Support our Boys in Europe

Come on own up, do you want Man United and Arsenal to get knocked out of the Champions League tonight?

Obviously if you’re supporters of the two clubs, the answer is ‘no’. But for the rest us?

We’re back to the old issue of supporters British clubs in Europe – should you stick to usual loyalties or should you support British clubs, just because you’re British?

I’ll put my cards on the table. I want any British club playing in Europe to win, no matter who they are playing.

I include the tiny minnows from the League of Wales, and I’m prepared to even stretch the word ‘British’ to include those teams from southern Ireland.

Call me old-fashioned but just like many people will support the Home Nations nations in international competitions then I think we should all support Home Nations clubs in European competitions.

For me it’s a matter of pride, pride in British football.

Of course many of you would say:’What’s it got to do with British football?’

You could argue, with the wealth of overseas players in the British game, it’s not really ‘British football’ but that’s for another column.

For me the argument is simple.

The better British clubs do in Europe, the more entertaining, the better the standard of our domestic game.

For me it’s no coincidence that our best performance in World Cup – semi-finalists in Italia ’90 – came after British dominance in Europe competitions during the mid 1970s to 1980s.

Since English football was banned from Europe after Heysel we have had only a handful of successes – Liverpool and Man United’s Champions League wins plus a handful of Uefa/Cup Winners cups wins.

But at no point have British clubs been the dominant forces in Europe that they were 20 years ago, that honour has swayed between Italy and Spain.

That’s why I think we should all support British clubs playing in Europe, even if you don’t like them when it comes to domestic league football.

That means even teams which are your club’s biggest rival. Yes, even Leeds! (only joking).

So when I watch the Champions League highlights tonight – I didn’t say you had to watch these clubs live if you don’t support them – I’ll be hoping it’s good news for British clubs.

Come on Arsenal, Come on United, get through tonight – and then Chelsea can knock you out in the next round!

Lawrence Gosling is group editorial director of Incisive Media (publisher of IFAonline).

The views expressed are those of the author and not those of the company he represents.