Croydonbloke
Palace in Sussex
All the above answer the question as to why you moved to Croydon!!!!!Perry Milkins said:
Got something to say or just want fewer pesky ads? Join us... 😊
Do we really hate Palace?
- Thread starter Gerbil
- Start date
SJ's Love Monkey
Ambrose-ia
bhaexpress said:
I like to think that is the case bha, as i have said before i come on here for banter and a laugh not to get people's backs up what is the point in that? And i have to say the vast majority of Brighton fans on this board are great and can see me and the other Palace fans for what it is. Naturally there are one or two who dont get it and their reaction is to abuse but thats their problem and let them get on with it. Yes Palace and Brighton do have a bitter rivalry but let the knuckleheads do what they have to do when we play each other let the real football fans enjoy a bit of banter.
Parson Henry
New member
Croydonbloke said:
Moved cause I was sent to work in Croydon by the bank that I worked for.
The first thing I did was to count the gate receits from the recent game at Selhurst. The visitors were 'The Albion' the score 3-0!!
Oh yes and I had to report to a guy called Mr Eagle.
That is the truth.
bhaexpress
New member
AJ's Love Monkey said:
Can't argue there.
Croydonbloke
Palace in Sussex
Nice touch. Try NSP and you will get a different reaction. There are a few on here who know what I mean.AJ's Love Monkey said:
SJ's Love Monkey
Ambrose-ia
Croydonbloke said:
I will try it cos i love a ruck me!
SJ's Love Monkey
Ambrose-ia
Can you post a link CB?
Parson Henry
New member
AJ's Love Monkey said:I will try it cos i love a ruck me!
Verbal surely..and all in good spirit I hope. AJLM they are a young mob..it may not be truly to your taste.
I am sure you have better things to do.
SJ's Love Monkey
Ambrose-ia
Perry Milkins said:
I was jesting Pezza i really cant be arsed with bacteria boys as you say i have got far better things to do with my time
South Yarra Seagull
Member
to interrupt this Palace Love In, but can anyone precis for me exactly where the rivarly stems from?
Moshe Gariani
Well-known member
- Mar 10, 2005
- 12,156
The probability of a Brighton fan hating Palace (and vice versa) is obviously influenced most by that individual's age....
At ages between 30 and 50 the chances are extremely high and there are many in that group (surely a significant majority?) who still very much enjoy hating Palace at what I've best heard described as a "molecular level"...
Hopefully many younger (and older) fans, on both sides, have taken pleasure from the rivalry and will continue to do so for many years to come... FWIW, I hate Palace and I hate it on these messageboards when a small, and demographically biased, sample of fans give a false impression that somehow years of tradition is going to be allowed down the pan... (or perhaps it really is - which brings us back to the title of the thread.... good question?!)
"We'll follow the Albion,
Over land and sea... etc etc"
At ages between 30 and 50 the chances are extremely high and there are many in that group (surely a significant majority?) who still very much enjoy hating Palace at what I've best heard described as a "molecular level"...
Hopefully many younger (and older) fans, on both sides, have taken pleasure from the rivalry and will continue to do so for many years to come... FWIW, I hate Palace and I hate it on these messageboards when a small, and demographically biased, sample of fans give a false impression that somehow years of tradition is going to be allowed down the pan... (or perhaps it really is - which brings us back to the title of the thread.... good question?!)
"We'll follow the Albion,
Over land and sea... etc etc"
ManOnTheRun
Active member
Is this 'precis' enough. Think I got it off a post on here a few years ago ...
This article charts the games and the rivalry between Palace & Brighton, discussing why the 'Weeds are Palace's only true rivals. (This piece first appeared as a series of articles in Palace Echo Issues 8,10 & 14, however it appears here revised and updated.)
It all started back in the Southern League in 1906/7 season - the first "official" game between the two sides saw Palace go down 2-1 at Brighton. Charles Wallace, who at the end of that season signed for Aston Villa, had the distinction of scoring our first League goal against the "Rockmakers". During our respective tenures in the Southern Leagues, the clubs met 20 times, seven games were drawn and of the other 13, Palace notched one more victory than Brighton.
The first "Boxing Day" fixture occurred in 1910 and resulted in a 2-0 away defeat, but the first home fixture on that day came in our last season as a Southern League side - the result gave Brighton most to complain about we won 4-0 and to really dampen Brightons' Christmas spirit as we had already beaten them away 3-2 the day before . This pattern was repeated in our first season as a League side, we finished as Champions of Division Three (South) whilst Brighton came a lowly 18th.
After our four year sojourn in Division Two was halted by relegation on goal average from Oldham Athletic, we played each other every season up to the war. Strangely in those fourteen seasons, the clubs' finished higher than the other an equal number of seven times. Palace, however, notched fifteen wins as opposed to Brightons' eight -five games were drawn. Three other games were played in the period, Brighton were responsible for Palace's dismissal from the FA Cup in their first ever Cup meeting, in the 1932-33 season and in 1938 & 1939 games were played for the Football League Jubilee Fund, Palace won the first of those games at Selhurst, 5-0, whilst the away game the following year was drawn 3-3.
Interestingly, as the War broke, we had been due to take Brighton on, in a new Competition which Palace and Brighton had qualified for by finishing second and third respectively in the Division the previous season. It took the form of a knockout semi-final in which the winners would have played either Doncaster or Bradford City, our counterparts from Division Three (North), on a neutral pitch with gold Medals for the eventual victors.
The first game at Selhurst following the declaration of War was a friendly against Brighton which ended 2-2 (that's World War 2, by the way, not the commencement of hostilities with the Seaweed). Our first meetings in Wartime competition occurred in early 1940 and really gave Brighton something to moan about. Our first game in League South 'D' Division was away to Brighton, where we scored an impressive 4-1 victory, the best was saved for the return leg though when we scored five goals in each half without reply, to record an incredible 10-0 scoreline. Brighton even changed Goalkeepers at Half Time to no avail. Palace took the regional league title, whilst Brighton finished bottom.
The following season, Palace again did the double, this time scoring 10 goals over the season with a 5-2 home and 5-1 away victories. The figure ten was to haunt Brighton once more the following season, when after managing a 2-2 draw at the Goldstone they went down 10-1 back at Selhurst.
Another 8-1 away thrashing was handed out early the following season, but Palace blotted their copybook somewhat in the home game going down 4-1. 1943 saw another set of Christmas fixtures and again Palace did the double, 3-1 away and 6-2 at home, although the games were overshadowed by the death of the Club Secretary, Frederick Burrell en-route to that first fixture at the Goldstone on Christmas morning. That season saw further encounters in the first round of Football League Cup - South -played on a League basis with two other Clubs -Brentford and Charlton, Brighton won the first game 3-2 at Selhurst, but Palace overturned them in the away leg 4-2, although the earlier result was enough to stop Palace qualifying for the Semi-Finals; Charlton went on to win the Competition that year.
Another season, another double- 5-2 at home and 3-0 away, but then in the September immediately after the end of the war a shock 3-7 reverse away from home, corrected swiftly a week later with a 5-1 home victory, later in what turned out to be fragmented season we met twice more in the opening games of the League Cup Qualifying Competition, securing a 2-2 draw away and a 6-1 victory at home.
