Youth revolt shakes political elite

www.socialistworld.net, 24/05/2011
website of the committee for a workers’ international, CWI

Indignados are a new factor in Spanish politics

John Hird, Socialismo Revolucionario, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Basque country

The movement of May 15 in Spain has shaken the political elite to its core. Leaders and candidates of the main capitalist parties, PSOE and the PP are at a loss as to what to say. The media at first patronised the young people who occupied Puerta de Sol last week, labelling them the usual anti-capitalist suspects. Even as late as last Wednesday the Spanish press was in denial about the unfolding situation. Matías Prats, a leading newsreader raised his eyebrows when he read out the headlines on the ’Spanish Revolution’ from the foreign press as if to say, ’what do they know?’

TVE had sent teams of reporters to Tunisia and Egypt to cover the Arab revolutions live yet they almost ignored the revolt taking place under their very noses. Only one station had live coverage from Madrid from May 15.

PSOE’s initial response was to hide behind the law and threaten repression egged on by the PP. The electoral commission and supreme court voted by a small majority to clear the squares. The close vote indicates that the Spanish state is not in agreement on what to do. The police unions told the interior minister, Rubalcaba, that clearing the squares was ’a bad idea.’ The police have been affected by the scale of the movement and also by the correct tactic of the demonstrators, who have fraternised with them, using YOUTUBE videos to make direct appeals to them to not intervene.

The movement has exposed the complete disconnection of the political elite from the realities of life. On the Friday before the elections when the movement made it to the top of the news it was striking to hear the difference between what the demonstrators are demanding and what the politicians are offering. Puerta del Sol is plastered with posters where people have written slogans and appeals for solidarity to the world: In English: ’PEOPLE OF EUROPE RISE UP!’ Almost spontaneously, commissions were formed and the manifesto of DEMOCRACIA REAL YA was democratically agreed. Below are some of the main demands:

“The priorities of any advanced society must be equality, progress, solidarity, freedom of culture, sustainability and development, welfare and people’s happiness.

These are inalienable truths that we should abide by in our society: the right to housing, employment, culture, health, education, political participation, free personal development, and consumer rights for a healthy and happy life.

The current status of our government and economic system does not take care of these rights, and in many ways is an obstacle to human progress.

Lust for power and its accumulation in only a few; create inequality, tension and injustice, which leads to violence, which we reject.

The obsolete and unnatural economic model fuels the social machinery in a growing spiral that consumes itself by enriching a few and sends into poverty the rest. Until the collapse.”

The news then went live to the leader of the PP, Rajoy, who was finishing a speech. As with Zapatero there was the obligatory patronising comment that it is good that young people are expressing their ideas and then to the ’politics’ as usual. Everything is PSOE’s fault and the Plazas must be cleared to protect the constitution and the day of reflection before the election. PSOE warn that things could be worse under a PP government. Rajoy and Zapatero use the same empty irrelevant phrases over and over again like two Ipods on repeat. As the youth so elegantly put it: ’¡PSOE Y PP, LA MISMA MIERDA ES!’ (PSOE AND PP. SAME SHIT!)

Thousands of small incidents underline the fact that the youth have managed to Darle vuelta a la tortilla.. (flip over the omelette) in only five days. On Radio Naciónal Española (RNE) last week a group of journalists were making fun of the young people in Puerta del Sol. Asking what they had to complain about when they could fly to London for 30 Euros. Back in their day life was really tough. A working mother phoned RNE and spoke coherently and powerfully for five minutes. She asked why RNE which is publicly funded was ignoring the demands of the young people. Why were they insulting the future leaders of the country? The ‘experts’ were speechless.

A feature of the movement has been the use of the internet to organise and offer an alternative to the PPSOE (PP and PSOE) controlled media. Following on from the Arab Revolutions it is clear that the internet speeds up events and acts as an independent organisational tool. It can also give the participants in the movement confidence that their movement is succeeding. An interesting aspect of the movement is that the TV and press became mere spectators. Always a few steps behind what is happening. The pronouncements of the government and supreme court are immediately ridiculed on TWITTER and Facebook and the call goes out for assemblies in the plazas and votes are taken and the decisions sent out via the Internet.

Despite the supreme court decision the interior minister Rubalcaba pulled back from the brink. The demonstrators voted to continue the occupations which have spread to over 150 Spanish cities and even internationally. Rubalcaba has one eye on the leadership of PSOE in the future and would not like to be the one responsible for attacking peaceful demonstrators on the eve of an election images of which would be beamed around the world.

