The inside story of Fans United — How Danny Baker, a Plymouth Argyle supporter, two exiled Seagulls and a cast of thousands helped save Brighton & Hove Albion FC
PROLOGUE
ON 8 February, 1997, fans of Arsenal, Spurs, Chelsea, Charlton Athletic, Crystal Palace and countless other English teams mingled with Real Madrid, Eintracht Frankfurt and Red Star Belgrade supporters — all in their team colours — on the crumbling terraces at the Goldstone Ground in Sussex.
They had travelled from across the UK and beyond to watch visitors Hartlepool United take on Brighton & Hove Albion, then rooted firmly at the very bottom of the Football League.
But, more importantly, they were there to stand side-by-side with beleaguered Albion fans, as our club teetered on the very edge of extinction.
With supporters fighting a bitter war against the club’s despised owners, home games in the 1996/97 season had been played in front of ever-dwindling crowds, and in an increasingly desperate and hostile atmosphere.
But this was different. Despite the cold and damp of a foggy afternoon, this felt like a carnival.
The Albion players rose to the occasion, thrashing Hartlepool 5–0.
“We’d like to thank you for coming,” sang the Albion faithful to the many guests. Thank you, indeed!
The day didn’t quite give us the additional publicity we’d desperately craved. But it gave us something even more precious — hope.
This is the story of the build up to that day. This is the story of Fans United.
DEAR DANNY…
IT’S past 8pm on Wednesday 18 December, 1996, in the near-deserted basement of London-based magazine publisher Dennis Publishing. A clunky printer is churning out page after page of messages written in support of Brighton & Hove Albion, a football club battling for survival.
“It would be tragic if Brighton were lost to English football,” writes Gareth. “It’s time that the game was put back into the hands of the fans. “
“Football and its supporters must win,” adds Simon. “It’s our game, not some businessman’s toy.”
“No serious football fan wishes to see the demise of any English club. Fans make a difference,” writes Charl.
“It really does amaze me that someone like this guy [Bill] Archer can get involved in the running of a football club when he clearly has no passion for the game whatsoever,” says Nick.
“Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club do not deserve to die!,” writes Neil.
And so it goes on and on and on. None of these messages, submitted to a guestbook on an Albion fan site, had been written by Brighton supporters.
Gareth is a fan of Northampton Town, and Simon is a Spurs supporter, living in Australia. Charl’s team is Aston Villa, while Nick and Neil support Watford and Wimbledon, respectively.
And there are literally hundreds more messages like it. Even fans of traditional rivals have taken time to show support.
“Good luck with the campaign,” writes Alan. “Speaking as a Crystal Palace fan, all I can say is that no football club should have to go through what you are enduring at the moment.”
“As a Palace fan, I’m not supposed to do this, but KEEP THE FIGHT GOING,” adds Neil. “You have the support of all DECENT Palace fans everywhere.”
I collate the print outs and stuff them into a brown envelope, along with a cover letter addressed to radio host, football fan and professional agitator Danny Baker.
“Dear Danny”, I’ve written. “Thank you for your continued support of Brighton & Hove Albion fans, and the battle to save our club”.
“As you can see from the enclosed print-outs, we have incredible support from the football community all over the country and indeed the world.
“On Saturday 8 February 1997 we’re organising a unique event at the Goldstone Ground called Fans United. For our match against Hartlepool United, we’d like supporters from all clubs to join us in solidarity, wearing their own club colours. Would be great if you could promote and maybe even come yourself?”
I’ve signed off as “Warren Chrismas, Internet Seagulls” to suggest I’m part of some big, organised fan group.
In fact, it is merely the name of a modest email list. At this point, just two of us are privy to the final plans for Fans United, plus a handful who’d shown some interest in the discussion online. But the genie was about to be let out of the bottle.
I take the short walk from my office to BBC Broadcasting House on Portland Place in central London, and leave the package with the security guard in reception.
At 10.05pm The Baker Line goes live on air on Radio Five, and Danny — fresh from seeing his beloved Millwall lose to Luton at the New Den — is in a typically forthright mood.
