That Bloke That Created Fans United in 1997 - Wasnt he a Plymouth Fan?

[Bwian]

According to a Stoke fan on their forum, we're the equivilent of scum for arranging the Fans United day against one of our relegation rivals at the time. As it somehow guaranteed that we would win and was effectively a form of cheating and was nothing to do with off the pitch issues. Very odd

If anybody from here is registered on there, maybe they should post this (lifted from a Fans United thread from years ago)

RAGE ONLINE
United Colours of Football

We went to a football match the other day. That isn't an unusual occurrence. Less usual was that fans of almost every league club were there. The match was Brighton against Hartlepool. The occasion was Fans United.
The idea of "Fans United" came not from a Brighton fan, but from a teenage Plymouth fan. It quickly sprang into reality. Fans from all over the country used the Internet to confirm that they would be there on the day. The day itself was an occasion containing some of the most exhilirating, poignant and downright satisfying scenes yet seen in football.

We arrived early enough to meet up with fans in the Hedgehog and Hogshead pub. The day started as it was set to continue - we seemed to meet fans of all the clubs that had beaten Oxford this season. This started with a conversation with a Southampton fan in the pub. It took a while to get used to the strangeness of the atmosphere - fans of so many different clubs gathered together with nothing more than friendly banter to show for it. Soon our goal became to spot fans of as many clubs as we could. We also bumped into four other Oxford fans.

After a wander into Hove for some lunch, we walked back past the ground to Hove Rugby Club. On the route through the park were posted messages of support from fans of clubs around the UK and Europe. This included a large number from local rivals Crystal Palace - this issue transcending the otherwise important sense of local rivalry. It was wonderful to see the number of messages from people outside the UK - the Internet had transformed Brighton's fight into an international issue.

A sharp reminder that Brighton are not the only club with troubles was to be found at the rugby club. In addition to the collection bucket for Brighton was one for Bournemouth as well - a club in perhaps even greater danger of going out of business. Indeed if Bournemouth were to fold it might even save Brighton from the drop, but this was not a day for such selfishness. People gave generously to both concerns.

Back at the ground we met a Brighton supporter of pensionable age, who spoke with real hatred of Archer, Stanley and Bellotti. He reminded us for how long he had put time, effort and money into Brighton compared with the current regime. But above all he expressed wonder and gratitude at the multitude of different fans that arrived to help HIS club.

The game itself was a unique and uplifting experience. The ground was flooded with shirts and banners of all colours. The noise had to be heard to be believed; the free whistles provided were certainly well used. Large banners were passed above the heads of the people in the crowd. An Eintracht Frankfurt banner was marched up and down in front of the main stand. We stood and chatted to fans from Cambridge and, poignantly, one from the now defunct Maidstone United. A Chelsea fan stood on someone's shoulders and led the crowd in various anti-Archer chanting. We all cheered Brighton on. It was easy to see Hartlepool as the fall-guys in this match, with everyone (bar Hartlepool fans presumably) rooting for Brighton, but I'm sure most of their fans saw the point. Hartlepool fans recently asked their club's season ticket holders to pay at the tunrstiles, so serious is their own crisis. Fans of many of the lower division clubs had "it could be us" at the back of their minds, I'm sure.

This was an occasion about as far removed from the ideals of the Premiership, Champions League and other assorted money-fests as one could get. Unsurprisingly one of the organisers told us the worst response had been from Manchester United. There is little to link them and the likes of Brighton these days.

But what a success! Fans United was an occasion for football supporters from all corners of the land to show solidarity with Brighton. Solidarity against a board callous enough to sell the Goldstone Ground without any sound plan for a replacement. Solidarity against the kind of bad ownership that leaves a once successful club close to dropping out of league football altogether. Most of all, solidarity in the sentiment "Archer Out!" And I think we proved our point...

(Oh, by the way, the match ended Brighton 5 Hartlepool 0)