Seaside Saga

This production was lovingly prepared by:

Jackie Mooney

Along with the Seaside Saga Team, which this month includes:

Mark Absolon, Don Rankear, Gulliver, Helen Mackenzie, Sarah Glaskin, Roy Scarborough, Graham Sturges, Gloria Gobblechops, Simon Levenson, and Tom Cox. Also I must thank Dave, my long suffering other half, and technical advisor!

Also, a huge thank you to our friends who support other teams, but took time to contribute something to Seaside Saga, Simon Baker, Chris Jones, Dan Westwell and Jon Wainwright

If you wish to purchase any of our back issues, just send a cheque for one pound, payable to J. Mooney to the address at the bottom of the page.

The views stated in this fanzine are those of the individual contributor, and I take no responsibility whatsoever for the fact that they may have written something that you either don't like, or don't agree with. If you want to argue with them, do it through the letters page please. The ethos of the fanzine is that everyone has their own individual view, and we try to listen to all, even if we disagree. At the end of the day, we ALL support Brighton and Hove Albion!

Send everything to:

Seaside Saga

PO BOX 2197

HOVE

East Sussex

BN3 4RF

or, for those of you with the capabilities: e-mail us on

[email protected]

Please feel free to write in, it's your fanzine, and your views are always welcome.

Last season we were selling 10x8 colour photo's of the Goldstone Ground, for four pounds. We have 15 left, if you would like one, please send a cheque for £4.00 payable to J. Mooney, to the above address.

If you would like to receive Seaside Saga for the rest of the season, please send a cheque for £10.00 to the same address.

Well, some good news at last. I'm sure I can't have been the only person who found it rather hard to believe Dick Knight finally is Chairman of our club. Even reading it in black and white, I still felt unsure for several days. The best news is of course that we have ridded ourselves of Bellotti, and hopefully his name will never be mentioned again. Him and Archer will surely be remembered forever as two people who did more to harm our Football Club than anyone else in the whole of it's long history.

With a new Chairman, small crowds at 'home' and team performances that aren't perhaps the best in the world, it's time to turn our attention to lifting our team a few places in the League, which is where we came in last season. We need to somehow bring back the missing thousands, and get behind the team again. It becomes increasingly clear that Gillingham is most unsuitable, and we just aren't going to get the support there that the team needs. Playing at Gillingham isn't playing 'at home', and it is vital that we now find somewhere to play where Brighton supporters feel more welcome. The attitude of stewards and police alike have to be seen to be believed. Then I'm sure the missing thousands will again return to cheer the team to victory and we can begin to climb up the table. I mean this with no disrespect to Gillingham supporters, who probably love their ground in the same way we loved the Ground.

I must say a big welcome home to Simon Valder, and say how good it is to see him travelling to support the Albion. The auction is still currently running on the Internet and all the money raised from the sale is going into the Simon Valder Appeal Fund. The items on offer include a signed photo of Tom Cruise, signed 'X - Files' memorabilia, and boxing shorts signed by Muhammed Ali plus many more items from the world of sport, films and TV. The closing date is the 24th September, if you have access to the Internet, please take a look: http://legends-in-time.com

Thanks also to the Paul Brown, a Seagulls supporter, currently living in Canada, running the auction, who has also donated most of the items.

I have also had a letter, from a Doncaster Rovers supporter. Unfortunately there wasn't room in this issue to include it, however suffice to say he is desperately concerned about the plight of his Club and is keen to enlist help from Brighton supporters as believes with our experience here, we could work together and help one another. He is keen to meet up with Brighton supporters when our teams meet on the 4th October.

I have heard from lots of people who aren't going to Gillingham because they can't afford to make the journey. The Supporters Club are running coaches to Gillingham this season, at a very reasonable rate. The coaches leave Conway Street in Hove at midday. The cost is œ6.00 for adults, œ5.00 for children, times and prices vary for away games. If you want to book, please phone Liz Costa on 01273 885658.

Finally, please try and get to Gillingham if you can, and support the team. I hope to bring out the next edition to sell on the 8th November, so any articles and letters need to be in by the 29th October please.

Jackie Mooney

DONCASTER ROVERS - BELLE VUE Saturday 4 October

Belle Vue could well be the worst ground in the football league. It is situated directly opposite the racecourse, which is well sign posted. There is a large car park at the ground, charging about £1.50 for cars. There are no pubs by the ground, however there are some worth a visit if you have time. The Cheswold in Herten Way, at the Leisure Park next to Warner Bros cinema, was built in 1994 and has a bar meals area. The Hallcross, 33-34 Hallgate, next to the Odeon cinema and the home of Stocks Brewery. If coming by train you are spoilt for choice, the Corporation Brewery Taps 135 Cleveland Street, The Leopard 1 West Street, The Olde Castle in Market Place and The White Swan 34A Frenchgate which has the highest bar in Britain! There are very few food outlets near the ground, the nearest ones being on the Leisure Park. Doncaster fans have problems with their Chairman and board, so do not be surprised if there are some demonstrations!

CHESTER CITY - DEVA STADIUM Saturday 11 October

The stadium is situated on the edge of an industrial estate, well away from this delightful city with its ancient walls. It is also a couple of miles from the nearest decent pub! The nearest pub to the ground is probably The Watergate Inn, 10 Watergate Square, which makes it very popular on match days! Bar meals are served.

In the city you have loads of pubs to choose from including The Albion, 4 Park Street which is a Victorian street-corner pub with a collection of old signs. The Boathouse Ale Taster Bar in The Groves on the river front, The Talbot, 33 Walter Street, Newtown close to the Northgate Sports Centre and The Union Vaults 44 Egerton Street. There is also an interesting off-licence called The Pop-In 43 Boughton, which sells specialist beers, many bottle conditioned. There is a large car park at the ground charging £1.50 for cars. The small club-shop is worth a visit. The food at the ground, burgers and pies, I seem to recall from my last visit, were fine. Chester is a lovely place for a long weekend away.