He immediately makes reference to “the package”, rants about the Football Association (for the second successive week) and then announces our event to hundreds of thousands of listening football supporters.
Fans United is on!
Soon after, my phone rings. And then the emails begin to flood in…
DOCUMENTING TROUBLES
In 2017, there are said to be more than a billion websites on the Internet — although, to be honest, I don’t think anyone is counting.
Back at the beginning of 1996, however, there were fewer than 100,000 — yes, worldwide — and one of these was a Brighton fan site called the Seagulls Server, with a rather inglorious URL: http://homepages.enterprise.net/gjc/.
The “Enterprise.net” in the address is the Internet host, while “gjc” is the initials of Gary John Crittenden.
Gary, an Albion fan exiled in the Isle of Man, set up the site in the summer of 1996, and later added a ‘Campaign Pages’ section to document the club’s troubles and protests.
No-one could have predicted how important the site would be.
As recently as 1983, Brighton & Hove Albion had appeared in the top-flight of English football (what is now the Premier League) and come painstakingly close to beating Manchester United in the FA Cup final and qualifying for Europe.
But, while never actually going bust, boardroom mismanagement through the 80s and beyond had left the club on its knees by late 1993, when a Blackburn-based businessman named Bill Archer claimed control of the club. As shocked fans later discovered, he’d paid just £56.25.
In April 1995, the club is relegated to the bottom tier of the Football League. Then, in July, local paper The Argus reveals that the owners are to sell the Goldstone Ground — the club’s home for the best part of a century — supposedly to pay off mounting debts.
From the beginning of the 1996/97 season, the Albion were to play home games at Fratton Park in Portsmouth, some 50 miles along the coast.
The club assured fans — and The FA — that plans were in place to build a new, 30,000-capacity stadium, financed by a leisure development. But the Argus revealed that Brighton Council had already rejected the scheme.
Shortly after that revelation came another: that the land on which the Goldstone ground stood — a prime piece of real estate in Hove — had been sold to retail park developer Chartwell for £7.4m.
The club’s chief executive and mouthpiece, the former MP David Bellotti, told fans to “stop whining”.
What the hell was going on? Albion supporter and chartered accountant Paul Samrah joined forces with local journalist Paul Bracchi to investigate further.
They discovered the club’s Memorandum and Articles of Association had been changed to allow shareholders to personally profit from the sale of the ground.
Archer claimed this was an oversight, but to most fans, the implications were clear. The battle was on to rescue the Albion from owners who seemingly had no interest in the club’s long-term future.
The FA, burned by the demise of Maidstone United in 1992 after they’d shared a ground with Dartford, had forbidden any club to move from its hometown without a solid plan to return. But they seemed unable or unwilling to intervene directly in the unfolding drama at Brighton.
After a dark season of protests and growing hostility, a tie against York City on 27 April 1996 was to be the last game at the Goldstone Ground. And, with no groundshare in place, perhaps the club’s last professional match.
Famously, on 16 minutes Albion fans invaded the pitch (which had been graffitied with “SACK THE BOARD” in huge letters overnight), and broke the crossbar of the goal in front of the North Stand, forcing the match to be abandoned.
Coming just weeks before the start of Euro 96, this so-called ‘riot’ made national headlines. But much of the media missed the reasons behind the protest, simply dismissing it as the mindless violence of hooligans.
Future protests would need to be much more subtle — and legal.
Three days after the York City match, the club agreed to lease the Goldstone ground back from Chartwell for a year, for the hefty sum of £480,000. Any hope of retaining the stadium had long gone, but we’d gained a reprieve.
FINAL FIGHT?
The fans’ focus now was getting the club out of the grip of Archer and his cohorts, and into the safe hands of a trusted local consortium, led by fan and local businessman Dick Knight.
Surely more publicity would make the FA intervene? Surely millionaire owner Archer, who was also chairman of national DIY chain Focus, could be forced out somehow?
