Mark Langdon: Overseas fans need more respect

It is often said you should never judge a person until you have walked a mile in their shoes and a work trip took me to South Korea last weekend where I got to experience what it is like for a football-crazy nation trying to keep tabs on the Premier League from a distance.

There is an obsession with Tottenham due to the presence of Heung-Min Son - or Sonny as he was referred to religiously - but In Seoul I had chats with locals who supported a wide range of different clubs.

It's not unusual for traditional supporters to disapprove of football tourists and overseas fans in general, but one guy who went by his English name of "Ryan" was telling me about his love for Aston Villa

A lack of local connection is often portrayed as a lack of knowledge, but Ryan cares deeply, staying up until the middle of the night every week to watch Villa in the Premier League, or in the case of their Champions League trip to Leipzig setting his alarm for a 5am start. 

It's not the same as those traditions passed loyally down through the generations which are the foundations of so many of our communities but Ryan, and millions more like him overseas, are no less passionate and are far from being fair-weather supporters.

If anything I felt more committed to the cause following Tottenham's defeat to Chelsea from 1.30am on a work morning on the Monday from over 5,000 miles away than if I had been at the stadium as usual, particularly as I was then unable to get back to sleep and sat up for the remainder of the night pondering whether being the most entertaining team in the league is better than winning a trophy.

That was a long night, followed by an even longer day as I attempted to avoid 95 per cent of the Korean food that was put in front of me.

The national dish of kimchi is rancid and Koreans have it with everything. It's the same story with rice. Kimchi and plain white rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner. 

If anyone is looking to head to Dragon's Den with a business idea may I suggest taking gravy to Korea, where a revolution of wet, flavoursome rice, could take place. A good career move for Mr Bisto would be to hit Korea hard. However, it was by no means all bad and a few shots of soju made most things better.

Korea's BBQ meats are a treat and the McDonald's (don't judge me) shrimp burger was a delight, but if I could bring back only one thing from Seoul - and it definitely would not have been the surprising pink fish eggs mixed in with a steamed egg side dish for what appeared to be no logical reason - then the dual purpose bidet/toilet is the unrivalled winner.

My fish eggs didn't go down a treat

Without wishing to divulge too much information, after a number two has been completed you press the button on the toilet system and are hit with a warm water sensation straight from a perfectly placed nozzle that thrills and performs a functional requirement in equal measures.

You never forget your first time and every return trip was just as pleasurable. No matter how tough the day, a trip to the bidet would send you on your way with a spring in your step. 

The 28-hour return flight was worth it just for the toilet experience never mind all of the wonderful Seoul hospitality and sights, but I couldn't swap it to live in the wrong time zone for Europe's elite football. 

You can stick your little bidet nozzle up your arse. I am glad to be back watching football at sensible o'clock this weekend and I will do so thinking of my colleagues in Korea who are doing the same through the night.