Well there will be a different atmosphere when we visit this year, with a change of board and manager since last season. We were made very welcome last year by Tigers 2000 who were campaigning to get Fish and Dolan out at the time and they entertained us at The Malt Shovel, 583 Anloby Road just a five minute walk from the ground. I think it was the Malt Shovel, as I was not driving I got hammered on Humberside! The Three Tins 34 Boothferry Road and The Fiveways Hotel, 317 Boothferry Road are also fan friendly and worth a visit. There are a variety of food outlets along the Anloby Road including fish and chips and a kebab shop. As for the food in the ground, look out for the pasties being probably the best thing on offer. Street parking should not be a problem, but the station (Hull Paragon) is a bit of a walk to the ground of about two miles.

Saturday 1 November

The venue of our only away win of last season. The best place to park for the ground is at Jackson's Wharf, which is part of the new marina. It was free parking last season. If you park there you could do worse than visit Jackson's Wharf, The Highlight, Hartlepool Marina, a new pub serving bar meals. In Whitby Street, not too far from the station is the Brewer & Firkin at No 2 and Fibber McGintys built like an Irish pub, if you are into that sort of thing. If you like breweries, then the Causeway in Elwick Road, Stranton is for you, as it is behind the Camerons Brewery and surprise surprise it serves Camerons Bitter. The Home Supporters bar at the ground made us welcome last year, with everyone in the place predicting a Brighton win! This is another ground to visit and test the pubs plumbing before entering, as the loos are miles away from the entrance - unless I went the wrong way. All I remember is I nearly didn't make it. As for the food at the ground, try the meat and potato pies - they are big!

BRIGHTON/GILLINGHAM

PRIESTFIELD STADIUM

For the benefit of Albion fans I made the ultimate sacrifice and for research purposes only visited a couple of local pubs. These are my findings -

THE BRITANNIA - HIGH STREET

A cosy pub a minutes walk from the station. On tap they have Guinness, Castlemaine XXXX Carlsberg, Kilkenny, Ind Coope Pale, Strongbow, Lowenbrau and Burtonwood Bitter. I had the Burtonwood at £1.25 a pint (!) and very good it was too. I was served by a polite, pony tailed barman, and all was well until I noticed the 'Archers' Peach Schnapps on the back of the bar! Worth a quickie - beer and visit that is.

THE SOUTHERN BELLE - HIGH STREET

You can fall out of the station into this one. A two bar pub with lots of standing room. On tap included Fosters, John Smiths Smooth, Green Label, Strongbow and Marstons Pedigree Bitter. I had the Marstons Pedigree on offer at £1.40 a pint. The place seemed to have an Elvis Presley fixation, with pictures and references to the man on the walls. However, there is a large collage on one wall which also includes pictures of Marilyn Monroe, James Dean and John Lennon among others. If you get high in this pub, you can play the musical instruments fixed onto the ceiling! A good place to meet coming off the train.

If anyone has visited any other pubs in Gillingham and wants to write in with their experiences - good or bad - please do so to the usual address and we will include them in future editions

LET'S GO TO CHESTER

The following was received from Jon Wainwright, editor of the Chester City fanzine, "The Onion Bag". If you're going to Chester, look out for him selling it, it's well worth reading.

So - you've decided to come to Chester? Let me fill you in with a few details of our town and team. I'll start with the team. So far it's been a relatively disappointing start - stuffed by Carlisle in the Coca-Cola and lost all away games whilst being unconvincing at home compared with occasions last season. At least this year we have a semi-decent striker in Gary Bennett. He was a cult-hero at Chester until he left to join mortal enemies Wrexham to become antihero overnight. Now he's back all has been forgiven to a certain extent. The hero of last season was Shaun Reid - Peter Reid's younger brother - who proved an inspirational signing by the unpopular manager Kevin Ratcliffe. Reidy added much needed potency (some would say violence!) to the midfield, and proved the catalyst for a late surge into the play-offs. Alas he did a Gazza and ruptured his knee ligaments in a friendly at Newport County and is probably out for the season. This left the gifted but lazy midfield of Neil Fisher, Chris Priest and Nick Richardson to start out in August. The latter has been dropped after some lethargic performances that beggared belief. Discontent lies also with the two central defenders - Julian Alsford and Spencer Whelan - who both look decidedly dodgy. Of course it's early days yet and the team may yet gel. Players to look out for would be the aforementioned Bennett and Priest as well as reliable full backs Ross Davidson and current N. Ireland international Iain Jenkins. Best player of the lot is the keeper, Ronnie Sinclair - an admirable shot stopper who's deserved popularity won him Player of the Year.

The ground is basic. Away fans usually laugh at it, referring to jokes about Lego and Meccanno, but at least it affords unbroken views from all four sides and despite it's nearly 6.000 capacity, has yet to be filled. Chester fans, as you're going to discover, welcome the ground, having spent two years worrying over the clubs future existence, while playing 45 miles away at Macclesfield. So - no 'Shitty Ground' chants please!

Parking is by the ground (quite expensive and being at the end of a cul-de-sac is effectively at the back of big post-match traffic jams) but better off on approach road (Bumpes Lane) or myriad of side streets in the business park.

Eating? Well I'm not too well up on this but pubs I'd recommend with food (all two miles away - ground is miles from anywhere central) would be Clovertons, The Albion and The George and Dragon. Other good bets would be Custom House and The Commercial.

