Obsessed with Pompey ?

[The9]

Where are you from, The9?

 

I've been along most the South Coast and have found broadly similar attitudes along it.

 

Monmouthshire, and I've worked all over the south of England and Wales. Most places are broadly similar, Portsmouth mostly isn't.

[alpine_saint]

Its a fair point, you don't attend matches generally to have any kind of feel for public opinion or the nuances of people's responses at the best of times, you weren't at that particular match (I wish I hadn't been), you didn't have a ground full of Skates giving it the large one, didn't miss the start due to being stuck on a train and in Fratton for hours surrounded by police, weren't locked in for an hour afterwards and the inconvenience to you was restricted to how long it took you to click the off button - how could you possibly know what people who paid money to go through that feel like, or how they should deal with it ?

 

F'cking right we want them to know we haven't forgotten about it, we still owe them a thrashing and preferably a relegation too. There was plenty of that coming out at Fratton in December, they stupidly think we were remotely bothered about our League One side bossing them for 60 minutes in the FA Cup and the result ending up the same, so they started "4-1 in your own back yard" - we went 1-0 up at Fratton and they got "1-0 in your own back yard" in spades.

 

Most Saints fans only care when we're not obviously better than them, which rules out most of the last 50 years, but when the pretence is that they're superior, we're going to to point out that they're wrong. This season especially has been good for that - assuming they survive, most likely next season they'll be in a different division and once again an irrelevance. But for now, we owe them big, and we're clearly in the ascendancy, so why the hell not rub it in ?

 

Because it brings us down to their petty, insecure, chip-on-shoulder level.

 

We are the better half of Hampshire, and we do things differently.

[Noodles34]

Because it brings us down to their petty, insecure, chip-on-shoulder level.

 

We are the better half of Hampshire, and we do things differently.

 

what do we do differently? We're football fans, its not a class system.

[pap]

Monmouthshire, and I've worked all over the south of England and Wales. Most places are broadly similar, Portsmouth mostly isn't.

 

You've obviously never been on Shirley High Street on a Saturday morning

[Saint Fan CaM]

Mid-70's - Top Rank. On leaving the venue, we had to run and fight our way through a gauntlet of fists and knifes from a large number of Pompey thugs looking for a bit of action. Even the girls. Hated them then. Since then I've met and befriended a few skates who are normal, decent blokes who, like me, enjoy some friendly banter. I came to realise that whatever size football club, there's a commensurate number of thugs who want a scrap. Doesn't mean everyone's like that though.

[cambsaint]

I have to agree with the sentiments that we are too obsessed with Pompey or as we called them in my day-Mobtown.

 

When I first started watching Saints the rivalry was frelatively friendly but that was because Mobtown was the better club.

More people went from Winchester to watch them as Saints were still in Div 3 South.

 

We couldn't afford it and went to Saints and this coincided with our promotion to Div2.

 

In my early teens I saw my first adult fight between the Pompey Mataloe and a Southampton docker at the Milton Rd end-I'm pleased to report that the Mataloe was led away with a busted and profusely bleeding nose-this was in the early 60s a few years before the onset of organised violence.

Eventually Ted Bates built Saints into a Div 1 side and we largely forgot about Pompey.

 

One of my all tiime great days out was on a Steam excursion with some mates we found ourselves in Shrewsbury pub on a Saturday lunchtime and saw Pompey were playing Shrewsbury in Div 4 at Gay Meadow. We went and hugely enjoyed watching then get thrashed and hurled plenty of abuse much to the amusement of the handful of adjacent Shrewsbury supporters.

 

I actually studied a course at Portsmouth Uni-then Poly which wasn't available at many Unis and to my horror my first year digs -(that really dates me)- were in Grayshott Rd almost opposite Nottarf.

 

The rivalry was pretty friendly (except for the loonie thugs) in those days and I used to slip out for a swift half in the pub opposite Nottarf most nights.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed my three years in Portsmouth especially my last two living on the front in Southsea. My Saints mates used to come and kip down if there was a good group (the good old days of Student Union Gigs with top bands) or party and if there was a good gig at the Guildhall. There are some awful parts of Portsmouth, but Southsea and the area south of Fratton (including the delightfully named "Fawcett Inn" was perfectly Ok. You just made sure you didn't get in a navy vs civvies fight in the centre on a weekend or were anywhere near a Navy cops nightstick in particular. Moss Side in Manchester was much more dangerous for students even in the sixties.

