West Ham in Monday's Programme

[* ORM *]

Quote[/b] (Matt the Shrimp @ Sep. 01 2005,17:19)]

Quote[/b] (Hong Kong Blue @ Sep. 01 2005,17:07)]Any views.....

Total number of league games against Col Ewe:    55
Total number of league games against West Ham:  2

You do the math.

 

NO, NO, NO, NO, NO !

This is an Americanism that is definitely about as unwelcome on these boards as a conciliatory message from Barry Fry.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrfookinrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr !

 

[Matt the Shrimp]

Quote[/b] (* ORM * @ Sep. 01 2005,17:29)]

Quote[/b] (Matt the Shrimp @ Sep. 01 2005,17:19)]

Quote[/b] (Hong Kong Blue @ Sep. 01 2005,17:07)]Any views.....

Total number of league games against Col Ewe:    55
Total number of league games against West Ham:  2

You do the math.

 

NO, NO, NO, NO, NO !

This is an Americanism that is definitely about as unwelcome on these boards as a conciliatory message from Barry Fry.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrfookinrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr !  

I have at least achieved one thing today, and that is to have wound up ORM...

 

[Grayson]

Agreed, dont know why people are complaining about MtS' article, as it's only his opinion, not the clubs. The Echo dont change letters sent into them, so why should Scriv change what Matt writes in his OWN column?

 

[* ORM *]

In answer to HKB's post I can understand where he is coming from. To those younger than myself Col******r cannot really feel like a derby as we've spent so many years missing each other in the league. This is not dis-similar to those, berating our fortunes over the last few seasons, whose first experience of the club was undoubtedly in the second tier.

What seemed perfectly natural to us old gits needed more explanation to others which I believe we have now achieved, unusually succinctly, through MtS.

 

[* ORM *]

Quote[/b] (Matt the Shrimp @ Sep. 01 2005,17:32)]I have at least achieved one thing today, and that is to have wound up ORM...

Just for the record you achieve that on a daily basis, but do you see me complaining ?

And change that bloody word !

 

[Fish]

I still enjoyed sending this email round the office today, after collecting the winnings from a bet with a Col Ewe fan at work today:

The message subject was "Heroes"

There is a box of heroes in the kitchen, in honour of the Heroes of Southend United, financed (the box of Heroes, not Southend United) by Dan Jarman’s decision to put his money where his mouth is when questioning Southend’s ability to beat Col******r United last Monday. Doubly painful for Dan is the fact that he didn’t get to see the game, thus missing out on what was a golden opportunity for all Col******r fans to see a proper football stadium and a decent crowd.

I hope you like the chocolates, hey are, alas, never going to taste as sweet as the victory they commemorate.

Dan has kindly volunteered to give me more money when Southend play the return fixture in Col******r on March 10th. You heard it here first.

 

[(S)(U)(F)(C)]

Quote[/b] (Matt the Shrimp @ Sep. 01 2005,17:27)]

Quote[/b] ((S)(U)(F)© @ Sep. 01 2005,17:23)]But to write stuff like that in OUR OWN matchday programme just makes us look stupid to be honest.

If some Shrimpers fans have connections with West Ham then fair enough, but please dont put us down as a club and say 'we are a minnow compared to West Ham'. If you feel this then its up to you but please dont make it look like all of us Shrimpers fans think it.

Look, it's just my opinion on my feature article page.  It's not the club's view, it's my view.

Sorry if you don't like it, but I'm not going to stop expressing my opinion just because my views may be unpopular.

Matt

Fair enough. I haven't read the programme so I didn't know it was just an article written by a fan, you are entitled to your opinion of course. I thought it was just a general article. As long as it is made clear that what was written is the view of one fan and not all of us, then I dont see a problem with it.

 

[Hong Kong Blue]

Quote[/b] (Matt the Shrimp @ Sep. 01 2005,17:19)]

Quote[/b] (Hong Kong Blue @ Sep. 01 2005,17:07)]Any views.....

Total number of league games against Col Ewe:    55
Total number of league games against West Ham:  2

You do the math.