Places of interest are everywhere in Chester. Round the walls is recommended. The shopping highly regarded throughout the North West - lots of old buildings of course plus a galleried shopping area called The Rows. The River Dee is also very picturesque. If I were in your shoes I'd make it an overnight stop.

Jon Wainwright (Editor - The Onion Bag)

MORE THAN NINETY MINUTES

Two Extraordinary Years In The Life Of a Football Club.

Photographs by Stewart Weir, text by Paul Hayward.

I don't normally include book reviews in the fanzine, but this is one very special book. Packed full of photo's taken by Stewart Weir, it really does tell the story of all that has happened to Brighton & Hove Albion over the past two seasons. It's a book that every Albion supporter will want to own, and will read and look at again and again. It captures all the events of the past two seasons, and as you look through it, you come face to face with many Brighton supporters that you will all know personally. It's like a family photograph album, and it's nice to know that all the people who worked so hard to save our club, are going to be remembered forever.

It tells the story of the main events i.e. the boycott of the Mansfield game, Fans United, the last game at the Goldstone and the Hereford game at the end of last season. But it also captures the emotion of your average Brighton supporter - the highs (yes, there were some) and the lows.

The book is a limited edition, so whatever you do, don't leave it too late to buy yourself a copy. I can promise you that you won't be disappointed, it's a perfect book.

If you live locally, copies of the book can be bought from branches of Sussex Stationers and City Books.

To have a copy mailed to you, send a cheque (payable to "More Than Ninety Minutes") for £22.95 per copy, which does include postage unless you live abroad, to 69 Eastbrook Road, Portslade, Sussex, BN41 1PB.

For further details phone 01273 439728.

DON'S DELIBERATIONS

So Dick Knight is now legally our new Chairman. No disrespect to Dick but I am sure some supporters would like to see the signed documents just to be sure! It took so long for the legals to be sorted, together with the Football Association backed statements at the end of last season making out that the Chairmanship and share transfer had apparently already happened, just to keep the supporters quiet - misled? Yes, we were. Have the Football Association got the balls to do anything about Archer now he is not Chairman?

Still this is something the supporters have been waiting for, even though Archer remains, Bellotti has gone. Is it time to celebrate the weasels departure, why not, although there is still a lot of work to do, like getting us back to the Brighton/Hove area and playing football in Sussex again. Gillingham has got to be the most depressing place on earth, although I was personally pleased to see boycotting Gillingham left to the individual. There were too many different opinions on when it would be OK to go or not - only when Bellotti goes, when Dick takes control, when Archer goes, never etc.

Lets hear it for the Football League with a masterful piece of action denying the Millwall ground share, persecuting two clubs with one decision - how expertly done. Millwall need the money and we the supporters and customers of Brighton & Hove Albion need a more appropriate "home". What an opportunity to show they care - well they obviously do not, but I think we knew that already!

A big thank you to Millwall especially their Chairman for the offer of sharing their ground, and the supporters for all the letters and messages of support. How the Police could initially use the excuse that the Millwall fans would not welcome us at the New Den is beyond belief! Eventually they must have found a couple of residents who did not like the thought of us on their door step every other Saturday (or Sunday). I would like to know what residents, as the ground can hardly be said to be close to houses.

A big welcome home to Simon Valder, back where he belongs with his parental and football family. Messages of support I understand were received in the hundreds by Simon, well done to all those who took time to write to him. I wonder what sentence in life's rich pageant awaits David Bellotti MP Failed in the future.

Still we must try and move on, the team is struggling again - will it be between Doncaster and us this season? I hope not. Early days yet? Mentioning Doncaster they have their own problems at the moment, with their Chairman - what chance we see some demonstrations from the Doncaster fans against their board when we visit them on the 4th October.

With Dick Knight Chairman, will this be the start of a new and brighter era in our history, it certainly could not get any darker. Dick, although he has the support of the majority of supporters, still needs to prove himself with his actions. I am sure he will do a much better job than his predecessor, of that there is no doubt. Although, I for one would like to know a little more about the personalities and finances involved in the backing of our newly appointed board members.

Dick Knight became Chairman with the help of the supporters, who will judge him just like they did Archer. Dick will be acutely aware of how vociferous that can be, he dare not fail.

Finally, I am a bit of a train spotter, as you may know from my piece last month. I read with dismay that a bespectacled gentleman in a flasher mac was riding the tracks in the Bridgend area recently. It is people like that who give train spotting a bad name.

Don Rankear

He may be rank but he is not a wank__!!

A BRIEF GUIDE TO GILLINGHAM

(From One Who Knows!)

So you've found yourself in Gillingham. What's it like, where can I go, what's the quickest way to get out? All these questions and more will be coursing through your brain as you wander around the home of Kent's only football League club.

Gillingham forms part of what is known as the Medway Towns. Along with Strood, Rochester, Chatham and various offshoots too numerous and ghastly to mention, it forms by far the largest population area in Kent. As you may already know, Kent is known as the 'Garden of England', although you will see precious little evidence of this in Medway, the majority of the picturesque bits being found further south, and as a member of that so called newspaper the Star recently informed the nation, Gillingham is in fact the compost heap at the bottom of the garden (he's obviously never been to Dartford). A bit unfair really, as Gillingham is a normal, boring football town, much the same as all the other normal, boring football towns around the country (still, you can't let little things like the facts get in the way of a good stereotype).

The Medway towns used to have a dockyard, and a fair amount of manufacturing industry. Suffice to say it doesn't now, it all disappeared under the Thatcher regime. The dockyard is now a museum, and the main source of income is probably tourism (Rochester being the centre of this).

Gillingham itself is famous for two things; Will Adams, the first European to enter Japan (subject of the TV series Shogun a few years back) and Gillingham FC. It is famous for absolutely nothing else at all. The town is densely populated, with row upon row of terraced houses. This, along with the tight layout of streets and lack of open space combines to give it a very claustrophobic feel.

