[Albion] What a Lovely Club Chelsea Are..

[el punal]

All of the above, but the biggest disappointment for me is the number of Albion STHs whose first club is Chelsea. I just don’t get it!!

Really? So someone who supports Chelsea is going to fork out north of £500 a year to watch a club they’re not a fan of? I think not.

 

[lawros left foot]

Am I the only one who can sympathise with Tuchel?

I think the obvious answer to reinvigorate Chelsea’s title challenge is to recall some of their young players out on loan on January 1st.


Starting with Gallagher from Palace.


In fact, maybe just Gallagher from Palace.

 

[faoileán]

I worked with a lad who, in the 80s and early 90s would meet up in a pub on the Fulham Road and, if Chelsea had a black player in the team they wouldn't attend. When they did go, he spent the whole game, back to the pitch, 'hold me backing' at the away fans.

He had mental health issues, now resolved (age helps - he's 66 now. FFS).



Chelsea were a proper club at one time. Not sure what they are now. Weirdos.

Depends what you mean by proper club; late 70s into the 80s and 90s they attracted a certain type of fan from far and wide across the fringes of south west London and down into Surrey, generally the type who liked to put the boot in. Facists like the NF and BM were well supported by The Shed as were Ulster loyalist terrorists like the UVF. These days their fan base seems to mainly comprise a blend of elderly ex hooligans and nice middle class boys from Twickenham.

 

[timbha]

Really? So someone who supports Chelsea is going to fork out north of £500 a year to watch a club they’re not a fan of? I think not.

Didn’t say that. I said their “first” club is Chelsea

 

[Hamilton]

He won't because he can't. If it were true then there would be similar if not more Arsenal and Spurs fans plus those from United and Liverpool. It's pure fabrication to say that swathes of Brighton fans only follow the Albion when they can't get to see their ' first' club. Chelsea would never be the first choice for generations of Sussex kids because they've only been consistently successful for the last 18 years since they've been bankrolled by Abramovich

I might venture that it goes way back.

Pre and Post-war there was a significant increase in the population of Brighton & Hove as many residents left London for surrounding towns. My grandparents were such examples bringing their Tottenham, Chelsea and Millwall allegiances down to the south coast. I think that many of those allegiances were passed to sons (and daughters) then and these were then passed on further to grandsons and granddaughters. Add to that the wilderness years and it's not surprising that there are many here who support other teams.

We all know Brighton is a transient town with many students having settled here from the 70s onwards, after the expansion of the universities. They in turn have bought their own football allegiances.

Brighton is not a town where people stay, like say Stoke. It's a town people move to. That's why the club are (or were) trying to position this as Sussex's club.

I think there are a huge number of Albion fans, but there are just as many supporting other clubs.

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

When I was a child, living in Horsham, the only sports shop was SuperSports in West Street. All you could ever get in there was Liverpool, Man Utd and Chelsea stuff. From a very young age I've hated all three, especially Chelsea. Every time they are mentioned, their manager (whoever they are) my hatred is reaffirmed.

Their fans, their manager, their owner, their shitty ground, their kit, their very existence can **** off

 

[dejavuatbtn]

Tuchel epitomises the club

No, whoever appointed Terry, the ultimate anti role model, as youth team coach epitomises the club.

 

[brighton_tom]

All of the above, but the biggest disappointment for me is the number of Albion STHs whose first club is Chelsea. I just don’t get it!!

Pardon? Been a STH for many years, including every of the Amex seasons, and never heard of or met any Chelsea fans who also happen to have a Brighton season ticket.

 

[faoileán]

I might venture that it goes way back.

Pre and Post-war there was a significant increase in the population of Brighton & Hove as many residents left London for surrounding towns. My grandparents were such examples bringing their Tottenham, Chelsea and Millwall allegiances down to the south coast. I think that many of those allegiances were passed to sons (and daughters) then and these were then passed on further to grandsons and granddaughters. Add to that the wilderness years and it's not surprising that there are many here who support other teams.

We all know Brighton is a transient town with many students having settled here from the 70s onwards, after the expansion of the universities. They in turn have bought their own football allegiances.

Brighton is not a town where people stay, like say Stoke. It's a town people move to. That's why the club are (or were) trying to position this as Sussex's club.

I think there are a huge number of Albion fans, but there are just as many supporting other clubs.

I agree with most of this, but I think an interesting thing happening is that the kids of people who've moved to Brighton from the 4 corners are growing-up Albion fans. We are re-building a solid fan-base.

 

[PeterT]

I know of at least 10 that I could name off the top of my head. On the basis that I know less than 1% of Albion’s fan base I’ll leave it for you to extrapolate.

Might reflect more on the people you mix with?

But I’ve done the maths and now I’m worried. This is just Chelsea. Assuming there are others in Albion’s fan base who follow other clubs, in an average crowd it means 27,000 support other teams, 3,000 are away fans anyway and the remaining handful are Albion fans.

Worrying times, and I haven’t even included Dunky’s dog in that !

Or maybe your original statement is, shall we say, fake news?

