Goldstone Rapper
Rediffusion PlayerofYear
To be fair to Bournemouth, they probably had access to much better drugs than us in the 1970s....
pompey or southampton is bigger for them
Still can feel the physical scars from the game in "71 when they surprised us and got in the North Stand 2 hours before kick off,it was a Bank holiday game and we were the first Albion in the ground,about 20 of us trying to defend the North Stand from hundreds of them,but it all came good in the end.
Saint Johns Ambulance boys wanted to take me to Hove Gen but no way was I leaving the N.S.that day.
I don't hold grudges though but "tomato" day was fun.
Interesting to read some Cherries fans getting quite worked up on another forum about the comparative fan bases of our two clubs and 'who is the biggest' blah blah. They seem to be fixated on a Palace style rant about our recent crowd figures being due to an influx of plastics (yawn).
One poor misguided punter suggests we are cheating because we can draw upon the whole of Sussex for our support. But no doubt many Bournemouth fans come from Dorset and beyond. Yet in another breath claims the population of Bournemouth is more than 400k, which I suggest makes their support shameful. I thought 'surely it can't be that 'but found that the 400k includes Poole and Christchurch.
From my point of view it seems simpler to just focus on the names of our respective teams (the clue is in the name) so Brighton and Hove (Albion) has a population of 273k. Whereas (AFC) Bournemouth has a population of 183k. OK it is a crude analogy but maybe better reflects the proportions of fans the respective clubs enjoy these days.
Even then one of the Cherries fans claims we are cheating because we should not include 'Hove'. I don't know what planet the poor misguided Cherry lives on but we have been Brighton and Hove Albion for most of existence and technically they are still Bournemouth and Boscombe FC, so not as if we are moving the goalposts.
Even back in the 70's we both managed crowds over 20k and occasionally we were up around 30k, so what has changed? Why doesn't a similar big seaside resort like Bournemouth have a comparable footie club?
They have had their ups and downs both on and off the pitch and have also updated Dean Court over the years, despite mainly existing in the lower leagues, a bit like us in recent years. They are probably batting at or well above their true position allowing for budgets etc despite having some well heeled owners. OK Dean Court isn't exactly The Amex but if they suddenly built a 30k stadium after years without a ground of their own would they get 26k average crowds? Somehow I don't feel there is a sleeping giant of a Club waiting to be woken up.
I think that bloke being hit on his, er, truncheon by that truncheon might have been distressed!Sanctimonious arse that commentator is. "These are very distressing scenes". What? They're not DISTRESSING in any way. Filipino people with no homes and drinking water following the typhoon is distressing. A child suffering a life threatening illness is distressing. A cat lying in the road having been hit by a car might be distressing to many.
A bunch of blokes running on a football pitch for five minutes, waving a banner is not in any way, shape or form "distressing".
An ordinary lower division club currently having a temporary foray into this division, with very average support and no real history or tradition of being in the big time. Not seen by me to be a rival of any sort.
Ah the million dollar question about crowds..yes, god knows why ours nosedived. Certainly having Saints close doesn't help. I still think you have better county wide support than we do. I was at Horsham for an athletics meeting and the local rag had a regular column by the 'north west sussex' albion supporters club, or something like that! Impressive.
No one is claiming that we are a sleeping giant, but 15k crowds should be possible. The local population 'urban area' is slightly less than yours, which, yes, makes our attendances terrible!
just seen as a jolly up, not even in our leagueAgree with you there .....15k well within your grasp, not being sarcastic, I like your club, nice to see you doing so well this year, hope you stay up. Good point for us today,always a tricky game at your place.
just seen as a jolly up, not even in our league
regards
DR
Agree with you there .....15k well within your grasp, not being sarcastic, I like your club, nice to see you doing so well this year, hope you stay up. Good point for us today,always a tricky game at your place.
since i've been going you've turned up on ONE occasion for an FA cup game at the Goldstone late eightiesOf course not. Don't think i've recovered since the last visit. Had nightmares ever since