The main advantage of having had a dockyard is that there are loads of pubs. Nearest to the ground is The Cricketers in Sturdee Avenue. This is a large well appointed boozer, and is the most popular pre-match watering hole amongst the Gills faithful. Also popular is the Livingstone Arms situated in an area known as Livingstone Circus (although it's not quite on a par with Piccadilly Circus). If you are arriving by train, the nearest pub to the station is the Southern Belle, although the smaller and more friendly Britannia just along the High Street is probably a better bet. If you wander in this direction you will encounter numerous other boozers down various side streets, and there should be something to please everyone.

On the food front, the High Street area is again the best bet, with a McDonalds, Wimpy, Pizza place and a small greasy spoon cafe all within a stones throw of the station. On the way to the ground the Balmoral Bakery is worth a look if you're a bit of a pie man (or indeed woman). In the immediate vicinity of the stadium there are two chippys; one in Livingstone Circus, and another at the end of Gordon Road, the latter being the place to go if you want a kebab. It is also worth noting that there is an off licence on the corner of Toronto Road and Livingstone Road, very useful post-match when you've got a dry throat from shouting abuse at the ref all afternoon.

With the level of crowds expected to follow the Seagulls at Gillingham, parking shouldn't be too much of a problem (it's a right bastard at Gills games if you arrive after 2-30pm). Apart from a small car park, it's all street parking. The streets directly around the ground are best avoided, the best bets are Livingstone Road or Sturdee Avenue, both a couple of minutes walk away.

The Ground itself comprises a stand on each side, an uncovered terrace at one end (The 'Gillingham' or 'Town' End) and a partially covered terrace at the other (The Rainham End). The latter is where the majority of the Brighton support will be situated. The Rainham End has the advantage of being able to create an atmosphere with a small number of people (which is all that you'd have been likely to find on it between the years of 1988-1994, when the Gills could generally be relied upon to be absolute crap). There is a lot of building work going on around the ground, and this is likely to continue until Christmas. The new stand on the Gordon Road side is still only partially completed, and although affording the best view and seats in the ground, is somewhat lacking on the refreshment and toilet front, so if you want a seat, a piss and a pie, the old main stand on Redfern Avenue would probably be a better bet (leg room in the enclosure is somewhat less restricted than the seats in the rear for those of us over four feet tall).

So my advice to you Seagulls is this. Accept that you're stuck here for now and make the best of a bad job. In the end it strikes me as a choice between whether you want to support your team or not, and Brighton's chances of staying in the League would surely be massively improved by not having to play in front of sub 1,000 crowds.

KEEP THE FAITH.

Simon Baker (Editor, Brian Moore's Head)

INSIDE THE PROVERBIAL PIE

As the correspondents on the strange matters that football is involved with, we aim to investigate the long standing obsession football supporters have with pies. Also we will give you a few hints on how to bake the perfect pie crust (well, they do say a womans place is in the kitchen).

Our own obsession with pies reached it's peak on Cup Final day 1996, when we munched our way through a whole box of Mr Kiplings apple pies and then proceeded to sing "We ate all the pies". We then also threw Maltesers at Eric Cantona on the telly, but that's another story.

Traditional football pies are reputed to be soggy, cold, grey and with unidentifiable filling. We have been unlucky enough (or should that be lucky enough?) never to have sampled such culinary delights. Of course we are expert pie makers ourselves, amongst our many other (non existent) talents. We give you our recipe for the perfect pie! Make some pastry, don't put in too much water and check your hands are clean. Next stage, get some filling, anything you can find in the fridge will do provided it's edible, and put them in the pastry. Make a pastry lid and put your pie in the oven. By the way, we can't cook, so don't blame us if it tastes horrible. If you want a real recipe you should be reading a cookbook and not a football fanzine!

Why did the pie become the traditional food at football grounds? This question is beyond us. Could it be that the pie is a tasty and nutritious meal that would satisfy the hungriest of football supporters? Could it be that pies are easy and cheap to make, or could it be to give us something to yell at fat people? This question has been puzzling us for some time now, and maybe our investigation will one day lead to an answer.

Perhaps the connection between football and pies has something to do with the phrase "Pie in the sky" many promises made in football are often described as pie in the sky. We won't go into this too deeply because at times it has been rather close to home. Talking of pie in t sky does anyone else remember that childrens programme where a giant pie floated in the sky, and a little person lived in the Pie. As we remember it the pie was above a baker's shop and the Baker had to send his pies up to the man in the pie. No one else we have spoken to remembers this programme, yet we are sure it is not merely figments of our imagination, warped though it is.

Now that we have left the Goldstone, the source of our future pies is unknown. Are Gillingham pies better or worse than good old Goldstone pies? Are there any chefs in the consortium who (as with Delia Smith at Norwich) are there to improve the standard of pies? And most importantly, will we ever eat one? All this remains to be seen. The investigation continues!

Helen & Sarah

STRANGE TALES FROM GILLINGHAM

Having conducted an in-depth investigation, Seaside Saga researchers have come up with the real reason that Bellotti was so keen to return to Gillingham. Back in the late 1960's Gillingham had D. Bellotti playing in goal!

At first we thought it must be an old relation of his but on studying the evidence below we realise that the two Bellotti's are completely unrelated.

You will notice Derek is described as "popular".

ONE TEAM IN KENT?

Devastating isn't it? Once a big and famous club on the south coast, and now just one big struggle for existence in the middle of, well, Kent. For those of you who have visited Priestfield, you may well have noticed that it is not quite the most glamorous ground in the country. I feel sorry for the players most of all, fancy having to drive there every other week. With Millwall no longer an option to us, thanks to the Police, it's becoming hard to cling on to the faint hope of a return to Sussex in the near future. I just can't see us staying in Kent beyond this season.

