When the Premier League fixture list is revealed, fans will be looking out for particular dates against specific opposition. It’s typically bitter local rivals that are top of the list – be it in London, Manchester or Merseyside – or those that will be key in achieving competitive goals: top-of-the-table clashes and the proverbial relegation six-pointer, for example.
For supporters of Brighton and Crystal Palace, there is one set of fixtures that they long for more than any other – games against one another, as part of a bizarre rivalry that is neither local (around 40 miles separates their home stadia) nor steeped in competitive history. So, why do Brighton and Crystal Palace dislike each other, and what other unlikely rivalries are there in world football?
Seagulls and the Eagles
According to those in the know, the rivalry dates back to the 1970s – before that, there was no ill feeling between the two clubs. But that all changed on one charged afternoon in 1976, when Brighton and Crystal Palace were managed by Alan Mullery and Terry Venables, respectively – they, despite being former colleagues in Tottenham’s midfield, famously did not get on.
Fiesty Fans
A season earlier, some fans of the two clubs had come to blows in an episode of hooliganism not uncommon at the time – but it was brushed off as just a continuation of the ultra-violence that blighted the terraces of English football.
But when Mullery and Venables met for the FA Cup clash between their sides, a feisty game ended in victory for Palace. The legend goes that Mullery, incensed by refereeing decisions and the abuse he received from the Eagles’ fans – which, in his recollection included having hot coffee poured on his head, threw a fistful of loose change on the floor and barked, ‘you’re not even worth that, Palace!’, before offering up a V sign at said supporters.
The two clubs could not avoid each other, battling it out for the Second Division title in 1978/79, before another clash in 1986 saw running battles between the two sets of fans that eventually saw tear gas deployed by the police after Brighton winger Gerry Ryan had his leg broken in three places by a horror tackle from Palace’s Henry Hughton.
Mullery’s Move from Brighton to Crystal Palace
To make matters all the more bizarre, Mullery was later appointed as Palace boss – but the club’s fans could not forgive him for his previous indiscretions, and the truce lasted two years before he was handed his P45.
Even in the decades that have followed, in which the clubs have often played at different levels, the animosity remained. They both reached the Championship play-offs in 2012/13, with the second leg at Brighton infamous for ‘poo-gate’ – excrement had been smeared across the floor of the away changing room. Everyone associated with Brighton FC pleaded ignorance to delivering Palace’s unsightly ‘welcome’, with rumours that it was in fact Palace’s bus driver that had lost control of his bodily functions instead.
And now that they are both Premier League regulars, the rivalry remains one of the fiercest in English football – despite not making much sense to anybody that doesn’t know the back story.
Coventry City vs Sunderland
On a good day, it will take you around four-and-a-half hours to drive from Coventry to Sunderland or vice versa – a symptom of the 200+ miles that separate them. Such an extraordinary distance is hardly the making of a bitter football rivalry, but as is so often the case the ill-feeling between Coventry City and Sunderland emanates from the action out on the pitch, rather than geographical proximity.
Like Brighton vs Crystal Palace, it all began in the 1970s – the 1976/77 season to be exact. Both Coventry and Sunderland were facing relegation from the old First Division, and it all boiled down to the final day of the campaign. The team with the better result from their respective games would survive.
It Started with a Traffic Jam
Coventry’s chairman, Jimmy Hill, came up with a masterstroke. A traffic jam had built up outside his side’s old Highfield Road stadium, so he decided to delay kick off by 15 minutes – knowing that Sunderland’s game would finish much earlier and handing the Sky Blues an advantage.
The Black Cats, meaning that Coventry only needed to draw with Bristol City to stay up. The result was announced over the tannoy system – leaving nobody in any doubt of what was required. The game at Highfield Road ended in a tepid draw, but nobody cared; the Sky Blues had stayed up, partly due to Hill’s gamesmanship. The rivalry has endured – even as recently as 2018, Sunderland fans were filmed hurling abuse at a statue of Hill outside the Ricoh Arena.
West Ham vs Sheffield United
Although not as violent as some of the other odd rivalries in world football, the bad blood between Sheffield United and West Ham can be traced back to a miscarriage of justice that saw the Blades relegated from the Premier League despite the Hammers being found guilty of off-field impropriety.
The Argentine Duo Grudge
Back in 2007, Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano were two fresh-faced Argentines signed by West Ham to help them stave off the threat of relegation. With Mascherano anchoring the midfield and Tevez banging in the goals, the Hammers did indeed survive – a final day victory over Manchester City saw them remain clear of the relegation zone, with Sheffield United demoted.
But then the plot thickened. It was revealed that Kia Joorabchian, an agent and sporting entrepreneur, held a stake in the contracts of the Argentinean duo and engineered their move to London – against the Premier League’s rules on third party ownership.
West Ham initially paid £5.5 million in compensation to the Blades (this was later increased to £20 million), however they weren’t docked points for their naughtiness – a scenario that would have seen them relegated and Sheffield United survive. The rivalry between the two clubs is now more near-the-knuckle banter than violence and fisticuffs, with Hammers fans attending games between the sides wearing masks of their former striker while chanting, ‘there’s only one Carlos Tevez’.
