[Albion] Arrogant rivals during our skint years (but who's laughing now?)

[Weststander]

During and after the larceny of the Goldstone Ground, we faced arrogance from some cntish sets of other supporters and sometimes the clubs themselves. The following spring to mind:

Reading - a small club in the big picture of English football, but Madejski gave them a fleeting period in the sun. Their supporters very much enjoyed our demise and thought they were now big time for good.

Cheaterfield - tw@ts.

Leyton Orient - although I've always quite liked them, battling for survival in the midst of EPL clubs.

Gillingham - I know from the old Albion board that Scally behind the scenes was a t@ssr to us.

I don't care if it's "punching down", but we had the last laugh, once DK then TB set us on course to regain this huge catchment area all for ourselves.

The trajectory of this wonderful club has been amazing. I wonder what those tin pots think now about Little Old Brighton.


Any others I've missed out?

 

[dangull]

Portsmouth won an FA Cup with money they couldn't afford.
For an historical big club, they have been languishing in the lower leagues for a long time now.

 

[Cheeky Monkey]

Our Chelsea match highlights on YouTube are closing in on 1m views. 928,000 currently, admittedly 13,201 mine. Who’d have thunk it back in the day?

More randomly, Liam Bridcutt still has him in BHA kit as his Wikipedia photo, never changed it.

Even more randomly, on the BBC Liverpool match thread the other evening, co-commentator Glenn Murray’s tagline was ‘Former Crystal Palace striker’. No mention of us. I guess the BBC see Palace as more of a Premier League club than us.

As you were.

 

[Guinness Boy]

During and after the larceny of the Goldstone Ground, we faced arrogance from some cntish sets of other supporters and sometimes the clubs themselves. The following spring to mind:

Reading - a small club in the big picture of English football, but Madejski gave them a fleeting period in the sun. Their supporters very much enjoyed our demise and thought they were now big time for good.

Cheaterfield - tw@ts.

Leyton Orient - although I've always quite liked them, battling for survival in the midst of EPL clubs.

Gillingham - I know from the old Albion board that Scally behind the scenes was a t@ssr to us.

I don't care if it's "punching down", but we had the last laugh, once DK then TB set us on course to regain this huge catchment area all for ourselves.

The trajectory of this wonderful club has been amazing. I wonder what those tin pots think now about Little Old Brighton.


Any others I've missed out?

Slightly mixed emotions with Reading. I mean, in general they're a tin pot club with a handful of supporters, an embarrassing club song and a tendency to initiate celebratory pitch invasions a little too quickly. Some may say premature. And yet I've known two Reading supporters in my life and they're two of the most decent blokes you could ever want to meet, and it just makes me hold off any hatred. I just find them slightly gigglesome.

No doubt we were poorly treated by Gillingham, a shithole I hope never to return to. Orient were never our rivals really, it was just Hearn doing anything he could to try and fabricate a rivalry. You only need to look at the Eubank Jr / Benn goings on at the moment to see that, while successful, the family may not have a huge moral compass.

But Cheaterfield are the ones I really despise, not so much for the brown envelopes but because it's one of those places, along with Birmingham, where I've been chased by a large group of blokes outnumbering us by at least 10 to 1.

We had a good rivalry with Cardiff for a while (remember Laughing Bluebird and Taffy?) though I wouldn't say they're doing too badly and could well come back up again with a change of ownership. The Sala thing is grubby but nothing to do with us. And I've got a good mate who's ex Soul Crew and went on a decent pub crawl with a few of their characters as a result.

Sheffield Wednesday ?

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

Massive

 

[Seasider78]

During and after the larceny of the Goldstone Ground, we faced arrogance from some cntish sets of other supporters and sometimes the clubs themselves. The following spring to mind:

Reading - a small club in the big picture of English football, but Madejski gave them a fleeting period in the sun. Their supporters very much enjoyed our demise and thought they were now big time for good.

Cheaterfield - tw@ts.

Leyton Orient - although I've always quite liked them, battling for survival in the midst of EPL clubs.

Gillingham - I know from the old Albion board that Scally behind the scenes was a t@ssr to us.

I don't care if it's "punching down", but we had the last laugh, once DK then TB set us on course to regain this huge catchment area all for ourselves.

