Saturday 16th November

[Crewelad87]

Who are Forest's main rivals according to them? Would it be Leicester and Derby?

Definitely Derby. They were chanting " we only hate derby" at the game vs Leicester the other week.

 

[mozzavale]

A load of Stoke and Vale fans came to Wembley to cheer for us in the 1997 playoff final

Remember it well. A lad I played football with went. He's a big Vale fan but the Sentinel made him wear a Stoke top for a photo

 

[Conker]

It’s Derby and it’s both ways, you know a real rivalry.

 

[mozzavale]

Funny one the Potteries derby. Stoke in a similar position to Forest in that they share a city with a much smaller team, but Forest unlike Stoke could not give a toss about the smaller team. Yet for all the perceived hatred from the Vale fans towards Stoke the last few derbys at VP have barely scrapped 10k (according to 11v11), that would be with at least 4k Stoke in there, plus one match under 9k, which probably meant more Stoke than Vale in VP, and that’s not including the daft diddy cup match the other season. Very odd, I’m sure there must be a valid reason for the poor Vale turnouts?

Can't speak for anyone else, I went them all. But after a few years of sell outs, 20k plus attendances early to mid 90s at both grounds...the level of violence put a lot of people off going. We got 8k the first season back in the Championship. Was an early kick off on Sky. I missed the kick off as I was playing Sunday morning and had to rush back for it. Then part of our ground was closed down by the council.

Our attendances plummeted around early 2000s. Not sure why. We had a sky game v Grimsby in the Championship where only 3k turned up. Can't really put a finger on why that happened, especially as we were in a league we could only dream of being in now. Over the years though, a lot have finally started to return. We get similar averages now in L2, and last season when relegated from L1, than we did at the tail end of our Championship years.

 

[jacobncfc]

Who are Forest's main rivals according to them? Would it be Leicester and Derby?

Derby. I live in Leicester and that’s almost as one-sided a rivalry as ours with them is.

Us and Forest is obviously a complete nothing of a rivalry and has been for a few generations, but that would change pretty quickly if we were at the same sort of level for any length of time. I don’t really care about them at all either way though tbh, possibly because I’ve never lived in Notts. I wouldn’t say I hate anyone really, the odd team I enjoy beating a bit more than the others but ultimately I am quite happy not having a ‘proper derby’.

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

That's the classic case Forest hate Derby and Derby hate Forest, it's a classic well known English derby. Leicester are the odd wheel who want it to be a rivalry more than Forest do for that reason.

Saying that there is definitely added spice to that fixture due to proximity. Leicester's has to be Coventry surely?

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

I watched a Forest fan vlog of our play off game with Notts and he was wanting County to win so in the comments I asked him why a Forest fan would want County to win and he replied I want all Nottingham clubs to do well I haven’t anything against Notts.
Which sums up just how much rivalry there is from Forest’s side.

Of course you did

Why would he want Grimsby to win that Non League playoff? I assume he was sat in the home end?

 

[Si Robin]

And of all those quoted fierce and sometimes toxic consensual two way rivalries only 1 play in the same league and even that one is newly formed and hotly disputed.

This comes back to my point about it having to have a history to it to make it more than a rivalry.

Until we got promoted to the Football League in 1999, we played Gloucester City every season - getting crowds of over 2,500 in the Southern League in the 1990s (the Boxing Day game at Meadow Park in 1994 had 3,018!!). Our other games that season averaged around 800. Anyone my age and older will only ever consider them our true rival and the real Gloucestershire Derby.

Forest Green is just kids on both sides wanting to act out Football Factory very poorly because we haven't had a true rival since leaving City behind. It's a rivalry out of necessity rather than anything else.

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

Yup history is very important but often chosen to be overlooked.

 

[valefan16]

Who are Forest's main rivals according to them? Would it be Leicester and Derby?

My family and friends are mostly Leicester fans and it kind of depends where you live, if you live sort of Melton Mowbray/Oakham end of Leicestershire then they would look at Forest, if more Loughborough/Coalville side then Derby and Hinckley/South Leicestershire would be Coventry.

Suppose the City itself would be more split/neutral to who they dislike the most.

 

[Son of Cod]

I reckon we could stake a real claim for the biggest sad sack club nobody cares about.

What about Bradford? Probably a load in the Championship too tbf. Coventry, does anyone care about them?

 

[Jimmy Anderson]

Can't speak for anyone else, I went them all. But after a few years of sell outs, 20k plus attendances early to mid 90s at both grounds...the level of violence put a lot of people off going. We got 8k the first season back in the Championship. Was an early kick off on Sky. I missed the kick off as I was playing Sunday morning and had to rush back for it. Then part of our ground was closed down by the council.