The government back down exposes their weakness in the wake of a determined movement which in some ways is quite well organized. It is also clear that the winners of the local and provincial elections will have no legitimacy.

So, how has this situation come about? A situation where the young Spanish “democracy” is totally discredited in the eyes of probably a majority of society and definitely amongst most of the youth.

Puerta del Sol is the epicentre of the political earthquake but the tsunami has spread across the peninsula.

Spain has 4.9 million unemployed. 43% of young people cannot find a job. The TV constantly talked about the NI NI Generation who neither study or work. They were more interested in Big Brother and botellónes (drinking parties on the street) than politics. The crisis has had a devastating and shocking effect in Spain. Pensions have been reduced, services cut and most of all the feeling has spread that there is no future for this generation of young people. Banks have started repossessing homes as people cannot afford their mortgages. The anger at the system and especially the banks has been bubbling away under the surface for a long time.

There is also widespread contempt for and anger at the politicians of PPSOE for their corruption and lack of confidence in the electoral system. Elections are choreographed sterile affairs with a lot of slick advertising but little substance. In the Basque Country, the main parties have given up on promises and keep it simple with enormous billboards with photos of the candidates with meaningless slogans such as “PREPARED” or “READY”. It is politics without any actual politics and shows the contempt the politicians have for the people. The list system perpetuates the election of hacks who are in it only for themselves. Scores of candidates on PSOE and PP lists have actually been charged with corruption or some sort of misdemeanor. When a politician is actually convicted of corruption they sometimes but not always resign. The problem is the same party just replaces them with another person further down the list. For that reason the movement is calling for clean and open lists and other democratic reforms.

The President of the Comunidad of Valencia is accused of accepting designer suits in return for political favours. In his last four years in power he has only deigned to do two press interviews.

So why did the movement develop now and in this way? The two main Spanish unions CCOO and UGT had organised a General Strike previously but it was a half-hearted affair, from their point of view. The leaders of the unions are generally seen to have been collaborating with the PSOE government. Socialists would generally expect from past experience that such a mass movement would first develop through the trade unions or at least in the factories and workplaces, but in this case it has not happened. It is clear that the young people have found a way round and over the road block set up by the leaders of the trade unions. Now it is important for the youth movement to link up with the workers in the factories and work places.

The movement seems to have taken an anti capitalist direction without a clear socialist consciousness amongst the Spanish people or indeed the existence of strong socialist parties. This shows us that the seeds of revolution and socialism exist in capitalism and that the experience of life under the rule of the banks pushes the mass of people into opposition to the system. People know what they are against and are now edging their way towards seeking an alternative.

Some of the most inspiring aspects of the movement have been the optimism of the youth, their ability to organise and indeed their hopes and dreams. Socialists are inspired by events in Spain.

The PP are declaring a massive victory over PSOE who they beat by 6% and are whipping themselves into a frenzy of triumphalism. On an election night as Rajoy saluted his party they chanted ‘¡BILDU FUERA!’ (“Bildu out!”). Bildu, in only a couple of weeks of legality, has become the second force in Basque politics. The attitude of the PP faithful does not augur well for the future and a victory for the PP in the general elections will surely heighten tensions around the national question.

The election results are a blurred photo of a moment in time and do not tell the whole story. 33% of the population did not vote. The PP got 24% of the votes of people who bothered to vote (1 in 4) while PSOE got 18%. IU had a slight increase in their vote but not as much as it could have been if they had taken a clear anti-capitalist position.

BILDU in the Basque Country are now the first force in Guipúzcoa, second in Vizcaya and third in Álava. They got the most votes in Donosti/San Sebastián. In Euskadi as a whole they will have 74 mayors and 953 councillors making them the most powerful force in local politics even above the Basque nationalist party PNV (Basque nationalist party). This is extremely significant as the coalition party was only legalised a couple of weeks ago. Their success in a way reflects the possibilities for genuine left wing parties. Although we would not characterise their programme as socialist they are perceived as a fighting party who will stand up for the workers in Euskadi. It is clear they received a fair few protest votes inspired by the May 15 movement as well as their traditional vote.

The election results are not going to make a fundamental difference to the situation in Spain. The May 15 movement has and will make the difference. The PP will continue on the same austerity road mapped out by PSOE but now politics has a new factor. Young people especially will stand in the way of further attacks. They are willing to struggle and have the confidence to fight back.

In Vitoria-Gasteiz last Saturday older workers spoke in front of the thousands in La Plaza. They invoked the spirit of March 3, 1976 (a City wide General Strike in response to the killing of workers by the police which was one of the key events of the “Transition” from Francoism). These workers spoke about a 35 hour week, the formation of committees in the workplaces to build for a general strike, internationalism and the need for socialism. They received thunderous applause which shows the potential for class and revolutionary socialist ideas. However there were also cat-calls from sections who dismissed them as union hacks and being part of the problem. This shows the confusion amongst some in the MAY 15 movement. In fact, the day after a banner appeared which urged people to get involved as people and not organisations and specifically mentioned unions and political groups. This is a weakness in the movement which socialists need to skillfully address.

However these weaknesses do not diminish the significance of this movement and what it has achieved in just a short time. May 15 has inspired young people and workers including internationally. Socialists should build international solidarity and follow the example of the Spanish youth rebellion.

Some slogans from the movement

Nietos en para, abuelos trabajando – Grandchildren on the dole. Grandparents working.

Esto no es botellón, es la revolución – This is not a piss up, it’s the revolution.

Roban los banco, no los inmigrantes – It’s the banks who rob, not the immigrants.

Los políticos y banqueros desde arriba nos mean. (Los medios dicen que llueve) – Politicians and bankers piss on us from above. (The press say it’s raining)

Nos habéis quitado demasiado, ahora queremos todo. – They’ve taken too much from us. Now we want it all.

Juventud sin futuro: Sin casa. Sin curro. Sin pensión. Sin miedo. – Youth without a future: Without homes. Without work. Without pensions. Without fear.

Apaga la tele. Enciende tu mente. – Turn off the TV. Turn on your mind.

Spain is not a business. We are not slaves.

Committee for a Workers’ International
PO Box 3688, London E11 1YE, Britain, Tel: ++ 44 20 8988 8760, Fax: ++ 44 20 8988 8793, cwi@worldsoc.co.ukpi

La Huerta

Bruce Lee on teaching

‘A good teacher can never be fixed in a routine… each moment requires a sensitive mind that is constantly changing and constantly adapting.
A teacher must never impose this student to fit his favourite pattern; a good teacher functions as a pointer, exposing his student’s vulnerability (and) causing him to explore both internally and finally integrating himself with his being.’

How to Live Well in 2010

The School of Life

How can we live better? It’s a big question for 2010, what with financial belt-tightening and becoming a bit more green. And it’s an opportunity to seize not shirk, a chance to focus on what really counts. It’s an issue the ancient Greek philosophers, those masters of good living, understood well. They lived through a time of uncertainty too and it sparked a lifestyle revolution. We call it philosophy.

So what would they advise us at the start of a new decade?  Here’s a few suggestions:

1. Diet, but not to lose weight. For there’s a more interesting and enriching reason for eating less. Epicurus, who was known as a hedonist, wasn’t like today’s hedonists. He didn’t argue that the pursuit of more was the key to happiness. Quite the opposite. He said he was as happy as Zeus when all he had to eat was a glass of water and a barley cake. Enjoying less, not more. Pleasure in small things. That’s the real test for us in a consumer age.

2. Work to live, don’t live to work. Cleanthes, who was a Stoic philosopher and also known as the water-carrier, worked by night so that he could do philosophy by day. He was clear that he would work enough, and only enough, to support his real passion, the thinking and writing. His story is timely, for in a year that will be marked by more job insecurity and credit crises, it will be even easier to work so hard that you miss what you want.

3. Meet a friend face to face, when you might have chatted online. Aristotle is our advisor on this matter. He argued that good friendship – soulmateship – is only possible when friends ‘share salt together’. He meant that they sit down with each other, not just over the occasional meal, but frequently and often. Then, you see each other body and soul. Texting and websites are part of modern friendship, but alone, they are not enough.

4. Start each day by contemplating the worst that can happen. It sounds like a  recipe for pessimism. But the odd thing is that it isn’t. In fact, the day will never look better. Zeno, the Stoic, advised this practice. His point was that we spend too much of our time anticipating the worst, when mostly there’s nothing we can do about it. So embrace the worst; it probably won’t happen. And enjoy the day.

5. Take a technology Sabbath. Take a break from the relentless churn of emails, blogs and websites. They flitter in front of your eyes, and it’s too easy to fritter your life away in front of them. So have one day off a week from IT. Read a book, talk to friends, go for a walk instead. Secundus the Silent is our advisor here. He vowed not to speak, realizing that words are typically wasted. And he found it made him wise.

