Mersey Sport Live went into the heart of the city to ask the age-old question, ‘Club or Country?’
With the international break in full flow, football fans either relish the thought of watching England play, or twiddle their thumbs until 3pm comes round the following Saturday.
England fell victim to defeat at the hands of Czech Republic on Friday night (2-1), as they lost a major tournament qualifier for the first time since 2009. Despite taking an early lead in Prague, England’s sluggish performance cost them.
In hunt for redemption, The Three Lions face Bulgaria tonight (19:45), but with Liverpool and Everton dominating the city’s allegiances, are locals really that bothered?
23-year-old James Finch, a Liverpool fan, said: “The club means a lot to me, and winning the Champions League was great for the city.” The Southport resident, however, went on to side with country, stating “But then again, for country, when England got to the finals in the World Cup it just brought the whole country together.”
Another Reds’ fan, Craig Black, admitted, “It’s a tough one really between club and country.” Although, the 27-year-old continued to say: “Obviously, supporting England, you always have that false hope of England doing well. But, they’re [Liverpool] winning stuff so I’m supporting my club team more than country at the moment.”
Evertonian Sophie Gallagher, from Warrington, resonated Craig Black’s viewpoint. She said: “I would say club is more important for me at the moment because it’s much more interesting. England are just consistently inconsistent.”
Tom Lighthouse, a Bootle-born red, simply stated: “Club. 100%. We’re scouse, not English.”
Although straight to the point, this is a view which many scousers hold, particularly Liverpool fans.
Politics and football run hand-in-hand in this city. Liverpool legend Bill Shankly once stated: “The socialism I believe in is everyone working for each other, everyone having a share of the rewards. It’s the way I see football, the way I see life.”
A complex set of cultural and historical reasons, resulted in the city seeing themselves as “Scouse, not English”, as Mr Lighthouse so simply put it.
The Independent look further into these reasons, stemming from Liverpool fans singing “God save our team” in the 1965 FA Cup final, to this season’s Community Shield snub of the National anthem.
To listen to responses to the Club vs Country debate in full, click here.
Images are courtesy of; Sven Mandel, Кирилл Венедиктов, and Oleg Bkhambri via Creative Commons.