 

We still loathed Pompey as a football club but would never have taken it to the ludicrous extremes that it has reached today; and I can't really understand why it has.

 

A few renditions of anti-Pompey songs are great but the incessant obsession that sometimes occurs is just silly and in my opinion hints at insecurity.

 

Of course I'm a very boring old fart, but even in the worst of the hooligan days all we'd sing was a few goes of "If I had the wings of a Sparrow, If I had the a*se of a crow, I'd fly over Fratton and sh8t on the barstewards below".

We were more intent on that day's opposition and supporting the Saints than continually churning out anti-Pompey songs.

[Monk]

I’ve got an interesting story for ya’ll.

 

When I was about 8/9 years old, my Dad was offered free tickets to Poopey home game back in League One(Champ) he had to collect me from home from my mum as he was at work.

 

I knew I was going to a football match and had a few ‘kits’ Saints, Man U and Newcastle GK shirts and an England kit. Obviously being at the tender age of 8/9 I assumed football was football so put on my Saints shirt under my coat.

 

Well at the game, we were sat pitch side and sat next to two very lovely ladies aged 60+. It was a bright sunny day and I was boiling hot so removed my coat, to my Dads horror he soon realised I had my Saints shirt on!! He was approached by a steward requesting I covered my shirt up or would be asked to leave. With that, both of the ladies turned around and told the steward to leave me alone and let me wear my Saints shirt and ‘support’ Pompey. Apparently my Dad was receiving a fair few threats from your typical skate asbo fan as he took me up the stair to the toilet, all I could hear was the most frightening rendition of ‘Scummer’.

 

Of course I didn’t understand what the feck was going on and who ‘scummer’ was aimed at. Now my old man is a sensible bloke, wouldn’t do anything to upset anybody, including the skates, he got me to turn my shirt inside out (**** load of good that did) and now I think about it, I can’t imagine how intimidating that must have been for him.

 

So they are the same as any other side: they have their asbo thugs, arm chair fans, genuine supporters.

 

But: they laughed at us!

[The9]

Because it brings us down to their petty, insecure, chip-on-shoulder level.

 

We are the better half of Hampshire, and we do things differently.

 

Except it doesn't, we always know we're superior and taking the p155 when we get the chance to prove it is the icing on the cake.

[The9]

You've obviously never been on Shirley High Street on a Saturday morning

 

Everywhere has its losers, not everywhere has the island mentality. I've never been abused by someone pulling onto a roundabout and cutting me up in Southampton, nor for driving the last 30 yards of a single-lane double-parked road I'd already driven 150 yards down by someone at the far end who decided they had right of way. And as for walking around their shops in a Saints shirt compared to the basic lack of hassle you'd get in West Quay in the reverse situation...

[The9]

We were more intent on that day's opposition and supporting the Saints than continually churning out anti-Pompey songs.

 

Less than 1 in every 5 songs sung at St Mary's.

[Dr Who?]

They are our rivals! It is all a bit of fun. Singing who the f is laughing now, at a Saints v Derby match is blinking pointless, as no one has a clue what we are on about, apart from our fans, it just does not make sense. They were not listening, well apart from Claridge!

 

I think skatesville is a little more pikey/chavy than Southampton , but Southampton much more pikey/ than Brighton. I challenge you to find someone in a tracksuit and a baseball cap in Brighton....it is tough! Walk through any part of Southampton and you will find plenty.

 

But Brighton is just far to trendy!

[Miffy]

As someone who is only interested in one team and couldn't care less about them and doesn't want to hear about them except when we are playing them I sometimes get the impression that some so called fans are more interested in their demise than us getting promoted. When on another thread on the matter people are asking who is David Bull, I just wonder what motivates them to call themselves Saints fans?

 

I have been watching Saints week in and week out for over 30 years and I was the person who asked who David Bull was. If he had played for us I would have known.

 

I consider myself a Saints fan.

[latter day saint]

They are our rivals! It is all a bit of fun. Singing who the f is laughing now, at a Saints v Derby match is blinking pointless, as no one has a clue what we are on about, apart from our fans, it just does not make sense. They were not listening, well apart from Claridge!

as you already stated our fans knew what it meant so who gives a flying f&ck if the Derby fans didnt. it wasn't for their benefit & in a way not totally for the skates either.

