Yeah or Utd lol Liverpool were the big team when I was growing up. Barnes, Rush, Grobbelar era. I used to despise the fact that my school mates would support them, especially as there's so many London teams to choose from.
I was reading a Gillingham article the other day and I never realised that Ian Rush at the beginning of his career had scored for Chester City in front of our Rainham End around 1978.
He was a natural born goal scorer was Rush. I used to hate him with a passion growing up because he was so successful for Liverpool and he was an ugly **** to boot Saw him score at Upton Park back in around 88/89 when I used to go and watch West Ham with some mates. Which makes me think.... I wonder if I've been to upton park more times than @Big Ern ? That would be some feat for a West country glory hunter lol
I probably should have been a Palace or West Ham fan, but some stupid shhite encouraged me to go to the Gills as a lad, and I never learned my lesson. Funnily enough I had a mate that lived directly opposite Upton Park. Although my interest in football started around the time Chelsea beat Leeds in the FA Cup (replay) - so amazing I never ever went to one of the London clubs....not forgetting Arsenal done the double soon after, I probably remember those Chelsea and Arsenal squads back then, better than I do todays mobs.
Lifelong burn eh ? I grew up in Lewisham, so my closet clubs were Palace, Charlton and Millwall, but there's so many clubs in London that growing up we all chose different ones based on either a favourite player, a relative supporting them or a family link. I used to knock about with a lad from Plumstead who had a piece of the terrace from the old Arsenal ground in his back garden, so that was it for me, Arsenal from then on. But I used to spend a lot of time at Selhurst Park, (when Charlton and Palace were sharing it) Upton Park, The old Den. Because my mates followed those clubs and I'd go when Arsenal were playing away. Also went to college in Newham, top floor of a tower block, a few streets away from Upton Park. We used to see the floodlights come on for midweek reserve games, bunk off and go and watch them play. Tickets were £1. I also lived in Bexleyheath for a while too and used to go to watch Welling play. Saw them against Blackburn in the FA cup there once. I remember the advertising hoardings collapsing on a corner and we all ended up tangled up in the net behind the goal
^^^^ Or I'm making it all up and grew up with a stick of straw in my mouth, milking cows and eating pasties
I didn't mind Arsenal back then, it's only in recent times I got pissed off with Arsenal, most of it after the Wenger nonsense, I saw Arsenal fans in a different light then, plus I didn't like all these ground moves within London clubs. I remember working with an Arsenal fan many years ago, constantly banged on about them, yet despite living a few minutes from the (old) ground never ever went to watch them play, football has changed, mostly for the better, but some finer aspects for the worse.
I think just you saying all the different clubs you went to convinces me, sort of thing that sounds a great bit of being centrally located, expecially as football was cheaper back then and more accessible.
Isn't someone supposed to get 100+ points though, to make it "the best" ? Or does it just mean it was more competitive, obviously. Asking for @Sucky
They're crap. But they're one of those sides that comes up once in a while and the big boys pretend to like them cos their ground is ****. They've won 6 games all season but remain competitive cos everyone around them are dog turd