So the War competitions drew to a close and with it the extraordinary scorelines, the Third Division (South) reforming where it left off seven years ago. With the cessation of the War came an almost total cessation of the goals in games between the Clubs. The home side, on each occasion, managing only one without reply in the resumed League and Brighton finishing just one point and place above Palace.
Palace and Brighton met continuously for twelve seasons in Division Three (South), although never in the Cup. Palace only finished above Brighton twice in that period, in 1947-48 when Brighton finished bottom and had to apply for re-election and also in 1949-50 season when the Clubs were only separated for seventh place by goal average, settled by Palace beating Brighton 6-0 at home. Brighton also dominated the games against Palace, only four wins and seven draws meant that Brighton won over half of those matches. Palace also suffered a 5-0 away defeat, our worst ever League performance against them in the 1955-56 season. Also tucked away in the midst of those years was another Christmas double fixture when Brighton managed only their second League double over Palace in the 1951-52, the first came in the previous season.
The Clubs became divided when Brighton won the Division in 1957-58 and Palace finished 14th, thus becoming founder members of the new Fourth Division. Brighton recorded a double over us that season and Palace only failed to retain third division status by one point. So began a period of three seasons when the Clubs were separated by two divisions. The Clubs did not meet again until the 1962-63 season following Brighton's relegation from Division Two, Palace improved upon a 2-2 home draw to win 2-1 at the Goldstone, but not even those points would have saved Brighton from another relegation. Although Brighton climbed out of Division Four as Champions two seasons later, Palace had by this time established themselves as a force in Division Two.
For the rest of the sixties Brighton continued to be, at best, a mid-table third division outfit, whilst Palace scaled the heights to Division One. A potential pairing in the third round of the F.A. Cup was narrowly missed in the first year of Palaces' First divison tenancy. The draw gave us a home tie with either Brighton or Walsall, but Brighton lost 2-1 in a third replay, played at Coventry. Brighton gained promotion alongside Aston Villa in 1971-72, but were relegated the following season as Palace also lost their top flight status.
"THE FAMOUS ALAN MULLERY ... "
In truth, the rivalry really only got going between Palace and Brighton in the seventies: the upsurge in football hooliganism, two managers who hated each other's guts and new club images to boot. It was August 1974 that the teams met again in full competition, once more both in Division Three with new nicknames to boot. "The Dolphins" versus "The Eagles" was the first game of that season and Palace suffered a 1-0 reverse in front of the largest crowd to watch Palace home or away that season. The following March, 3-0 revenge was metered out. The win did little to aid Palace's limp promotion effort, but it almost spelt disaster for Brighton, who narrowly missed relegation.
The following season Palace shot off the starting grid undefeated in seven games and top of the division. And then came the visit of Brighton and the attendant 1-0 defeat. It hardly mattered as we were seven points clear by Xmas. By the time the away fixture came around, Palace were in the midst of the great Cup run of 1976, league form however had deserted us and we went down 2-0. Brighton finished fourth a place above us on goal average alone and having completed a double over us.
In the 1976-77 season the sides were to meet five times: twice in the league and three times to decide an First Round F.A Cup tie. To say neither Manager had much time for the other would be understating the case. Palace remainded undefeated over the season notching three draws and two victories. It was the FA Cup Second Replay at neutral Stamford Bridge that finally ignited the already smouldering Blue touch paper. Mullery got out of his pram about a number of dodgy decisions culminating in him blowing his top in front of the Palace Fans giving him stick for his outraged protests. He flung down about a fiver's worth of notes & change into a puddle and screamed "You're not worth that, Palace". Both sides were promoted with Brighton again finishing one place above us in second. In truth, Palace were lucky to get there relying on a freak combination of fixtures and results to beat Wrexham to the third promotion place.
Alan Mullery's outspoken-ness continued to fan the flames of a rivalry that often violently spilled over into the alleyways, railway stations and parks of Brighton and Hove and, on more than one occasion, the side-streets and shops of Croydon. It was rumoured that he was motivated by jealousy having wanted the Palace managerial job himself. He decided to change the Club nick-name once again, this time to "the Seagulls". It is believed that this is because the Brighton fans often sang "Seagulls" in response to our "Eagles" chants. If true, then Palace are directly responsible for Brighton's current nickname just as much as we are the alternative and more fitting "Seaweeds"!
Palace had the better of the next four encounters on the pitch and, although three were draws, Palace and Vince Hilaire stole the show on televised 3-1 victory in 1978 - a performance captured twice on the two Classic matches videos produced. In the 1977/78 season Brighton failed to win promotion on goal average from Spurs, although they again finished higher than our ninth place they twice dropped points against us. The following season saw Palace, Brighton, Stoke and Sunderland all slog out a nail-biting promotion race. On the last Saturday of the season, the three other Clubs finished the season, Brighton ended up top on Goal difference, Stoke and Sunderland provisionally claimed second and third, but we still had a game in hand: win it and we were Champions, displacing Brighton; lose and we would miss out on promotion by Goal difference. The opposition was Burnley, the score 2-0 and 51,801 people (or 51,482 depending on what book you read -I was there and the former was the figure John Henty read out during the game) saw us snatch the Second Division Championship away from Brighton at the last. There will never be a better way to win a Championship.
The next season saw both clubs in the First Division, Brighton for the first time in their history. To cope with the larger crowds that top-flight football brings, Brighton erected a temporary grandstand on one side, Palace fans immediately coined the nickname "Legoland" which lasted for a good many more years than the stand itself. By the end of October Palace were riding high in third, Brighton were bottom, but fate meant that the Clubs did not meet during at this time. The Boxing day fixture raised its head again but their was no Christmas cheer for Palace, we suffered a 0-3 defeat away. Whilst we were on the slide down the table and Brighton were still skulking around the relegation zone. An Easter home draw did little to restore Palace pride, eventually Palace finished thirteenth, three places above Brighton, who had spent heavily to get out of trouble.
Finishing thirteenth was ominously prophetic for Palace, but in truth they just continued the fall from grace that started around the previous Christmas. It was also the beginning of our worst sequence of results against the Seaweed. A year to the Boxing Day later and Palace were on their third manager of the season-Malcolm Allison and adrift at the bottom. Palace lost 2-3 in controversial circumstances. By the time Easter came around, we were already relegated, but Brighton too, were in trouble, needing a win desperately. Palace did not seem to want to take their rivals down with them and completely let them off the hook by gifting them a 3-0 scoreline. Brighton went on escaping relegation for another two seasons, but managed a Cup Final appearance in their last season there.
The procession of Palace managers continued, Gradi, then Kember, then in a enormously unpopular move, Ron Noades appointed Alan Mullery. Palace fans couldn't not swallow this and deserted the Club in large numbers, many ended up at Stamford Brigde never to return, whilst some drifted back slowly over the years - plenty never came back at all.
We renewed acquaintance with Brighton in the 1983/4 season, the second year of Mullery's two years. The now traditional Christmas and Easter games saw Mullery stick the dagger even further into mortally wounded Palace hearts, yes, he let them get away with all six points again. This were the nadir of recent Palace history and the serious violence that followed the April trip to the Goldstone, served only to counterpoint the frustrations.