[ericb]

Well at the game, we were sat pitch side and sat next to two very lovely ladies aged 60+. It was a bright sunny day and I was boiling hot so removed my coat, to my Dads horror he soon realised I had my Saints shirt on!! He was approached by a steward requesting I covered my shirt up or would be asked to leave. With that, both of the ladies turned around and told the steward to leave me alone and let me wear my Saints shirt and ‘support’ Pompey. Apparently my Dad was receiving a fair few threats from your typical skate asbo fan as he took me up the stair to the toilet, all I could hear was the most frightening rendition of ‘Scummer’.

 

Southampton Yoof in the pompey home ends unchallenged! Goes to show we're the most feared super firm on the south coast

[The9]

as you already stated our fans knew what it meant so who gives a flying f&ck if the Derby fans didnt. it wasn't for their benefit & in a way not totally for the skates either.

 

I wonder if a few of the more paranoid Derby fans thought it was about the Play-Off semi-final ? A quick rendition of "Billy Davies is a cnvt" would have helped. come to think of it, we should sing that one when we're playing Skate Cheats FC, it's never NOT relevant.

[Norm]

love Saints and I hate Pompey, its as simple as that for me and many people from Southampton. It isn't just the football club I hate but the city itself and most Sotonians feel the same, the people really are vile in Pompey.

 

I think a lot of people who say they dont really care about Pompey and think the depth of feeling most Saints fans have is stupid and obsessive may not have been born and bred in Southampton.

 

The rivalry is passionate between the two cities of that there is no doubt. I have spent time living in the North East and Saints v Pompey is every bit as passionate as Newcastle v Sunderland I can assure you.

 

Some people may genuinely not have any depth of feeling against Portsmouth football club or the residents of that city and will not understand why most Saints fans do feel this way. The fact is however the vast majority of people from Southampton do have a hatred for anything Pompey related and they feel exactly the same way about us.

 

Nothing will change this, even if they go out of existence the rivalry and passion between the two cities will be there. It seems a few fans want to take a moral high ground and think that the fact that they claim they dont care about Pompey and only have feelings for Saints makes them a better fan....... nothing could be further than the truth in my opinion

 

 

 

in my opinion

 

And that is all it is, just your opinion.

Quote, the people really are vile in Pompey.

 

Utter crap and really rather stupid comment. The residents of Portsmouth are no different to any big city, some good and some bad, exactly the same as Southampton.

 

Quote, The fact is however the vast majority of people from Southampton do have a hatred for anything Pompey related and they feel exactly the same way about us.

Theres that word again, FACT! No son, just your OPINION again!

 

I've lived in this city (Southampton) for the past 56 years of my 65 years and I don't have a single ounce/gram of HATRED for Pompey fans or the city of Portsmouth. What I do have is a healthy rivalary for the club and it's fans. Dare I write this but I also have friends that live in the city and support Pompey and have the most enjoyable BANTER every time we meet and buy each other a pint and eat together.

I might as well go the whole hog and state that I hope they survive and stay in the CC, because in case we don't go up to the Prem, we can meet again next season.

 

Final point and not just directed towards Mick above, but anyone that really has hatred for another clubs fan, is in need of help.

[Norm]

Now that's just being silly. The people in Pompey, as a whole, are no better and no worse than people in any other city, including Southampton. Some of their supporters are repulsive and offensive and the dregs of society. But name me a football club where that doesn't apply. I work in Pompey with many Pompey supporters and they, surprising though it may seem, are decent people, working for a living, looking after their families and doing their best. They just happen to support their local team. If people didn't support their local teams, we'd only have the likes of Man U and Chelsea left to play.

 

Yes, I hate the way that Pompey as a football club have behaved and cheated their way through. But keep it in proportion. A bit of banter is one thing. Hating all the residents of a city 20 miles away is not really rational or mature.

 

 

I wish now that I has read further down the page, as Itchens reply covered (very well) the points needed.

[sentry]

Im from Kent and now live in Birmingham. i have never really got the hatred for pompy, I have always hated teams who actually **** me off, liverpool mainly, but also liverpool, oh did I say them twice? Oh, also Liverpool really rub me up the wrong way. But I do not hate people from liverpool, just when they are associated with liverpool FC.