FINAL FIGHT?

The fans’ focus now was getting the club out of the grip of Archer and his cohorts, and into the safe hands of a trusted local consortium, led by fan and local businessman Dick Knight.

Surely more publicity would make the FA intervene? Surely millionaire owner Archer, who was also chairman of national DIY chain Focus, could be forced out somehow?

The Albion made a terrible start to the 1996/7 season. Attendances were falling sharply as many refused to give ticket money that would end up in these owners’ pockets. The stench of despair and hopelessness ran through the club. Small wonder this transferred to performances on the pitch.

The Seagulls were rooted to the very bottom of the Football League, soon to be homeless, and in the hands of people with seemingly no interest in football or the local community. The extinction of Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club was looking a very real possibility.

On 3 December 1996, chief exec Bellotti was chased from the Goldstone director’s box by fans, forcing him to miss Albion’s 3–2 loss to relegation rivals Darlington. Post-match, the board urges fans to “get behind Jimmy and the team” — a reference to manager Jimmy Case.

The very next morning Case is sacked, with Bellotti now urging fans to “get behind whoever takes over”. It had become a pantomime, albeit with precious few laughs.

But by now a sizeable group of supporters had been galvanized into action. Pitch invasions, marches, match boycotts, sit-ins, walk outs, protests in Archer’s home village in Lancashire — you name it, Albion fans did it.

The unprecedented series of protests and stunts increased attention from the media and sympathy from the wider football world.

Liz Costa, spokesperson for the Supporters’ Club. © Stewart Weir http://stewartweir.com — used with permission

The likes of Liz Costa (spokesperson for the Supporters’ Club), John Baine (AKA punk poet Attila The Stockbroker, fronting Brighton Independent Supporters Association) and Paul Samrah became regular faces in the local media.

Meanwhile, Gary Crittenden’s Campaign Pages proved to be a valuable resource for other exiled Seagulls (including myself) and fans of other clubs trying to keep up with almost daily dramas.

In November 1996, Gary and a group of volunteers had emailed owners of other nascent football sites asking them to display a ribbon of support and link back to his Campaign Pages. As a result, hundreds of other clubs’ fans were discovering the site, reading about what was unfolding, and leaving messages in the Guestbook.

Football lovers from all over the world left messages of support in the Campaign Guestbook.

In these days of Internet ubiquity and social media, it’s possible for an online petition to attract a million signatures in a single day. But in 1996, even getting a handful of users to find your website wasn’t easy.

Search engines were in their infancy (Google didn’t exist), while Facebook and Twitter — and the ability to easily share and spread information — were still a decade away.

For embattled Albion fans, messages of support left in the Campaign Guestbook were a big deal. It was sign that we weren’t alone. That Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club mattered. That the wider football world was watching and sharing our despair. Surely someone, somewhere could help us out of this mess?

The most important guestbook message of all was left on Wednesday 11 December 1996, by Plymouth Argyle fan Richard Vaughan:

I see the scum FA have now taken 2 points who do they think they are they wouldn`t do this to Man United. It makes me sick what is happening to your club and it`s an insult to your fans. I`m a Plymouth fan and I think that one week when we`re away I`m going to come up and support your protest. I think it would be a good idea if LOADS of fans from different clubs turned up at Brighton (with their shirts on) and joined in it would show that we`re all behind you 100%

Plymouth Argyle fan Richard Vaughan. © Stewart Weir http://stewartweir.com — used with permission

Unbeknownst to Richard, fans of other clubs had started showing up at Albion matches. But, bar a few subsequent mentions on the guestbook, no-one seems to pick up on the idea.

A few days later, at the Hove Park Tavern, a friend and I met a small group of fans wearing the green shirts of Cercle Brugge. They’d come from Belgium to see the Albion play Hull City, and would witness: new manager Steve Gritt getting heckled before a ball was kicked; hundreds of fans trying to disrupt the match by blowing referees’ whistles; a fan handcuffing himself to a goalpost at half-time, and, perhaps most shocking of all, a 3–0 victory. Only the Albion’s second win in their last 20 games.

I came up with the simple name ‘Fans United’ after seeing this leaflet.

That same day, I used the messageboard on Gary’s site to propose an event I’d dubbed Fans United. The name was inspired by a leaflet for a Euro 96 fans event called Europe United.

That messageboard was known as North Stand Chat, and these days it’s a standalone website, with more than 23,000 registered users, and attracting around a million page views a week.

Back in 1996, there were slightly fewer. Indeed, Gary recently estimated the number of regular visitors at the time to be around 30 — not even enough to fill a coach.

Two days on from my message and — unsurprisingly given the modest internet traffic of the time — my proposal has gained just a few responses.

But “Kev” (who I’d later get to know as Kevin Bartholomew) is supportive and recommends organising the event on day when few other teams are playing.

That evening I follow up with another post, listing five possible dates between Boxing Day and 8 February 1997. I recommend the latter, as it would give us time to get organised.

What’s more, there would be no Premiership matches that day due to internationals the following week. Given it would enable fans of Premiership clubs to come and maximise the chances of media coverage, it was a no-brainer.

I outline thoughts on the event, how it might work and be promoted, and ask for representatives of Albion fan groups to contact me so we can work together. But few were Internet users.

Crucially, site owner Gary emails me that evening. He gives the idea and the date of February 8th his support, and agrees to set up a dedicated webpage.

In my ‘blueprint’ for Fans United I tried to allay fears of potential trouble.

Meanwhile, back over on the Campaign Guestbook, an Albion fan suggests fans of other clubs should be invited to the televised match at Orient the following Sunday. The idea is ignored and, in hindsight, that proves to be a good thing. With Fans United, I had bigger plans. A much grander vision.

I speak to Gary on the phone. Danny Baker had shown a lot on interest in plight of the Seagulls, so we agree to target him for exposure.

With less than 5% of the UK population online, an event like ours needed the support and amplification of mainstream media to gain momentum and legitimacy.

Danny Baker’s radio announcement on 18 December 1996 gave Fans United just that.