Turkish

Last seasons dramtically labelled "Fight for Fourth" and the shots of Arsenals players and fans leaping around like they'd won the title summed up for me how dire football is now. These days finishing 4th is more hyped and considered more of an achievement than winning the FA Cup or the League cup. I found it utterly cringeworthy to be honest. Most footballers are tossers these day too, arrogant *****s with little regard for the fans or the clubs they play for. We are fortunately in that we have spoken out publicly about their love for the club, i'm not talking about the kissing shirt and PR trained sterile answers some players give, but the likes of Rickie Lambert talking with emotion after his England debut about how much we've done for him. Even new boy Lovern appears to love it here and when he talks about being happy you believe him. And that's before i even go into my favourite subjects of the terrible atmosphere, the amount of idiot fans seemily more interested in the match day experience and what the food is like that anything that may happen on the pitch. The obsession with attracting football tourists and the attention seeking crazy outfits and wacky behaviour and one of my biggest hates, all clubs singing the same songs. It certainly isn't the game i feel in love with and used to spend all my paper round money on in the late 80's and 90's. £2 to get in, bus fair in and out of town, a programme and a fanzine, then a can of coke from the news agents at the top of Milton Road. On the terrace the moment it opened, often stood in the freezing cold or p8ssing rain, the surge after a goal. No "matchday experience" wacky outifts, replica shirts and "look like a wotsit" chants in those days. Would i change it for how it is now? Not a chance.

You are of course right in what you say and that is the problem. It's spiraling out of control a situatuon when anyone could take anything as offensive, even if they dont actually see or hear it themselves. At the end of the day it should all come own to intent. If, like in this case, Tottenham fans are chanting "Yiddos" or "Yid Army" where is the offence in that? If however a group of fans start singing the "Spurs are on their way to auchwitz" Song, or stuff that is blatently anti semitic and meant to cause offence that that is fair enough. As for your case, it's not uncommon in the workplace, at a place i worked out years ago a lad was almost sacked and we all got given warnings when a black lad we worked with, who we were all mates with made a silly mistake, one lad called laughed and called him "A slack t*at" and we all laughed, unfortuantely he said it within earshot of a busy ***** who misheard and thought he had said "Black t*at" she went running to HR immediately to lodge a complaint that the black fella was being racially abused and by his team. 5 of us had to have an HR hearing about it and even though we were all totally innocent given warnings for our behaviour.

You'd have thought with all the anti semitism around which we have now been made aware of he'd have gone bust years ago.

Yep, those are definitely the choices. Sad isn't it that in this day and age people have to make those choices. As a person that fully supports gay people, i cannot help but feel revulsion that it has come to this. Not quite sure how anyone who is likeminded can support a world cup being played there and requires gay people to have to chose to attend it and if they do supress their way of life.

So they should have to suppress their natural instincts? Doesn't sound very fair to me. We all know gay people are quite flamboyant, it's part of what makes them so charming, I guess they should suppress that as well. What about gay players? Are you happy that they will be forced to work on conditions that they will find at best uncomfortable?

i think you'll find anyone like that will spend most of the world cup being beaten up in Qatar prisons

Oh sorry, i didn't think people had a choice if they were gay or not. Maybe they could all chose not to be gay during the world cup because the Qatar government dont like it. What do you mean by 'not advertise it'? Dont gays have a right to be affection with their partners just like anyone else? I'm sure by 2012 we'll have plenty more "out" gay footballers where they sexuality will be common knowledge. What are they to do?

So any visiting Jews will have to remove their Skull caps and gay people wont be able to touch their boyfriends or wear rainbow laces. I'm sure it'll be a great trip for them having to hide what they are for fear of being persecuted.

So you're happy for the world cup to be playing in a country where gay and Jewish fans could be arrested?

Pete? You talk like you and he are best mates. Are bet he's glad to have a fat, falied student call centre worker as a mate. Anyway, yes I agree with what you're saying. Seen him live a few times and he's very good, a really talented guy and very intelligent. SAdly he's a smack head but so many genuinely talented people are flawed.

Just you wait until we play the big teams.

I'm going to go with my 'Southampton Yids' flag, rainbow laced trainers and come off the plane swigging on a can of cider singing 'we are English we are here, **** your men and drink your beer'

Is that the sound of backtracking I can hear?

That won't go down well on here! Come on all of you who are offended on behalf of Jews, what have you got to say to that?!!

Well that seals it then. The great Hamilton Saint has spoken, no more discussion, no more examples of Jewish Spurs fans who call themsleves Yids. Hamilton Saint doesn't like it, therefore everyone else must toe the line.

You see I'm confused by what you think, perhaps you can help. On the one hand you say more countries should do what we do, whoever "we" is and that we are so superior to all these backward countries, because we respect other religions and cultures. Yet on the other hand you're saying that when we visit these countries we should do what we want because no one tells us what to do and if their culture is women dont wear miniskirts, tough sh*t, wear them anyway. Are you sure you know what you think?

What ever happened to sticks and stone will break my bones but names will never hurt me?

So you think when visiting a foreign country you should respect their customs and tradition, such as wearing appropriate attire?

Look mate, dont get all abusive because you've been shown up as a racist who hates muslims. Its not my fault you're a bigot.

ahh okay, so you consider yourself superior to muslims. Glad we cleared that up.

So you think our culture is superior to theirs?

SO what you're saying is you dont respect the culture of Saudi Arabi and similar countires and the way of life they have?

Never played it. Do you play it on the train on the way to your UAF meets?

So by your arrrogant attitude that "we" whoever that is, are superior to those muslims, are you not displaying a lack of respect and tolerance for their religion and culture?

So you think "we" whoever that is, are are better than those Mulsims?