mcshane in the 79th
New member
- Nov 4, 2005
- 10,485
Littlehampton to the east edge of Havant (not sure if that can be classed as Portsmouth though) is 23 miles
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Have you lot seen this Guardian piece? (merged)
- Thread starter CHAPPERS
- Start date
Littlehampton to the east edge of Havant (not sure if that can be classed as Portsmouth though) is 23 miles
eastlondonseagull
Well-known member
Crystal Phallus are our nearest rivals (apart from Crawley).
Vegas Seagull
New member
- Jul 10, 2009
- 7,782
Such a long write up & still no space to mention our 10 match unbeaten run in the middle
Albumen
Don't wait for me!
Sorry if this is in another thread. It made me laugh though
European Football Weekends: Brighton & Hove Albion v Crystal Palace - The thoughts of Kevin Day
I just want to get this over with now. I've been as nervous as Ryan Giggs in a newsagent for the past six weeks and I never get nervous because I'm old enough to believe that football is just a game. But this one is so not just a game. So I just want to take the inevitable stuffing, turn the phone off and hide under the duvet until the seaweed fans switch their gloating searchlights elsewhere - and if you think the eye of Sauron is an unforgiving and exhausting gaze, it's nothing to what Palace fans have been subjected to from the smugness of Sussex recently.
And if that strikes you as a tone of weary resignation then congratulations, you've caught the mood of Palace fans. Our away form is dismal: the defeat at Doncaster being the latest proof that Palace could make a fortune by hiring themselves out to shit teams desperate for a win. And although our financial fortunes have improved, the seaweed are officially on a roll. They've got a brand new environmentally friendly stadium powered solely by self-righteousness (I'm not saying it's middle class but I believe Sandi Toksvig is the pitch announcer). They've got money to burn and a team playing free flowing attractive football. Not only that, but they seem to be in the wank bank of every journalist and pundit south of the river - I have been told off many times for shouting "get a room" at Steve Claridge as he bats his eyelashes and tells us how brilliant and gorgeous Brighton are.
"But Kevin” I hear you say (and I really do hear you, the voices in my head won't go away until this is over), "Why such bitterness about a team that play fifty miles away from you?" It is odd that they are our bitterest rivals. Millwall and Charlton carry on their scrap dealing ways unhindered by our contempt, they don't even register. It's all reserved for Brighton. And the odd thing is, it's all so new. It's only since an FA Cup game that went to a third replay at Stamford Bridge in 1975, that this passion has been unleashed. I was there, it was one of my first 'away' matches a kid and I still remember Alan Mullery's face contorted with rage, attempting to confront Palace fans, which being Alan Mullery he obviously failed to do (if I was the Navy Seal that found Bin Laden and Mullery was next to him, I would have been in a real pickle).
Both teams were in the old Third Division then and got promoted and relegated together in several seasons to come. Within five seasons it became a lifelong enmity and some of the pre and post match fighting was horrendous (and let's face it, out of character, neither team had any sort of reputation for trouble).
I'm also aware that dispassionately, the Brighton story is a good one. A team saved from oblivion, travelling from ground to ground, being refused permission to come home then returning triumphant to their own
patch. A romantic football lover like me should be all over that. But I can't be dispassionate about them. Especially not when people I never knew were Brighton fans have crawled out of the woodwork to tweet and
text me about how good they are. My God, I wish I had gloated when they were two divisions below us and really shit, but I didn't because Palace fans are too nice. And now it's too late. We're going to lose
and they are going to gloat.
European Football Weekends: Brighton & Hove Albion v Crystal Palace - The thoughts of Kevin Day
I just want to get this over with now. I've been as nervous as Ryan Giggs in a newsagent for the past six weeks and I never get nervous because I'm old enough to believe that football is just a game. But this one is so not just a game. So I just want to take the inevitable stuffing, turn the phone off and hide under the duvet until the seaweed fans switch their gloating searchlights elsewhere - and if you think the eye of Sauron is an unforgiving and exhausting gaze, it's nothing to what Palace fans have been subjected to from the smugness of Sussex recently.
And if that strikes you as a tone of weary resignation then congratulations, you've caught the mood of Palace fans. Our away form is dismal: the defeat at Doncaster being the latest proof that Palace could make a fortune by hiring themselves out to shit teams desperate for a win. And although our financial fortunes have improved, the seaweed are officially on a roll. They've got a brand new environmentally friendly stadium powered solely by self-righteousness (I'm not saying it's middle class but I believe Sandi Toksvig is the pitch announcer). They've got money to burn and a team playing free flowing attractive football. Not only that, but they seem to be in the wank bank of every journalist and pundit south of the river - I have been told off many times for shouting "get a room" at Steve Claridge as he bats his eyelashes and tells us how brilliant and gorgeous Brighton are.
