Blue Is The Colour: April 2012

Even the most dyed in the wool, one-eyed, biased, blind to all Chelsea fans found themselves agreeing with Roberto Martinez yesterday. Branislav Ivanovic’s 61^st minute goal was clearly offside; it was so offside that there can only have been two people in Stamford Bridge who missed it; the referee and his assistant. This was not a marginal, hard to make call; there was clear daylight.

As a Chelsea supporter, I’m not going to lose sleep over a goal which kept us in the hunt for 4^th place but that does not stop me sympathising with Wigan. What interests me in this matter is what the FA will choose to do.

In the past, whenever a manager speaks out against poor refereeing decisions they have ignored the mistakes and instead fined the manager. But if they now treat Martinez the same way they will be fining a manager doing nothing more than speaking the truth; a truth even the opposition concede.

But if they don’t fine Martinez then what does that say of their treatment of other managers fined for honest comments following other, albeit more marginal, refereeing errors?

I have no sympathy for the FA; this is a quandary of their own making. Their mismanagement of the national game has long since passed farcical. That mismanagement continues to unjustly fine managers and players and leave the people who fund the sport (us fans) angry, bitter and frequently bemused.

We, the fans, have it within our power to change all this. We, the fans, must start boycotting the FA and their sponsors. If we don’t, we, the fans, will end up with the sport we deserve.

Let the FA, the media and everyone else know that you do not approve of the continuing mismanagement of the national sport, use the hashtag #NotMyFA on Twitter and encourage other right minded fans of all clubs to do the same.

Of course, you don’t have to join me. Just remember though that next time the FA pisses you off – don’t come bitching to me. We, the fans, have the chance to change things. Let’s do it!

#NotMyFA

KTBFFH

Read more on #NotMyFA here:

The FA – It’s Time For Fan Power!

Tweet suggestions:

Why I’m boycotting @theFAdotcom http://ow.ly/a0yyC #NotMyFA

Why I’m boycotting @vauxhall http://ow.ly/a0yyC #NotMyFA

Why I’m boycotting Budweiser http://ow.ly/a0yyC #NotMyFA

Why I’m boycotting @umbro http://ow.ly/a0yyC #NotMyFA

Why I’m boycotting McDonalds http://ow.ly/a0yyC #NotMyFA

Why I’m boycotting Mars Bars http://ow.ly/a0yyC #NotMyFA

Why I’m boycotting @WilliamHillNews http://ow.ly/a0yyC #NotMyFA

And don’t forget you can post on their Facebook pages too!

*If anyone knows Twitter handles for Budweiser, McDonalds or Mars, please post in comments (below).

Admit it, you, just like me, have had enough of the FA our so-called ‘guardians of the game’. The national governing body for football in England are not really interested in the well-being of the national sport – unless there’s some cash in it for them.

This season has seen a long list of shameful decisions (and non-decisions) from the powers that be at Lancaster Gate and we, the fans, just swallow it time after time after time.

Enough, I say. It’s time to hit back. But before I explain how we, the downtrodden, can do that let’s have three reminders out of potentially hundreds as to why we should.

Foygate

To us Chelsea fans it was Foygate, the worst 90 minutes of refereeing many of us have witnessed in a lifetime of watching the beautiful game. To supporters of other clubs there have been a string of shocking refereeing performances. Not one off, human error, single bad decisions but appalling 90 minute demonstrations of incomprehensible shite. Yes, a number from Chris Foy, our own favourite excuse for a ref but he is far from alone.

Managers complain and get fined. Players complain and get fined. Fans complain and get accused of bias. The FA does nothing, the guardians of the game take no action to protect the integrity of football and we are supposed to just accept it.

England Shirts

In the middle of the biggest economic downturn for years and after only 8 (yes, eight) matches in the ‘new’ shirt design, the FA announce another new shirt to replace the ‘old new’ shirt. And at only £55 who cares how long its shelf life is, the FA certainly doesn’t! No, they don’t see fans they see mugs with wallets.

The Straw That Broke This Camel's Back

Of course, there has been more, you don’t need me to tell you. But the straw which breaks this camel’s back is the decision not to allow Chelsea to switch our FA Cup semi-final to allow more preparation time for our (potential) Champions’ League semi-final the following Wednesday. Oh no, sod that an English team might do well in Europe, sod fixture congestion, sod common sense – that might all impact on TV scheduling and hence the potential to exploit income opportunities for the FA. It is shameful and, before supporters of other clubs laugh, it is a precedent that the FA have now set and it is a precedent which could cost you in the future. It is not a decision in the best interests of football (the looking after of which is their job), it is a decision in the best interests of dosh. It is not a decision based in common sense, it is a decision based on greed.

Fan Power - What Can We Do?

It’s really quite simple. I’ve already started but on my own won’t have any impact. My solution? Boycott everything to do with the FA until they start putting the best interests of football, of English clubs and of fans back to the top of their greedy little priority list. (Match tickets not included – no point in cutting off the nose to spite the face).

That new £55 England shirt? Don’t buy it; hit them in their grubby little pockets. Other official England merchandise? The same; it isn’t like there isn’t plenty of unofficial stuff you can buy to show your support for the national team this summer. And wearing a shirt that is only eight games old or dates from 1966 says exactly the same without giving further support to the wankers at Lancaster Gate.

I’m also going further and invite you to do so too. Until the FA starts looking after football properly, staring with the rescheduling of a certain FA Cup semi-final, I’m boycotting their sponsors too. Now that is a source of income they really would miss. I’m going to shout about it too so the sponsors know why.

Want to join me? It means not buying products, services or food from:

Vauxhall (are their cars that good anyway?)
Budweiser (American for tasteless lager)
Umbro (£55 for a new shirt after only 8 games? ‘Nuff said)
McDonalds (American for shit, unhealthy food)
Mars (it’s not like there are no other options if you eat chocolate)
William Hill (plenty of other bookies too)

These companies have chosen to associate their brands with the FA. They deserve to be boycotted.

Share this message on social media (use #NotMyFA), get fans of other clubs involved. There are hundreds of thousands if not millions who have had enough of the FA. On my own I can’t change things; together we can and doing it this way allows us to still support the team. See below for some ideas for Tweets to get you started.

Of course, you don’t have to join me. Just remember though that next time the FA pisses you off – don’t come bitching to me. We, the fans, have the chance to change things. Let’s do it!

NOT MY FA

KTBFFH

Tweet suggestions: