A Seagull Eye's View

[Past Member]

 I kept waiting for you to break out with pace and grab the winner but at least that never came. I've no complaints. None against you anyway.

 

 

Our players kept trying mate, and did this twice.

 

The 1st time Kayal assaulted Forrestieri with a tackle reminicent of the 1990 Cameroon Argentina match.

 

The 2nd time Bruno assaulted Helan, with a neck high tackle, that would have drawn a red card in a rugby match

[Mountain Owl]

Fantastic post Deeeeeek. As a previous owls poster has said I too was devastated after the 1983 semi at Highbury. The major problem that day is we all expected to win and had wrongly discounted what Brighton were capable of. I don't think I talked for a week after that game. I have also seen wednesday throw away the 1966 FA Cup final losing 3-2 after being 2-0 up and coasting. Also losing to Everton in another forgrtfull semi at Villa Park.

The worst of the lot was probably 1993 when we lost two cup finals to the then boring bogie side of Arsenal.

So I know how you feel and in the same position I would not have the bottle to go on the oppositions website and write such a moving post.

You are a credit to your club sir. Well done and all the best for the future and BHA.

[brian joicey]

compare this response to that of the Hull fans on the pitch last night ...... enough said !! respect to Brighton to how theyv'e handled their obvious disappointment 

[geriatricowl]

Excellent post, what football forums are all about. All Owls fans know how you must be feeling, we have felt the pain for too long ourselves. I do hope we are not playing each other next season, I have a feeling with the Manager we have and the togetherness of the players we will go all the way. Best of luck for next season.

 

[Turkey_BHA]

Fantastic post sir.

When I say I know how you feel, I think I really do. Like I was I would imagine you were at the FA Cup semi final at Highbury in 1983. I was 13 and to this very day it is a match that I have never managed to get over and deal with. Probably like some other Owls on here the last few days. I still see Steve Foster in his yellow Adidas kit and that headband saluting at the camera as he walked out of the narrow tunnel in to the Highbury sunlight. I have a painfully acute recall of that fateful day. I can still remember the trainers I wore that day and the print they made on my trampled white semi final flag that sat under my chair and briefly waved in the air in hope at 1-1....

Jimmy Case's banana shot that hammered in off the underside of the bar, although it was in I was in denial and thought that maybe nobody would notice it went in. The sight of the clock end bubbling all over the place in yellow, never has a goal been such a dagger in the heart. In my dreams we still never close him down.

We played badly and never had control on hard, dusty April pitch, typical of the time. Bad luck rears its head in these times.. Our left back Ian Bailey broke his leg the week before at Bolton in a meaningless league game. We had to put a midfielder Pat Heard in as a stop gap left back and gambled on an obscure Yugoslavian called Ante Mirocevic to play in midfield. We huffed and puffed and scored the scrappiest equaliser that today wouldn't have been given for pole axing your goalkeeper who ended up on the floor as Ante hopped the rebound in from point blank at the far post. Cue bedlam and momentum and urging the Owls forward. Wembley Wembley rang out from the North bank and West stand we were in. The winning moment was approaching....Gary Bannister flashed a wicked cross in from the far touch line attacking the Clock End, it arrowhead in to the area and Andy McCulloch agonisingly cork screwed on to to the header but got too much contact on it. He headed it down in to the dust and it ballooned towards the goal line and as he waited for immortality, Steve Foster and his headband somehow managed to bicycle kick it from the jaws of the goal and away.

Then it came, the sucker punch. The biggest sickener I have ever known as the yellow bust forward, Gordon Smith I think... I remember a turn and a shot, Michael Robinson, it fell to him just a few yards out and he belted it in, Mel Sterland tried to block it on the line mainly with his arms but didn't have the heart to dive and stop it. Your keeper then made incredible stops under the bar to break our hearts, Gary Banno blaster over as the clock ticked down. Then it was over, Jimmy Melia ran on the pitch, bald top head and scraggy black hair in the breeze behind in his clown trousers and white shirt....'Jack's a good old stick and a good old pro, but I need it more than him....'

I'll never forget the pain in my throat as I forced back the tears on the tube, the FA Cup Final at Wembley was the whole world to me. We got to Waterloo and met up with our beloved Aunt Margaret who had just come back from the Dell to see Saints beat Liverpool 3-2. She flung her arms round us, me and my brother. I never got over losing her some years after either.

