UK Football Chants and Songs

UK football chants and songs are amazing. They’re one of the most hair raising, uplifting and wonderful feelings that go with being at a large capacity football match, are the spontaneous songs and chants that echo around the stadium. Some say that they represent the last bastion of an old folk tradition, where by we all sing together thereby making a unique public expression of collective identity. Let’s have a dive into UK footballs chants and songs.

Introduction: UK Football Chants and Songs

Standing in the terraces on a chilly evening, surrounded by rowdy fans is part and parcel of the football experience. Hopefully you’ve placed your bet with 888sport. The noise is something else, and not just with a goal celebration. Or a close save by the goal keeper. It’s the way the crown can collectively burst into song, be they representative chants or long verses. What exactly triggers a song or decides how long it will continue is unknown. But there is a definite beginning that leads up to a deafening crescendo before trailing away into background noise. The UK football chants and songs can vary from just a few words to complex routines which appear almost choreographed.

“Referee’s a W*nker”

UK football chants and songs often have their origins in popular songs. These tunes are the foundation, though there are some original songs. The greatest din is usually when the home crowd is trying to encourage it’s team. Or simply expressing pride in their playing. On the other side of the coin, chants can act as a means of trying to demoralize the opposition. Many times, the football songs and chants are in direct response to actions happening on the football pitch itself. If you’re at a football match and fancy a wager, then take a look at 888sport. You’ll be singing afterwards!

Team Anthem

Though football songs were sang during the latter part of the 19th century, it was really only in the 1960’s that they took on the form we can hear today. Online sportsbook news in the UK says that many chants that have a historic significance for the club have become anthems for the times of great triumph. New chants are forever being created, re-invented or discarded. There are a number of categories of chants. Let’s have a look….

UK Football Spoken Chants

These can simply be the name of the football team or a single word of encouragement. Examples include the “Oggy Oggy Oggy”, which was sung by Chelsea supporters in tribute to Peter Osgood. The shout or whoop along with a hand clap, that gradually speeds up, is often heard at Motherwell.

UK Football Chants and Songs Based on Classical Music or Hymns

Of the many to choose from, a good example is “When The Saints Go Marching In” by fans of Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur. This is to the tune of Handel’s Hallelujah. Then there’s the “Glory Glory” chant sung by Tottenham Hotspur, Leeds United and Manchester United and many more, to the tune of the “Battle Hymn of the Republic”.

UK Football Chants and Songs Based on Folk Songs and Spirituals

Spirituals include, We shall not be moved” and “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands”. The song, “Sloop John B” is still popular among English fans since the mid-2000s. In 2007, Manchester United fans took it up as the club anthem. Though the tune from the song’s chorus remains the same, it’s often with alternative lyrics. These can include, “He scores when he wants”, “You know what you are” and “We know what we are”.

UK Football Chants Based on Popular Music

This has always been a popular source of songs since the days of Music Hall. English football chants have been based on “Just Can’t Get Enough” by Depeche Mode, “This Is How It Feels” by Inspiral Carpets, “Love Will Tear Us Apart” by Joy Division, “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”, “Papa’s Got a Brand New Pigbag”. Other chants have used tunes from pop songs including Manic Street Preachers song “If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next” and “Three Lions“, the official England anthem for Euro ’96. More recently the “Seven Nation Army” by The White Stripes was popular for many teams.

UK Football Chants Based on Nursery Rhymes, Advertising Jingles, and Theme Tunes.

The song, “The Farmer in the Dell” provides the famous chorus of “Ee Aye Addio”. Both the supporters of Manchester United and Manchester City sing the nursery rhyme “This Old Man”. Things players might sing in the bath together.
Fun Fact: In 2004, according to online sportsbook news in the UK, the bank Barclaycard sponsored a “Chant Laureate”, who job was to travel around UK football stadiums both creating and documenting the various UK football chants and songs.

Offensive UK Football Chants and Songs

Man Utited’s poor little Carlos Tevez had to suffer this:

The scars they proved he lost his head, Tevez, Tevez
You’ll never get a bird in bed, Tevez, Tevez
You ugly tw@t, you acned c*nt
They sowed your head on back to front
Carlos Tevez, Hermann Munster’s son!

Also against Man United:

your uncle is your brother,
your sister is your mother,
you only shag each other, the Man U family.

u-n-i-t-e-d
alex ferguson’s got vd
witha knick knack paddy whack
give the dog a bone
man united
fuck off home

More Man United

“12 went up, 7 died, now Man U play five a side”

After the 1998 World Cup final – when Ronaldo was pulled from play at the last minute and Brazil lost:

“He’s fat, he’s shit
He’s never fucking fit
Ronaldo, Ronaldo”