The 10 Lies That Irish Premier League Fans Tell Themselves

Twitter released figures a while ago showing who were the most popular Premier League clubs in different parts of the globe - at least as far as Twitter activity was concerned. In countries where this English football lark is a bit of a novelty, Chelsea and Man City were on top but in countries with a long tradition of following English football (like this one) Liverpool and Manchester United were still dominant.

Irish people have been following English football passionately since God was in play school. But some feel the need to tell themselves various lies to explain their support. Here are the top ten lies that Irish Premier League fans tell themselves and everyone else.

'I supported Blackburn well before they won the League'

We are coming up to what those of us in our mid 20s remember as 'the big switch', whereby a host of Manchester United fans in primary school decided, in what proved to be a desperately short-sighted move, to change their allegiance to Blackburn Rovers.

'I picked them because they had a lot of Irish players'

Only possibly true in the case of Aston Villa fans and the country's one Hull City fan.

'I have family in the area' 

I'm going to need a phone number to ascertain whether in fact your cousins do live in the shadow of Anfield.

'Ah, yeah I'll try and get over by the end of the season'

I swear to you.

(Niche one) 'Sure, why would I go into watch (insert name of League of Ireland team) there's no local lads on the team'

Peter Collins rather dispatched that line of argument here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=13&v=6FeGm0MQ2iQ

'There's a long history in my family of supporting them'

We were United people back in the dark days of the 1980s.

'I support them because they're the Irish club in (insert name of the city in question here)'

They're the Celtic of East Anglia.

(When asked why they don't go to League of Ireland games) 'Facilities'  

The lack of various unspecified 'facilities' are often used as a reason to dodge the poor old LOI. Not even Tallaght Stadium or Turner's Cross can cut it.

'I'd go to League of Ireland games if their fans weren't so superior'

Probably not either.

'Eating rats in your council house!!!'

'To be honest I'm not aware of the dietary habits of citizens of Liverpool'

See also: Infographic: The Most Popular Premier League Team In Ireland According To Twitter