Our attendances plummeted around early 2000s. Not sure why. We had a sky game v Grimsby in the Championship where only 3k turned up. Can't really put a finger on why that happened, especially as we were in a league we could only dream of being in now. Over the years though, a lot have finally started to return. We get similar averages now in L2, and last season when relegated from L1, than we did at the tail end of our Championship years.

3000 were the attendances vale were getting in the 1970s and 1980s then alot more started to come in the late 80s early 90s under John rudge. I think alot of fans stopped going when John rudge got sacked in 1999, also some stopped going due to bill bell selling the best players and not replacing them. Vale were one of the first few clubs go into administration and you can see why really as went from being div 1 for 7 straight seasons averaging 8500 to having 4000 on a Saturday and 3000 on a Tuesday night and getting relegated from div 1 to div 2. The 3 seasons between 2000 and 2003 vale averaged around 4500 then from 2004 onwards it rose to more 5000 to 5500 which it stayed too untill 3 years ago where it went up too 6500 averages and first season back in league one 7600 average.

 

[lordofthepies]

Crewe as mentioned is the most natural one for their own reasons of not having a proper rival. The two clubs don't like each other but it's just not a Derby.

I quite like Stockport. Probably like them a bit less now I've moved here as younger County fans can be a bit annoying when they work out I'm a Crewe fan.

 

[Stocky]

I quite like Stockport. Probably like them a bit less now I've moved here as younger County fans can be a bit annoying when they work out I'm a Crewe fan.

I agreed with the gist of one of your earlier posts when you said that we've come back to the FL and just decided you're massive rivals of ours. When in reality it was never that big of a deal, just a local game.

I get it a bit and I think some of your fans were happy to embrace it too. And it probably is a younger element for both.

 

[Dan Phillips]

This Crewe mock outrage is extremely amusing regarding the ticket availability. They haven't even sold their allocation less than a week before the game, yet they're moaning they were potentially not getting more? Bit bizarre if you ask me. How would 'doing the same' for our visit in March be comparable? It's not like we'd fail to sell our allocation less than a week before the game, and be demanding more tickets, is it? Our tickets in March won't get anywhere near general sale, whereas you're struggling to shift a modest allocation yourselves? Make it make sense. I do agree that anybody who wants to go, should be given the freedom to do so. However, if any Crewe fan who wanted to go, who hasn't yet purchased a ticket, probably isn't that arsed about going? They're dealing with if's and could have's.

 

[Mid-Cheshire-Alex]

This Crewe mock outrage is extremely amusing regarding the ticket availability. They haven't even sold their allocation less than a week before the game, yet they're moaning they were potentially not getting more? Bit bizarre if you ask me. How would 'doing the same' for our visit in March be comparable? It's not like we'd fail to sell our allocation less than a week before the game, and be demanding more tickets, is it? Our tickets in March won't get anywhere near general sale, whereas you're struggling to shift a modest allocation yourselves? Make it make sense. I do agree that anybody who wants to go, should be given the freedom to do so. However, if any Crewe fan who wanted to go, who hasn't yet purchased a ticket, probably isn't that arsed about going? They're dealing with if's and could have's.

Nee narr, nee narr, here come the Port Vale attendance police.

You just answered your own gripe, fans
complained because the allocation was going to be capped (again), and we can possibly take more than 1800 it was going to be restricted.

 

[The_Viking_Magpie]

The Port Vale Away Attendance Police are very well established

 

[lordofthepies]

This Crewe mock outrage is extremely amusing regarding the ticket availability. They haven't even sold their allocation less than a week before the game, yet they're moaning they were potentially not getting more? Bit bizarre if you ask me. How would 'doing the same' for our visit in March be comparable? It's not like we'd fail to sell our allocation less than a week before the game, and be demanding more tickets, is it? Our tickets in March won't get anywhere near general sale, whereas you're struggling to shift a modest allocation yourselves? Make it make sense. I do agree that anybody who wants to go, should be given the freedom to do so. However, if any Crewe fan who wanted to go, who hasn't yet purchased a ticket, probably isn't that arsed about going? They're dealing with if's and could have's.

How is it relevant that we haven't sold the initial allocation yet? We obviously will sell it, so the initial allocation clearly wasn't enough. I haven't decided if I want to go yet, but I assumed we'd get a whole stand so I didn't really need to decide just yet.

 

[mozzavale]

All seems to be sorted now. Don't think it was a police matter. Think it's similar to us at Notts earlier in the year, home club have asked the visitors how many they expect, and we both underestimated. Home club then has to try to staff the event with just a week to do so.

In our case it looks like we couldn't guarantee being able to do so, which triggered a few people, and then shortly after it was resolved.