The Albion made a terrible start to the 1996/7 season. Attendances were falling sharply as many refused to give ticket money that would end up in these owners’ pockets. The stench of despair and hopelessness ran through the club. Small wonder this transferred to performances on the pitch.
The Seagulls were rooted to the very bottom of the Football League, soon to be homeless, and in the hands of people with seemingly no interest in football or the local community. The extinction of Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club was looking a very real possibility.
On 3 December 1996, chief exec Bellotti was chased from the Goldstone director’s box by fans, forcing him to miss Albion’s 3–2 loss to relegation rivals Darlington. Post-match, the board urges fans to “get behind Jimmy and the team” — a reference to manager Jimmy Case.
The very next morning Case is sacked, with Bellotti now urging fans to “get behind whoever takes over”. It had become a pantomime, albeit with precious few laughs.
But by now a sizeable group of supporters had been galvanized into action. Pitch invasions, marches, match boycotts, sit-ins, walk outs, protests in Archer’s home village in Lancashire — you name it, Albion fans did it.
The unprecedented series of protests and stunts increased attention from the media and sympathy from the wider football world.
The likes of Liz Costa (spokesperson for the Supporters’ Club), John Baine (AKA punk poet Attila The Stockbroker, fronting Brighton Independent Supporters Association) and Paul Samrah became regular faces in the local media.
Meanwhile, Gary Crittenden’s Campaign Pages proved to be a valuable resource for other exiled Seagulls (including myself) and fans of other clubs trying to keep up with almost daily dramas.
In November 1996, Gary and a group of volunteers had emailed owners of other nascent football sites asking them to display a ribbon of support and link back to his Campaign Pages. As a result, hundreds of other clubs’ fans were discovering the site, reading about what was unfolding, and leaving messages in the Guestbook.
In these days of Internet ubiquity and social media, it’s possible for an online petition to attract a million signatures in a single day. But in 1996, even getting a handful of users to find your website wasn’t easy.
Search engines were in their infancy (Google didn’t exist), while Facebook and Twitter — and the ability to easily share and spread information — were still a decade away.
For embattled Albion fans, messages of support left in the Campaign Guestbook were a big deal. It was sign that we weren’t alone. That Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club mattered. That the wider football world was watching and sharing our despair. Surely someone, somewhere could help us out of this mess?
The most important guestbook message of all was left on Wednesday 11 December 1996, by Plymouth Argyle fan Richard Vaughan:
I see the scum FA have now taken 2 points who do they think they are they wouldn`t do this to Man United. It makes me sick what is happening to your club and it`s an insult to your fans. I`m a Plymouth fan and I think that one week when we`re away I`m going to come up and support your protest. I think it would be a good idea if LOADS of fans from different clubs turned up at Brighton (with their shirts on) and joined in it would show that we`re all behind you 100%
Unbeknownst to Richard, fans of other clubs had started showing up at Albion matches. But, bar a few subsequent mentions on the guestbook, no-one seems to pick up on the idea.
A few days later, at the Hove Park Tavern, a friend and I met a small group of fans wearing the green shirts of Cercle Brugge. They’d come from Belgium to see the Albion play Hull City, and would witness: new manager Steve Gritt getting heckled before a ball was kicked; hundreds of fans trying to disrupt the match by blowing referees’ whistles; a fan handcuffing himself to a goalpost at half-time, and, perhaps most shocking of all, a 3–0 victory. Only the Albion’s second win in their last 20 games.
That same day, I used the messageboard on Gary’s site to propose an event I’d dubbed Fans United. The name was inspired by a leaflet for a Euro 96 fans event called Europe United.
That messageboard was known as North Stand Chat, and these days it’s a standalone website, with more than 23,000 registered users, and attracting around a million page views a week.
Back in 1996, there were slightly fewer. Indeed, Gary recently estimated the number of regular visitors at the time to be around 30 — not even enough to fill a coach.
Two days on from my message and — unsurprisingly given the modest internet traffic of the time — my proposal has gained just a few responses.
But “Kev” (who I’d later get to know as Kevin Bartholomew) is supportive and recommends organising the event on day when few other teams are playing.
