[Albion] Small sections of our away support at FGR

[Slum_Wolf]

I had a rare away outing and experienced no issues. The away support was quiet tbh. I didn't see or hear anything untoward.

Yeah, I took my young son to his first away game (he loved it) and it was fine. Did choose where we stood carefully though by getting in quite early...

 

[albionant]

100%. Grown men spent 20 min singing about their right back having a hard on, it was cringeworthy.

 

[Dick Knights Mumm]

Yeah, I took my young son to his first away game (he loved it) and it was fine. Did choose where we stood carefully though by getting in quite early...

You were probably stood in front of us!

 

[jcdenton08]

Drugs combined with being natural scumbags. It’s football as it ever was. Not condoning it but there’s ASBO types at every single game. Even see it as the T20 now.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Interesting to find out that I don’t like football

To be fair I did make the schoolboy error of making a sweeping generalization. I was referring to the people who take coke and then act like a dick at football. If you take coke and don't act like a dick at football, great. You have mentioned your use in the past (when you were fed up during lockdown) and you don't seem to me to be a nob. But I don't know you so apologies if you are one

 

[Husty]

Amazing what a comfortable middle age period does to the psyche.

Bet many of our elders were saying exactly the same thing back in the early 80’s at Barnet away.

Nail on head.

 

[keaton]

I watched a fair bit of Isthmian league last season and observed from standing behind the goal that opposition keepers would have to put up with near constant abuse from a fair number of idiots . Most popular
chant being " your effing shite " on repeat . Don't recall this from the old days at the Goldstone ( John Burridge excepted ) where the away keeper was usually given a round of applause from the North Stand .

It happened every game at the Goldstone in the 90s from what I can remember

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

Drugs combined with being natural scumbags. It’s football as it ever was. Not condoning it but there’s ASBO types at every single game. Even see it as the T20 now.

Is it football as it ever was?

Yes, there's always been bellends. But I suppose the difference is the proportion of bellends? in the past you could accurately use the phrase tiny minority. Not sure that applies any more.

The best example is England fans. There's been disorder going back years, of course there has, but it's the numbers. A few dozen or couple of hundred causing disorder in Charleroi or somewhere is depressing, but nothing you can't sort out with the judicious use of watercannon. The wake up to English football really should have been the disorder at Wembley for the euros. When the disorder is involving thousands of people, you can no longer really say It's a tiny minority.

I should say of course there's a huge difference between, what happened at Forest Green and what happened at Wembley, i'm not conflating the two, I just think the proportions of people who openly engage in antisocial behaviour have got noticeably worse in the last few years and I think both are for similar reasons. The increase in cocaine use in stadia. The divisive, attention seeking and normalisation of extremity on social media. The general levels of anger and division we have in our society.

I agree with the person who was saying that the answer in the short term is to video whatever you see and send it to them club. Thankfully at the moment, it does only seem to happen during specific events

 

[wuntbedruv]

It happened every game at the Goldstone in the 90s from what I can remember

And around bonfire night we lobbed bangers at the goalie.

 

[Albion in the north]

I think its always been the way and I found it worse in the Gus era. Less people, same number or more vocal dickheads. Took a non BHA supporting mate to Blackpool away one year. A bunch of not so young "supporters" just hurling abuse at the linesman constantly for 90 minutes.

 

[The Seagull]

Back then Cocaine was only available to Popstars and The Landed Gentry.

One of these ‘fans’ had eyes like a killer shark last night, don’t get me wrong like a large number of people in my generation I’ve dabbled in things I maybe shouldn’t have , but why take Coke when going to football?

Surely you’re there to enjoy yourself watching the Albion?

Coke will keep going on an all day football bender. And it’s so available now I’m afraid.

In regards behaviour. I see some of the behaviour of the younger lads and hate it BUT I remember some of my behaviour and cringe. It’s part of getting old. And remember you would have been in an era where hooliganism was rife, but now we get annoyed if somebody swears near us (I’m being silly), but it’s age old boy.

 

[Jeremiah]

Unfortunately we have moved into a shameless society. Just take a look at the excellent "Night Coppers" TV series based in Brighton to see how many of the young and middle age behave nowadays when on drugs - BTW is taking drugs still illegal , I get confused in today's " liberal modern" world ?