 

[Stainsey]

And what about their 'fans' in the lower East Stand throwing the ball away from the pitch at least twice, if not three times in the last 10 minutes. They were playing little old Brighton, but still wanted to try and waste time. Utter contempt for them all.

 

[Blue3]

Apart from Palace my most disliked London club fans are racist thugs and some of the players are no better

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Chelsea have always been a horrible club followed by complete bell ends, this isn’t new, I started hating them and their racist fans back in the early 70s ( you can add dirty Leeds to that as well)

I can beat that.
My dislike goes to 1967, when we earned a replay in the FA cup. We all went up to London on the train after work to find Docherty had closed the gates, so a sizeable number of Brighton fans couldn’t get in.

 

[Not Andy Naylor]

Very interesting thread. As someone who has to deal with clubs for work and sees them from the inside, so to speak, I seem to have a completely different view of Chelsea from almost everyone on here. I can't disagree with anyone's opinions on John Terry, large chunks of their fanbase, Abramovich and how he made his money etc but there's a lot to like about the club itself.

Perhaps unexpectedly for an organisation that went through so many changes when the current owner took over, they have kept a sense of tradition, perhaps even strengthened it. The people who staff the training ground and the media areas are the same people who have always done it; indeed the lady in charge of media tickets recently celebrated 40 years at Stamford Bridge.

Former Albion and Chelsea defender Gary Chivers speaks very well of the way they look after former players, paying for medical care and even some big operations, and not just the big names. They were also very pro-active when allegations came to light about sexual abuse of young players by a scout employed by them decades before Abramovich was involved. They employed a law firm to find out the facts and, I believe, even compensated victims privately - which, as effectively a different company, they were probably not legally obliged to do.

Being an Albion fan but also having to have professional relationships with our opponents can be quite testing. I have to admit that a certain club in Croydon is very easy to deal with, however much I want them to lose every match they play. And even that shower at Fr*tt*n P*rk are and were always quite friendly. The other Hampshire club, though ...

 

[dejavuatbtn]

Pardon? Been a STH for many years, including every of the Amex seasons, and never heard of or met any Chelsea fans who also happen to have a Brighton season ticket.

I did meet Greg Stanley once…….

 

[Raleigh Chopper]

Very interesting thread. As someone who has to deal with clubs for work and sees them from the inside, so to speak, I seem to have a completely different view of Chelsea from almost everyone on here. I can't disagree with anyone's opinions on John Terry, large chunks of their fanbase, Abramovich and how he made his money etc but there's a lot to like about the club itself.

Perhaps unexpectedly for an organisation that went through so many changes when the current owner took over, they have kept a sense of tradition, perhaps even strengthened it. The people who staff the training ground and the media areas are the same people who have always done it; indeed the lady in charge of media tickets recently celebrated 40 years at Stamford Bridge.

Former Albion and Chelsea defender Gary Chivers speaks very well of the way they look after former players, paying for medical care and even some big operations, and not just the big names. They were also very pro-active when allegations came to light about sexual abuse of young players by a scout employed by them decades before Abramovich was involved. They employed a law firm to find out the facts and, I believe, even compensated victims privately - which, as effectively a different company, they were probably not legally obliged to do.

Being an Albion fan but also having to have professional relationships with our opponents can be quite testing. I have to admit that a certain club in Croydon is very easy to deal with, however much I want them to lose every match they play. And even that shower at Fr*tt*n P*rk are and were always quite friendly. The other Hampshire club, though ...

I always thought that Eastleigh are a nice club, what is your problem with them?

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Depends what you mean by proper club; late 70s into the 80s and 90s they attracted a certain type of fan from far and wide across the fringes of south west London and down into Surrey, generally the type who liked to put the boot in. Facists like the NF and BM were well supported by The Shed as were Ulster loyalist terrorists like the UVF. These days their fan base seems to mainly comprise a blend of elderly ex hooligans and nice middle class boys from Twickenham.

I was being facetious. I agree with your comments.

 

[Not Andy Naylor]

I always thought that Eastleigh are a nice club, what is your problem with them?

Actually, Eastleigh are great. When P*rtsm**th used to train literally across the road from them, we used Eastleigh FC's car park because it was much easier on your tyres and axles than the moonscape in the Premier League club's so-called training complex (actually just a few portakabins next to an especially ramshackle part of Southampton University's mostly far superior sports facilities). It was quite funny watching the likes of Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch trying to negotiate their Lamborghinis and Ferraris around the potholes.

 

[southstandandy]

Nice to see them losing shit loads of money too!

"European champions Chelsea have announced losses of £145.6m after tax for the year to 30 June 2021. Chelsea FC PLC continues to be supported financially by Fordstam Limited, a company owned by Roman Abramovich - with confirmation in the accounts that the club owes more than £1bn to "related companies".

The accounts also say that "the company is reliant on Fordstam Limited for its continued financial support". It says Fordstam has indicated support will continue "for the foreseeable future".

Holy cow.

 

[The-Libertine]

I hate them because of Greg Stanley.