When you think that it took such an awful thing for our fan base to realise that the Munich chants were wrong, what will it take for others fan bases to realise that things like this aren’t ok? You wouldn’t wish such an awful thing to happen to anyone else ever again, I just don’t see other fan bases changing. Look at Leeds, they tragically lost 2 fans in Turkey, but they still think it’s ok to chant vile stuff at us. I have a friend who supports Cardiff and when Leeds turned up to theirs they were belting out Aberfan chants in relation to a non related football disaster, I mean WTF.
I often think that the media and press is to blame. We were tarnished in the press for so many years and people believed it, it doesn’t matter if you’re innocent or guilty, mud sticks. We don’t need reminded how the scum portrayed us, but from what I remember with the Leeds fans in Turkey there was never any mention of them smashing up the shops and brawling, it was just about the stabbings. You can bet if that is Liverpool fans it would have been painted a different picture. Look at Barca away, one idiot throws a local in the fountain and that’s what’s plastered all over the press and labelled racists, doesn’t matter about the 1000’s other good natured fans.
It’s a sad state of affairs but others won’t change, as people have mentioned before when these vile chants are directed towards us, we just have to belt out YNWA to them as that pisses them off, it’s the best response that we can give. Some of our fans still need educated about this and to do away with the Munich chants etc.
It’s better to be the better person and not sink to the sewer levels of other fan bases.
I honestly don't think there is any excuse for any fanbase singing about death, grief, poverty etc in this day and age.
Everyone knows it's wrong. We live in different times now. We are are all more enlightened, whether we choose to act accordingly or not.
Personally, I don't think other fanbases will change at all. We changed because we were forced to by our own experience. It took a monumental, horrendous tragedy for that to happen though. We also live in an age of one-upmanship now, and people will use anything and everything they can to get in a dig and hurt others. In many ways, psychological and verbal violence has replaced physical violence.
Leeds are a strange one. They've always had a bad reputation. It's sad really, because I don't mind Leeds. The city is one of my favourite English cities. In the past I've had good conversations with Leeds fans online with lots of mutual respect for each others clubs. Sadly, they also have a fairly large element who simply cannot help themselves. They do seem stuck in a long-gone age. Maybe being away from the top table for so long doesn't help with that.
As far as how fans are perceived is concerned, well we are held to much higher standards than fans of other clubs. The smallest incident with Liverpool is blown up out of all proportion, whilst the antics of big groups of fans from many other clubs goes under the radar. By far the worst fanbase in the 70s was Man United. They were horrific. You'd never know it now though, as all their disgusting antics appear to have been airbrushed from history. They were absolute animals though. Feral savages with no redeeming qualities.
But no, I don't think much will change. The media ignore the worst culprits and turn a deaf ear to chants revelling in poverty, death, disaster and grief. I think the best our travelling support can do is stay aware that opposition are looking for reaction. They get off on our anger. We can deprive them of their buzz by simply singing about our own team and our own amazing history. There is no answer to that. The morons do not matter. They are pathetic throw-backs to darker times in history and are pretty sad when you think about it. Let them stew in their own pathetic bile and look and sound like the utter gobshites that they are.