low Albion following

[Trigger]

Football League Trophy - Round 2 - KO 19:45
Walsall 5 (2) - 0(0) Brighton
Watson 18
Boli 38
Keates 52
Allan 80(og)
Boli 83

At Bescot Stadium on 06-01-1998



Walsall: Walker ,Evans ,Marsh ,Viveash ,Mountfield (Roper ,73 ) ,Peron ,Boli ,Porter ,Keates (Blake ,67 ) ,Watson (Platt ,67 ) ,Hodge

Brighton: Ormerod ,Saul ,Tuck (Mayo ,45 ) ,Armstrong ,Smith ,Allan ,Storer ,Reinelt ,Barker ,Ansah (Westcott ,78 ) ,Linger (McNally ,62)

Bookings: Viveash (Walsall) Linger ,Storer (Brighton)

Attendance: 2562


Referee: S W Mathieson (Cheshire)


Very few away fans that night...

 

[Hannibal smith]

1998 Walsall away Auto Windscreens Shield or whatever it was called. I think we lost 5-0 and there were about 50 of us there.

Strange thing was that was one of only 2 games I saw in a 3 year period when I had just moved to the midlands. I was shagging a girl in Walsall and decided to watch the albion rather than spend it with her mates. The football was marginally preferable even after the drubbing.

 

[Dave the OAP]

Which away games have you been to with a really low Albion turnout?

a couple that spring to mind for us are

Plymouth Simod cup or whatever - early 90's, won on pens (I think)
Norwich same comp, year or so before, lost 5-0

if my memories correct both followings numbered about 50

Swansea as Beach Ht said, Sunderland, one Tuesday night back in the last 70's I think it was...there was about 20 of us in teh stand and were chased back to the station after the game by HUGE skinheads

 

[Black Country Seagull]

Last season at Shrewsbury. 150ish hearty souls [at the start anyway]

More like between 70-100, don't think you can count DK, Perry and the youth team in the attendance figures

 

[Black Country Seagull]

1998 Walsall away Auto Windscreens Shield or whatever it was called. I think we lost 5-0 and there were about 50 of us there.

Strange thing was that was one of only 2 games I saw in a 3 year period when I had just moved to the midlands. I was shagging a girl in Walsall and decided to watch the albion rather than spend it with her mates. The football was marginally preferable even after the drubbing.

Shagging a girl in Walsall, how many kids did she have?

 

[Tony Meolas Loan Spell]

Leeds United away 1988. Lost 1-0 there was (literally) about 2 coach loads of us.

 

[Hannibal smith]

Shagging a girl in Walsall, how many kids did she have?

She was proper class. Rough but shagged like a bunny. She worked in Macdonalds! I used to make her shower before I'd shag her if she had just come home from work. I was absolutely desperate at the time and dumped her when I woke up one night when her cat was shitting in the corner of the bedroom. Enough is enough.

 

[saltash seagull]

More like between 70-100, don't think you can count DK, Perry and the youth team in the attendance figures

i was there weren't many thats for sure

 

[Gazwag]

I can't believe we have much of a following in the Isle of Wight

 

[Gully]

What a lot of people forget is that during the early 80's, when footy violence was still a massive problem, our away following was pretty poor. I went to a game at Maine Road when there can't have been any more than 300, that must have been for a Div 2 game in about 1988/89. There were a group of maybe 50 of us huddled together in a massive stand behind the goal, the remainder were on a terrace at the side of the Kippax. I reckon if we played them today we would probably get at least 1500, albeit to the new ground, our away following now isn't really too bad at all.

 

[Ernest]

What a lot of people forget is that during the early 80's, when footy violence was still a massive problem, our away following was pretty poor. I went to a game at Maine Road when there can't have been any more than 300, that must have been for a Div 2 game in about 1988/89. There were a group of maybe 50 of us huddled together in a massive stand behind the goal, the remainder were on a terrace at the side of the Kippax. I reckon if we played them today we would probably get at least 1500, albeit to the new ground, our away following now isn't really too bad at all.

Even at places like Anfield we were lucky to take 200/300 and for more dodgier places it was spot the Brighton fan.

