after Philip Morris equalised. Against Liverpool vwhen walking to the Grey Mare there were a group of Latics fans out for a scrap, and one of them was screaming abuse at three young Asian lads. Mainly because he said they were supporting Liverpool, but then he called.them "you c*nts" which wasn't great. If I were them I wouldn't be back... As for Charlton there was an Asian lad with his missus(?) In front of us, and when we equalised my brother managed to belt him and send his glasses flying! Accident, but there you go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsslatic Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 (edited) I honestly didn't know that. I can't imagine that hardly known fact is a deterrent. Unless he has "IDF 4 LIFE" tattooed on his arse. I would be amazed if that had anything to do with it and, if it did, then those who aren't turning up for that reason are just as unwelcome as anybody who would make an Asian feel unwelcome at BP. And there is of course a difference between being Jewish and being Israeli but that's an argument for another thread Edited March 5, 2013 by jsslatic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
palmer1 Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 (edited) 8 or so asian lads sat on the row in front of me at Goodison for the first half, 6 of them were no where to be seen in the 2nd half I never heard or saw anything but my mate who I was with said they took dogs abuse! cant blame them for not comeing back for the 2nd half. He did say he heard nothing racist but that some lads abused them because they where not jumping up and down and singing like the majority - at least thats what they where saying but they didnt target the people around them doing the same Edited March 5, 2013 by palmer1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diego_Sideburns Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 ...I wonder what the majority of fans think about it though. I can't imagine everyone would be so happy if more Asians were to attend - which is ridiculous. It certainly seems ridiculous to me. Why would anyone be unhappy if more Asians were to attend? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4froale Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 I think the town still has a big racial tension following on from the oldham riots. You still here reports of asians attacking white's after nights out and vica versa and tbh I really can't see it changing, no matter how hard the council try. Its a shame as it could attract a lot more fans to boundary park but I think the damage has already been done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diego_Sideburns Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 When the first Planning Committee meeting was held in 2008 (the applications were deferred), supporters were adsvised on the OS to attend, but not wear colours. The attitude at that time was to appear like 'normal' people, rather than our perceived underclass. I went along looking rather smart and wearing a Latics tie. When we got there, it was impossible to distinguish, from the clothes worn, between supporters of the applications and objectors. That is except for one Latics supporter who wore his shirt proudly. He was on his own and we went over to talk to him. He realised the seriousness of the situation regarding the planning applications and was just as much a supporter of the Club as we were. We still talk to him whenever we see him and he is a regular Chaddy Ender. Oh, sorry, I forgot to say he's from the Asian community. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vivache Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 I'm a mixed race (Barbados/Oldham) season ticket holder and sit bottom right of the main stand and usually I only ever see one other black fan (think he's a disabled lad) for the Everton game there were about 8-10 Asian lads infront of us, all involved in the game chatting to everyone and I saw a few other Asian fans dotted around, did think it was nice to see some diversity in the crowd. I started going late 80s cos mates and family went and also our PE teacher took the football team to a game (it pissed it down we got hammered - set me up for a lifetime of support)I've been fine in terms of abuse directed at me (always been a big lad though so don't usually get any bother) but in terms of if I was Asian, don't know if I'd bother sometimes as have still heard the 'townfull of P***s/ rather be a P*** than a C***' chants and if that was me I wouldn't come again as you can feel a bit embarassed complaining, I got stick for questioning the Adeyemi abuse at the time from a Liverpool mate who said he should've 'manned up'. That seems to be the line that the FA (or others) take in that - it doesn't happen anymore /if it does it's banter/ if it is worse than that lip service is paid but don't rock the boat.Don't think the problem is all about that though as it can be a generational, cultural and society thing too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monty Burns Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 Firstly, I always thought Asia was Japan and all them lot but nevermind. Secondly, 'our Asians' are mostly Muslim Pakistanis and Bangladeshis. If you dont understand why a Pakistani Muslim doesnt come to football then thats probably why you are posting in this thread in a bemused manner. Thirdly, our owner(s) are Jewish. See secondly. Fourthly, Theyre all saving up for some new alloys innit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.