South Bank Hank
⭐⭐🦐
As I sat high up in the Shed End at Stamford Bridge enjoying our moment in the sun on the greyest of winter days, soaking up the Blue Voice inspired atmosphere, taking in the flag-waving travelling Shrimper army bedecked in yellow and coping with the perforation of my ear-drums from an incessant Barry Harris onslaught, I thought for a moment about just what it means to support a team like Southend United over a team like Chelsea.
While the outcome of the tie is still to be decided, the draw at Stamford Bridge has thrust our modest club into a limelight we so seldom get to enjoy and scarcely know what to do with. Yet contend with it we must as we march triumphantly into tomorrow evening’s fixture as unfashionable underdogs with the eye of the world upon us and with the support of the footballing nation right there behind us.
Suddenly, as if by magic, it seems as if all the world’s a Shrimper!
Just one flick from a centre-back’s head and, suddenly, Southend United are on the same back pages so occupied by Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United. Just one long-throw from a near debutant teenager and the world is speculating on the future of former World Cup winner, Luiz Felipe Scolari. Just one stupendous save from a lower-league journeyman goalkeeper and Steve Tilson finds himself speculating on Chelsea’s unmotivated superstars’ ability to defend set-pieces on the same pages that Rafael Benitez is going to war with Sir Alex Ferguson.
And so, we find ourselves sharing the stage with one of the best teams in Europe. Not once, but twice. And it gives us the opportunity to understand what supporting a club like Chelsea is all about, to look at how the other half live, and to see if there is a difference, for instance, in the pride, affection and affinity with our prospective clubs that we can each enjoy as supporters.
Forget first of all those fair-weather ‘fans’ following football from Fleet Street, forming their perspectives on the games from the papers, the internet and from Match of the Day. I’m not talking about them, or at least not for the most part. My question is about how our relationship with our club compares to that of the "other Blues fans" who paid for seats at Stamford Bridge to watch their team of Lions dispatch the team of Christians offered up for their lusty entertainment. Some of these fans may have come lately and they may have been quiet, but they’re still the lifeblood of their club as you and I are of ours.
Some of Chelsea's football was out of this world. Frank Lampard was a talent I'd love to watch every week. But when it comes down to what's important, I really think that WE as Southend United fans often get the better deal.
Truth is, as I sat there at Stamford Bridge so far back from the pitch and so removed from the action, I really felt a part of something but also really felt apart from something else. As one voice amongst thousands, I felt the pride and passion from filling my lungs to join the throng and raise the spirits of our team. Yet strangely, so big was the occasion and so large was the arena it played out in that I still had this feeling of watching the game take place rather than that feeling of being part of the game that I get at Roots Hall. And I wonder if it feels that way for Chelsea fans.
Can your average Chelsea supporter ever really gain the level of pride, affection and affinity with their team (not just one of them, I mean pride, affection AND affinity) that we can so take for granted following a club like ours?
This week has been a unique one for our team in terms of press coverage. The nationals have patronised us with regard to our cheaply assembled motley crew, our players and management have basked in the relative glories of national radio, and the very future of a former world-cup winning manager has been placed under such intense scrutiny that OUR abilities and determination might actually see him axed. Yet in two weeks time it’ll all be back to normal as even the tie in the next round against Ipswich isn’t one to set the pulses racing.
Yet while it’s great to be involved in all this, in many ways it’s the very prospect of our return to a humdrum normality that makes these rare occasions for Southend United so special.
Yes, Chelsea will possibly win another European Cup one day, and yes, they might even ‘surprise’ everyone by picking up their form in the latter half of this season and competing for the Premiership. The competition might be extremely exciting. The team might overcome all odds. But really, deep down inside, with the money they’ve spent, isn’t it all just so expected?
How proud, for instance, can one really be in winning any competition that your Chairman has invested more than half a billion pounds in buying? And how much affinity can you have with those players that took you there as they're cutting you up in their £250,000 Mercedes SLR on your way home from the match.
You’ll never read about a Southend United player’s wife’s new hairdo. You certainly won’t read about one of ours crashing his Ferrari in a tunnel. And you’ll also never meet a Southend United fan who has this notion that football begun when Sky took some cameras down to a selected number of grounds.
As a supporter of Southend United, we can be proud in the knowledge that we’re not just one of millions who support the richest club in football; and we can be proud that we’re not just one of many thousands who’ve jumped on a bandwagon of success to follow a bunch of superstars. This doesn’t mean there are no loyal, blue-blooded Chelsea supporters of course, but I do find it hard to believe they’ll ever have the affection for their club that we do, nor ever feel part of their club the way we are able to feel part of ours.