"But Kevin” I hear you say (and I really do hear you, the voices in my head won't go away until this is over), "Why such bitterness about a team that play fifty miles away from you?" It is odd that they are our bitterest rivals. Millwall and Charlton carry on their scrap dealing ways unhindered by our contempt, they don't even register. It's all reserved for Brighton. And the odd thing is, it's all so new. It's only since an FA Cup game that went to a third replay at Stamford Bridge in 1975, that this passion has been unleashed. I was there, it was one of my first 'away' matches a kid and I still remember Alan Mullery's face contorted with rage, attempting to confront Palace fans, which being Alan Mullery he obviously failed to do (if I was the Navy Seal that found Bin Laden and Mullery was next to him, I would have been in a real pickle).
Both teams were in the old Third Division then and got promoted and relegated together in several seasons to come. Within five seasons it became a lifelong enmity and some of the pre and post match fighting was horrendous (and let's face it, out of character, neither team had any sort of reputation for trouble).
I'm also aware that dispassionately, the Brighton story is a good one. A team saved from oblivion, travelling from ground to ground, being refused permission to come home then returning triumphant to their own
patch. A romantic football lover like me should be all over that. But I can't be dispassionate about them. Especially not when people I never knew were Brighton fans have crawled out of the woodwork to tweet and
text me about how good they are. My God, I wish I had gloated when they were two divisions below us and really shit, but I didn't because Palace fans are too nice. And now it's too late. We're going to lose
and they are going to gloat.
News about Rachid Harkouk, whose goal might be said to have started the whole thing off (bizarre - I remember seeing him play for Notts County in the First Division.............................
Incidentally, I was thinking that Rachid Harkouk, who I can't say I really remember as a player but sounds great and had a fascinating route into the professional game, was interesting enough to warrant a bit of further investigation. Might be hard to get hold of him at the moment, though: last month he was sentenced to 28 months in prison for conspiracy to supply illegal drugs.
Incidentally, I was thinking that Rachid Harkouk, who I can't say I really remember as a player but sounds great and had a fascinating route into the professional game, was interesting enough to warrant a bit of further investigation. Might be hard to get hold of him at the moment, though: last month he was sentenced to 28 months in prison for conspiracy to supply illegal drugs.
grummitts gloves
New member
Remember this quote from the Evening Standard in 2005. Sums up the rivalry perfectly for me..
"For Palace fans, being beaten by Brighton at home is as bad as it gets. For reasons totally unfathomable to the rest of the football nation, the two sets of supporters detest each other with a passion rarely seen outside the Balkans. No wonder Iain Dowie was "angry and disappointed" after the feeble midweek display"
"For Palace fans, being beaten by Brighton at home is as bad as it gets. For reasons totally unfathomable to the rest of the football nation, the two sets of supporters detest each other with a passion rarely seen outside the Balkans. No wonder Iain Dowie was "angry and disappointed" after the feeble midweek display"
The_Real_SussexSeagull123
New member
- Aug 4, 2011
- 707
Interesting read. Cheers for posting!
The game according to Raphael Honigstein (Guardian)
Why Spain were anything but boring - FIFA World Cup Blog
Why Spain were anything but boring - FIFA World Cup Blog
Paskman
Not a user
This link was the best bit though - remember Rachid Harkouk?
http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/Ex-Magpies-star-jailed-drugs-case/story-13170844-detail/story.html
http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/Ex-Magpies-star-jailed-drugs-case/story-13170844-detail/story.html
rcf0712
Out Here In The Perimeter
Goldstone Rapper
Rediffusion PlayerofYear
Barrel of Fun
Abort, retry, fail
The player in the red top looks more like a maths teacher than a footballer.
Clapham Old Mug
New member
Strange - I always thought it was a particularly evil, career-ending tackle on Gerry Ryan in a Palace game in the mid-80s that started it all off?
Randsta
New member
Lincoln Imp
Well-known member
- Feb 2, 2009
- 5,964
Nice to know there's a few guardian readers on nsc
Yes, although the writer obviously didn't know that Portsmouth and Brighton are more than 20 miles away either or he would have commented - and it's inexplicable that Ryan's career-ending afternoon at Selhurst Park wasn't seen as relevant. Still, let's be grateful that the smug and resentful Conn wasn't writing the piece.
Hove Seagull
Well-known member
Crawley aren't rivals. They're just a joke.
However, they might well be Tuesday night rivals for Palace next season!
Hove Seagull
Well-known member
This did make mae laugh out loud whilst drinking a cup of coffee ( I am now mopping up the cofee on my desk)
They've got a brand new environmentally friendly stadium powered solely by self-righteousness
Whereas, jealousy powers the lights at Selhurst.
Hove Seagull
Well-known member
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh memories
Official programme 15p. Them were the days!