So 33 years is a long time. I saw this match up coming as far out as last New Year. We all know the detail of the last few days. This has been a journey of personal redemption for me. I'm on the picture posted by SWFC on the front page of Facebook over the weekend. It captured me flinging my scarf found above my head with the backdrop of the phone torches glaring out behind after going 2-0 up. When those lights came on around Hillsborough it was a magical moment and it was a sign that we were going to make it. It is the most special, spontaneous, emotional moment of connection with the Wednesdayites all together that I have ever known.

I didn't have a ticket for the AMEX. I had to go though even though I knew I probably wouldn't get in. That's how much the 'Brighton thing' as my wife now calls it meant to me. A 400 mile round trip to not get in, I had to try and be there. I tried everything to get in trust me on that. I usually do sneak in, but not a sniff of a ticket. I heard Brighton score as I trudged back to the car park, I put 5 live on the iPhone and we equalised before I got back to the car. I drove up the hill past the ground away from the setting sun, the South Downs (?) whatever those hills are were beautiful and I stopped at the top for a while and left us being battered down in the valley. I brought myself to find a pub at half time and endured the second half in silence surrounded by Brighton fans trying to suss out who I was. Thank god we were more controlled, I refused to believe we wouldn't concede one but the Owls were immense. A wonderful effort. The end came and rather than joy it was relief for me. They say revenge is a dish best served cold.

Not revenge on you Deeek. In the end we are hostages to fortune. We hope for the fleeting moments of wonder and joy. That's why we were chosen by Sheffield Wednesday and Brighton. I thank you for your superb post, it meant a lot to me to read it. I just wanted you to know that your team broke a 13 year old boy's heart. Now instead of the pain, there is a bond in history between SWFC and Brighton because of the way our two sets of fans have shown ferocious passion and love for their club this week. I salute you, you club and your fans.

 

"In the end we are hostages to fortune." is a superb way to sum up following our teams. Great post fella.

[Turkey_BHA]

Brighton were really unlucky over the two legs and I (and probably most other Wednesdayites) hope you make it next year. With Norwich and Newcastle coming down though it could be the playoffs again next year for you and maybe us too, so we might be doing all this again in a years time (but I hope not).

 

I think a better word is unfortunate rather than unlucky. I agree with other posts on here saying it's not luck when you miss chances etc. It's very, very easy to say unlucky though because it's a very misused word these days.

[wakefieldowl]

It would be nice if this thread found its way to brightens site. It sums up a truer reflection of wednesdayites than the few who will have posted stupid comments

[Past Member]

I think a better word is unfortunate rather than unlucky. I agree with other posts on here saying it's not luck when you miss chances etc. It's very, very easy to say unlucky though because it's a very misused word these days.

 

You did have very bad luck with regard to injuries in the 1st leg,

 

but by God did the officials try and give you every chance in the 2nd.

[Mountain Owl]

It would be nice if this thread found its way to brightens site. It sums up a truer reflection of wednesdayites than the few who will have posted stupid comments

I concur. Can Turkey or the original poster put a link back on the Brighton forum site. We have a certain amount of muppets as most clubs do but this thread I am sure sums up how the majority of our fans feel towards Brighton.

Edited May 18, 2016 by Soul Power

[londonowl1986]

Don't agree with decisions going against them. Could have easily had 2 players sent off on Monday night.

 

And for all the 'poor decisions' you may or may not have got on Monday night, we've been getting them since August.

[gandiaowl]

Deeeeeek, you and every single one of your fellow Brighton fans have my utmost commiserations and respect.

Football can be an incredibly cruel game, but the cream always rises to the top. You have a superb stadium, great training facilities, a very good team, and as last night proved...very loud and passionate fans.

You WILL be a Premier League club in the very near future, no question about that.

I'm absolutely over the moon that we got the job done, but I don't take any pleasure at all from the Brighton fans' suffering today. 89 points over the season is absolutely fantastic.

All the best next year ( unless it's at our expense).

[Rebowl Yell]

Great post Seagull, the fight your lot showed in the first half against us on Monday made me want to claw my eyes out it was that tense.

