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Mike Ward blog in the Indepenent







shaun_rc

New member
Feb 24, 2008
556
Brighton
Like others have said, the more converts the merrier, it was his self promotion (which started pretty much as soon as he switched teams) that always bothered me.

Not just the Palace stuff, I remember him saying he couldn't understand why we came out to "Sussex by the Sea" when he started being a professional Albion fan. The frightening thing is anyone taking notice.

I started to watch Bradford a bit when I lived there, and like FC St. Pauli as well, but I wouldn't immediately get a column in the local paper to tell everyone that the City Gent looked like an idiot, and those skull and crossbones t-shirts look a bit rubbish.

But, we do need the converts at Falmer, as many as possible. Un-patronising fans of Premiership teams are very welcome.
 


El Presidente

The ONLY Gay in Brighton
Helpful Moderator
Jul 5, 2003
40,006
Pattknull med Haksprut
Not just the Palace stuff.

But surely the Palace question he asked is a valid one from any sane person who was not there at the time.

Why should supporters of two clubs, who before the mid 70's had no real rivalry, and after the mid 80's hardly played each other, have this vitriolic level of hatred?
 


shaun_rc

New member
Feb 24, 2008
556
Brighton
This is for another thread, but the Palace thing is more complicated than "vitriolic hatred". It's woven into the club's history, but that's ignoring the REMF days, and other links that are based on banter rather than blind hatred. Teams need rivals to spice things up a bit, and the last couple of times we have played them have shown they are still lively - that 1-0 at their place was epic for example.

People are welcome to come to support us, but we're not MK Dons, we do have a history...
 


portlock seagull

Well-known member
Jul 28, 2003
17,777
Why should supporters of two clubs, who before the mid 70's had no real rivalry, and after the mid 80's hardly played each other, have this vitriolic level of hatred?

Fear. Fear is the answer you seek. Fear of a dark passing game: the selhurst route-1. Much suffering (to the neck) this then causes. That is the lesson we must never let our children forget. Because suffering leads to anger.....which leads to HATE.
 




Barnham Seagull

Yapton Actually
Dec 28, 2005
2,353
Yapton
I think the comment he was making that it would be better in the top half of div 1 rather than the bottom half of the championship as fans might stay away, which quite frankly is bollocks.

I'm sure Mike is nice guy etc and I have no problem with him swapping Aresenal for us, his mouthpiece is the radio and the papers mine is NSC if he does not like my comments I could not care less thow.

If he does not like people commenting on what he says on the radio maybe he should not do it?
 


Was that the time when THPP and thee got accused of being emissaries of Beelzebub and Bill Archer because we dared to criticise the all-round GUMBYNESS of the phone-in? :lol:
I LOVE the word GUMBYNESS! :clap2: Pretty much - I think it was something to do with not boycotting Mansfield and not going on marches. Which is interesting as I was working during the Mansfield game and did go on marches. :wink:
 


Gwylan

Well-known member
Jul 5, 2003
31,827
Uffern
I constantly scratch me head at the amount of venom levelled at people connected with the club, be it players (and no doubt it will kick off at the end of this match), management, directors, Andy Naylor, Harty or indeed Mike Ward.
This club has had REAL enemies, De Vicci, Bellotti, Stanley and Archer, not the likes of Mike Ward.

That should be run across the top of every page of NSC to remind ourselves who we've been fighting against (although El Pres missed out Baker, Cuttress, Catt and that mad witch in Peacehaven whose name I've forgotten).
 






Dave the OAP

Well-known member
Jul 5, 2003
46,761
at home
If you plan coming to Edinburgh for #ClimateCamp from south coast get in touch. Transport (two ways) from £30 - cheaper if happy 2B arrested

Can you get away with saying things like that on Twitter?
 


El Presidente

The ONLY Gay in Brighton
Helpful Moderator
Jul 5, 2003
40,006
Pattknull med Haksprut
It's woven into the club's history

But it isn't, that's the point I am making. Before 1976 there was no 'history' as such.