Mullery slipped away quietly to Q.P.R. after two relegation struggles, giving way to managerial new boy Steve Coppell. His first season saw an early South Coast encounter end in 1-0 defeat, but the home game saw a Trevor Aylott goal ensure a deserved draw. The game was surrounded by controversy, Palace's Henry Hughton was sent off for a late tackle on Gerry Ryan, who sustained a broken leg. The Brighton Manager Chris Cattlin claimed in the press it was the worst tackle he'd ever seen, but Ryan himself refused to condemn Hughton. Once again Brighton finished above us.
Given the bad blood following the Hughton-Ryan incident, in the last encounter, it was somewhat of a surprise to see both sides lining up at Selhurst for a pre-season friendly. Palace shaded it 1-0 giving them their first victory at Selhurst, against the 'Weeds since Venables tenure. As the song goes "the fun didn't last" as just a couple of months later, we suffered a 1-3 defeat at Selhurst in the new Full Members Cup, conceding a goal with only 50 seconds on the clock. A week on from Boxing Day, we met in the League proper losing 2-0 away. A game remembered by Palace fans mainly for a scandalous dive by Terry Connor which earned Brighton a penalty. Late in March, Palace managed to emulate their pre-season form and chalk up a League victory against our rivals. The score again was 1-0, courtesy of a Paul Brush free-kick. A year before the Play-Offs came into being, this result contributed to our position as promotion outsiders. We eventually finished fifth, well ahead of mid-table Brighton, who had recently re-appointed the Prince of Darkness A.Mullery OBE as their Manager.
When the fixture computer popped out a Boxing Day home fixture against the Seaweed, the following season, Palace fans saw this as their chance for revenge on Mullery. Palace for once got their lines right, dealing a 2-0 defeat on the relegation strugglers on an unseasonally warm day. By Easter Monday, Barry Lloyd was in charge of a side that had not won a League game for three months, enter Palace chasing one of those new-fangled Play-off places; with typical perversity, Palace contrived to lose 2-0 and ultimately it was this result that destroy our play-off hopes.
The mood of the Palace fans was not pleasant, angry at the scoreline and fed up at being so tightly packed onto a tiny corner terrace, when the Brighton fans had the run of the open East terrace. With ten minutes left, a sizeable number stormed out of the terrace, to confront Brighton fans in their own end. The ensuing violence spilled out of the ground into Phoenix Park which played host to several running battles form the best part of half-an-hour. The Sussex Constabulary looked more like the Keystone Kops belatedly chasing the action around the fields.
There was some consolation for Palace that the result did nothing to assist Brighton's survival. They ended up getting relegated, thanks in the main to the ministrations of their one-time idol.
OH! WHAT A CIRCUS ...
Two seasons on, found Brighton back in Division Two, Palace had narrowly missed the play-offs again were now generally regarded as a class act. The Palace fans looked forward to laying the ghost of the Goldstone in a another Boxing Day encounter. Yet again, Palace departed from the script, played like horses and lost 3-1. In the words of Alan Pardew "Ian Evans was distraught. He was going mad, I'd never seen him like it ... I thought 'Christ what have we done here'". The Palace crowd added their own sentiments booing the team from the pitch.
The return match still holds a place in the English League record books thanks to a certain referee named Kelvin Morton:
5 penalties,
4 to Palace,
3 missed,
2 scored,
1 man sent off.
As Eagle Eye #7 saw it
Eagle Eye caught the mood perfectly although we managed to win 2-1 against 10 men, we had missed a golden opportunity to inflict a modern-day hiding on our most hated rivals. Early in the game, Wrighty scored the goal he later claimed was the best of his Palace career, that was before Mr.Morton stepped in. Brighton's midfielder Trusson was dismissed and Bright converted the first of three penalties given before Half Time. Bright and then Wright contrived to miss.
Kelvin calmed down in the second half, only managing to award two spot-kicks the first of those was to Brighton which gave them an undeserved consolation, but Pembo stole the show, his rocket up and almost over the Holmesdale reduced both sets of fans to hysterical laughter. It is perhaps fitting that this to date is our last League meeting with them, nothing will top it and the game can still be found in a surprising number of fans video collections. That season Palace escaped Division Two via the play-offs, whilst Brighton finished 19th.
The end of the following season saw us at last sample the delights of an F.A. Cup Final. and with that the Seaweeds could never again sing to us their favourite taunt of the eighties: "You'll never get to Wembley". Midway through the following season and Brighton were languishing in the lower regions of Division Two, whilst Palace, enamoured with life at the top, were sitting pretty - third in Division One. The chances of either side meeting again in the near future seemed remote, Eagle Eye gave their back page over to a "6 Months Notice of Termination of Rivalry"
The joke began to take on a more sinister tone when, a few days after publication, the Zenith Cup draw provided us with an unexpected return to the Gallstone. Then their League form began to pick up and, having drawn Liverpool away in the cup, they managed to earn themselves a Replay. Had the Brighton players got wind of the wind-up?
The evening of the Zenith game arrived via several postponements and the IRA Bombing of Victoria station earlier in the day. Despite the travelling difficulties around 2,000 Palace fans made it onto an icebound away terrace. Palace took it upon themselves to play their usual role here and Brighton forced extra-time without too much difficulty, but there they crumbled. A devastating two goals in two minutes one each for Bright and Wright sent Palace home with a Police helicopter escort and a quarter-final place in the bag. Strangely both Palace and Brighton made Wembley that year, Palace in the Zenith, whilst Brighton, their promotion push having faltered in April, made it through to the play-off final, which was now being staged there. Notts County ran out easy 3-0 winners. The scoreline meant Brighton had now let in 9 goals at Wembley, a useful statistic when faced with the ubiquitous 9-0 chants from the North Bank non-entities.
The following season, Brighton, with money troubles really beginning to mount, were relegated, although they would still compete in a Division "Two", due to the creation of the Premier League of which Palace in tenth place became founder members.
Since then there have been a number of pre-season friendlies staged between the sides, all away. The first in August 1992, saw an injury-struck Palace side once more deliver a below par performance, although still managing to win 1-0. Former Brighton player, Eric Young, silencing the "Reject" taunts when he rose to head home a corner. A new terrace chants got an airing by Palace fans based around Brighton's Wembley ineptitutes: "You'll never win at Wembley", although at one point in recent times the FA Trophy looked a distinct possiblity! This game was originally scheduled for a Saturday afternoon, when it would have attracted a much larger crowd, but was eventually played on Friday night. Possibily the only friendly fixture ever to have been moved on Police advice!
After the game, however, it was Palace fans getting back on the train with tears in their eyes, when they were subject to a CS gas attack at Hove station. That season ended with Palace's relegation from the Premier League, whilst Brighton having survived a number of High Court actions maintained their Division Two status.
In August 1993, the second friendly took place, the game was to have been a Testimonial for Gary O'Reilly, but row apparently about Gate receipts scuppered that. Once again, some Palace fans were subjected to another Tear gas attack, this time in a Pub, before the game. Just for once, Palace really turned on the style, even though both Armstrong and Rodger were out injured. A 2,000-strong Palace possee saw Southgate, Osborn and Bowry grab three goals, without reply. A performance that underlined the major difference in class that now existed between the sides - click here for match report.