Not 100% sure what the final allocation is now, but seems sales at Crewe's end have slowed down. Been 200 left for a few days now. Looks like around 1,800 to 2k, which will be the most they've brought to us since about 97 I believe. Good going. Hopefully be pushing 9k. Shame it's a Monday otherwise could see it being closer to 10k.

 

[mozzavale]

How is it relevant that we haven't sold the initial allocation yet? We obviously will sell it, so the initial allocation clearly wasn't enough. I haven't decided if I want to go yet, but I assumed we'd get a whole stand so I didn't really need to decide just yet.

That's exactly how I missed out on Notts tickets

 

[Crewelad87]

All seems to be sorted now. Don't think it was a police matter. Think it's similar to us at Notts earlier in the year, home club have asked the visitors how many they expect, and we both underestimated. Home club then has to try to staff the event with just a week to do so.

In our case it looks like we couldn't guarantee being able to do so, which triggered a few people, and then shortly after it was resolved.

Not 100% sure what the final allocation is now, but seems sales at Crewe's end have slowed down. Been 200 left for a few days now. Looks like around 1,800 to 2k, which will be the most they've brought to us since about 97 I believe. Good going. Hopefully be pushing 9k. Shame it's a Monday otherwise could see it being closer to 10k.

Not slowed down at all. An extra 200 were sent yesterday to take us up to 1800, they sold out by the end of the day. An extra 300 have arrived today.

 

[TrinidadsNumberOne]

Gutted I can't make it with me being on nights but least will be able to catch it on the telly which is the only consolation from Sky's shite TV deal cocking it up for regular match-going fans.

 

[mozzavale]

Not slowed down at all. An extra 200 were sent yesterday to take us up to 1800, they sold out by the end of the day. An extra 300 have arrived today.

My mistake. Think with the different batches of tickets arriving the updates have all been around 200 left, so thought sales had slowed. More the merrier for me, how it should be.

 

[Dan Phillips]

Okay, I apologise.

Crewe finally bring a decent following for the first time this century and all hell breaks loose. Forgot how massive they were.

If they were mid table, they wouldn't have sold the 1,200 FFS.

 

[Mid-Cheshire-Alex]

Okay, I apologise.

Crewe finally bring a decent following for the first time this century and all hell breaks loose. Forgot how massive they were.

If they were mid table, they wouldn't have sold the 1,200 FFS.

Nee Nar, nee nar

Evening all,

Here’s PC Dan of the Port Vale Attendance Police.

He’s now investing that the Alex are bringing more fans because we are 2nd in the league than we would if we were mid-table, let’s hope PC Dan gets a lead in this mysterious case.

PC Dan is also looking into ‘all hell breaking lose’, regarding the Alex’s away following, after wading into the thread posting multiple paragraphs about the Alex’s away following.

 

[Dan Phillips]

Nee Nar, nee nar

Evening all,

Here’s PC Dan of the Port Vale Attendance Police.

He’s now investing that the Alex are bringing more fans because we are 2nd in the league than we would if we were mid-table, let’s hope PC Dan gets a lead in this mysterious case.

PC Dan is also looking into ‘all hell breaking lose’, regarding the Alex’s away following, after wading into the thread posting multiple paragraphs about the Alex’s away following.

Another boring Crewe WUM account.

How many accounts is this now?

 

[Jimmy Anderson]

Another boring Crewe WUM account.

How many accounts is this now?

I wouldn't bother replying to him Dan, he thinks he's funny when he isn't.
Or she if it's a woman.

 

[Son of Cod]

Personally enjoying all this Crewe Vale stuff. Mansfield going up robbed us of pages and pages of Chesterfield banter this season so someone needs to step up.

 

[lordofthepies]

Crewe finally bring a decent following for the first time this century and all hell breaks loose. Forgot how massive they were.

We're quite a small club. We always bring a decent following for a club of our size.

 

[Limerick Mariner]

How many L2 clubs are actually in consensual two way main rivalries? I'd say us (Scunny), Vale (Stoke), Chesterfield (Stags), Cheltenham (Gloucester), Swindon (Oxford) and Wimbledon and MK obviously...I don't really know about the North West lot tbh. So we're at 7 at present.

How about all the sad sack clubs that nobody else cares about all put their names into a hat and we pick them out and they get given a new Palace Brighton style rival?

Surely it's us and Boston instead of a regional semi-pro level club now...

Lincoln pretend they don't care about us but then they had the banner embarrassment a few years back that disproved that. And it is the world's first Town v City derby with both founder members of 2nd division and there were no other clubs with Town after the place name at the time. Lincoln were the second club with City after Stoke.

If John Prescott (RIP) hadn't put millions of taxpayer dollars into Hull's stadium it could still have been us and Hull if we were both slumming it in 100+ year old grounds - in the 1950's it certainly was.