Even when both teams were a bit shite in the mid 80's the level of hatred appeared to have dissipated as the fans started to accept the mediocrity of the fare before us on a regular basis.
 




Icy Gull

Back on the rollercoaster
Jul 5, 2003
72,015
But it isn't, that's the point I am making. Before 1976 there was no 'history' as such.

Even when both teams were a bit shite in the mid 80's the level of hatred appeared to have dissipated as the fans started to accept the mediocrity of the fare before us on a regular basis.

It's an interesting point, those Mullery/Venables games were just fanbloodyastic for atmosphere, even if the football was often quite crap. The rivalry was definitely built on the fact we were the two best supported teams in the third division who then went through the 2nd together with Palace pipping us in the last game of the season to win the title. Similar gates and locked together in intense rivalry for 5 years or so, with the Challis Cup game thrown in for good measure.

Personally I think a similar rivalry would have grown with Reading if we'd been able to keep pace with them after Pardew's "best team in the division didn't win the League One title" season. The rivalry was building nicely and then unfortunately we got relegated. If we'd matched them for 4 or so seasons I think they could have been the younger fans equivalent of our 70's rivalry with Palace.
 


Comedy Steve

We're f'ing brilliant
Oct 20, 2003
1,485
BN6
I can't understand why anyone would be of differing opinions in this. In order for Albion to do better, we need to fill Falmer. In order to fill Falmer, we need to recruit a new section of fans. Yes, we used to fill the Goldstone Ground with those sort of numbers, but that was so long ago there's been a generational leap since.

If you are a die-hard Albion fan who has suffered the ignomy of Priestfield and a decade of Withdean, then your reward when you are sat next to lots of newbie fans at Falmer, is that you appreciate what you have so much more. It's not about bragging rights or superiority complexes.

On a separate note I find that the 'new' fans I recruit shout more encouragement and don't slag off our own players, what with them not being encumbered with 20 years of Albion supporting cynicism. Put 13,500 of these people next to us and the positivity will lift the roof, the team, and the whole city.

In my opinion, everyone should be press-ganging everyone they know to be there when it happens. That way, you can truly be personally responsible for the success of our team.
 


I can't understand why anyone would be of differing opinions in this. In order for Albion to do better, we need to fill Falmer.

I don't think anyone is of differing opinions on that point to be fair. The only person suggesting that we have die-hard fans who don't want newcomers to fill Falmer is that idiot Mike Ward. And he is only saying that because he is a deluded self-important twat that still can't grasp the fact that it is HIM that we dislike, not new, or "ex-Arsenal" fans.
 




On a separate note I find that the 'new' fans I recruit shout more encouragement and don't slag off our own players, what with them not being encumbered with 20 years of Albion supporting cynicism. Put 13,500 of these people next to us and the positivity will lift the roof, the team, and the whole city.
Sadly Waldorf and Statler sat behind me last night completely disprove that theory. Besides demanding that Lua Lua come on every 2 minutes and complaining that the seconds on the clock were broken because they were ticking down 1 every minute (!), we had to endure every cliched joke in the book up to and including the ref should have gone to Specsavers. And, believe it or not, cries of Hoof It everytime we strung together more than 2 passes. And allowing 10 year olds to swear up to and including the F word.

Let's just say that I wasn't surprised when one of them announced it was his first game since Luton in the JPT.
 
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Bevendean Hillbilly

New member
Sep 4, 2006
12,805
Nestling in green nowhere
I don't think anyone is of differing opinions on that point to be fair. The only person suggesting that we have die-hard fans who don't want newcomers to fill Falmer is that idiot Mike Ward. And he is only saying that because he is a deluded self-important twat that still can't grasp the fact that it is HIM that we dislike, not new, or "ex-Arsenal" fans.

Seeing as how Wardy has crowbarred himself into every other niche within the club perhaps he could be put in charge of recruiting fans from prem teams along to falmer?