If you have been to Gillingham, you should be proud of yourself. My Headmaster at school said that it was well beyond my 'call of duty'. I couldn't help but sigh when I heard the attendance was 1215 against Peterborough.

Anyway, onto positive things, we have a new board at last! I think we were all greatly relieved at the news. Now we will have some money for new players and, they haven't given up on moving closer to home. I reckon we will get a closer ground but not until next season. Wherever we end up in the near future, I think the most important objective now is to start building a new ground.

Let's face it now, our luck has got to change on the field. We've been 'robbed' of too many points already this season and we should be around mid-table. But let's not moan, this time next month we'll easily be in the top 15, we'll be top 5 by Christmas. We're not playing badly at all, it's just that we've witnessed a 'few' bad decisions.

Having witnessed two games at Priestfield, it seems that there is only one team in Kent. This hasn't always been the case as I was reminded whilst watching the Test Match a few weeks back. I was sporting my blue and white stripes when a bloke turned round and told me how lucky I was. I nearly fell off my chair, "Can't you read mate" I replied, "Brighton and Hove Albion". He assured me that he meant what he said and then went on to tell me how he had a season ticket at Maidstone United when they went completely out of business. I haven't felt so superior for years, I had sympathy for the poor bloke until he announced that he had a season ticket for Crystal Palace. That just made me think that it could have been a lot worse. The guy next to him then turned around and announced himself as a huge Gillingham fan, "Thanks for the new stand"! he said patronisingly. "That's alright", I replied, "It's just a pity you've got nobody to put in it"!

TOM COXStrange Tales from Gillingham II

Copyright Dan Westwell 1997

GILLS FANS ARE A BIT THICK - PHOTOGRAPHIC PROOF

The photo was taken by Dan Westwell at a Mansfield v Gillingham match. Before this Gillngham supporter stripped off he had a whip round in case he incurred any court costs. He raised over one hundred pounds, and 10 minutes into the second half - there he was.

If you think you can come up with a better one (caption, that is) send it in to the usual address. That'll give me a good excuse to publish this photo again.

ANAGRAMS Answers on page 21

Unscramble the following, to reveal the names of several Football Grounds.

1. MUTILATED FRIED PISS 2. SNOB BIRD AREA

3. OLD FORD FART 4. GOLDEN GOOD TURNS

5. O! PORN MAIL 6. BLIMEY! SWEAT MUD

7. IDLE FAN 8. DISTURBED OLD MAFIA

ANAGRAM ANSWERS

1. PRIESTFIELD STADIUM 2. BRISBANE ROAD

3. OLD TRAFFORD 4. GOLDSTONE GROUND 5. PLAINMOOR 6. WEMBLEY STADIUM

7. ANFIELD 8. BROADFIELD STADIUM

THE SEARCH FOR A GOOD PUB IN GILLINGHAM

As someone who normally shuns the town pubs in favour of the country delights of the Bell at Bredhurst or the five hundred year old Kings Arms at Boxley, once owned by Henry the V111, it came as quite a shock to discover how many pubs there are within a 10-15 minute walk of the Gillingham Stadium of Shite.

My first port of call was WH Smith to sneak a look at the latest Good Beer Guide, only to discover that there were no pubs worthy enough to be listed. Taking advice from friends who have drunk and been drunk in the Medway towns all their lives I visited eight hostelries of varying kinds, including two next to the railway station, both of which are to be avoided unless you truly wish to mix with the unwashed and undead of the Medway Towns.

THE CRICKETERS in STURDEE ROAD was next on the list, a largish pub about 5-10 minutes walk from the ground. The staff informed me that it gets extremely busy on Gillingham match days. (Funny, you think people would watch the match wouldn't you? Ed) Service pretty good and easy to get to, but strangely no food if it gets too busy. Leave the M2 at junction 4 and proceed across 2 roundabouts until you find yourself at the junction of the A2. Turn left here, go across one roundabout and take a right at the first traffic lights into Woodlands Road. Sturdee Road comes up on your left after about 1/2 mile.

The next reasonable establishment that I visited was THE WESTCOURT in CANTERBURY STREET where I found very pleasant staff and clientele alike. Forgot to ask about food, but they do serve Beamish Red and Stout. To get here from the junction of the A2 follow the signs to Gillingham town centre. By following the signposts you should turn right into Nelson Road on the A231. Bear left at the first traffic lights into Canterbury Street and the pub comes up on your right opposite a Skoda garage. About a ten minute walk to the ground.

My favourite, however, was THE BRITTON FARM HOUSE in SKINNER STREET, just next to the pedestrianised High Street. Here they advertise food between 12 and 2.00pm and offer Burtons and Tetleys ales amongst others. If you're following a map Skinner Street is a continuation of Canterbury Street. If you're not, just get to the middle of the High Street and ask for directions. Again about a ten minute walk to the ground.

Finally I promised the landlord of my local pub that he would find fame, despite his fondness for Gillingham FC and THE SPYGLASS AND KETTLE in HOATH LANE is as good a spot as anywhere for a post match drink away from the town centre. He serves Poachers at £1.00 a pint and Boddingtons Manchester Gold for about double that price. To get there from the ground make your way back to the junction of the A2 and the link road to the Motorway. Turn left at the first roundabout, right at the mini roundabout and the pub will appear on your left opposite the Shell Garage.

I have only listed the best four pubs which I visited as to mention others would mean we might have about 5 fans in each on match days. Lets hope we can get together in large numbers in these establishments and leave the people of the Medway in no doubt as to which Football club has the best supporters in the country. Some people will find pubs more suited to their own tastes but lets hope that we are not playing in Gillingham long enough for any of us to start enjoying the experience.