THE FANS ARE REVOLTING ...
The last meeting between the sides at the DIY store, err sorry, Goldstone, took place in July 1995. Guess what? Another really crap performance, but still the Eagles managed a 1-0 victory thanks to Bruce Dyer - the following games resounded to the terrace chant of "Drinks lots of Holsten, Scores at the Goldstone" to the tune of Robin Hood - click here for match report.
Midway through the season, Liam Brady, the new messiah who was supposed to lead them out of Division Two looked to be doing a grand job. Perhaps no-one told him that they were supposed to leave by the front door not the tradesman entrance, ah but then this is Brighton we are talking about.
Midway through the season Brady had to make way for Jimmy Case, although strangely Brady turned up again as part of a consortium bidding for the Club. The fans unrest began to swell unpleasantly as the Goldstone eyesore was sold for development without a new ground being agreed. A ground-sharing link with Portsmouth was muted, but in the final game of the season with Brighton already relegated, their fans poured onto the pitch in numbers and caused the abandonment of a game crucial to the other relegation places in the division. The league were not amused and slapped a suspended points deduction on the Club.
At the start of the following season, things really began to hot up as the fans became more orchestrated in their campaign to oust who they believed to be the principal villians of the piece, Archer & Bellotti. Both were targeted for abuse and even death threats, match-by-match demonstrations and set-pieces were executed until the inevitable happened, more fans strayed onto the pitch causing a long delay to another game. The FA were unbending and handed out a two point deduction - despite much wailing and many appeals the ruling was not overturned. The deduction wouldn't really count for too much if the 'Weeds had not been fighting for their League existence. Once again, Brighton failed to perform on the pitch and coming into the last four weeks of the season were five points adrift at the foot of Division Three, with yet another manager, Steve Gritt at the helm.
Palace fans invented there own song to rejoice in Brighton's plight (to the tune of the Laughing Policeman):
"I know a fat old Policeman,
He's always on the beat,
That fat & jolly red-faced man,
He really is treat,
You'll always find him laughing,
He's never known to frown,
The reason for his jollity,
Is Brighton going down ...
AH! HAH! HAH! HAH! HAH! HAH! HA!" (ad lib to fade)
Surprisingly though, the ex-Charlton man kept them in the League with a string of home victories. They stayed at the expense of Hereford, whom they played away on the last game of the season. A 1-1 draw was enough to keep them in the League thanks to a superior number of goals scored. The following week, the dentists in and around Croydon were full of patients having teeth ungritted.
Whilst the ownership battle headed for a reasonably amicable resolution after months of arbitration, the question about where they would play next season was still in the air. Earlier in the season, Brighton announced they would be ground-sharing with Gillingham, but the new consortium then wanted to move to Hove Dog-track (appropriate really) instead. Gillingham demanded the full rent as per their original agreement, so Brighton had little option but to go there to play - a round trip of over 150 miles.
When they arrived at Priestfield for their first friendly, who should they find giving piss-take interviews to the local radio and TV stations - US. The inaugural game at their temporary home was a friendly against Palace at the distinctly unfriendly time of noon on a Saturday morning (Police advice again). Only about 400 Brighton fans bothered which meant they were just about outnumbered by the 600 or so Palace fans. In terms of atmosphere it was more like a reserve game.
Neither side seemed too bothered on the pitch in temperatures of over 90 degrees and when Palace fell behind, they took most of the match struggling to find a way back. Thankfully they managed this, albeit in the last few moments of the game. Brighton's bete-noire, Bruce Dyer, popped up to head home from close range. Up to this season there had never been more than one division between the two sides, but with Palace having one of their brief Premiership sojourns and Brighton glued to the wrong end of the third division table, they were almost separtely by a league.
Doncaster Rovers fulfilled the trap-door spot from quite early on, but Brighton couldn't struggle out of 23rd place at all. This season, however, there is a growing prospect that we may end up in the same divison next year. As Brighton (until recently) under the stewardship of another anti-Christ Brian Horton are amongst the play-off hopefuls, whilst Palace, at the time of writing, teeter increasingly precariously above the first division relegation zone. Horton, in the end, showed his true colours as a "Seagull" manager - Flew in, made a lot of noise, shat all over everyone and flew away again - off to join the mighty glamour club, Port Vale.
So what if we were to meet again next season ... Brighton have now finally moved back "home" to the Withdean Stadium (capacity 6,000) with space for just 300 away fans! What will the police advise about this, we wonder?
Whilst Man Utd continue to generate a great deal of vocal hatred at Palace, due mainly to the actions of an unhinged Frenchman and the subsequent repercussions, in truth, this is not a proper rivalry. Those that have been around a few years will remember QPR in the early 80's and Arsenal after Wrighty defected attracted large amounts of vocal bile, but that faded eventually, just as the Man Utd chants will. At the end of the day, for every "Stand up if you hate Man U" song there will be a small posse singing about going off to war with Brighton. For every Beckham or Cantona chant there will be a chorus of "The famous Alan Mullery". Brighton is still the score most Palace fans look for and delight in when they've lost.
Sorry also to Wimbledon, Charlton and Millwall - you are merely pretenders at the throne of our only true rivals - Brighton & Hove Albion - Why? Quite simply "Because of Boxing Day".
the start of the rivalry
Palace v Brighton
F.A. Cup 1st Round 1976
This fixture is generally accepted as being the one that sparked off the rivalry between the two third division promotion rivals. The tie went to a second replay at Stamford Bridge with a Palace win and Brighton manager Alan Mullary doing his stuff.
The first match on November 20th was at the Goldstone. A two all draw. Peter Ward opened the scoring with Peter Ward after a dodgy back pass from Jim Cannon in the 21st minute.
Ian Evans hit back on 60 for the Eagles but suffered a second Brighton goal on 46 from Ian Mellor.
However in the 75th minute. Rachid (lend us a quid) Harkouk came off the bench having been banned for nearly three months and scored to earn a replay.
The following Tuesday they were back at Selhurst Park and Ian Mellor proved to be the bane of Palace Cup aspirations. Equalising from another Harkouk goal in the 6th minute, again from a pass from Hinshelwood Mellor's header cancelled that out on 13 and Palace by all accounts lost ground in extra time. Keeper Paul Hammond and Jim Cannon who had to take a pain killing injection prior to the game starting. The game finished 1-1 and of course back then we didn't have penalty shoot outs. Oh no a second replay at Stamford Bridge was in prospect.
What a match it turned out to be. Phil Holder won it for Palace early on but two disallowed Brighton goals resulted in Mullery storming onto the pitch and throwing a total wobbler.
The first incident was after Peter Ward had his goal dissallowed for hand ball when in fact he should have been given a penalty after having been impeded by Cannon. Ever the gentleman, the centre half and Palace God admitted after the game that he had, "nudged him in the back...".