It would involve him travelling to a prem ground every Saturday and handing out pamphlets (written by him with his photo on the front) extolling the benefits of swapping allegiance to the albion. There are many he could mention, book deals, opinion pieces, media coverage,blogs and personal appearances in the Directors...oh and there is a radio show too for the new fan to discuss the womens rugby on.

Unfortunately this would mean he was unable to do the phone in.
 


Comedy Steve

We're f'ing brilliant
Oct 20, 2003
1,485
BN6
Sadly Waldorf and Statler sat behind me last night completely disprove that theory. Besides demanding that Lua Lua come on every 2 minutes and complaining that the seconds on the clock were broken because they were ticking down 1 every minute (!), we had to endure every cliched joke in the book up to and including the ref should have gone to Specsavers. And, believe it or not, cries of Hoof It everytime we strung together more than 2 passes. And allowing 10 year olds to swear up to and including the F word.

Let's just say that I wasn't surprised when one of them announced it was his first game since Luton in the JPT.
Ha ha! Oh dear, sounds horrific.

The key bit of my sentence was '*I* recruit'. I can't vouch the numpties who arrive without my personal recommendation ;).
 


I don't think anyone is of differing opinions on that point to be fair. The only person suggesting that we have die-hard fans who don't want newcomers to fill Falmer is that idiot Mike Ward. And he is only saying that because he is a deluded self-important twat that still can't grasp the fact that it is HIM that we dislike, not new, or "ex-Arsenal" fans.

Absolutely. He is dull, his opinions are usually bollocks because he's generally clueless, and his writing style is dreadful. His radio presenting isn't even the talkspite style of playing devils advocate with the most ridiculous statements designed to drive calls in to the show, he just talks bollocks, and far too much of it.

The fact that he has shoehorned his way into all these positions doesn't bother me particularly EXCEPT he does now seem to be the go to person for the media to go to for a comment about the Albion and I don't like this dull ill-informed moron speaking for me.
 




Wozza

Custom title
NSC Patron
Jul 6, 2003
24,373
Minteh Wonderland
I don't think anyone is of differing opinions on that point to be fair. The only person suggesting that we have die-hard fans who don't want newcomers to fill Falmer is that idiot Mike Ward. And he is only saying that because he is a deluded self-important twat that still can't grasp the fact that it is HIM that we dislike, not new, or "ex-Arsenal" fans.

I'm told Mike is not going to rest until he's officially recognised as Albion's number one 'Wardy', and 'not that short, crappy striker from the 60s or whenever it was'.
 


Jam The Man

Well-known member
Jul 5, 2003
8,226
South East North Lancing
Sadly Waldorf and Statler sat behind me last night completely disprove that theory. Besides demanding that Lua Lua come on every 2 minutes and complaining that the seconds on the clock were broken because they were ticking down 1 every minute (!), we had to endure every cliched joke in the book up to and including the ref should have gone to Specsavers. And, believe it or not, cries of Hoof It everytime we strung together more than 2 passes. And allowing 10 year olds to swear up to and including the F word.

Let's just say that I wasn't surprised when one of them announced it was his first game since Luton in the JPT.

Funny you should say that.
I had my usual C Block ST seat last night and didn't recognise the vast majority of people nearby. As is my way in most games, last night I had a couple of my 'get-up-stand-up-5 second passion rants' at a poor refereeing decision.... and when I sat down cue 3 or 4 'fans' behind me who stated quietly but loud enough for these ears to hear:
'what a freak'
'get a life'
'it's only a friendly(!)'
'it's not that important'
etc

The thing is, my rant was actually quite tame - no bad language.. just a regular fan caring for his team.

I felt like saying in response 'f*ck off if you don't like it - it IS that important, and I WILL be passionate about my club if I want to, even though you seem to know f*ck all about it.'

But I didn't respond because it's too much effort - and it's not even their fault - they just don't get it... they're not 'bad fans'..they JUST DON'T GET IT!

No doubt my passion will get banned from The Amex... especially if i'm having to deliver it from the Family stand!




I really shouldn't have re-read 'Build A Bonfire' this week! :lolol:
 


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