Rivalries (real, tinpot and imagined)

[HertsWolf]

I'll say this again. Only our younger supporters - those who started following Utd during our n/l years - think we're rivals, as do your younger fans judging from Outlaws. Now, I only visit your forum once or twice every couple of months, but there's always some kid posting something about us. Remember that prior to 2005, the year we went down, we couldn't care less about each other.

Our rivals are Pish and Pish only. But we do dislike some other sides such as Stevenage(who doesn't?), the Cobblers and Orient. Some of the older fans will also include Colchester and Southend in that list.

Several U's may not actually hate you lot, but you're on the dislike list too, for obvious reasons. However we also respect you in a strange kind of way, as Luton are a proper club after all. Personally, I have some friends of mine who are Luton fans, and I get along with 'em just fine. Thing is I have to watch what I say about the Hatters

What about when Histon were the top team in Cambridge? Did they consider you a decent derby game? Like in December 2006?

 

[Vanni]

Spireite could make anyone hate Chesterfield... if memory serves correct he's their archwum right? Remember a Chesterfield fan trying to wind me up on some thread on the old forum.

Seriously Shoddy, it's a bit ridiculous hating a club just because someone who supports them posts a load of nonsense or is a grade a troll. But yes, some guys really do take it a bit too far with their posts.

 

[Vanni]

What about when Histon were the top team in Cambridge? Did they consider you a decent derby game? Like in December 2006?

Nice try Wolf

Frankly speaking, I never considered them as true rivals, as we didn't play them before their rise to the Conference, excluding of course pre-season friendly games. And I also knew that they were going down to their natural level once the money ran out.

December 2006 - the cup game eh? Pathetic display from the U's which fortunately for me I didn't get to witness as I couldn't make it.

 

[HertsWolf]

December 2006 - the cup game eh? Pathetic display from the U's which fortunately for me I didn't get to witness as I couldn't make it.

Pity. I hear it was a high scoring game and you'd have seen a fair few goals. Pity the underdogs lost though.

 

[Laker]

Pity. I hear it was a high scoring game and you'd have seen a fair few goals. Pity the underdogs lost though.

Good wumming attempt.

Fortunately their owners shafted them over too so the natural order was restored.

 

[HertsWolf]

Good wumming attempt.

Fortunately their owners shafted them over too so the natural order was restored.

Good? It was fucking excellent! Was saddened by their demise, tbh. They stuck it to some big clubs on their short journey. And you guys, as well.

 

[joethegill]

Our only proper 'rivals' are Maidstone, although they haven't been in the league since about 1992, and haven't been within shot of us since. We're a friendly bunch really. The Swindon thing is hilarious though.

 

[Laker]

Good? It was fucking excellent! Was saddened by their demise, tbh. They stuck it to some big clubs on their short journey. And you guys, as well.

They were a bunch of c*** who leeched off our club, did their best to steal our fans and destroy us while running a totally unsustainable football club with players they could no way afford. There were one or two who would have been content if both clubs had folded. Those involved in Histon at that time were arseholes and I feel sorry for their 300 or so genuine fans who have been out through it since their previous owners left them practically bankrupt and perennially falling down divisions. There was little romantic about their rise however if you watched what was happening in the local news. I'm just relieved we avoided them in the play offs in 08/09 as I'm sure they'd have beaten us and become a league team ahead of us. Probably would have killed us off.

 

[Trapdoor]

I remember Helen Chamberlain always used to claim that Torquay v Exeter was the big-one, and the both teams viewed Plymouth as a sort of benevolent older brother... was that wishful thinking on her part?

Yeah that is a joke. Exeter and Plymouth hate each other with extreme venom but we both quite like Torquay.

 

[ThisTinpotLeague]

Howard Webb was in charge of that game aswell.

Never knew!

 

[Gashead]

Yeah that is a joke. Exeter and Plymouth hate each other with extreme venom but we both quite like Torquay.

In my experience, people I know from Exeter/Plymouth who don't even like football treat the other place with disdain.

 

[UTS]

Every Bury fan over the age of 35 hates BWFC, 6 miles away, we used to regularly play them and the rivalry was reciprocated on both sides, with Bolton being the bigger of the two clubs, (like Plymouth vs Exeter). Obviously around 1999 they reached the Premier League and we got relegated from Div 2 and we've not had a league fixture since. If I'm being honest I don't think Bolton think of us as a rival at all anymore, as they have Man U (lol) and Wigan.

Being a younger fan, watching from 2003 onwards, I see Rochdale as our main rival, again, only 6 miles to the east and we play each other pretty much every season. The feeling is probably reciprocated more on the Rochdale side than ours due to Dale never having a proper rival until we popped into the 4th division (Rochdale division). It's a good rivalry to be fair and although they only attract about 7,000 fans there is always a lot of atmosphere/animosity towards both sets of fans.