 

My view is that for geographical reasons we don't have any real rivals.  Other than that, take your pick... we've all got reasons to dislike West Ham, Orient, Col Ewe, Cambridge, Birmingham, Aldershot, Brighton, Brentford... etc. etc.

I also agree for financial and population/migration reasons we are vying with West Ham for people and cash.

But that does not  make the game a derby, which was the point of my article.  A derby signifies two-way emnity, two-way rivalry.  You cannot have a one-sided derby relationship - it simply doesn't work like that.

And if you think it would mean more to a Hamster (other than, for purely geographical reasons, a Hamster fan who happens to live in Southend) to beat us rather than, say, Barnsley - then I'm afraid you're dreaming.

Matt

Firstly, the aim of that post was to find the history behind why Southend-Col******r is considered such a big game. It is a subjective subject and I was merely using Southend-West Ham as an example of what factors I personally consider help constitute a local rivalry.

Personally, I don't accept that number of games between the two sides as being sufficient to create a rivlry. Otherwise Orient, Gillingham, Brentford and countless others would all be bigger rivals. There must be more to it than that.

I also dispute to what extent its a two way rivalry as I don't know any Col Ewe fans. Col******r incidentally tend to rate their game v Wycombe higher.

I'm not calling Southend-West Ham a derby, i'm saying that in SE Essex, its probably the foremost rivalry on a day-to-day basis.

 

[Prodigal Son]

I started this thread and credit to MtS for an honest answer in that it is his opinion but the club has control over what goes in the programme and they let this one go.

 

[Matt the Shrimp]

Quote[/b] (Prodigal Son @ Sep. 01 2005,18:00)]I started this thread and credit to MtS for an honest answer in that it is his opinion but the club has control over what goes in the programme and they let this one go.

To be fair to Scriv, he tries not to change anything I write (not least because he did do once without asking me, and I was mightily miffed with him!).

Besides, today's programme, tomorrow's chip-paper...

Still, I'm glad it's provoked a bit of discussion - and I'll try to be a bit more positive about SUFC's place in the pecking order next time out!

 

[Matt the Shrimp]

Quote[/b] (* ORM * @ Sep. 01 2005,17:33)]unusually succinctly

Luckily for us all, Sciv has set me a word limit to which I must adhere...!!

 

[Matt the Shrimp]

Quote[/b] (Hong Kong Blue @ Sep. 01 2005,17:57)]I also dispute to what extent its a two way rivalry as I don't know any Col Ewe fans. Col******r incidentally tend to rate their game v Wycombe higher.

I'm not calling Southend-West Ham a derby, i'm saying that in SE Essex, its probably the foremost rivalry on a day-to-day basis.

I don't know many Ewes fans (in fact, I only know one) but from the looks of sites like rivals, it does appear that they see it as a two-way street...

Ah, now rivalry / derby is an interesting split - because my article was about the latter. There's no question that for SUFC, there is rivalry with the Hamsters (and with them probably more than with any other club for the migratory reasons discussed at length in other threads) for fans and money - no one would deny that.

My article was making the point that last Monday we finally experienced a proper derby - the Essex derby. Looks like the club - players and fans - rather enjoyed it, as well...

 

[Upminster Blue]

Quote[/b] (Matt the Shrimp @ Sep. 01 2005,18:12)]and I'll try to be a bit more positive about SUFC's place in the pecking order next time out!

Glad to hear it

To help you on your way, how about an article extolling the virtues of being a Shrimper and why we are the best team in the land? Something along Churchillian lines, which I'm sure a man of your literary talents is more than capable of, should do the trick nicely.

Would be £3 well spent.

 

[Matt the Shrimp]

Quote[/b] (Upminster Blue @ Sep. 01 2005,18:20)]

Quote[/b] (Matt the Shrimp @ Sep. 01 2005,18:12)]and I'll try to be a bit more positive about SUFC's place in the pecking order next time out!

Glad to hear it  

To help you on your way, how about an article extolling the virtues of being a Shrimper and why we are the best team in the land?  Something along Churchillian lines, which I'm sure a man of your literary talents is more than capable of, should do the trick nicely.

Would be £3 well spent.

I'll think about it. Maybe.