We may never be a fashionable club. We may never have the resources to buy the most in-demand players. But we are a club that has its feet firmly rooted in reality. We may have even been spoilt in recent years, but our successes are built on the right values. And as supporters of a club like ours, we can rightly feel proud of every piece of success that comes our way and we can rightly share in the glories of it.
While the outcome of the tie is still to be decided, the draw at Stamford Bridge has thrust our modest club into a limelight we so seldom get to enjoy and scarcely know what to do with. Yet contend with it we must as we march triumphantly into tomorrow evening’s fixture as unfashionable underdogs with the eye of the world upon us and with the support of the footballing nation right there behind us.
Suddenly, as if by magic, it seems as if all the world’s a Shrimper!
Just one flick from a centre-back’s head and, suddenly, Southend United are on the same back pages so occupied by Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United. Just one long-throw from a near debutant teenager and the world is speculating on the future of former World Cup winner, Luiz Felipe Scolari. Just one stupendous save from a lower-league journeyman goalkeeper and Steve Tilson finds himself speculating on Chelsea’s unmotivated superstars’ ability to defend set-pieces on the same pages that Rafael Benitez is going to war with Sir Alex Ferguson.
And so, we find ourselves sharing the stage with one of the best teams in Europe. Not once, but twice. And it gives us the opportunity to understand what supporting a club like Chelsea is all about, to look at how the other half live, and to see if there is a difference, for instance, in the pride, affection and affinity with our prospective clubs that we can each enjoy as supporters.
Forget first of all those fair-weather ‘fans’ following football from Fleet Street, forming their perspectives on the games from the papers, the internet and from Match of the Day. I’m not talking about them, or at least not for the most part. My question is about how our relationship with our club compares to that of the "other Blues fans" who paid for seats at Stamford Bridge to watch their team of Lions dispatch the team of Christians offered up for their lusty entertainment. Some of these fans may have come lately and they may have been quiet, but they’re still the lifeblood of their club as you and I are of ours.
Some of Chelsea's football was out of this world. Frank Lampard was a talent I'd love to watch every week. But when it comes down to what's important, I really think that WE as Southend United fans often get the better deal.
Truth is, as I sat there at Stamford Bridge so far back from the pitch and so removed from the action, I really felt a part of something but also really felt apart from something else. As one voice amongst thousands, I felt the pride and passion from filling my lungs to join the throng and raise the spirits of our team. Yet strangely, so big was the occasion and so large was the arena it played out in that I still had this feeling of watching the game take place rather than that feeling of being part of the game that I get at Roots Hall. And I wonder if it feels that way for Chelsea fans.
Can your average Chelsea supporter ever really gain the level of pride, affection and affinity with their team (not just one of them, I mean pride, affection AND affinity) that we can so take for granted following a club like ours?
This week has been a unique one for our team in terms of press coverage. The nationals have patronised us with regard to our cheaply assembled motley crew, our players and management have basked in the relative glories of national radio, and the very future of a former world-cup winning manager has been placed under such intense scrutiny that OUR abilities and determination might actually see him axed. Yet in two weeks time it’ll all be back to normal as even the tie in the next round against Ipswich isn’t one to set the pulses racing.
Yet while it’s great to be involved in all this, in many ways it’s the very prospect of our return to a humdrum normality that makes these rare occasions for Southend United so special.
Yes, Chelsea will possibly win another European Cup one day, and yes, they might even ‘surprise’ everyone by picking up their form in the latter half of this season and competing for the Premiership. The competition might be extremely exciting. The team might overcome all odds. But really, deep down inside, with the money they’ve spent, isn’t it all just so expected?
How proud, for instance, can one really be in winning any competition that your Chairman has invested more than half a billion pounds in buying? And how much affinity can you have with those players that took you there as they're cutting you up in their £250,000 Mercedes SLR on your way home from the match.
You’ll never read about a Southend United player’s wife’s new hairdo. You certainly won’t read about one of ours crashing his Ferrari in a tunnel. And you’ll also never meet a Southend United fan who has this notion that football begun when Sky took some cameras down to a selected number of grounds.
As a supporter of Southend United, we can be proud in the knowledge that we’re not just one of millions who support the richest club in football; and we can be proud that we’re not just one of many thousands who’ve jumped on a bandwagon of success to follow a bunch of superstars. This doesn’t mean there are no loyal, blue-blooded Chelsea supporters of course, but I do find it hard to believe they’ll ever have the affection for their club that we do, nor ever feel part of their club the way we are able to feel part of ours.
We may never be a fashionable club. We may never have the resources to buy the most in-demand players. But we are a club that has its feet firmly rooted in reality. We may have even been spoilt in recent years, but our successes are built on the right values. And as supporters of a club like ours, we can rightly feel proud of every piece of success that comes our way and we can rightly share in the glories of it.
