Bratislava

[Superhoops]

Obviously I meant the fans and you dont understand what they're like. What part of london you from then?

Again:

Here's an extract form Patrick West's "Beating them at their own game".

In the late 1970’s and 80’s, the London [Chelsea] club’s fans were notorious not only for displays of hooliganism, but for elements who attached themselves to the far right and indeed the Loyalist cause. When Chelsea’s first black player, Paul Canoville, made his debut in April 1982, coming on as a substitute against Crystal Palace, he was met with a chorus of boos, hisses and racist chants – from his own fans.

During these dark days, many of the team’s supporters, by wearing, “No Surrender” scarves and hats, and chanting anti-Irish slogans, openly aligned themselves with Glasgow Rangers and Linfield with some creating an organisation called the “Blues Brothers”, linking all three clubs.
Songs such as “No Surrender to the IRA”, “Hello, Hello, We Are the Billy Boys” and – neatly combining two prejudices for the price of one “I’d Rather Be a Darkie than a Tim” were sometimes heard.

Unlike Liverpool, Arsenal or Millwall, who had a sizeable contingent of Irish and second-generation Irish fans, and Irish players, Chelsea were regarded not merely as not an “Irish team” but as a positively anti-Irish team.
I remember standing in “the Shed” at Stamford Bridge as a teenager in the late 1980’s and having to listen to the man next to me spend the ninety minutes shouting abuse at Tony Cascarino, calling him a “f__king Fenian *******” whenever the Millwall player (who, incidentally has no Irish blood in him and was later to play for Chelsea) touched the ball.

Until the 1980’s the club’s only Irish-born Republic of Ireland internationals had been Dick Whittaker, who played once for Ireland in 1959, and Pat Mulligan, a defender who spent three years at Chelsea between 1969 and 1972.
On the other hand, Chelsea had always employed the services of Irish northern Protestants, pre- and post-war, from Johnny Kirwan, who turned out for Ireland in 1906, to Sam Irving, wing-half back of the 1920’s and 1930’s, and a moustachioed Kevin Wilson in the 1980’s. Their only Irish manager to date is Ulsterman Danny Blanchflower.

KOH

In the 70's and 80's, at the time when the provisional IRA targetted their campaign towards the UK mainland and largely affecting civilians, anti-Irish factions were not confined to Stamford Bridge, they were rife throughout the UK. Chants of 'No Surrender' and 'I'd rather be a (whatever) than a Paddy/Tim' were common place at many football grounds, as was the hissing, booing and racist chants at black players. However, this anti-Irish feeling was not confined to football grounds, Irish people at their workplaces and in pubs were subject to the same crap.

While there may have been elements at Chelsea who aligned themselves with Glasgow Rangers and Linfield, I would doubt it was the majority.

I spent a few years in London in the 90's during which I did not support any particular team. However, among the Irish guys I knew, knocked about with and worked with, there were as many that supported Chelsea as there were supporting Arsenal and Spurs and I can honestly say I never heard any complaints or comments about anti-Irish tendencies.

I am sure until the 80's there were several clubs who employed the services of more Irish northern Protestants than they did Republican Catholics, that hardly made those clubs anti-Irish.

Finally, the reference to Chelsea having only Irish manager is hardly relevant or evidential. How many Irish managers has any of the other big English clubs had? I don't think you will find many with much more than 1 or 2 and you might even find the odd one with none at all.

As Supersparx commented this is 2007. The 1970's and 80's were a long time ago. Time and attitudes have moved on.

[mypost]

It's now 2007, let it be ffs. I'm tired of this debate.

We're all tired of it.

[Green Tribe]

We're all tired of it.

It'ss now 2:25 int he morning and i;m a bir sklaughtered xcan e leave the debate bplease go on, I've been out on the lassssh in Galway I've ve just had me curry chips

[Green Tribe]

We're all tired of it.

Just cos you loved the incestous brother ands sista from athlone

[Saint Tom]

It'ss now 2:25 int he morning and i;m a bir sklaughtered xcan e leave the debate bplease go on, I've been out on the lassssh in Galway I've ve just had me curry chips

can i have whatever she's having please?!

[Babysis]

can i have whatever she's having please?!

many many pints of heineken We were "merry" last night, but I'm pleased I was the sensible one and didnt go on here We had garda escort from one pub to the other last night - us arm in arm with them going down shop street Could not have done that in Bratislava

[fergalr]

(a notoriously anti Irish club)

You're suggesting the football club itself is anti Irish? Bizarre.

Obviously I meant the fans and you dont understand what they're like.

Ah so you mean the fans. All of them? All of them now in the year 2007? You figure this how?

Here's an extract form Patrick West's "Beating them at their own game".

Ah so you got this from a book. About pre-Premiership hoolies.

Clear?

Nope. As it happens I agree with you on the defacing of the tricolour but I honestly can't figure out why you have a bee in your bonnet about one foreign club in particular. Does it all stem just from reading one book? If its based on anything else then do share.

Whatever it is I think the treatment the 2G guy from London gets is a bit OTT.

[AidoM]

many many pints of heineken We were "merry" last night, but I'm pleased I was the sensible one and didnt go on here We had garda escort from one pub to the other last night - us arm in arm with them going down shop street Could not have done that in Bratislava

Hope no one fell asleep on the job

[Green Tribe]

Hope no one fell asleep on the job

[Colie]

In Bratislava on the afternoon of the game I saw a crowd of young Dubs having a go at some guys from London and Birmingham who I recognised as lads who have been going to matches for years. The usual sh*te about 'no one with english accents had any business following Ireland'.

I can't believe this. Fuching d1ckheads, it's people like them that have no business following Ireland. Looks to me that ye get saps like that on the big trips, real fairweathers & ye can pick them out a mile away. Sh1t like this is gonna end up with brawls within the Irish fans eventually I reckon. I prefer the trips againt the bottom 3 teams. Bring on Azerbaijan. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azerbaijan

[gilberto_eire]

lads can anyone help me.....

about a week or 2 ago through a thread in either this section or the ireland section there was a link to a site with pictures from the 2 games of fans etc.... it had pictures from a lot of other games too.... found a few relations in one of the stuttgart pics and am trying to find the site again to link him the page....

i cant remember what thread it was in and there are a hell of a lot of possibilites... can anyone help me?!

[shamrock17]

it wasnt www.awaythelads.com was it??

[gilberto_eire]

it wasnt www.awaythelads.com was it??

PERFECT

thanks very much!!

[aidz1]

whats the best way for uploading some photos onto this site (if such funcion is available?)

[pineapple stu]

Don't think it is. You're best off uploading elsewhere and posting a link.

[Cowboy]

Talking of trains, I heard that on the famous 1225 from Bratislava to Prague on the Monday that a young 'Irish gentleman' told a nun to move from the seat he had reserved. Also heard about a group of 10 or 12 comprising of some Dublin postmen and some young Wexford lads in the same carriage who gave a local woman a terrible hard time by constantly swearing and using abusive language when she asked them to stop smoking in the carriage. Although I was on that train I didn't see these myself or don't know if these are true or just stories that have grown legs, but I would not be surprised it they were true.

I met that guy and he asked me where his seat was, I told him but said bad luck as there is a nun sitting in it, could not believe it when he asked her to move. Somebody else then gave up their seat so she could sit down. The postmen and the wexford lads (who were getting free beer from the postmen) spent the whole trip roaring, shouting and cursing all within earshot of the nun. I'm not averse to cursing myself but theres a time and a place. They smoked as well and let loose some serious abuse to a local woman when she asked them to stop. Ran into these clowns outside a restaurant in Prague and one tried to start a fight with us. Have to agree with other posters theres a serious problem developing with more and more of these a**holes coming on away trips.

[Cowboy]

I dont agree with any foreign team names written on the flag but whether it was rangers or not I would not try to pull down or touch another persons flag.

I dont agree with anything at all written on our flag.

[NeilMcD]

Jesus you would be busy at a match if you were to go around challenging everybody so !!!!!

[Sligo Hornet]

Jesus you would be busy at a match if you were to go around challenging everybody so !!!!!

Agreed,....and don't forget you can't touch anyone else's flag!

[Sligo Hornet]

I was beside the woman in San Marino who went and took down the Chelsea flag. She was on a mobile to a pub in Dublin and they were directing her from the TV footage!!

As always...the power of the Media.....eh Tuff?