Simon Levenson

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SCARBOROUGH v BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION

'Brighton fury as equaliser turns it for Boro' - Scarborough Evening News

As matches go this was certainly a riveting one. There was drama, excitement, great goals, wonderful touches and even David Bellotti fully recovered from his encounter with a Swansea train. What we didn't have unfortunately, was a referee who was fully conversant with the rules. On the stroke of half-time, with Albion comfortably leading away from home, he made one of the worst gaffs I've ever seen in football. For 45 minutes everything had gone well. We led 1-0 after a classy break by Kerry Mayo down the left and a rasping shot into the far corner. Scarborough had created one good opportunity but apart from that they were distinctly average.

In the 46th minute a cross came into the Albion box from the right and either Hobson or Morris got to the ball before Ormerod and gave him a hefty blow in the ribs. Ormerod immediately collapsed in a heap on the goal line and didn't move. With all 250ish Albion fans screaming for the game to be stopped, the referee took one look at Ormerod, who still hadn't moved, and nonchalantly waved play on. Scarborough could not believe their luck. They instantly crossed the ball in for 6ft 7in Gary Bennett who not unsurprisingly scored in the empty net after being 'marked' by Jeff Minton.

Anger, fury, rage, heartbreak, all because the referee couldn't or wouldn't stop the game. It was a good five minutes before Mark Ormerod managed to sit up and by then there was a near riot in the Brighton end. What did not help matters was the attitude of the Scarborough fans. As soon as the 'goal' went in they started to taunt the Albion fans which almost enticed some of us on to the pitch.

Half-time helped cool tempers a bit, but not much. I don't think I've ever experienced such a general air of disbelief. Absolutely everyone seemed to be shouting at once and even in the loo at half-time the only discussion point was who this Butler guy was and what the hell was he playing at. As soon as something like that goes against you, there is nearly always one result, narrow defeat, and this was an agonising one. In the second half Scarborough were the better team, but again the referee failed to notice another important incident - this time a push (probably more of a yank) against one of our players in the box and he just waved play on again! It was also noticeable that whenever there was the slightest knock to any player the game was stopped immediately. Now isn't that just great.

From that point on it was clear Scarborough were going to win and they did, to their credit, with a fine goal from Liam Robinson. They went on to miss what was a definite penalty, but how gutted was I at the end of that match? I was that worked up I would have swung for any Scarborough fan who even thought of taking the mick.

What a waste of a good performance. Thank god I live in Scarborough, I certainly couldn't have faced a seven hour drive home after that.

Mark Absolon (Gutted at the McCain Stadium)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HOME IS A LONG WAY AWAY

So, a month into the new season, and as I write the Albion lie slumped in a ditch with a collective hangover having left the first party of the autumn early without having pulled.

Those who have scored, those early September top-cats with their flash points, those Cambridge, Exeter and Scunthorpe revellers, are sat off at 4.00 in the morning with the allure of division Two in their Babycham- tinted eyes. But, hey, it's all Handbag House isn't it - the mid-evening tempo stuff?! It's not going to last when the really hard stuff comes on - the distortion rinse and sub-bass seismics of the Techstep! Yeah, that's when the Albion burst from the ditch and pound on to the next rave - all energy, vitality and 'mad-for-it' grins?! Except it's all got to be played out on a different continent this season - the beat of revival has to be pounded from the ugly earthworks of the Priestfield Stadium and taken in a gloomy arc to all points bar Brighton and Hove.

Even with the vacation of the Seat of Discord by Bellotti and the reduction of Archer's power base, I am still having difficulty in shrugging off my belief in a Conspiracy Theory. Like some C.I.A. paranoiac I have strode the streets of Gilingham convinced that there was a plot conjured by the cloaked figures of Bellotti and Archer in a rain-lashed doom-emitting den in Mellor. It is when one juggles the pernicious way they contrived to 'manage' the Albion's affairs alongside the painfully depressing environs of Gillingham and its stadium that one becomes aware of the potential reality of 'a theory'.

Despite being in the South-East region and hardly a Sahara Desert width from London, Gillingham is very much a cul-de-sac in the Medway conurbation, a place easily missed and with no highway penetrating to a magical inward core. It is probably one of the last places Albion supporters would have considered. Quietly laying the Albion to rest amidst such drabness, with the chirp of Leek Town supporters celebrating an away win in the Conference while a few hundred Albion die-hards belch and shuffle homewards, doesn't seem such a far-fetched idea for Bellotti and Archer in the new context we find ourselves in.

Having undergone the mortifying experience of Priestfield purgatory in its totality so far this season I have to say that it is worse than I imagined. With no disrespect to those loyal Gillingham supporters who feel the Priestfield as some sort of a womb for their football emotions, for Albion aficionados it is a shell of soul-destroying bleakness and destroys any remembrance of The Ground as passionate architecture.

At least if it was entered as an 'away ground' one can dilute a poor opinion with the 'novelty' factor (i.e. we may not have to here again for many seasons...). But to use an 'away ground' as 'home' for at least one whole season is elevating only for derogatory comment. Fans are not cuckoos and cannot bed down in another footballing nest with any sort of ease.

In the lower echelons, lesser monuments to footballing spectating are often only dearly loved, quaint and soaked in atmosphere for those who attend there within the context of 'home' or visit it in that spirit. This is why every scrap of rust, every primitive channel to dispose of urine, every glimpse of empty terrace, every study of cobbled-together stands is so searingly slated by those who attend to follow the Albion. Oh, but there is more. I have sought to establish an eating and drinking emporium that will at least offer a vibe of pleasant ambience for my brother and I on a footballing day.