 

[Dave the OAP]

Leeds United away 1988. Lost 1-0 there was (literally) about 2 coach loads of us.

was it not 3-1


I was there...loads of Leeds neanderthals in our end.....when they scored, one turned round and said " come on then"......I moved towards him and a copper stepped in front of me...my missus asked him why they were not moved to the leeds end and he said as they all had soutehrn accents they may have been mistook for Brighton fans and would have been beaten up..." Good " I said.

When the third one went in it really kicked off and I seem to recall that same copper nailing one of them to the fencing as a Brighton lad twatted him.

It was fun outside too Hence my dislike for Leeds

 

[Dave the OAP]

What a lot of people forget is that during the early 80's, when footy violence was still a massive problem, our away following was pretty poor. I went to a game at Maine Road when there can't have been any more than 300, that must have been for a Div 2 game in about 1988/89. There were a group of maybe 50 of us huddled together in a massive stand behind the goal, the remainder were on a terrace at the side of the Kippax. I reckon if we played them today we would probably get at least 1500, albeit to the new ground, our away following now isn't really too bad at all.

We were sat behind the goal in the City end....was that the game where Horton missed a penalty? If it was I seem to recall we scoring and I lept up and about 1000 mancs all started shouting in our direction...I sat down quickly after that

 

[Rougvie]

Sunderland away at Roker Park in about 1985, think we lost 2-1, Gary O'Reilly was sent off, the away crowd was less than 50. I was in the away stand, resplendant in blue and white scarf, saw another couple of Brighton fans but that was about it. Was probably the only time I have been in the away end wearing my colours, was with a Sunderland fan anyway, think the locals just viewed me with curiousity and I certainly didn't feel threatened in any way.

My first 'away day' (discounting the Cup Final) as it was a nice easy drive down from RAF Boulmer where my old man was stationed at the time, cant actually remember much about it let alone how many we took.

I more recent times Shrewsbury away last season I think had an 'official' attendance of 343 away fans, but we didnt count much more that 130 or so !!!

(I was pissed mind you)

 

[Brovion]

Even at places like Anfield we were lucky to take 200/300 and for more dodgier places it was spot the Brighton fan.

True. We're not talking about Torquay away on a Tuesday night in the Paintpot Cup when you can expect a poor turnout. The fact is when we were in the top division we would only ever take a few hundred to places like Old Trafford, Anfield, Goodison, Maine Road etc for 'mundane' League games. There were probably more Brighton fans at Yeovil last Tuesday than for the first time we played Man U on a Saturday at Old Trafford. (Lost 2-0 if I recall, enlivened by a fight between Eric Steele and Gary Williams!)

It was partly the threat of violence but also a belief that the football was 'boring'. We weren't twatting teams the way we used to in Divs 2 and 3 and the good ol' fickle Brighton fans weren't prepared to put up with the 'rubbish' served up by the team when we were struggling in the top division.

 

[The Auditor]

Even at places like Anfield we were lucky to take 200/300 and for more dodgier places it was spot the Brighton fan.

I remember a big ruck outside at Anfield...very unpleasant...it was the day Alan Minter lost to Marvin Hagler

 

[Ernest]

I remember a big ruck outside at Anfield...very unpleasant...it was the day Alan Minter lost to Marvin Hagler

I was there that afternoon, I went on the penguin and gonzo's party booking

 

[BensGrandad]

the lowest I can remember was during Cloughies time we played Walsall at their old ground Fellows Park midweek and the snow was on the ground the match was put back 24 hours and there was hardly any BHA supporters there. About 6 of us went to the pub near there for a meal and the team were there after the game Cloughie picked up the bill for the six of us. I dont know whether he paid or he added it to the clubs bills.

 

[Gully]

DtG, don't remember much about the game, can't even remember if we scored. My only memories were that the area round the ground was the roughest place I had ever been to, at least at that stage, there were almost no Albion fans in evidence outside the ground. The police directed me towards the away end, this involved walking along a curved road with brick walls either side, I was cacking myself as I was constantly expecting to be jumped.

I had travelled up to the Sunderland game on the bus from London with a bloke from work. We went out to the ground by train from Newcastle, on leaving the ground a cop in a van spotted my scarf and beckoned me over to him. He offered me a lift to the ground, I told him not to worry as I wasn't an animal, he said "aye lad, you might not be, but they are". Have to say that Roker Park wasn't very threatening at all, perhaps the fact that there were so few of us there meant that there wasn't going to be any trouble, or that there was little or no history between us.