That evening I follow up with another post, listing five possible dates between Boxing Day and 8 February 1997. I recommend the latter, as it would give us time to get organised.
What’s more, there would be no Premiership matches that day due to internationals the following week. Given it would enable fans of Premiership clubs to come and maximise the chances of media coverage, it was a no-brainer.
I outline thoughts on the event, how it might work and be promoted, and ask for representatives of Albion fan groups to contact me so we can work together. But few were Internet users.
Crucially, site owner Gary emails me that evening. He gives the idea and the date of February 8th his support, and agrees to set up a dedicated webpage.
Meanwhile, back over on the Campaign Guestbook, an Albion fan suggests fans of other clubs should be invited to the televised match at Orient the following Sunday. The idea is ignored and, in hindsight, that proves to be a good thing. With Fans United, I had bigger plans. A much grander vision.
I speak to Gary on the phone. Danny Baker had shown a lot on interest in plight of the Seagulls, so we agree to target him for exposure.
With less than 5% of the UK population online, an event like ours needed the support and amplification of mainstream media to gain momentum and legitimacy.
Danny Baker’s radio announcement on 18 December 1996 gave Fans United just that.
SO NOW WHAT?
Needless to say, over the following days I had a few awkward and humbling phone conversations with established fan group representatives. (I recall asking John ‘Atilla’ Baine what time he finished work, thinking he was actually a stockbroker)
Although everyone rallied, it’s fair to say that — with a volatile atmosphere at matches and the threat of points deduction hanging over the club — some supporters thought that inviting fans of rival clubs was a massive risk.
Mike Slocombe, campaigner and the brains behind the excellent Urban75, phoned me to warn that the ‘protest’ was technically illegal and could lead to trouble. It’s fine, I told him. It will be a party!
But, really, what did I know? Looking back, it was incredibly naive to launch an event without looping in others properly. Arrogance? Ignorance? Let’s call it youthful enthusiasm.
Then again, my boss at the time, the late Felix Dennis — whose company had unknowingly funded the print-outs sent to Baker — was always an advocate of ‘do it first, and apologise later’.
One of the publishing millionaire’s favourite quotes was ‘Committees are cul-de-sacs down which ideas are lured and quietly strangled’.
But no committee got a chance to kill off this crazy idea. The event was announced, and there would be no going back.
The following Sunday the Albion play at Leyton Orient, live on Sky TV (it’s goalkeeper Peter Shilton’s 1000th match and, somewhat ironically, Albion fail to have a single shot on goal all game).
Liz Costa takes the opportunity to brief the Press Association on plans for Fans United, and we get a small story in the press.
It’s now Christmas week and things go a little quiet, but I draft a 1500-word document which would become a blueprint for the event — answering why should fans come, why there wouldn’t be trouble, and so on.
Gary gets it online and sets about promoting across the Net, whilst also opening a brand new guestbook for fans pledging to come on February 8th.
With just four weeks to go, I travel down from London to discuss plans face-to-face with Supporters’ Club representatives and others, at a Brighton pub called The Eclipse.
It’s a little nerve-racking for this outsider. These were seasoned campaigners, used to dealing with the media and real world issues. I was a 26-year-old upstart, stoking fires on this new-fangled thing called the Internet.
We knock around some ideas, including organising a human chain around the ground before the game, inviting celebrity guests and tying up cheap hotel deals for visiting fans.
The Supporters’ Club agree to take on the local planning, liaising with the council and police. Jacky Mooney, editor of fanzine Seaside Saga, who I’d got to know by email, volunteered to answer queries by phone. And I’d continue to work with Gary promoting the event online.
Meanwhile, BISA’s John Baine was organising a Half Man Half Biscuit gig in support of Fans United, and mobilising support in Germany and beyond.
Regrettably, at this point I’d barely acknowledged Richard Vaughan’s guestbook message in any Fans United promotion.
But Tim Carder, in charge of putting together a press pack, suggested at the meeting that we lead the Fans United press release with the fact that a 15-year-old Plymouth Argyle supporter had the idea of bringing fans together at Brighton.