Yet on sitting in a ramshackle back-street outfit daringly called 'The Pub' I was suddenly seized by the ghost of H.G. Wells and was imbued with the sense of having time-travelled. You see, Gillingham is a place that is stuck in the early 1960's. While other towns were being pulled apart by the developers and having concrete shopping malls dropped on them, ring-roads racing round them and new urban hearts stitched into them, Gillingham shrugged this aside and kept its quiet backwater air.

Incredibly the first two songs that blasted into the empty atmosphere of 'The Pub' included some crooned monstrosity that predated the Industrial Revolution and 'Rock around the clock'! It seemed to personify the place for me. With rocklike certainty, the fact that this was not the buzz of vivacity that is the Brighton vibe, was brought home!

Yet the worst trial of this Gillingham Experience so far has been the replacement of Bellotti as the enemy within, by the Medway Polizei. The 2-2 draw against Peterborough witnessed by all of 1200 spectators saw scenes of Orwellian intent. Albion fans quietly leaving the home terraces were blatantly filmed by a policeman standing right in front of them. There was not the slightest whiff of nastiness, venom or menace in the air. Annoyance at the loss of a 'home' win was contained within personal conversations between retiring fans. Yet, the Medway law-enforcers chose to rile, anger and inflame a number of the crowd with this act of information overkill. What do they need all this footage for? I would put it on a par with shoppers being followed by a police video camera as they walk around Sainsburys. One of the clearest cases of a football crowd being branded as a public order problem full stop, I have never seen. Outside, police with dogs lined the road. "We do things our way" was the reply of one senior police officer upon the tactics being questioned.

The positioning of police and stewards in front of the home terrace should a supporter move two steps forward has already happened on a number of occasions and a friend of mine was warned for celebrating the granting of an Albion penalty. The spirit of Bellotti-style antagonism is not dead.

Home is indeed, a long way away.

GRAHAM STURGES

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BYE BYE HELEN

or Hells Bells as she's known to her friends. Yes after the exam results, Miss Mackenzie has done so well that she's off to Southampton University (to see Matthew Le Tissier's Nose!) and consequently this is our last article together for some time. Enough of such matters, back to Football. We have been to Gillingham twice now, and we must say we don't particularly like it! Even though Sarah knows everywhere in Kent, and can give a brilliant guided tour, which brightens up the coach journey so much, we still find the travelling tedious. People also listen to your conversations, and comment on them even though they don't know what they are talking about. For instance there is a giant floral sheep in Maidstone! despite what some people think. (Yes we did say giant floral sheep, it's been on TV if you don't believe us).

As usual Brighton have not made an excellent start to the season, or even a good start, but at least at the time of writing we are not bottom of the table. Of course there have been the off field changes. We would like to say bye bye Dave.

Anyway sorry this article is so short, but we are rather short on inspiration. One last thing, "Hello Jon!" We will leave it here for now and you never know you may be hearing from one or both of us next month, but unfortunately not together.

Thanks for all the great times

Helen and Sarah

GLORIA GLOBETROTTER

Well, in the interest of the general public, I've been putting myself about a bit since we were last together. Now please don't think I'm deserting the Albion, there will never be another team for me - but lack of time and cash, along with my travel sickness means I'm going spare on Saturday afternoons and midweek evenings. I know I'm not the only one - the size of the crowds at Gillingham are nowhere near as large as we experienced at the Goldstone towards the end of last season. So, I've been flapping around, like the lost Seagull that I am, seeing what else is on offer.

It's best not to go alone, and there's no shortage of friends willing to tag along, as soon as you mention the word 'Football'. In my wanderings, I am usually accompanied by Jonathan (seven and three quarters) Suit Man, The Bag Lady and The Man With The Hat. I'm sure they've got a name for me too? Anyway, we began at Shoreham, a local side. We selected a mouth-watering fixture: Shoreham v Brighton Reserves, a pre-season friendly. Rather inexperienced in non league grounds, I asked my friends if we should get tickets for the stand or the terrace. Laugh - I thought they'd never stop. It's standing only here, well, there were one or two seats, under some sort of shelter. I have to say out of the places we visited, this was Jonathan's favourite. What swung it for him was the games machine in the club house. It was his favourite football arcade game, and there was a snooker table as well. Hot food, alcoholic drink, toilets were all available.

Next stop - Crawley, for another pre-season friendly, this time it was Crawley v Coventry. I was keen to see their new ground, and when we got there I wasn't disappointed. Again, there was a delightful social club, where you can go for a pre-match drink, buy your programmes old and new, and chat to your friends. Once inside, you could eat and drink until your hearts content, more alcohol available, the best chips and burgers I've seen at a football ground, and the piece de resistance - wonderful new loos, with toilet paper! My joy was complete, and the match hadn't even started. This is my favourite ground - because of the toilets!

Next up was Worthing v Aldershot, on a Tuesday evening. We were joined this time by my husband. This put rather a dampner on the proceedings, as he didn't really enjoy himself. However, he was willing to check out the social club, although I hadn't meant him to spend the entire second half in there. They had a wonderful fast food (and I use the term loosely) outlet. I've never seen anyone cook so slowly, each chip lovingly hand-crafted from a potato, and individually fried. Well, okay, maybe not, but the queue stretched for miles, and the bloke at the end only just got served as the final whistle blew. I was very envious here of the fanzine sellers. They had their own little hut to stand in and sell their fanzines. They had an uninterrupted view of the pitch too, which was another bonus - I think.

