It has been both great and painful having friends who all support different football teams. And now writing this blog, it makes me realise that’s why our dynamic is so interesting.

Every weekend it’s the same. I either watch the football games with them or we discuss the action together over text message. Whenever Chelsea play and lose I get abuse from my friends. It has now reached the stage where if I don’t get any messages during the big games I’d worry that there must be something wrong with my friends.

They would come in with comments asking me how, with all that money, the blues can’t beat a struggling West Ham. And now since drawing Barcelona in the Champions League everyone is already sending me texts with skulls, crossbones and smiles. They are saying Messi has never scored against Chelsea in eight attempts, and that he will be out to redeem himself and get revenge.

I know they are going to be tough games, and we also have Man United and Man City to play between each leg. But isn’t one of the greatest things about football, or life in general, beating the odds?

But back to the Premier League because I’ve got an interesting group of friends, with some supporting Tottenham, Arsenal, and Liverpool. Those rivalries are some of the biggest in football and sometimes fans get as much satisfaction from seeing their rivals lose than seeing their own team win. And unless your a Man City fan, you will have had your turn to get the abuse this season. But the strangest thing is when a friend hasn’t watched their team and you will get a text saying “don’t tell me the score because I have recorded it.”

When I was a kid, a player, and even as a pundit, I would always watch a game back to learn more and prepare. Now that I’m a fan of the game I can’t really enjoy watching it when it’s not live on TV. I do love the highlights, but nothing compares to watching the action unfold in real-time for 90 minutes. Sometimes it can be torture but they all say if you don’t know the score it must be a live game. They make a good point! Most of the excitement comes from not knowing how the story will conclude.

Watching it and discussing it with friends that support other teams is what really makes the game so exciting though. This week it was Mr Liverpool’s time for the taunts because the Reds failed to beat Everton. When Lovren conceded the penalty my phone was on fire. I won’t be sharing all the messages but I’ll give you an idea of what my phone goes through.

Mr Liverpool: How we didn’t win this game is beyond me! The ref is a professional W***** #fact”
Me: Haha
Mr Liverpool: The ref definitely took money
Me: Easy now tiger

And then it was my turn to get it.

“The dutch mafia bought the ref! #fact”, knowing that he has a Dutch international, Wijnaldum in his side.

I’m sure fans all across the world love giving their friends stick when they don’t get the results they expect. I love this game, but the passion of friends make it that extra bit more interesting.

#mmlove