York City is one of those rivalries where you only dislike them on the day if you get me, like you wouldn't give them a second thought normally but there is always a decent atmosphere when we meet, due to history between the two clubs. Unless York become less shit we won't be playing them anytime soon hopefully.

Other minor rivalries include Oldham and possibly Preston.

 

[EricSabin]

Our local media tries to portray Oxford as a derby these days which drives me mental. It doesn't feel like a big occasion when we play them, just any other league game really.

Cambridge are another local side no animosity is felt towards but games always feel eventful and atmospheric against them, probably for proximity reasons meaning both teams travel well. In October it'll be another big day at the Abbey I suspect judging by who's going.

MK Dons always try and worm their way in to everything, and they've always got a lot to say when we play each other. We're wuite ambivalent over our way about them though, not really respected enough to be a rivalry.

Barnet are another that seem to be quite put out by our presence for some reason or another, allied to the fact they always beat us makes me not enjoy playing them.

Luton games always feel eventful too, big crowds and always something happening.

However I really hate the Posh. We haven't played them in a few years but the hate still seems to be there at our end. Not really sure about their end and I don't really want to speak to anyone from there.

 

[Casey]

We have a Premier team tens miles up the road. A championship team twenty miles down the road but ask most older fans who they would like to play on a regular basis and the answer would be Dover Athletic. They is still a group chant about them to this day and Mo Munden is still spoken about with grudging affection Dover keeper in the eighties.

AFC Wimbledon get a lit of stick because if their snide remarks about us (and Luton) in out conference winning season but it is not a derby even though they must be the closest team to us in the bottom two divisions.

Personally I would like to see a friendly rivalry start up with Barnet because when I were a lad and players wore real boots Barnet were the sort of team I wished Crawley could play against but they seemed so far above us in those days. I am aware that Barnet fans don't give a monkeys about us though....Well, beyond the usual everybody hating us.

Casey

 

[rudebwoyben]

No we don't give a monkeys about you and now that Izale McLeod has left you, there's absolutely no reason for us to have any interest in you.

 

[Moomin]

As has already been said Plymouth are our only serious rival but, back in the 90s we had some run ins with Colchester which was random.

It all started when they smashed up our old bar 'the centre spot'. Then in the away game there was fighting between fans during half time and they nicked one of our flags!

Also Peterborough smashed up a pub near to SJP when we were both fighting for top spot in the late 90s....Again random.

 

[shoddycollins]

As has already been said Plymouth are our only serious rival but, back in the 90s we had some run ins with Colchester which was random.

It all started when they smashed up our old bar 'the centre spot'. Then in the away game there was fighting between fans during half time and they nicked one of our flags!

Also Peterborough smashed up a pub near to SJP when we were both fighting for top spot in the late 90s....Again random.

The last time I can remember any actual serious aggro outside BP on a matchday it was Bournemouth... which we're talking random.

 

[Aber gas]

The last time I can remember any actual serious aggro outside BP on a matchday it was Bournemouth... which we're talking random.

The saga ultras , that'll teach you for running out of werthers originals and copies of the people's friend .

 

[shoddycollins]

The saga ultras , that'll teach you for running out of werthers originals and copies of the people's friend .

I think it all kicked off when the offy opposite the ground didn't have an induction loop for hearing aids.

 

[UTS]

HAD Bury have stayed down last season (thank fuck we didn't) I reckon Bury v Carlisle may have gotten tasty due to an alleged stabbing of one of their fans at Bury. Known trouble at BP before with Bury fans allegedly having bottles thrown at them in Carlisle once..

Add in the factor of Bury being one of Carlisles closer games and there was deffo potential

 

[shoddycollins]

HAD Bury have stayed down last season (thank fuck we didn't) I reckon Bury v Carlisle may have gotten tasty due to an alleged stabbing of one of their fans at Bury. Known trouble at BP before with Bury fans allegedly having bottles thrown at them in Carlisle once..

Add in the factor of Bury being one of Carlisles closer games and there was deffo potential

Didn't know about that incident. A Google search confirms it was something that was reported, but I haven't heard many other Carlisle fans speak of it... guess we haven't played each other since though.

 

[Stanleyfan]

This is a strange one for us. We are in between Blackburn and Burnley and some of their fans come to watch us if their clubs aren't playing. We have a friendly rivalry with Morecambe - I've never experienced any trouble in any of the matches we've played them.

We used to have rivalries with a number of North West non-league teams such as Barrow, Altrincham and Bamber Bridge but it is a long while since we played any of them.

