More Canvey Lies?

[Guest]

Well done 'Student Scum'...the decent supporters like yourself are the ones that make non-league football enjoyable. Banter without going over the top and a reasonable argument to back up your point.

 

Enjoy your game today and good luck

[YELLOW]

Come to this discussion rather late so please excuse me. The thing that bothers me about the whole Canvey/Gravesend thing is I couldn't care less about what your fans say about Jeff King, some of our players, our ground even the town itself (less face it, it is a sh.thole) but what pisses me off is the way some Fleet fans think that all Canvey fans are arrogant.

 

You had nobody on here shouting from the roof tops when we won the Ryman that we were going to walk the Conference and most of our fans were congratulatory towards Gravesend when you won the title in 2002.

 

The thing that rankles me is some of the stuff on here is not banter but little short of abuse. To call all Canvey fans 'arrogant' and pikey chavs is childish and downright way off the mark. Yes some of our supporters can be on the arrogant side and I would say in the past we've had some 'tossers' trying to make mischief.

 

I'm all for a bit of banter but comments like most of our 'supporters are arrogant twats' are just not on. Most Canvey fans are decent people and get behind their team come what may but at the end of the day if the opposition are better then we will be the first to congratulate them.

 

Anyway rant over.

 

Good luck for the rest of the season.

 

[Stu B]

Good post YA,i think alot of it comes from the need to have a rivalry..i'll be honest,i join in with the anti-canvey chants just as much as the next person but deep down i don't really hate your mob at all..quite enjoyed my visit to Park lane *don't hate me fellow fleet fans*

[YELLOW]

Yep it's the same here. I join in with the "we hate Hornchurch, Southend etc" chants at Canvey but some of my best friends are Hornchurch fans and I work with quite a few Southend fans.

 

Everybody needs a team to hate. Ours is Southend or Billericay although a section of our support seems to have taken a dislike towards Hornchurch!!!

 

I suppose since Maidstone or Dartford went to pot Gravesend have struggled to find a real rival. Margate was a bit of a damp squib and let's face it one of the reasons we never had trouble with Farnboro or Aldershot was because they were quite a way ahead at the top there was no real tension between the two sides.

 

Canvey and Gravesend were neck and neck for much of the season and that's when things get tense and feelings run high.

 

There was a similar thing between Dagenham and Boston that season and the two clubs still have a rivalry to this day!!

[Alan W (GNFC)]

The thing is YA, it is, as you say, "some Fleet fans" - and that "some" amounts to a small minority.

 

Most Fleet fans acknowledge, I am sure, what Canvey have achieved over the years.

The ground?? Well, its not wonderful, but then ours is showing its age a bit as well (albeit that its more spacious overall than Canvey's)

 

The attendances?? Its obvious Canvey struggle to attract fans - only just over 1200 (officially at least) for games against (fairly) local rivals, Gravesend & Barnet, doesnt bode well, but then Canvey are rather isolated, and we equally struggle to attract fans to our ground (see the numerous threads in the past on this subject)

 

The manager?? Well, Jeff King is a ready target, I'm afraid because of his outspoken comments sometimes and his size(probably unfair to have a go just because he's on the large side, but it is something that often gets picked on)

 

If Canvey have a successful season this year, playing decent football, that will be acknowledged throughout the Conference, I am sure (thinking about it, perhaps not, as we're still called physical long ball hoofers by many !!)

 

There will always be a certain rivalry between Canvey & Fleet, but it should be a healthy rivalry and not an unhealthy obsession as it is with some.

[Slartibartfast]

I think the problem arises from when people started supporting the Fleet.

Prior to or promotion year We were getting 500 tops, with the success We had that season the gates went up to about 750...those extra 250 probably regard Canvey as " The Enemy ". Following promotion the gates went up to 1100 to 1200....the fans who started coming then probably regard Margate as " The Enemy ".

We all enjoy watching clubs we dislike doing badly ( The greatest moment in Scottish football history was Chris Waddles penalty miss against Germany ) but the truth is if you leave your rivals behind there is no one left to hate.

[James]

I still regard Dartford and Maidstone as the enemy thay ruined too many Boxing Days for me as a teenager (mainly Taylor and Hessie) when a 3-1 defeat was our best result for years.

[Hempstead Gaz]

Hated Dartford 'cos they always won on Boxing day, hated Maidstone 'cos they were so "LOADSAMONEY" brash and so dirty.

Now hate Git cos of Kinnear (what a twat), and Canvey 'cos old Burger King STILL has no respect for us and what we have achieved.

I suspect the Canvey fans do now, and the feeling is mutual.

Yellow Army is quite correct, long may good natured rivalry continue, it is what being a footy supporter is all about.

[Guest]

I think the Canvey/Gravesend rivalry is a sign of the mutual respect for what each club has achieved. Gravesend is one of the first results I look for and not because I hope you have lost. Apart from anything else I think it is good to see teams from the 'weaker' Ryman League holding their own and doing well at the highest level when others always look at us expecting us to fail or fall behing the ex DM league teams etc.

 

The friendly banter is what I think non league footie is about and makes it enjoyable - I guess there are always going to be some who take it too extremes, that's life.

 

As for the good bits! - long may it continue.

 

Good luck tomorrow guys

[Lennie Macfartney]

Cheers.

 

A confession. I liked the Canvey fans I spoke to at both cracking games during our promotion season, though I hate Mr King with a vengeance (sorry.)

 

Lennie Mac

[Hempstead Gaz]

Yeah.Canvey fans have a very similar outlook to football as us. We are both small part time clubs who really have no right to be as successful as we are. Bigger clubs look down on us as "lowly" and generally still disrespect ourachievements, usually to their cost.