6. Talk to a stranger. There is a source of knowledge and insight all around us, and yet we barely notice it’s there. It’s not Google. It’s the strangers with whom share our world. Socrates realized this, and so started to ask people questions as he walked the streets of Athens – what is friendship, what is happiness, what is love? It was an extraordinary thing to do, and led to nothing less than the invention of philosophy.

7. Go on retreat. To take time out, away from the world, is an old religious practice. The pace of life is slower. It creates time for reflection. It should be easy to do, but actually it’s slightly frightening, for fear of what might emerge. Which is what Onescritus discovered. He went to India, and sat with the sages. He came back a changed man.

8. Write a blog for one week. If there’s one quality that you need not just to live, but to live well, it’s curiosity. With that, you’ll really see the world, and your life, and imagine it in a different light. This is what Sappho could do. Her verse changed the world because she gave women voice. Poetry is hard, so turn your observations into a blog. And see how you see things differently.

9. Do something that will surprise your friends, and you. One day, Diogenes the Cynic observed a mouse running about. He was shocked at how free it was, and how inhibited he was in comparison. Immediately, he took up residence in a barrel. His philosophy was that conventions trap us. So try breaking one or two, he’d say. A real taste of liberty will be yours.

10. Decide what you want at your funeral. We are different from other creatures, perhaps in several ways, but one must be that we often contemplate death. Some philosophers, like Plato, believed that death directly or indirectly shapes our every waking moment, and perhaps those during sleep too. But it can be tamed, by befriending it. To learn how to die, is to learn to live well.

Mark Vernon is a faculty member of The School of Life.

Reclaim the game

What have NUFC and MUFC got in common? Clue: I am not talking about the contents of their trophy cabinets over the last fifty years. Sponsorship: Man United’s sponsor AIG the insurance giant were recently saved from bankruptcy by the US government in a £48 billion rescue package which is the biggest nationalisation in human history outside a communist country. So MUFC follow NUFC and Northern Rock and join us in a round about way as a state sponsored team.

The world wide credit crunch and bank runs have coincided with the mother of all crises at SJP making it difficult for Ashley to flog NUFC off at a handsome profit. What have we learnt from the last few weeks? We know that fan power works. Although we felt angry we also felt powerless as we saw the club we love being dragged through the mud. This has changed as supporters are starting to come together. The anger has turned to action and the new supporter’s group is a big positive leap into the future. Other Toon fans are taking a longer view and questioning the whole ownership structure of the club we love. Projects for a fan’s takeover of NUFC have been started and wheels are turning. However while most fans are sympathetic they do not feel it is realistic or possible. Official Tyneside opinion in the press poo-poos the idea and the speculation turns as usual on which billionaire is going to honour us with his presence at SJP next.

Now, as I was brought up never to ignore a poo-poo and I will endeavour to answer those who doubt a fan run club is possible at NUFC.

Poo poo Nº 1 ‘Fan ownership is not realistic in this day and age and we need a billionaire to invest in the club to compete with the best.’

Club owners including Ashley do not put their own money into clubs, despite what they say. They usually use their shareholder’s money.

The richest 20 clubs in Europe have a yearly income of almost £3 billion. Due to television money in football, even the side finishing bottom of the Premier League is guaranteed £60 million. The television deal means that many clubs could allow supporters into games for free and still make a huge profit. This football income is generated by us the fans. Club owners are in the game for what they can get. Ashley and the like do not ask what they can put into the game we love rather they are in it for what they can get out of it.

John Hall sold just 9.8% of his shares and made £16 million. Martin Edwards received £100 million on selling his shares to the Glazer family (his father bought them for £1 million) Ken Bates of Chelsea bought Chelsea and its debts for £1; he sold Chelsea along with its debts for £17 million. Even Peter Ridsdale while he was bankrupting Leeds United still managed to pay himself £645,000 in 2001.

The myth is that owners like Ashley are doing us the fans a favour by investing their money in clubs. Nothing could be further from the truth. Name one owner who has walked away from a football club a poorer man.

However it does not have to be this way. There is an alternative.

Real Madrid which is a not for profit sports club is regularly quoted as the richest club in the world. It simply is not necessary to have a rich backer for a football club to have enough financial resources to compete at the top level. A fan owned NUFC would still generate a massive income from season tickets, shirt sales and TV money. Sponsors would not run away from NUFC, they would be queuing up to have their product on our black and white shirts.

Athletic Bilbao which is a fan owned club does not bother with shirt sponsorship and Barça only allow the UNICEF logo on their tops.