That wasn't the end of it though. Oh no! If the previous injustice wasn't enough to warm your @#%$les you've got to hear this one. Cattlin was brought down in the box by Barry Silkman. Penalty. Up steps Brian Horton and despite Hammond getting a hand on it the ball ends up in the net. But wait. In steps referee Ron Challis and orders a retake for encroaching in the box by a Palace player. So, Horton, steam still pouring out of his ears spotted the ball and Hammond saved the penalty.
Mullary went ape@#%$. "How can a referee give us the advantage of a penalty spot and then take it away?"There was only one team in it and yet we go out and they stay in."(Croydon Advertiser).
Mullary further compounded his indignity with the famous two fingered salute at the Palace supporters followed by dramatically throwing five one pound notes on the ground and adding "They are not worth that"(Croydon Advertiser).
This article charts the games and the rivalry between Palace & Brighton, discussing why the 'Weeds are Palace's only true rivals. (This piece first appeared as a series of articles in Palace Echo Issues 8,10 & 14, however it appears here revised and updated.)
It all started back in the Southern League in 1906/7 season - the first "official" game between the two sides saw Palace go down 2-1 at Brighton. Charles Wallace, who at the end of that season signed for Aston Villa, had the distinction of scoring our first League goal against the "Rockmakers". During our respective tenures in the Southern Leagues, the clubs met 20 times, seven games were drawn and of the other 13, Palace notched one more victory than Brighton.
The first "Boxing Day" fixture occurred in 1910 and resulted in a 2-0 away defeat, but the first home fixture on that day came in our last season as a Southern League side - the result gave Brighton most to complain about we won 4-0 and to really dampen Brightons' Christmas spirit as we had already beaten them away 3-2 the day before . This pattern was repeated in our first season as a League side, we finished as Champions of Division Three (South) whilst Brighton came a lowly 18th.
After our four year sojourn in Division Two was halted by relegation on goal average from Oldham Athletic, we played each other every season up to the war. Strangely in those fourteen seasons, the clubs' finished higher than the other an equal number of seven times. Palace, however, notched fifteen wins as opposed to Brightons' eight -five games were drawn. Three other games were played in the period, Brighton were responsible for Palace's dismissal from the FA Cup in their first ever Cup meeting, in the 1932-33 season and in 1938 & 1939 games were played for the Football League Jubilee Fund, Palace won the first of those games at Selhurst, 5-0, whilst the away game the following year was drawn 3-3.
Interestingly, as the War broke, we had been due to take Brighton on, in a new Competition which Palace and Brighton had qualified for by finishing second and third respectively in the Division the previous season. It took the form of a knockout semi-final in which the winners would have played either Doncaster or Bradford City, our counterparts from Division Three (North), on a neutral pitch with gold Medals for the eventual victors.
The first game at Selhurst following the declaration of War was a friendly against Brighton which ended 2-2 (that's World War 2, by the way, not the commencement of hostilities with the Seaweed). Our first meetings in Wartime competition occurred in early 1940 and really gave Brighton something to moan about. Our first game in League South 'D' Division was away to Brighton, where we scored an impressive 4-1 victory, the best was saved for the return leg though when we scored five goals in each half without reply, to record an incredible 10-0 scoreline. Brighton even changed Goalkeepers at Half Time to no avail. Palace took the regional league title, whilst Brighton finished bottom.
The following season, Palace again did the double, this time scoring 10 goals over the season with a 5-2 home and 5-1 away victories. The figure ten was to haunt Brighton once more the following season, when after managing a 2-2 draw at the Goldstone they went down 10-1 back at Selhurst.
Another 8-1 away thrashing was handed out early the following season, but Palace blotted their copybook somewhat in the home game going down 4-1. 1943 saw another set of Christmas fixtures and again Palace did the double, 3-1 away and 6-2 at home, although the games were overshadowed by the death of the Club Secretary, Frederick Burrell en-route to that first fixture at the Goldstone on Christmas morning. That season saw further encounters in the first round of Football League Cup - South -played on a League basis with two other Clubs -Brentford and Charlton, Brighton won the first game 3-2 at Selhurst, but Palace overturned them in the away leg 4-2, although the earlier result was enough to stop Palace qualifying for the Semi-Finals; Charlton went on to win the Competition that year.
Another season, another double- 5-2 at home and 3-0 away, but then in the September immediately after the end of the war a shock 3-7 reverse away from home, corrected swiftly a week later with a 5-1 home victory, later in what turned out to be fragmented season we met twice more in the opening games of the League Cup Qualifying Competition, securing a 2-2 draw away and a 6-1 victory at home.
So the War competitions drew to a close and with it the extraordinary scorelines, the Third Division (South) reforming where it left off seven years ago. With the cessation of the War came an almost total cessation of the goals in games between the Clubs. The home side, on each occasion, managing only one without reply in the resumed League and Brighton finishing just one point and place above Palace.
Palace and Brighton met continuously for twelve seasons in Division Three (South), although never in the Cup. Palace only finished above Brighton twice in that period, in 1947-48 when Brighton finished bottom and had to apply for re-election and also in 1949-50 season when the Clubs were only separated for seventh place by goal average, settled by Palace beating Brighton 6-0 at home. Brighton also dominated the games against Palace, only four wins and seven draws meant that Brighton won over half of those matches. Palace also suffered a 5-0 away defeat, our worst ever League performance against them in the 1955-56 season. Also tucked away in the midst of those years was another Christmas double fixture when Brighton managed only their second League double over Palace in the 1951-52, the first came in the previous season.
The Clubs became divided when Brighton won the Division in 1957-58 and Palace finished 14th, thus becoming founder members of the new Fourth Division. Brighton recorded a double over us that season and Palace only failed to retain third division status by one point. So began a period of three seasons when the Clubs were separated by two divisions. The Clubs did not meet again until the 1962-63 season following Brighton's relegation from Division Two, Palace improved upon a 2-2 home draw to win 2-1 at the Goldstone, but not even those points would have saved Brighton from another relegation. Although Brighton climbed out of Division Four as Champions two seasons later, Palace had by this time established themselves as a force in Division Two.
For the rest of the sixties Brighton continued to be, at best, a mid-table third division outfit, whilst Palace scaled the heights to Division One. A potential pairing in the third round of the F.A. Cup was narrowly missed in the first year of Palaces' First divison tenancy. The draw gave us a home tie with either Brighton or Walsall, but Brighton lost 2-1 in a third replay, played at Coventry. Brighton gained promotion alongside Aston Villa in 1971-72, but were relegated the following season as Palace also lost their top flight status.
"THE FAMOUS ALAN MULLERY ... "
In truth, the rivalry really only got going between Palace and Brighton in the seventies: the upsurge in football hooliganism, two managers who hated each other's guts and new club images to boot. It was August 1974 that the teams met again in full competition, once more both in Division Three with new nicknames to boot. "The Dolphins" versus "The Eagles" was the first game of that season and Palace suffered a 1-0 reverse in front of the largest crowd to watch Palace home or away that season. The following March, 3-0 revenge was metered out. The win did little to aid Palace's limp promotion effort, but it almost spelt disaster for Brighton, who narrowly missed relegation.