Obviously I don't want us to play you again next season (premier league and all that) but I really wouldn't mind 'IF' we made it up this year and we got to play you the season after up in the big one.

All the best pal.

[gandiaowl]

Good post Geeeeek

However, you have question the tactics of your team and supporters.

It was obvious your players were told to get our players booked or sent off...The first few minutes were successful in obtaining and advantage by diving to get our defenders cautioned and therefore nervous where tackling your bunch of 'Tom Daly's'. The number of free kicks your team had around our penalty area would draw praise from 'the champions of free kick diving' Barcelona.

Your fans also adopted the unsporting tactics of The Spanish fans by booing every time our players had the ball. Disgraceful behaviour that brings the sport into disrepute.

Finally, the referee was incompetent and was greatly influenced by your moaning players. The disgraceful rugby and wrestling tackles on Fessi and Helen most definitely were red card offences.

Sporting people do not admire your combined efforts of winning at all cost and by any method, aka Hispanic way, is not something we want to see in England.

[ChapSmurf]

HI Deeeeeek. There are a few things us Wednesday fans like: hard work and endeavour on the pitch, and banter with the fans from other clubs. If people are sensible, they are welcome and judging by the +90 "likes" you have for your post, I would say you are more than welcome here.

 

I think you have described the emotions of being a football fan very well indeed and that is something we can all empathise with. It bloody well hurts at times and on other occasions, you feel like a lottery winner. I will be honest and say I have never seen a team batter us before, like Brighton did in those first 20 - 30 minutes. I was trying to remain calm, but deep down inside I was sh!t scared we were going to blow our chance. If your team can show that kind of fight over 46 league games next season, then you will be right up there again.

 

We now have to go and beat Hull, which will not be easy. We could well be playing you again next season and if that is the case, if you journey up t'North, then let it be known and I am sure you would be welcome to come and drink with us Wednesdayites before the game. Rivalries aside, we all love our respective clubs for the same reason, so there isn't much difference, only our allegiance.

[StudentOwl]

Sporting people do not admire your combined efforts of winning at all cost and by any method, aka Hispanic way, is not something we want to see in England.

 

Give over... if it was a choice at beating Hull in the final by doing that or us losing at Wembley, we'd all take the former option without a second thought. The record books will only show X won the game, not how they won it. Obviously if you can win without doing it it's preferable, but if I offered you the choice of Wednesday winning at Wembley via those tactics or losing, we all know what one you'd pick

[gandiaowl]

Give over... if it was a choice at beating Hull in the final by doing that or us losing at Wembley, we'd all take the former option without a second thought. The record books will only show X won the game, not how they won it. Obviously if you can win without doing it it's preferable, but if I offered you the choice of Wednesday winning at Wembley via those tactics or losing, we all know what one you'd pick

[gandiaowl]

Give over... if it was a choice at beating Hull in the final by doing that or us losing at Wembley, we'd all take the former option without a second thought. The record books will only show X won the game, not how they won it. Obviously if you can win without doing it it's preferable, but if I offered you the choice of Wednesday winning at Wembley via those tactics or losing, w

e all know what one you'd pick

You can only speak for yourself StudentOwl.....you certainly do not speak for most sporting fans. If Hull won by cheating would you admire the way they won the game?

[since59owe]

I don't know how we survived that first half.

I've been watching us for over 30 years and I've never seen anything like it.

Ditto, alamo Amex

[StudentOwl]

You can only speak for yourself StudentOwl.....you certainly do not speak for most sporting fans. If Hull won by cheating would you admire the way they won the game?

Not at all, I would despise it and them... but I'd admire the fact they'd be on BBC1 every weekend on MOTD and I'd admire the fact they'd be £170 million better off than us. 

[BRADDO]

Fantastic post sir.

When I say I know how you feel, I think I really do. Like I was I would imagine you were at the FA Cup semi final at Highbury in 1983. I was 13 and to this very day it is a match that I have never managed to get over and deal with. Probably like some other Owls on here the last few days. I still see Steve Foster in his yellow Adidas kit and that headband saluting at the camera as he walked out of the narrow tunnel in to the Highbury sunlight. I have a painfully acute recall of that fateful day. I can still remember the trainers I wore that day and the print they made on my trampled white semi final flag that sat under my chair and briefly waved in the air in hope at 1-1....

Jimmy Case's banana shot that hammered in off the underside of the bar, although it was in I was in denial and thought that maybe nobody would notice it went in. The sight of the clock end bubbling all over the place in yellow, never has a goal been such a dagger in the heart. In my dreams we still never close him down.

We played badly and never had control on hard, dusty April pitch, typical of the time. Bad luck rears its head in these times.. Our left back Ian Bailey broke his leg the week before at Bolton in a meaningless league game. We had to put a midfielder Pat Heard in as a stop gap left back and gambled on an obscure Yugoslavian called Ante Mirocevic to play in midfield. We huffed and puffed and scored the scrappiest equaliser that today wouldn't have been given for pole axing your goalkeeper who ended up on the floor as Ante hopped the rebound in from point blank at the far post. Cue bedlam and momentum and urging the Owls forward. Wembley Wembley rang out from the North bank and West stand we were in. The winning moment was approaching....Gary Bannister flashed a wicked cross in from the far touch line attacking the Clock End, it arrowhead in to the area and Andy McCulloch agonisingly cork screwed on to to the header but got too much contact on it. He headed it down in to the dust and it ballooned towards the goal line and as he waited for immortality, Steve Foster and his headband somehow managed to bicycle kick it from the jaws of the goal and away.

Then it came, the sucker punch. The biggest sickener I have ever known as the yellow bust forward, Gordon Smith I think... I remember a turn and a shot, Michael Robinson, it fell to him just a few yards out and he belted it in, Mel Sterland tried to block it on the line mainly with his arms but didn't have the heart to dive and stop it. Your keeper then made incredible stops under the bar to break our hearts, Gary Banno blaster over as the clock ticked down. Then it was over, Jimmy Melia ran on the pitch, bald top head and scraggy black hair in the breeze behind in his clown trousers and white shirt....'Jack's a good old stick and a good old pro, but I need it more than him....'

I'll never forget the pain in my throat as I forced back the tears on the tube, the FA Cup Final at Wembley was the whole world to me. We got to Waterloo and met up with our beloved Aunt Margaret who had just come back from the Dell to see Saints beat Liverpool 3-2. She flung her arms round us, me and my brother. I never got over losing her some years after either.

So 33 years is a long time. I saw this match up coming as far out as last New Year. We all know the detail of the last few days. This has been a journey of personal redemption for me. I'm on the picture posted by SWFC on the front page of Facebook over the weekend. It captured me flinging my scarf found above my head with the backdrop of the phone torches glaring out behind after going 2-0 up. When those lights came on around Hillsborough it was a magical moment and it was a sign that we were going to make it. It is the most special, spontaneous, emotional moment of connection with the Wednesdayites all together that I have ever known.

I didn't have a ticket for the AMEX. I had to go though even though I knew I probably wouldn't get in. That's how much the 'Brighton thing' as my wife now calls it meant to me. A 400 mile round trip to not get in, I had to try and be there. I tried everything to get in trust me on that. I usually do sneak in, but not a sniff of a ticket. I heard Brighton score as I trudged back to the car park, I put 5 live on the iPhone and we equalised before I got back to the car. I drove up the hill past the ground away from the setting sun, the South Downs (?) whatever those hills are were beautiful and I stopped at the top for a while and left us being battered down in the valley. I brought myself to find a pub at half time and endured the second half in silence surrounded by Brighton fans trying to suss out who I was. Thank god we were more controlled, I refused to believe we wouldn't concede one but the Owls were immense. A wonderful effort. The end came and rather than joy it was relief for me. They say revenge is a dish best served cold.

Not revenge on you Deeek. In the end we are hostages to fortune. We hope for the fleeting moments of wonder and joy. That's why we were chosen by Sheffield Wednesday and Brighton. I thank you for your superb post, it meant a lot to me to read it. I just wanted you to know that your team broke a 13 year old boy's heart. Now instead of the pain, there is a bond in history between SWFC and Brighton because of the way our two sets of fans have shown ferocious passion and love for their club this week. I salute you, you club and your fans.

What a beautiful post. In a week of raw emotion that made me fill up