I think most other clubs pity us more then anything else haha

 

[Aber gas]

This is a strange one for us. We are in between Blackburn and Burnley and some of their fans come to watch us if their clubs aren't playing. We have a friendly rivalry with Morecambe - I've never experienced any trouble in any of the matches we've played them.

We used to have rivalries with a number of North West non-league teams such as Barrow, Altrincham and Bamber Bridge but it is a long while since we played any of them.

I think most other clubs pity us more then anything else haha

I don't pity you at all , tbh I admire your club . Decent finishes and league football on fuck all budgets . Wish my club was run as well .

 

[lovePAFC]

Exeter our main rival obviously.

Many seem to think it's Torquay because they are the closest club to us, the relationship between us and then is a older brother/younger brother sort of thing, occasional bickers but no real ill feeling, many Argyle fans go to watch Torquay when we have a long away trip. I'd say Torquay dislike Exeter a lot more than they dislike us. It's a bit like the three way derby between Huddersfield, Leeds & Bradford, Huddersfield the little partner, or Leicester, Derby & Forest with Leicester the little partner.

We used to have a bit of a rivalry with Pompey hence the term 'dockyard derby', that's been reignited a little lately but it's not a derby derby.

We've had a bit of a niggle with Luton & visa versa ever since we were promoted together & we were both going for the title. So those games can be a bit fiesty.

& as unlikely as it is, considering the distance, there's a fair bit of ill feeling between us & Burnley.

 

[LadyWomble]

AFC Wimbledon get a lit of stick because if their snide remarks about us (and Luton) in out conference winning season but it is not a derby even though they must be the closest team to us in the bottom two divisions.

Are you saying we (Wimbledon) were rude about you AND Luton or that us and Luton made snide comments about you? Big difference. The latter would be true but definitely not the former.

 

[thewwfc]

We havn't had a local derby since 1993 when we were in The Conference playing Slough Town. Some of our fans like to make out Oxford are our rivals but the majority of us don't as they're just another Football League club.

This, pretty much.

Col U for a long time was a proper grudge match, for reasons I can't be arsed to summarise but it was obviously never that whole, omg I can't bear to go outside for the next 3 weeks in case I get stick from a <insert local team name> fan when we lose against them.

But any other "rivalry" any of our fans have claimed of late is contrived at best, frickin' shameful at worst, it drives me spare when fans (of any club) try and claim that they be some serious beef goin' down in da hood, muthafukka, when the Minor Localish Club FC hits town.

Oxford: our crap local paper calls it The M40 Derby, I call it The Not A Local Derby. There have been a few instances with some spicyish tackles going in, that's about as heated as it gets though.

Franchise: the most infuriating of all to claim as a derby. Frankly if them doing consistently way better than us is the price to pay to stop (mostly) our younger and/or simpler fans thinking this is a game worth caring about then I'll take that. Never been to the fixture, never will.

There's also been some bleatings about the Gas. Just no. One of the few lower league clubs with a proper local derby, let them have that and move along.

It used to infuriate me that people would see us as basically just too nice and ineffectual to have a rivalry with...until once upon a time some (and it was only ever a minority) of Cheltenham fans tried to see us as rivals. And then I saw exactly how other teams see us.

Nowadays with all the pantomime timewasting, ref-haranguing and diving we go in for, that's what we're earning a reputation for. Not a good feeling even if we are secretly being super-concerned with providing Value For Money by trying to drag every single bloody game out to 7 minutes of extra time.

 

[iWomble]

Are you saying we (Wimbledon) were rude about you AND Luton or that us and Luton made snide comments about you? Big difference. The latter would be true but definitely not the former.

Everyone makes snide comments about Crawley, as is only right and proper.

 

[Carver]

Seems to be quite a few Carlisle fans on here.

 

[shoddycollins]

Seems to be quite a few Carlisle fans on here.

There's not that many really... we're just extremelyobnoxious.

 

[dannylad01]

For Shrewsbury, our historic rivals have been Walsall. They always bring good numbers to our place.

Much like Yeovil, our other "local" derbies have dwindled due to their financial difficulties, being Wrexham (the biggest of them), Telford (who we played 4 times and didn't beat in our conference season) and to a lesser extent Chester and Hereford.

Our younger fans see Port Vale as a derby, mainly as it is relatively close for us in the absence of other local teams, and from a controversial game in 2008.

Random ones that our fans see as rivals are MK Dons, who had planned their trip to Wembley in the 2007 play offs before we beat them, and Wycombe following the ghost goal in 2011 and then them subsequently pipping us to promotion in the same season. Plus we never beat Wycombe!