 

[Change at Barnham]

The behaviour today is very disappointing and embarrassing. It would be great if it could be reduced or eliminated.

However, overall I find the general behaviour of fans today far better than in the 70's/80's/90's when I often feared getting beaten up. It also was a time when a lot of unprovoked damage was committed.

I assume CCTV has curbed a lot of behaviour.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

The behaviour today is very disappointing and embarrassing. It would be great if it could be reduced or eliminated.

However, overall I find the general behaviour of fans today far better than in the 70's/80's/90's when I often feared getting beaten up. It also was a time when a lot of unprovoked damage was committed.

I assume CCTV has curbed a lot of behaviour.

Yes. A percentage of humans (I don't know what percentage) enjoy breaking rules. Another percentage like to have a laugh. Another percentage like to intimidate others. There is a mixture of these characteristics (the mixture can include zero of course) in all of us. And other characteristics.....

So to keep order we have rules and to be effective they have to be enforced. Their is always pushback. There are always others who want serious draconian action.

Somewhere in the middle we create a scenario that a majority can live with.

Maybe at the moment we need a bit more intervention. More filming, as others have said, followed by action.

Incidentally what action was taken against the palace prats who jumped the turnstiles and set of multiple flares? Lots of video footage. Any bans?

 

[dazzer6666]

Wasn’t any worse last night than any other away game IMO, the usual group of knobbers were just more visible/audible than normal due to the lack of other noise from us and the stand layout. FGR language etc was pretty much the same from what I could hear.

 

[Napper]

scum can be scum regardless what substance they take. Will be equally as big a bell end when on the booze.

Same as alcohol , there will be many that enjoy the game with a few sniffs that know how to behave.

It's a people problem


**edit

Also looking forward to the Leeds threads. Will be a good few instances of bad behavior that's for sure. Hopefully Southern will at least have a semi ok service this time though. Should be interesting

 

[rippleman]

I am of similar vintage as the OP. In my youth I suppose I was what he would now regard as a bit of a bellend. Drink won't have helped but I've never gone near coke.

I was slung out of the North Stand several times; swearing and an over-excitable "Knees Up Brighton Town" were two of them. I was on the pitch when the crossbars got smashed at Aldershot. I was on the pitch during the Big Match protest match. I have shouted abuse at numerous opposition players and sung Jimmy Saville songs to Leeds and about "shooting the palace scum".

I wouldn't do now much of what I have done in the past for sure. But neither can I condemn those that are basically doing now what I was doing 40+ years ago.

I'm certain the OP would never have committed any misdemeanours at BHAFC matches in his younger days. But I did and I'm sure plenty of others on this thread did too!

Football has become sanitised over the decades. I'm surprised that the OP can't see that football is a far more pleasant and safe environment than 40/50 years ago.

 

[Stat Brother]

The behaviour today is very disappointing and embarrassing. It would be great if it could be reduced or eliminated.

However, overall I find the general behaviour of fans today far better than in the 70's/80's/90's when I often feared getting beaten up. It also was a time when a lot of unprovoked damage was committed.

I assume CCTV has curbed a lot of behaviour.

I still have a Pavlovian response to 17 year old Jnr wearing an Albion shirt at away games.

I really must let it go, if he can wear it at West Ham after we've stuffed them (again) he can wear it at any of 90 other grounds.

 

[Jeremiah]

Yes. A percentage of humans (I don't know what percentage) enjoy breaking rules. Another percentage like to have a laugh. Another percentage like to intimidate others. There is a mixture of these characteristics (the mixture can include zero of course) in all of us. And other characteristics.....

So to keep order we have rules and to be effective they have to be enforced. Their is always pushback. There are always others who want seriou draconian action.

Somewhere in the middle we create a scenario that a majority can live with.

Maybe at the moment we need a bit more intervention. More filming, as others have said, followed by action.

Incidentally what action was taken against the palace prats who jumped the turnstiles and set of multiple flares? Lots of video footage. Any bans?

Think you are right. But the limited number of Police are running around dealing with shootings and stabbings and politically correct groups trying to restrict them at every turn rather than drugged up fools at football games.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

The football just serves as an incidental backdrop to a Big Awayday Day Out. Different drugs maybe, but essentially a minor variation on the same thing it ever was. Building great memories - apart from the football