October 22 2002

Brighton & Hove Albion

Crystal Palace fans talk about matches against Bright & Hove Albion...

Fat boy-not so slim

(1) The game at home when we won, have not got a clue what the score was. There were loads of penalties and action in the game. I had been on the lash a bit that day and had real trouble seeing single objects - everything was a blur.

Anyway, I spent the whole game in the new stand hanging over the rails and staring at the Weed. In the end I decided to leave the ground. in my drunken state, I thought that popping in to their end was a good idea - with a nice Palace badge on display. I was "noticed" and they got a bit nasty.

I made my excuses, whacked a few, turned round and walked out - did not look back as I thought I was going to die. I got a whack on the back of my head, but that was it - muppets.

(2) Boxing Day, away, Rudi Hedman's debut (was that his name??) - we lost. I think, it was the year that the t-shirts were going around (if you had one you will know what I mean) and the whole day was a great hungover larf - bit of trouble in the park after but we just had a kick-about in the drizzle whilst trying to get sober enough to drive home.

croftonglazier

Cant remember the score but it was at the Goldstone Ground - got pelted with hot soup about five minutes before kick-off - fences were up and they came in beside us, there was a mass brawl in the park after the game and Des Lynam's car was a bit of a mess.

Selhurst Stallion

Got to be Easter Monday 1989 at Selhurst Park. I was only 14 at the time and probably experienced for the first time what it's truly like to be a Palace fan....so many ups and downs.

Palace won 2-1 with a cracker of a goal from Wrighty. Brighty then went on to tuck a penalty away but from then on it was all biting of the finger nail times.

We went on to miss a further three penaltys courtesy of Bright, Wright & Pemberton (which I almost caught standing in the middle of The Holmesdale).

The Bum Bandits themselves put a pen away and then had a player sent-off and yet still could've snatched a point.... Oh to be a Palace fan.... Still a great game probably more to do with the refereeing than anything else though.

Jamesey

Boxing Day 1979 Away. Although we lost (3-0?) it was a great day out at the seaside. Lot's of police cars stopping Palace vehicles. We had been top of the old First Division for the only time a few weeks earlier and our hopes were high.

Lots of pebble throwing from the Seaweeds inside the ground. Unrequested police escort to the station after the game. As we now know the Team of the 80s turned out to be a damp squib. But at the time, it was great...

Geoff Thomas

1980, 3-1 win, Swindlehurst and Hilaire stuffing them in front of nearly 40,000. It's on the Palace classic match video. I remember being a small boy watching from the old stand seats and thinking how mental the holmesdale end went. The good old standing days with atmosphere!!

redders2000

1976 - can't remember the score, can remember hundereds of Palace walking down from the station. Was a sight to behold. We had been there from friday night, slept on the beech lots of trouble on the friday night, we all ended up in the scum end sepertated by a thin blue line with punch-ups all afternoon. Was more handbags at 20 paces but fun all the same.

Another good memeory can't remember year but was mid 80s, a lot of the scum had travelled down in a big removal van. After the game they were driveing home and stopped in traffic down by Thornton Heath Station.

The lorry got turned over on to its side, that taught the co@k suckers. Can remember the age old tradtion of taking their end several times, but can't remember them ever managing to do it to us, they truly were the good old days.

dicky boy

The most memorable weed game for me wasn't a league or cup match but a pre-season friendly when they shared with the pykies in Kent the week before we played the Gills with a 2-2 scoreline and the following week it was the weed. There was a good turnout by the Palace faithful 4/500 (I think) all in the corner of Priestfield and most of us expected a good turnout by them aswell.

So on a gloriously hot summer's day, all the Weed fans decided to turn up late (they waited for us to go in to the ground first). They had full use of the rest of the ground and the opposite end started to fill, but to their embarrasment only about 30 turned up.

Now imagine the AW Stand with 30 fans spread across to try and make it look full and this is how the Weed fans were in the Medway stand.

Boy did we take the pi55, they were that poorly organised they didn't even have music before the game. Nobody on the loudspeaker giving team news, nothing. And the programme only had four pages aswell. This epitamises my thoughts of the seaweed, a total shower of unorganised shyte. Oh and the game ended 1-1.

I know there's no blistering action or loads a goals on me post and your probably wondering why its so memorable. Well it's simply cos they hadn't played us for a few years, you would have thought that they had wanted to impress but all to no avail and they fell flat on their backside's trying.

monkey

The game I remember the most was when they beat us 3-0 at home and practically sealed our relegation in 1981. I remember this game the most because of the trouble after the game.

It went off big time outside Norwood Junction, a lorry turned over and It made the headlines on the main news.

My favourite game was the 3-1 win when Big Dave and Vince scored. It was a packed crowd, great atmosphere and a great game. It was the main game on the Big Match as well on Sunday afternoon.

pint of mild

The match when our Henry Hughton broke Gerry Ryan's leg!! Mid 80s must have been. You could here it go snap all round the ground!!! A couple of years later, I was at a wedding in Haywards Heath and old Gerry was working behind the bar and he still had a limp...

buzzby

I've been going since the 75/76 season and make no mistake these games are always lively on and off the pitch.

I remember the first game away in the summer of 75/76 a young 17 year old, having a couple of beers with my mates and a few more Palace in the Seagull Tavern and in the Weed came given it large.

We all decided to leave to avoid trouble, but the Weed decided to throw beer over a couple of Palace, and that was it, it was like a Wild West saloon - the pub wrecked and the Weed got a good smack.

Went straight into their end and chased them away, then joined by another couple of 100 Palace who came over the pitch. Kick-off time all the Weed tried to get their end back, but had no chance.

After the game they were waiting and it kicked off big style. I remember D W hitting a police horse, it just seemed funny at the time.

One game at home mid 80s Palace fan got stabbed outside the AW, so chaps make no mistake the atmosphere will be electric

So it should be interesting next week, just to see how many Weed do turn up, as they only took 1,400 to Wallmill and the same to the Dons!