Five of the best banners spotted in football stadiums

Banners aren’t exactly an uncommon sight in football. For a long time now football fabs have made it a habit to bring banners to football matches. These banners are usually dedicated to a certain player or sometimes glorify the team. However, some fans take it one step further and come up with some rather creative banners. Let’s take a look at 5 of the best banners spotted around football stadiums:

1)

This is one punny banner (sorry)…

Rafael Benitez was and remains a very popular figure at Anfield. Therefore, back when the Spaniard was the Liverpool manager and when the rumour mill was abuzz with stories of him falling out with owners Tom Hicks and George Gillette, the Kop faithful stood right behind the manager. The fact that the American owners weren’t exactly popular around Liverpool didn’t exactly help their case. This banner plays on the common phrase “Thanks but no thanks” but replaces the second thanks with ‘yanks’, a term used by Britishers to describe Americans. Liverpool fans wanted the American owners to sell the club. They did eventually get their wish, but not before Benitez was sacked.

2)

Chelsea fans creatively voice their dissent for ‘Interim One’ Rafael Benitez.

I don’t know what it is, but there is something about Rafael Benitez that seems to inspire some brilliant banners. When he was (controversially) appointed the interim manager of Chelsea after the sacking of the popular Roberto Di Matteo, Chelsea fans let him know exactly how they felt about him at every game. After Benitez went on a media rant about the fans, they decided to air their views with banners in the next game. There were several good banners but this one stood out; some Chelsea fans took the phrase ‘Just not that into him’ and changed it to ‘In ter im’, reminding the Spaniard of the fact that he wasn’t their permanent manager.

3)

Ireland fans display their lovely sense of humour with this banner.

Ireland never exactly go into any international tournament as favourites to win it. It’s not a disrespectful jibe; they just don’t have enough top quality players to compete for top honours. However, this banner does show us one thing; Ireland fans like having a laugh. While openly admitting that they don’t have players of the quality of Xavi Hernandez and Andrea Pirlo, they proudly show off the fact that they have Long-Cox. It’s a reference their players Simon Cox and Shane Long. Not to anyone’s body parts. Right? RIGHT?

4)

Juventus fans taunt Liverpool fans with a dig at Camilla, Prince Charles’ wife.

The banner might be a funny one, but the occasion was one that was filled with tension. When Liverpool faced Juventus in the Champions League in 2005, many Juventus fans saw it as an opportunity to vent their frustrations over the Heysel disaster. There were a few incidents of violence before the match and the biggest concern was that the match would be able to go off without much controversy. This banner was actually the most sober banner displayed that night.

5)

Apparently you CAN buy class.

‘You can’t buy class – Arsenal forever’ is always very proudly displayed across the Emirates stadium. When Manchester United took on Arsenal during the 2012/13 season, one rather creative United fan decided to flip this saying on them by adding a banner of his/her own under it. The United fan’s banner read ‘You can for 24 million’, taunting Arsenal fans over the sale of former Arsenal captain Robin van Persie to Manchester United. The transer effectively sealed United’s 20th League title, proving that in some cases, money can indeed buy class.