Slipperduke
The Camden Cad
It was all for nothing. I've worked long and hard over the last 18 months to build some kind of credibility with the UK press pack and on Saturday afternoon I ruined it all by going absolutely mental at Stamford Bridge. It's not the done thing to celebrate a goal in the press box, but wild horses couldn't have stopped me marking Peter Clarke's late equaliser with an uncoordinated display of fist-pumping and an incoherent scream of delight. I won't be welcome back there for a while.
Not that I was alone in my moment of joy. Southend United, a extremely unfashionable third division side from the Essex coast, brought over 6,000 fans to London for the game, more than most teams at their level attract for home games.
"We sold out our allocation of tickets in no time," grinned manager Steve Tilson after the game, "but if we'd have been given 10,000, we'd have sold them as well."
Lee Barnard, Southend's prolific young striker, told The New Paper that the sight of an entire stand full of supporters at Stamford Bridge was a huge factor in their astonishing result.
"It's hard to put into words how it felt to walk out there and see them all. It was absolutely amazing. It was a real 'hairs on the back of the neck' moment. They were so loud, they picked us up all the way through the game. But you know what? We almost expected it. They've been brilliant to us all season, home and away. They could have gone quiet when Chelsea scored, but they just carried on singing all the way through the second half. I know all the lads are thankful for it. It was like having another player on the pitch. "
John Crickson, co-owner of the influential fansite www.shrimperzone.com, was equally pleased with the turn-out.
"I've been watching Southend since 1967, I've travelled up and down the country watching them, but that was the best away day I've ever been on. It was an amazing atmosphere and I'm so proud of all the fans. The pictures of us all there with the flags and the balloons are tremendous."
Crickson has no doubt about the importance of the result to the future of the club.
"This is the kind of result that can invigorate a club like Southend," he told me. "Over the last week we've seen a surge of interest on Shrimperzone, old members who haven't logged in for a while have returned and we've had a burst of new members as well. Shrimperzone comes into its own at times like this. We have a good relationship with the club and we help bring Southend fans together."
One of those fans is Anthony Kilpatrick, who lives in Ireland and travelled all the way to London for the game. He started his epic trek to Stamford Bridge at 4.30am, but thankfully for him, the team repaid his loyalty on the pitch.
"The journey was well worth it," he said afterwards. "When Clarke scored that equaliser it was amazing. I had to double-check the ripple in the net to make sure I wasn't seeing things and then it went crazy. I grabbed my mate and we nearly fell down four or five rows of seats. I couldn't believe it!"
There you go, it wasn't just me who lost control. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to write a letter of apology to the staff at Chelsea....
Not that I was alone in my moment of joy. Southend United, a extremely unfashionable third division side from the Essex coast, brought over 6,000 fans to London for the game, more than most teams at their level attract for home games.
"We sold out our allocation of tickets in no time," grinned manager Steve Tilson after the game, "but if we'd have been given 10,000, we'd have sold them as well."
Lee Barnard, Southend's prolific young striker, told The New Paper that the sight of an entire stand full of supporters at Stamford Bridge was a huge factor in their astonishing result.
"It's hard to put into words how it felt to walk out there and see them all. It was absolutely amazing. It was a real 'hairs on the back of the neck' moment. They were so loud, they picked us up all the way through the game. But you know what? We almost expected it. They've been brilliant to us all season, home and away. They could have gone quiet when Chelsea scored, but they just carried on singing all the way through the second half. I know all the lads are thankful for it. It was like having another player on the pitch. "
John Crickson, co-owner of the influential fansite www.shrimperzone.com, was equally pleased with the turn-out.
"I've been watching Southend since 1967, I've travelled up and down the country watching them, but that was the best away day I've ever been on. It was an amazing atmosphere and I'm so proud of all the fans. The pictures of us all there with the flags and the balloons are tremendous."
Crickson has no doubt about the importance of the result to the future of the club.
"This is the kind of result that can invigorate a club like Southend," he told me. "Over the last week we've seen a surge of interest on Shrimperzone, old members who haven't logged in for a while have returned and we've had a burst of new members as well. Shrimperzone comes into its own at times like this. We have a good relationship with the club and we help bring Southend fans together."
One of those fans is Anthony Kilpatrick, who lives in Ireland and travelled all the way to London for the game. He started his epic trek to Stamford Bridge at 4.30am, but thankfully for him, the team repaid his loyalty on the pitch.
"The journey was well worth it," he said afterwards. "When Clarke scored that equaliser it was amazing. I had to double-check the ripple in the net to make sure I wasn't seeing things and then it went crazy. I grabbed my mate and we nearly fell down four or five rows of seats. I couldn't believe it!"
There you go, it wasn't just me who lost control. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to write a letter of apology to the staff at Chelsea....