In this day and age of credit crunches and institutions like AIG and Northern Rock collapsing a fan owned club with thousands of ‘socios’ would actually be on a sounder financial footing than those clubs who depend on the whims of passing here today and gone tomorrow billionaires. Better to have thousands and thousands of loyal shareholders / members / ‘socios’ than a dodgy fat cat just in it for themselves – surely?

Poo poo Nº 2 ‘It would be impossible to organize.’

Why? Are we saying Barça fans are more passionate or better organized than us? I do not. There is unlimited potential for a fan run NUFC due to the unique nature of our loyal support. How do Barça do it? What can we learn from them?

Barça is owned by its ever-growing membership of 156,366 members who pay Euros 150 each year. The members have representatives on the board.

The representatives have a major input on issues such as sponsorship, finances and sporting affairs. The president of the club is elected every four years in a poll of all members.

Barça are honour bound to try and play open, attractive and attacking football. Why? Putting it simply it is because the raison d’etre of the club is to play good football and win. They do not exist to make a profit for an owner who could take the money out of the club. Profits are indeed made but they are ploughed back into youth development and social projects. Also the people who run the club have over 150,000 members overseeing their stewardship. It’s an organic structure which works extremely well.

Patrick Barclay recently commented on Barça in the Telegraph:

‘Only members can buy season tickets, with membership fees contributing to the overall price of the ticket.

Fiscal rewards for membership include discounted tickets for the club’s various sports teams including football, basketball, handball and hockey as well as club magazines, e-mail updates, sporting and cultural activities and free entry to the Nou Camp tour and museum.

Ultimately, though, it is not the material rewards which make the Barça membership structure so prestigious.

In a modern game spoiled by disaffected supporters and unaccountable owners, it is FC Barcelona’s utopian democracy which justifies its famous slogan ‘More than a Club.’

Imagine how proud we would be of NUFC if we could take the Barça road?

Poo poo Nº 3 ‘Ok. That’s fine on the continent but it not going to happen here.’

Wrong. It is already happening.

In the 16 years of the Premier League over a third of all professional clubs have gone into administration or near bankruptcy. Nott’s County the oldest professional club in the world almost ceased to exist. Leeds United who at the start of the Premier League were a top three club have gone into administration twice and sank into the third tier of English football.

The Premiership boom is not as secure as it is portrayed. Bubbles can and do burst.

Since 1992 there have been 42 cases of insolvency proceedings, involving 37 clubs.

Supporters’ trusts have representatives on the board at over 25% of clubs in the third and fourth tier of English Football and almost 50% own a proportion of their clubs. This shows the desire of working class fans to own and control their clubs, unfortunately it is limited control, even at AFC Wimbledon which was set up when Wimbledon was moved against the wishes of the fans 50 miles away to Milton Keynes and became MK Dons.

Fans raised money and formed AFC Wimbledon the true inheritor of the history of Wimbledon, this club now gets crowds of 3,000 and is working its way back up the non League structures back to where they belong in the League. FC United of Manchester was formed by fans after the takeover by the Glazer family, they too get respectable crowds. The AFC movement reflects the massive opposition to franchise and corporate football.

I would just love it if NUFC became the first fan owned club in the premiership. This is about The Toon and the club we love but it is also about the game of football and its future.

To quote one of the greats from English football, Stanley Matthews, in an autobiography written shortly before his death: “The money that has arrived from television has definitely helped the game, but more at the top than the lower leagues… although those that market football tell us football is once more a ‘family game’ I think it is one of the biggest fibs currently being told. Football has rid itself of the hooligans, but how many ordinary working people can afford to take their family to a football match these days? Too many clubs having worked hard to rid their stadiums of racism and bigotry are now simply practising economic bigotry.”

Football was never purely a business. In the late nineteenth century players and fans came together to form FOOTBALL CLUBS not PLCs. Football came from the working class communities and that is why football fans feel their club belongs to them despite it being quoted on the stock market. We do not feel the same about Lloyds Bank or TESCOS. The Premiership ultra big business period has been a blip. It is time to return to the roots of football if we want it to continue as a sport. At Newcastle we have the opportunity to save our club by taking it over and in so doing showing the way to the rest and reclaiming the game for the fans.

‘Mc’ Trotsky

Painted for me by a Castlemilk comrade when I was working in Tommy Sheridan’s General Election campaign in 1992 IN Glasgow.