The following season Palace shot off the starting grid undefeated in seven games and top of the division. And then came the visit of Brighton and the attendant 1-0 defeat. It hardly mattered as we were seven points clear by Xmas. By the time the away fixture came around, Palace were in the midst of the great Cup run of 1976, league form however had deserted us and we went down 2-0. Brighton finished fourth a place above us on goal average alone and having completed a double over us.
In the 1976-77 season the sides were to meet five times: twice in the league and three times to decide an First Round F.A Cup tie. To say neither Manager had much time for the other would be understating the case. Palace remainded undefeated over the season notching three draws and two victories. It was the FA Cup Second Replay at neutral Stamford Bridge that finally ignited the already smouldering Blue touch paper. Mullery got out of his pram about a number of dodgy decisions culminating in him blowing his top in front of the Palace Fans giving him stick for his outraged protests. He flung down about a fiver's worth of notes & change into a puddle and screamed "You're not worth that, Palace". Both sides were promoted with Brighton again finishing one place above us in second. In truth, Palace were lucky to get there relying on a freak combination of fixtures and results to beat Wrexham to the third promotion place.
Alan Mullery's outspoken-ness continued to fan the flames of a rivalry that often violently spilled over into the alleyways, railway stations and parks of Brighton and Hove and, on more than one occasion, the side-streets and shops of Croydon. It was rumoured that he was motivated by jealousy having wanted the Palace managerial job himself. He decided to change the Club nick-name once again, this time to "the Seagulls". It is believed that this is because the Brighton fans often sang "Seagulls" in response to our "Eagles" chants. If true, then Palace are directly responsible for Brighton's current nickname just as much as we are the alternative and more fitting "Seaweeds"!
Palace had the better of the next four encounters on the pitch and, although three were draws, Palace and Vince Hilaire stole the show on televised 3-1 victory in 1978 - a performance captured twice on the two Classic matches videos produced. In the 1977/78 season Brighton failed to win promotion on goal average from Spurs, although they again finished higher than our ninth place they twice dropped points against us. The following season saw Palace, Brighton, Stoke and Sunderland all slog out a nail-biting promotion race. On the last Saturday of the season, the three other Clubs finished the season, Brighton ended up top on Goal difference, Stoke and Sunderland provisionally claimed second and third, but we still had a game in hand: win it and we were Champions, displacing Brighton; lose and we would miss out on promotion by Goal difference. The opposition was Burnley, the score 2-0 and 51,801 people (or 51,482 depending on what book you read -I was there and the former was the figure John Henty read out during the game) saw us snatch the Second Division Championship away from Brighton at the last. There will never be a better way to win a Championship.
The next season saw both clubs in the First Division, Brighton for the first time in their history. To cope with the larger crowds that top-flight football brings, Brighton erected a temporary grandstand on one side, Palace fans immediately coined the nickname "Legoland" which lasted for a good many more years than the stand itself. By the end of October Palace were riding high in third, Brighton were bottom, but fate meant that the Clubs did not meet during at this time. The Boxing day fixture raised its head again but their was no Christmas cheer for Palace, we suffered a 0-3 defeat away. Whilst we were on the slide down the table and Brighton were still skulking around the relegation zone. An Easter home draw did little to restore Palace pride, eventually Palace finished thirteenth, three places above Brighton, who had spent heavily to get out of trouble.
Finishing thirteenth was ominously prophetic for Palace, but in truth they just continued the fall from grace that started around the previous Christmas. It was also the beginning of our worst sequence of results against the Seaweed. A year to the Boxing Day later and Palace were on their third manager of the season-Malcolm Allison and adrift at the bottom. Palace lost 2-3 in controversial circumstances. By the time Easter came around, we were already relegated, but Brighton too, were in trouble, needing a win desperately. Palace did not seem to want to take their rivals down with them and completely let them off the hook by gifting them a 3-0 scoreline. Brighton went on escaping relegation for another two seasons, but managed a Cup Final appearance in their last season there.
The procession of Palace managers continued, Gradi, then Kember, then in a enormously unpopular move, Ron Noades appointed Alan Mullery. Palace fans couldn't not swallow this and deserted the Club in large numbers, many ended up at Stamford Brigde never to return, whilst some drifted back slowly over the years - plenty never came back at all.
We renewed acquaintance with Brighton in the 1983/4 season, the second year of Mullery's two years. The now traditional Christmas and Easter games saw Mullery stick the dagger even further into mortally wounded Palace hearts, yes, he let them get away with all six points again. This were the nadir of recent Palace history and the serious violence that followed the April trip to the Goldstone, served only to counterpoint the frustrations.
Mullery slipped away quietly to Q.P.R. after two relegation struggles, giving way to managerial new boy Steve Coppell. His first season saw an early South Coast encounter end in 1-0 defeat, but the home game saw a Trevor Aylott goal ensure a deserved draw. The game was surrounded by controversy, Palace's Henry Hughton was sent off for a late tackle on Gerry Ryan, who sustained a broken leg. The Brighton Manager Chris Cattlin claimed in the press it was the worst tackle he'd ever seen, but Ryan himself refused to condemn Hughton. Once again Brighton finished above us.
Given the bad blood following the Hughton-Ryan incident, in the last encounter, it was somewhat of a surprise to see both sides lining up at Selhurst for a pre-season friendly. Palace shaded it 1-0 giving them their first victory at Selhurst, against the 'Weeds since Venables tenure. As the song goes "the fun didn't last" as just a couple of months later, we suffered a 1-3 defeat at Selhurst in the new Full Members Cup, conceding a goal with only 50 seconds on the clock. A week on from Boxing Day, we met in the League proper losing 2-0 away. A game remembered by Palace fans mainly for a scandalous dive by Terry Connor which earned Brighton a penalty. Late in March, Palace managed to emulate their pre-season form and chalk up a League victory against our rivals. The score again was 1-0, courtesy of a Paul Brush free-kick. A year before the Play-Offs came into being, this result contributed to our position as promotion outsiders. We eventually finished fifth, well ahead of mid-table Brighton, who had recently re-appointed the Prince of Darkness A.Mullery OBE as their Manager.
When the fixture computer popped out a Boxing Day home fixture against the Seaweed, the following season, Palace fans saw this as their chance for revenge on Mullery. Palace for once got their lines right, dealing a 2-0 defeat on the relegation strugglers on an unseasonally warm day. By Easter Monday, Barry Lloyd was in charge of a side that had not won a League game for three months, enter Palace chasing one of those new-fangled Play-off places; with typical perversity, Palace contrived to lose 2-0 and ultimately it was this result that destroy our play-off hopes.
The mood of the Palace fans was not pleasant, angry at the scoreline and fed up at being so tightly packed onto a tiny corner terrace, when the Brighton fans had the run of the open East terrace. With ten minutes left, a sizeable number stormed out of the terrace, to confront Brighton fans in their own end. The ensuing violence spilled out of the ground into Phoenix Park which played host to several running battles form the best part of half-an-hour. The Sussex Constabulary looked more like the Keystone Kops belatedly chasing the action around the fields.
There was some consolation for Palace that the result did nothing to assist Brighton's survival. They ended up getting relegated, thanks in the main to the ministrations of their one-time idol.
OH! WHAT A CIRCUS ...