It was, of course, a great story.
THE BUILD UP
From this point in, things get a little crazy. But with many people contributing in many different ways, there’s a real feeling of momentum.
All of my spare (and a fair amount of work time) is spent answering emails and promoting the event on numerous football websites.
I also produce a series of 20 posters leading with quotes from the guestbook, to be distributed around the country via post and the Internet.
Albion fans from as far away as Malaysia and the USA message me to say they’re coming back for the game.
A representative of the German BAFF (Federation of Active Football Fans) emails to say that a mini-bus of them will be coming over.
Meanwhile, the Supporters’ Club is liaising with other supporter groups, and Charlton — who had themselves suffered years of misery — are planning on bringing down literally coach loads.
On Virgin Net, Gary and Tim take part in what we’d now call a ‘live chat’ to discuss the campaign.
The guestbooks are swelling with hundreds more messages from fans, and the Campaign Pages reach the land mark of 10,000 ‘hits’.
Celebrity Albion fan Jamie Theakston, presenter of BBC’s Live & Kicking, sends me a message of support.
And Fans United is now getting regular plugs on the radio — not just from Danny Baker, but also David Mellor on his Saturday 606 show and, thanks to John Baine’s connections, even John Peel on Radio One.
Regular match-going supporters Keith Norton and Mike Burke, fans of West Brom and Birmingham City respectively, appear as guests on BBC Radio West Midland to promote Fans United, and are interviewed for quarter of an hour.
And there’s plenty of magazine coverage too.
Time Out describe Albion fans as the best in the country. “[Their] defiant refusal to see their club ripped apart is an example to others,” writes Tom Davies.
Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh pens a column about our struggles in lads’ mag Loaded, urging fans of all clubs to get behind us.
Even trendy style magazine The Face features a page on the club’s crisis.
And then, through January, a series of truly outstanding Fans United adverts start to appear in the football press — 90 Minutes, Match of the Day and Four Four Two.
One features a blue and white scarf in a toilet roll dispenser, with the message: “Available soon in your club’s colours”. Another features illustrations of Albion’s home and away strips next to a businessman’s suit with the caption: “Asset strip”.
I later find that they’re the work of Albion fan Mat Head, then an art director at an ad agency called Bates Dorland.
“Once we had some concepts, we set about pulling in a few favours to get them produced,” Mat later told me.
“When we explained the situation Brighton were in, everyone was willing to help,” he adds. “A lovely photographer shot them for free, the production department at the agency donated their time, and the football publications gave us free advertising space.”
The night before Fans United, Albion fan Roger Gray is at the filming of Channel 4’s TFI Friday, thanks to a friendship with producer Will “Wiiiilllll” Macdonald.
“I’d hoped they’d be willing to give Fans United a bit of a plug,” Roger told me recently. “But broadcasting rules meant they weren’t allowed to promote any event — even a football game.”
Still, they were happy to put Albion scarves and flags up on the wall behind presenter Chris Evans — a show of support for England’s lowest-ranked football club which probably bemused millions of viewers.
After filming, Roger chatted to the show’s scriptwriter, a certain Danny Baker.
“He was hugely enthusiastic about everything we were doing,” recalls Roger, “and he was happy to pose for a photo with my scarf”.
Baker had been instrumental in the launch of Fans United, and had plugged it on his radio show every week. And now, here, on the eve of the event, he was wearing an Albion scarf.
Danny is Millwall through and through, of course. But he’d become an important part of Albion history.
On February 8, Brighton & Hove Albion beat Hartlepool United 5–0 in front of a packed house. With Fans United inspiring renewed hope, subsequent crowd sizes grew significantly at the Goldstone Ground, from an average of 3643 (over previous six games) to an average of 7590. The team remained unbeaten at home the rest of the season, setting up a do-or-die match at Hereford United. An unbelievably tense 1–1 draw secured Albion’s league status by the narrowest of margins — three goals scored. But the Seagulls were now homeless, and the battle for the future of the club would go on…