The Freeman’s Resolution by William F. Denton (1823-1883)

I will not bow to a titled knave,
Nor crouch to a lordly priest:
A martyr’s torments I’d rather brave,
Than be of my manhood fleeced.

I’ll bend my knee to no fancied god,
I’ll fear no ghost so wan,
Erect and free I’ll stand on the sod,
And act as becomes a man.

I’ll pin my faith to no bigot’s sleeve;
I’ll swallow no griping creed;
I’ll ask my Reason what to believe,
And ever her answer heed.

I’ll hide no truth in a coward heart,
The world would be blest to know;
My boldest thought as it wills impart,
Nor check the mind’s onward flow.

I’ll love the true, I will do the right,
Ruled only by Reason’s sway,
Let all do so; and the world’s dark night
Will melt into rosy day.

(Published 1879)

John Hird Challenge Cup

Nov 17 2007 by Tony Hodgson, Evening Chronicle

WINDY Nook Primary School beat last year’s champions St John’s Primary School 6-1 to lift the John Hird Challenge Cup at Gateshead Stadium.

The event, organised by Gateshead Council, featured eight five-a-side teams from the Felling area and is held in memory of long-term Felling ward councillor John Hird.

St Johns started promisingly with a 5-1 quarter-final victory over Falla Park Community Primary.

Windy Nook also put in a strong performance, beating Bede Community Primary 6-2.

Colegate Community Primary School also had a clear margin between themselves and opponents Brandling Primary School with a 3-1 victory.

The most emphatic result, however, went to The Drive Community Primary, who beat St Wilfrid’s Roman Catholic Primary 9-0.

Despite that huge win, Drive could only manage a 2-2 draw against St Johns in the last four, leading to a penalty shoot-out which St Johns edged 4-3. Windy Nook battled past Colegate 2-1.

In the final, Windy Nook’s Ross Wilson grabbed a hat-trick with Ryan Beard, Alexander Bainbridge and Jay Kirtley also on target.

Also in the winning team were Jack Parker, Jonnie Bolman, Harry Simpson and Lloyd Simpson.

Every child who competed was awarded a medal by the Mayor of Gateshead, Coun David Lynn, and the winners were presented with their trophy by Mrs Hird.

Coun Linda Green, spokesperson for culture at Gateshead Council, said: “All of the children involved gave their all for their schools and put in some fantastic individual performances.”

The event proved a big success and it is planned to stage a similar tournament in 2008.

Two Things about Racists in Spain

1. They are not funny.

2. They can’t spell for toffee.

Fans lose their voice in football’s sanitised stadia

Sean Ingle’s article

Re: Atmos at Spanish footy: Ah….the grass is always greener in the next valley isn’t it? But the truth is somewhere in between.

I always found the atmos at Spanish footy matches a bit hit and miss. They don’t have the sheer numbers of supporters the Premiership has even though it is much cheaper for a ticket.

Real Madrid and Barcelona got an average attendence of 70,000 + in 2006/07 while the next three – Sevilla, Atletico Madrid and Valencia got around 40,000 which compares well to English footy. What Spanish footy hasn’t got is the strength in depth of the clubs outside ‘the big four’ and the lower leagues  in England.

But I digress. Despite big crowds for the big teams and matches I find the atmos to be a bit lacking in Spain – whistling when the other team has the ball which unfortunately is creeping into the English game and generally not getting behind your team when they are behind or in difficulties. There is definitely a ‘sing when we’re winning – boo and whistle when we’re losing’ attitude.

As for Barça vs. Real Madrid ‘derbies’ they always seem a bit too choreographed for my liking – printed cards held up in a ‘spontaneous’ show of support.

Which brings me to the Premier League. Many of us have pointed this out for years but it is precisely the ‘middleclassisation’ of footy which is killing the atmosphere in English footy matches. Middle class people just don’t have the same craic as us working class people. Harsh but true.

I find it ironic that on the one hand loads of bloggers here look down on ‘thick working class footballers who can’t speak English’ (comments I’ve heard regularly on this blog) and have a  sneering attitude to clubs like Newcastle and Liverpool and their fans. (Two clubs who have managed to keep their working class base) Yet on the other hand these new middle class fans whinge that the atmos is not like before. You can’t have it both ways.

SAF, the FA fat cats, the press and yes middle class fans are all to blame for ruining the atmos at football matches. You’re killing the goose that lays the golden egg by pricing the working class out of football.

But the grass is always greener….. The Premiership is televised by Spanish tv and the commentators are having orgasms this season about the atmosphere in England. ‘They even cheer corners!’