Two seasons on, found Brighton back in Division Two, Palace had narrowly missed the play-offs again were now generally regarded as a class act. The Palace fans looked forward to laying the ghost of the Goldstone in a another Boxing Day encounter. Yet again, Palace departed from the script, played like horses and lost 3-1. In the words of Alan Pardew "Ian Evans was distraught. He was going mad, I'd never seen him like it ... I thought 'Christ what have we done here'". The Palace crowd added their own sentiments booing the team from the pitch.
The return match still holds a place in the English League record books thanks to a certain referee named Kelvin Morton:
5 penalties,
4 to Palace,
3 missed,
2 scored,
1 man sent off.
As Eagle Eye #7 saw it
Eagle Eye caught the mood perfectly although we managed to win 2-1 against 10 men, we had missed a golden opportunity to inflict a modern-day hiding on our most hated rivals. Early in the game, Wrighty scored the goal he later claimed was the best of his Palace career, that was before Mr.Morton stepped in. Brighton's midfielder Trusson was dismissed and Bright converted the first of three penalties given before Half Time. Bright and then Wright contrived to miss.
Kelvin calmed down in the second half, only managing to award two spot-kicks the first of those was to Brighton which gave them an undeserved consolation, but Pembo stole the show, his rocket up and almost over the Holmesdale reduced both sets of fans to hysterical laughter. It is perhaps fitting that this to date is our last League meeting with them, nothing will top it and the game can still be found in a surprising number of fans video collections. That season Palace escaped Division Two via the play-offs, whilst Brighton finished 19th.
The end of the following season saw us at last sample the delights of an F.A. Cup Final. and with that the Seaweeds could never again sing to us their favourite taunt of the eighties: "You'll never get to Wembley". Midway through the following season and Brighton were languishing in the lower regions of Division Two, whilst Palace, enamoured with life at the top, were sitting pretty - third in Division One. The chances of either side meeting again in the near future seemed remote, Eagle Eye gave their back page over to a "6 Months Notice of Termination of Rivalry"
The joke began to take on a more sinister tone when, a few days after publication, the Zenith Cup draw provided us with an unexpected return to the Gallstone. Then their League form began to pick up and, having drawn Liverpool away in the cup, they managed to earn themselves a Replay. Had the Brighton players got wind of the wind-up?
The evening of the Zenith game arrived via several postponements and the IRA Bombing of Victoria station earlier in the day. Despite the travelling difficulties around 2,000 Palace fans made it onto an icebound away terrace. Palace took it upon themselves to play their usual role here and Brighton forced extra-time without too much difficulty, but there they crumbled. A devastating two goals in two minutes one each for Bright and Wright sent Palace home with a Police helicopter escort and a quarter-final place in the bag. Strangely both Palace and Brighton made Wembley that year, Palace in the Zenith, whilst Brighton, their promotion push having faltered in April, made it through to the play-off final, which was now being staged there. Notts County ran out easy 3-0 winners. The scoreline meant Brighton had now let in 9 goals at Wembley, a useful statistic when faced with the ubiquitous 9-0 chants from the North Bank non-entities.
The following season, Brighton, with money troubles really beginning to mount, were relegated, although they would still compete in a Division "Two", due to the creation of the Premier League of which Palace in tenth place became founder members.
Since then there have been a number of pre-season friendlies staged between the sides, all away. The first in August 1992, saw an injury-struck Palace side once more deliver a below par performance, although still managing to win 1-0. Former Brighton player, Eric Young, silencing the "Reject" taunts when he rose to head home a corner. A new terrace chants got an airing by Palace fans based around Brighton's Wembley ineptitutes: "You'll never win at Wembley", although at one point in recent times the FA Trophy looked a distinct possiblity! This game was originally scheduled for a Saturday afternoon, when it would have attracted a much larger crowd, but was eventually played on Friday night. Possibily the only friendly fixture ever to have been moved on Police advice!
After the game, however, it was Palace fans getting back on the train with tears in their eyes, when they were subject to a CS gas attack at Hove station. That season ended with Palace's relegation from the Premier League, whilst Brighton having survived a number of High Court actions maintained their Division Two status.
In August 1993, the second friendly took place, the game was to have been a Testimonial for Gary O'Reilly, but row apparently about Gate receipts scuppered that. Once again, some Palace fans were subjected to another Tear gas attack, this time in a Pub, before the game. Just for once, Palace really turned on the style, even though both Armstrong and Rodger were out injured. A 2,000-strong Palace possee saw Southgate, Osborn and Bowry grab three goals, without reply. A performance that underlined the major difference in class that now existed between the sides - click here for match report.
THE FANS ARE REVOLTING ...
The last meeting between the sides at the DIY store, err sorry, Goldstone, took place in July 1995. Guess what? Another really crap performance, but still the Eagles managed a 1-0 victory thanks to Bruce Dyer - the following games resounded to the terrace chant of "Drinks lots of Holsten, Scores at the Goldstone" to the tune of Robin Hood - click here for match report.
Midway through the season, Liam Brady, the new messiah who was supposed to lead them out of Division Two looked to be doing a grand job. Perhaps no-one told him that they were supposed to leave by the front door not the tradesman entrance, ah but then this is Brighton we are talking about.
Midway through the season Brady had to make way for Jimmy Case, although strangely Brady turned up again as part of a consortium bidding for the Club. The fans unrest began to swell unpleasantly as the Goldstone eyesore was sold for development without a new ground being agreed. A ground-sharing link with Portsmouth was muted, but in the final game of the season with Brighton already relegated, their fans poured onto the pitch in numbers and caused the abandonment of a game crucial to the other relegation places in the division. The league were not amused and slapped a suspended points deduction on the Club.
At the start of the following season, things really began to hot up as the fans became more orchestrated in their campaign to oust who they believed to be the principal villians of the piece, Archer & Bellotti. Both were targeted for abuse and even death threats, match-by-match demonstrations and set-pieces were executed until the inevitable happened, more fans strayed onto the pitch causing a long delay to another game. The FA were unbending and handed out a two point deduction - despite much wailing and many appeals the ruling was not overturned. The deduction wouldn't really count for too much if the 'Weeds had not been fighting for their League existence. Once again, Brighton failed to perform on the pitch and coming into the last four weeks of the season were five points adrift at the foot of Division Three, with yet another manager, Steve Gritt at the helm.
Palace fans invented there own song to rejoice in Brighton's plight (to the tune of the Laughing Policeman):
"I know a fat old Policeman,
He's always on the beat,
That fat & jolly red-faced man,
He really is treat,
You'll always find him laughing,
He's never known to frown,
The reason for his jollity,
Is Brighton going down ...
AH! HAH! HAH! HAH! HAH! HAH! HA!" (ad lib to fade)
Surprisingly though, the ex-Charlton man kept them in the League with a string of home victories. They stayed at the expense of Hereford, whom they played away on the last game of the season. A 1-1 draw was enough to keep them in the League thanks to a superior number of goals scored. The following week, the dentists in and around Croydon were full of patients having teeth ungritted.
Whilst the ownership battle headed for a reasonably amicable resolution after months of arbitration, the question about where they would play next season was still in the air. Earlier in the season, Brighton announced they would be ground-sharing with Gillingham, but the new consortium then wanted to move to Hove Dog-track (appropriate really) instead. Gillingham demanded the full rent as per their original agreement, so Brighton had little option but to go there to play - a round trip of over 150 miles.
