Support tonight, ours and theirs

Buddha

Buddha

Vital Football Hero
I'll start with theirs.

What a great effort to bring so many supporters on a Wednesday evening. I know that a fair proportion of those will be exiled in London and the South but there are a good few who are still on the motorway home now. I'm pleased for them that after several years of misery on the road they're gonna be having quite a bit to cheer about this season. Just wish that hadn't been the case tonight!

They certainly added to the atmosphere tonight. Not sure if I'm right about this but it seemed to me that they were clapping Hanlan when he went off (or were they making a sub at the same time?). If they were it was a classy touch from them.

As was ours when we applauded their 2000+ support. That was good.

Generally I was pleased with our support tonight. Over 6000 is pretty good, I just wish we could get that many more often.

The RE was fairly noisy, at times anyway. I was a bit disappointed with the crowd at the beginning of the 2nd half. I was sat further forward than I normally would. I could hear people at the back trying to immediately get the noise going but they weren't getting any help. We should have been making lots of noise from the moment they came back onto the pitch. Actually I was irritated enough to stand up and shout out, 'Come on Gillingham, Come on Raingham End!' - so if you heard or saw that, it was me! I did hear someone behind me (I know who it was!) say, "Well said, Buddha", but my son also informed me that a few people were looking at me, "weirdly". Oh well, fuck em!

Anyway, I'm not going to take the plaudits for getting the crowd going, I think that was down to the way the team played at the beginning of the second half, but the RE did then respond. The noise was fantastic and had we scored at that point I think there would have been real belief in the crowd and the team that we'd score again. And had that happened there would have been pandemonium!

Too many people left too early. Why do people do that? The team (almost always) deserve to be applauded at the end of the game. That, and a few ignorant and negative comments that I overheard They were the only negatives.
 
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It was a good effort all round. Unfortunately the result did go our way.A few things leave me optimistic .Charles-Cooke ,List and Stevenson looking a real handful.
Eaves scored again. Iron our a few errors and we would have got something last night.
 
Agree with all you say Budhha. Me and my RE mates in block 5 were singing at every opportunity, but some of the fans in front of me for example were almost in shock, because we played so well, then found ourselves first 3-1 down, then 4-1 down. They scored their 4th against the run of play with their 1st attack of the 2nd half after 15 minutes when at that stage we were all over them.
As I said on anther thread, the BBC stats said it all; they scored 4 goals from 10 attempts, we scored 1 from 16 attempts. If we could have just got it back to 3-2, I think the whole RE would have been rocking!!
 
Most Sunderland supporters are great - I watched the match with about 50 of them in a pub - great laugh.

I was the only one on my feet when we scored, wish our lead had lasted a bit longer lol.
 
Some of their fans were impressed with our fans. This from their forum:

"I was admiring their pluck (Gillingham fans) and a few of our fans could learn from them. Be honest, when was the last time you saw us 4-1 down and the vocal majority of our fans still behind the team and clapping the substitutions? It's a sign of character.
Their fans can be proud of their attitude today despite the defeat. Hats off to them"
 
Walking back to the station talking to some Sunderland fans they agreed we should have scored more, and the final score flattered them. Though some were baffled how that 'donkey Eaves' their words, got man of the match.
 
Absolutely gutted I didn't see that. After some years of arguing on here id love to put a face to an (internet) name. I'd even happily have a a chat if i knew who you were, if only so we could call each other a *** to one another's faces ;).

I left my seat early. I actually leave early most games as it's a bleeding nightmare to get out or the RE at the back, where i sit after the final whistle blows. The key though is that all I do is leave my seat at the back, and find a seat further forward on the front row or something that makes my exit very quick in comparison, so i dont actually miss any of the game. Very very rarely would I leave before the final whistle goes. I agree with you they deserve a clap and encouragement etc. regardless of the performance.

Is it me or are you getting to alot more games recently?
 
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RotherhitheGill said:
Leave my seat at least 3 times (maybe 4) during the game to have a wee:oops:
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I suspect I may need to move my ST seats closer to the stairs in future as i usually get in quite late, leave before half time to try to rush to the factory, and get back late after half time also. Then along with my leaving early to sit at the front, it's probably quite annoying for those in my row.
 
alphabet_king said:
Absolutely gutted I didn't see that. After some years of arguing on here id love to put a face to an (internet) name. I'd even happily have a a chat if i knew who you were, if only so we could call each other a *** to one another's faces ;).