The trajectory of this wonderful club has been amazing. I wonder what those tin pots think now about Little Old Brighton.


Any others I've missed out?

Well there was NIgel ‘keep up’ Adkins and his saints mob but they seem to have done alright for themselves and one of the key players in that side now plays for us so probably not one for the list!!

Sheffield Wednesday worth adding after the playoff defeat

 

[Giraffe]

Funny though it is, I can't help but feel for the likes of Portsmouth and Wednesday their time will come. Both big clubs that deserve a minimum of Championshi football. Football is cyclical and we could quite easily end up in the same division again.

As for Swindon/Leyton Orient and even Gillingham. Their rivalry was always laughable, albeit enjoyable at the time.

I'll never forget the dismay that Swindon fans had when we signed Gordon Greer, thinking they were bigger than us!

 

[BrianB]

 

[GT49er]

Well there was NIgel ‘keep up’ Adkins and his saints mob but they seem to have done alright for themselves and one of the key players in that side now plays for us so probably not one for the list!!

Sheffield Wednesday worth adding after the playoff defeat

....... and Middlesbrough and their grizzling to a gullible ref for causing said play-off Heading for the third divsion? Hope so - schadenfreude!

 

[Poojah]

Can I just second Cheaterfield, proper horrible club that consistently finds inventive new ways to be horrible. If they’re not molesting their back room staff they’re attempting to murder the opposition in the club car park.

Their fans embody everything their club stands for.

 

[Green Cross Code Man]

But Cheaterfield are the ones I really despise, not so much for the brown envelopes but because it's one of those places, along with Birmingham, where I've been chased by a large group of blokes outnumbering us by at least 10 to 1.

I think I may have seen you if it was in one of the streets behind the away end. Saw a number of Brighton being chased by a larger mob racing by. I recall the chesterfield lot looked very National Frontish. The sort you'd see at the footie in Brighton back in the 70's, but then it's up north and about 20 or 30 years behind.

 

[Terry Butcher Tribute Act]

Cardiff - when those pricks tried to unsettle Zamora. Didn't it all get a bit tasty at Ninian Park too?

A very brief rivalry

 

[Saladpack Seagull]

I was the only Albion fan amidst a mass of Pompey supporting workmates. I used to hate going in after yet another poor result and enduring such remarks as "How did the Seaweeds get on ?" and having the division we were in described as "Mickey Mouse football". If we'd had a hammering or had just been relegated I would front it out by wearing my Albion shirt into work to show some sort of defiance. How times have changed. I left that job 11 years ago so I haven't been able to bask in our current glory whilst in the company of those same Pompey fans.........but actually I don't care!

 

[sparkie]

Cardiff.

Sam and the lads didn't come for a "poxy point".


And "Sideways Swindon".

 

[TugWilson]

Lenny bloody Lawrence and the Cheaterfield gobshite show , oh and were skint Pompey , how many LOCAL small businesses went bust cos of them . These are my two candidates for "The Bellend club Hall of Fame " , with special mentions to Scally`s girls sorry gills and Leyton we want BHAFC kicked out of the football league Orient .

 

[hart's shirt]

 

[dejavuatbtn]

I have always been a bit wary of lauding it over other clubs - what comes around goes around. However, Palace can do one, as can Chelsea, Man Utd, Chesterfield, Swindon, Cardiff, Orient ……."
I don’t have a problem with most of the teams at the top as most of them have earned their place in the order of things other thanCity and Newcastle who should be in a league of their own and play with each other every week.

 

[albionfan37]

Charlton should be right up the top of the ****ish list
I remember them poaching fans by the coach load, I hope they rot in the lower leagues forever

 

[wigman]

Portsmouth for me.
When we lost the Goldstone they were lapping it up.
It's now like they've been in hibernation for years.
Long may it continue.

 

[Weststander]

Charlton should be right up the top of the ****ish list
I remember them poaching fans by the coach load, I hope they rot in the lower leagues forever

Charlton, Chavski and Palarse also had a free run at Sussex kids for their academies. Running feeder centres around our county.

The opening of Lancing HQ was the final piece in the jigsaw for us.