When they arrived at Priestfield for their first friendly, who should they find giving piss-take interviews to the local radio and TV stations - US. The inaugural game at their temporary home was a friendly against Palace at the distinctly unfriendly time of noon on a Saturday morning (Police advice again). Only about 400 Brighton fans bothered which meant they were just about outnumbered by the 600 or so Palace fans. In terms of atmosphere it was more like a reserve game.
Neither side seemed too bothered on the pitch in temperatures of over 90 degrees and when Palace fell behind, they took most of the match struggling to find a way back. Thankfully they managed this, albeit in the last few moments of the game. Brighton's bete-noire, Bruce Dyer, popped up to head home from close range. Up to this season there had never been more than one division between the two sides, but with Palace having one of their brief Premiership sojourns and Brighton glued to the wrong end of the third division table, they were almost separtely by a league.
Doncaster Rovers fulfilled the trap-door spot from quite early on, but Brighton couldn't struggle out of 23rd place at all. This season, however, there is a growing prospect that we may end up in the same divison next year. As Brighton (until recently) under the stewardship of another anti-Christ Brian Horton are amongst the play-off hopefuls, whilst Palace, at the time of writing, teeter increasingly precariously above the first division relegation zone. Horton, in the end, showed his true colours as a "Seagull" manager - Flew in, made a lot of noise, shat all over everyone and flew away again - off to join the mighty glamour club, Port Vale.
So what if we were to meet again next season ... Brighton have now finally moved back "home" to the Withdean Stadium (capacity 6,000) with space for just 300 away fans! What will the police advise about this, we wonder?
Whilst Man Utd continue to generate a great deal of vocal hatred at Palace, due mainly to the actions of an unhinged Frenchman and the subsequent repercussions, in truth, this is not a proper rivalry. Those that have been around a few years will remember QPR in the early 80's and Arsenal after Wrighty defected attracted large amounts of vocal bile, but that faded eventually, just as the Man Utd chants will. At the end of the day, for every "Stand up if you hate Man U" song there will be a small posse singing about going off to war with Brighton. For every Beckham or Cantona chant there will be a chorus of "The famous Alan Mullery". Brighton is still the score most Palace fans look for and delight in when they've lost.
Sorry also to Wimbledon, Charlton and Millwall - you are merely pretenders at the throne of our only true rivals - Brighton & Hove Albion - Why? Quite simply "Because of Boxing Day".
the start of the rivalry
Palace v Brighton
F.A. Cup 1st Round 1976
This fixture is generally accepted as being the one that sparked off the rivalry between the two third division promotion rivals. The tie went to a second replay at Stamford Bridge with a Palace win and Brighton manager Alan Mullary doing his stuff.
The first match on November 20th was at the Goldstone. A two all draw. Peter Ward opened the scoring with Peter Ward after a dodgy back pass from Jim Cannon in the 21st minute.
Ian Evans hit back on 60 for the Eagles but suffered a second Brighton goal on 46 from Ian Mellor.
However in the 75th minute. Rachid (lend us a quid) Harkouk came off the bench having been banned for nearly three months and scored to earn a replay.
The following Tuesday they were back at Selhurst Park and Ian Mellor proved to be the bane of Palace Cup aspirations. Equalising from another Harkouk goal in the 6th minute, again from a pass from Hinshelwood Mellor's header cancelled that out on 13 and Palace by all accounts lost ground in extra time. Keeper Paul Hammond and Jim Cannon who had to take a pain killing injection prior to the game starting. The game finished 1-1 and of course back then we didn't have penalty shoot outs. Oh no a second replay at Stamford Bridge was in prospect.
What a match it turned out to be. Phil Holder won it for Palace early on but two disallowed Brighton goals resulted in Mullery storming onto the pitch and throwing a total wobbler.
The first incident was after Peter Ward had his goal dissallowed for hand ball when in fact he should have been given a penalty after having been impeded by Cannon. Ever the gentleman, the centre half and Palace God admitted after the game that he had, "nudged him in the back...".
That wasn't the end of it though. Oh no! If the previous injustice wasn't enough to warm your @#%$les you've got to hear this one. Cattlin was brought down in the box by Barry Silkman. Penalty. Up steps Brian Horton and despite Hammond getting a hand on it the ball ends up in the net. But wait. In steps referee Ron Challis and orders a retake for encroaching in the box by a Palace player. So, Horton, steam still pouring out of his ears spotted the ball and Hammond saved the penalty.
Mullary went ape@#%$. "How can a referee give us the advantage of a penalty spot and then take it away?"There was only one team in it and yet we go out and they stay in."(Croydon Advertiser).
Mullary further compounded his indignity with the famous two fingered salute at the Palace supporters followed by dramatically throwing five one pound notes on the ground and adding "They are not worth that"(Croydon Advertiser).
It's all here. Give yourself some time to read it though!South Yarra Seagull said:
http://www.palace-echo.net/bha1.shtml
Croydonbloke
Palace in Sussex
You support Brighton do you. If so any Brighton fan has more of an idea as to why you hate us soooooo much.South Yarra Seagull said:
Tony Meolas Loan Spell
Slut Faced Whores
DÃnN¥ §ëÃGuLL© said:Dunno what you mean, I hate Leyton Orient
And by that statement Danny you must be about 10 years old. We dont hate Orient. Never have done never will do. They are as much our rivals as Brentfords or QPR.
Palace are our rivals. Plain and simple. The fact that for a few years we have not played them is irrelevant. There was a period in the late 80's early 90's when Sheff Wed/Sheff Utd never played each other for about 10 years.
Sheff Utd were in the old Third for ages while Weds was in the old Second/First. There was then a Zenith Data Syastems match in 1992 which attracted 32000 coz it was the first derby in about 10 years between the two sides.
Croydonbloke
Palace in Sussex
Sorted. What do you think then.AJ's Love Monkey said:
Croydonbloke
Palace in Sussex
We played eachother in the Simod cup and it only attracted 2,500 or less than that if i`m correct.Tony Meolas Loan Spell said:
Tony Meolas Loan Spell
Slut Faced Whores
Croydonbloke said:
Dont remember that game! No doubt you probably won. That why I cant recall!! I remember us playing Bradford away in the Simod Cup an thats the game at the Goldstone with you in the Zenith Data thingy.
Anyway my point was that even tho we havent played you lot many times in recent years it doesnt alter the fact that you are our rivals!
And I get annoyed when kids think its Orient for us lot and Winbledon or Charlton or Millwall for you lot.
Moshe Gariani
Well-known member
- Mar 10, 2005
- 12,156
2,207 was the impressive sum of the loyal smeggy sons (+ a few Albion) on the occasion to which you refer...Croydonbloke said:
(NB when we played in the ZDS at the Goldstone there were 9,633...still not a big number - but those were days of generally lower attendances and it was a completely Mickey Mouse competition after all ...)
(edited Mickey Mouse cup name)
Last edited:
Croydonbloke
Palace in Sussex
And the score wasMoshe Gariani said:
? 2-1 To us I think