I left my seat early. I actually leave early most games as it's a bleeding nightmare to get out or the RE at the back, where i sit after the final whistle blows. The key though is that all I do is leave my seat at the back, and find a seat further forward on the front row or something that makes my exit very quick in comparison, so i dont actually miss any of the game. Very very rarely would I leave before the final whistle goes. I agree with you they deserve a clap and encouragement etc. regardless of the performance.

Is it me or are you getting to alot more games recently?
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I wouldn't call you a *** to you face, AK. Don't think i'd even call you a *** on here nowadays. You might sound like bland and boring *** but since you led a revolutionary evacuation and migration I've had nothing but respect and admiration for you! ;)

Apart from leaving your seat early. I don't respect or admire that. Before half-time too?! It's one thing having a weak bladder but leaving early just to drink more of the piss they serve at the bar is poor form.

Glad to hear you don't leave before the final whistle but it sounds like you're off the moment it goes. Fair enough, of course. I just don't get it. Mind you, it's maybe just me. On the rare occasions that I go to a cinema I like to stay for the credits. Everybody else just gets up and leaves but I can't do that. When the film ends or the final whistle goes it is a signal that the experience is almost over but there are still a few moments remaining. I enjoy those moments and have never understood why others rush to get out of the ground or of the cinema.

I have been to a few games recently, only missed Accrington. I'd really like to come again on Saturday for the Coventry game. I'm first trying to justify it to myself (I'll almost certainly be successful) after which I'll have to justify to the female in my life (this could be easy or difficult, as yet an unknown!). I'm really enjoying watching this team - there are, I'm justifying it already!!

After that I'm not sure how many more I'll be able to get to. I don't reckon I'll be 'Eastside' for too much longer so then Priestfield becomes too much of a mission. Maybe around Christmas time I'll be back around. I'll try to get to Bristol Rovers, Plymouth, maybe Portsmouth too.
 
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no i'll give them a clap and express my undying love for Eaves the like, but it just means you can get out in double quick time then once you have finished. If you wait up the top, you lose another 10 mins waiting for people to leave. God help the place if there was some sort of disaster - unlikely as it would be but it would take an absolute age to evacuate the stand. If it's a close game i probably stay up there, but i regularly do go down the front in the last few mins these days, i'll admit.

You're also closer to the players so my boy enjoys that too.

I think we'd both be surprised about each other to be honest. although i am probably a boring *** - you're right there. I suspect even my 10 year old is starting to realise that. Fortunately my 4 year old still is stupid enough to laugh at my jokes so i've/he's got a few years of delusion left yet.

hope you can continue to get to many games.
 
The Roone said:
Walking back to the station talking to some Sunderland fans they agreed we should have scored more, and the final score flattered them. Though some were baffled how that 'donkey Eaves' their words, got man of the match.
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I read on the sunderland forum (the one linked in the other thread) that they were generally impressed by "the big lad up front", and that he would have been even better with better service.

One poster said that they were interested in him pre-season (not sure if he meant the club or the fans) and that they could have got him for around 600k. Not sure where that came from tho.
 
alphabet_king said:
If you wait up the top, you lose another 10 mins waiting for people to leave. God help the place if there was some sort of disaster - unlikely as it would be but it would take an absolute age to evacuate the stand.
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If there was a disaster then depending on what stand it was in, the stewards would encourage the people in the stand to go onto the pitch and exit the ground via alternative exits. In the Medway Stand, the lower half would go on the pitch in order to not block those in the upper stands using the stairway.
 
Baghdad_Rob said:
If there was a disaster then depending on what stand it was in, the stewards would encourage the people in the stand to go onto the pitch and exit the ground via alternative exits. In the Medway Stand, the lower half would go on the pitch in order to not block those in the upper stands using the stairway.
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In the last few years there have been several disasters on the pitch itself. Guidance at the time seemed to be to stay in your seat and put your head in your hands.
 
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