Yes, I've been to Gillingham. I went on the Supporters Club coach, and very pleasant it was too. You couldn't ask for nicer people to be stuck in a vehicle with for four hours every other Saturday. There were two coaches travelling on the day me and Jonathan went along, one had a toilet, which is as many as I found at Priestfield Stadium, so relieve yourself on the coach. (Assuming you're on the one 'with'). Take a packed lunch too, to have on the way there, and a packed meal for the way home, you won't find food at Priestfield (well, I managed to wrench a couple of Mars Bars from a small child). I really don't want to be mean about it, as the Goldstone Ground wasn't exactly perfect, but of course, in my eyes, it was. That's why I didn't like it at Priestfield Stadium - it wasn't the Goldstone Ground, and I wanted to be 'home'.

I also travelled all the way up to London, to see Queens Park Rangers play Stockport County. The same group of us made the journey, minus Jonathan and The Bag Lady. Instead we had Mrs Argus, which was very nice. I was meeting a friend of mine, someone who I've been writing to for a while now. Hello Mick - thanks for looking after me so well! For some unexplainable reason, he kept apologising for the state of their stadium and their players. Is he mad? It's the best ground I've seen, and the players were far and away the best I've ever seen. He described their performance as 'stuttering' - God knows how he would describe the Albion lately then? If QPR were 'stuttering' Brighton are playing minus several vital organs and limbs. Mick - you're spoilt mate! Come down here, and I'll take you to see Shoreham, or Worthing, Bognor or erm... Brighton!

So, having seen all these grounds, I can add my own voice of experience to the architects and clever dicks planning and building our New Nest. We need the following: A hut (like at Worthing) to sell my fanzines, nice toilets with paper in each cubicle, (like at Crawley) a club house with a snooker table and a football arcade game, (like at Shoreham) also selling Stella Artois on draft at £1.00 a pint and a car park with spaces large enough to park a bus (for my teeny Skoda), and players as good as a Premier team (like QPR). I can't honestly think of anything about Gillingham or their ground I want including in our new ground. Or perhaps their new stand might be nice when it's finished?

I must go now, but let's Keep The Faith and keep cheering and supporting our team. Wherever they play.

Gloria Gobblechops

VIEW FROM THE BOTTOM

The following was received from Chris Jones editor of the Hereford United Fanzine "Talking Bull" just too late to be included in our last issue of Seaside Saga.

As I write this article, some people are clinging to the faint hope that Hereford United may yet be playing League football in the 1997-98 season. Our Chairman, Peter Hill, had had the idea that as you no longer have a ground to call your own, you should be expelled from the League and be replaced by us. He has apparently sent faxes to every club in the League, calling for your expulsion on the basis that your £500,000 guarantee to the League has not been paid. He has also quoted the example of Kidderminster Harriers, who were not allowed to share with West Brom when they won the Conference a couple of years ago. For what it is worth, none of the Hereford fans I have spoken to on this subject agree with our Chairman's actions on this matter. If he had put as much effort as he has on this making sure that our club was run efficiently, we probably wouldn't be in the mess that we are now.

Recently I was asked to write a chapter on a forthcoming book about football supporters, concerning my experiences following Hereford. While going back through my records, the recurring theme for the past five years (with the exeption of 1995-96) has been of a struggle against relegation, which we usually won with about three matches to go. The letters, articles and editorials in "Talking Bull" over the same time span generally had a recurring theme as well - that our League place was in jeopardy if the people who run the club didn't pull their fingers out and do something positive about the situation. While some people may have been surprised by our relegation after we reached the play-offs the previous season, in reality it has been coming for quite a while. Relegation does hurt, especially when you haven't experienced it before, and there are times when you wish you would wake up and find that May 3rd was just a nightmare.

The time has come to look to the future and do everything in our power to get back into the League. We know it won't be easy, especially as we will be the team everyone wants to beat. However, we all feel that it has to be this season, or else the club probably won't survive. There are still problems with the sale of our ground as we are planning to move to a new all-seater, multi-purpose stadium south of the City. Unlike you, we have announced the plans and location for the new ground, but there seems to be a problem convincing the council that it is a good idea (we also have buyers for the existing site who will develop and build the new one). Some of the players are keeping their options open but we hope that teams won't be too keen on having players who have just got their club relegated. One of the problems is that they have been asked to take a pay-cut, which Graham Turner has extended to himself as well. As far as the supporters are concerned, everyone seems to be looking forward to the season in a perverse sort of way. For a while it will be a new adventure for us, with lots of new grounds and pubs to visit. Like yourselves, our geographical location means that a local derby is anything less than about 80 miles away, which this season means Cheltenham, Kidderminster, Telford, Hednesford and Yeovil. As this is far more than we usually have, it is something to look forward to. If we are successful crowds should hold at last season's levels, while our away support will almost certainly increase, as we have always taken loads away to non-League grounds in the F.A Cup. We realise it doesn't automatically follow that this will be the case as we will be playing these clubs every week, but we suspect it will. In closing, we would like to wish you all the be for this season, and hopefully an end to all that you have been through in the past couple of seasons.

Chris Jones [Co-editor Talking Bull]

The two cards shown here were recently received by the ED

We always welome contributions from far and wide.

If you know of other far-away fans or "Albion" related

trivia write and tell us.

"THE CRICKETERS"

STURDEE AVENUE ,GILLINGHAM ,KENT.

Gary, Wayne and Staff extend a warm welcome

to all Brighton supporters. We offer :

• Large range of beers and lagers.
• Two pool tables.
• Sky coverage on TV plus big screen..
• Huge beer garden with childrens play area..
• Live music.
• Just a five minute walk from the ground.

How to Get There

• Take the exit at Junction four on the M2
• Leave at first exit the A278 (Hoath Way) to Gillingham.
• At the third roundabout (traffic lights) take first left exit (A2)
• Proceed across next roundabout to first set of traffic lights.
• Turn right into Woodlands Round.
• Then take the third left into Sturdee Avenue.
• Pub is approximately five hundred yards on the left.