The day started well, met up with fellow Brighton fans Andy S and AA Kev at Weatherspoons at Victoria station. We had a swift pint and then headed for the Globe at Stepney Green and met up with Pete 'Fatty Taxman last seen heading towards Luton station after the Walsall game. See Simon and Alex Valder, plus some mates from Chesterfield.
We left at 7.30 and were still in the ground before the scheduled 8pm kick off.
Upton Park, and I can't believe the difference to the last time I went. We were in the Bobby Moore stand and sat in the Lower Tier close to what would have been the old away corner. To our left was a cracking new stand, and in fact the whole ground is impressive, with only one of the original stands left.
The atmosphere was reasonable with a couple of thousand Ozzies at the far end to us, and a few others all round the ground!
What can you say about the match? Beattie battled well, Scholes was reasonable but the rest where pathetic! Australia looked up for it, we looked like a team too rich and tired to bother competing.
Premiership arrogance was on display big time last night, pulling on an England jersey doesn't mean much these days sadly.
Alex Ferguson/Wenger's influence goes a long way into dragging football down to club is be all and end all of football as they pay your salary and you do and say as they say. The boos at half time were 100% justified.
Second half was better, but we still left with 10 minutes left so missed the
3rd Australia goal. We were staying in Ilford so wandered back towards
Barking and had a Chinese meal on the way back.
This morning was a travelling nightmare.
Midnight off to sleep
5.30am bl**dy alarm goes off
5.40am jump up in panic and dress and wash in about 30 seconds and out of Travel inn
5.45am Waiting outside Redbridge tube station for replacement bus to Barking as Central line still shut
5.55am bus turns up
6.05am at Barking so go down to catch District line to Victoria
6.15am still waiting
6.16 hooray train
6.26 Aldgate east - sat and wait for 5 minutes due to Hammersmith line being closed
6.46 arrive at Victoria
6.47 train I want to catch just leaving
6.49 I arrive on station concourse, missed it........grrrrrrrrrrrr
7.02 train to East Croydon
7.10 still sitting on train at Victoria.....grrrrr contents of hot cheese pastry thing plop out all over newspaper...ouch...
7.20ish sitting just outside Selhurst with good view of some dodgy football ground....curse the place under my breath
7.30ish finally arrive into East Croydon, off train and decide need a wee, mens toilets on platform 3/4 closed, run over to platform 1 and 2, locked, help emergency, only one platform left and thankfully these are open!!!
look at indicator boards - all Sussex bound trains delayed due to broken down train at Blackfriars
get the delayed 7.31 at 7.47, which is just in front on the on time 7.46 fast train to Brighton, but that might be delayed so advised to get the first late running slow train as expected to arrive before the on time fast service!
arrive into Brighton about 8.40.....finally finish reading article on female orgasms in free metro paper...interesting!!!!!!
8.41 Seaford train I need to work shown on indicator board as delayed (West Worthing train shown as delayed, next Victoria train delayed, Cardiff train Cancelled, next Hastings train delayed aaaaaaaaargggggghhhhhhhhhhhhh).
Reason for all these delays, broken down trains! I blame the snow we had a few weeks ago as obviously means trains in wrong place, staff at wrong stations and add leaves on the line from Autumn and what right do I have to expect the trains to run, let alone run on time......................................
The Eastbourne train is sitting waiting to go hooray, but doors on the new rain wont work. Boooooooooooooooo. The train limps of towards the depot with as much enthusiasm as an England player, slow and laborious...
9.05 Seaford train arrives, 5,000 people attempt to board it, finally get us all crammed on, so lets go,noooooo lets sit around for 10 minutes or so
9.15 train lurches forward and we are off
9.24 arrive at Moulsecoomb Wooooo Hoooooooo
So 5.30 to 9.30 to travel 70 miles? Glad I had that free metro paper to read!!!
Anyone else going to the 40 note fund raiser at the Dog Stadium tonight? I am leaving work early and walking as I don't trust the trains!
Mark R
We left at 7.30 and were still in the ground before the scheduled 8pm kick off.
Upton Park, and I can't believe the difference to the last time I went. We were in the Bobby Moore stand and sat in the Lower Tier close to what would have been the old away corner. To our left was a cracking new stand, and in fact the whole ground is impressive, with only one of the original stands left.
The atmosphere was reasonable with a couple of thousand Ozzies at the far end to us, and a few others all round the ground!
What can you say about the match? Beattie battled well, Scholes was reasonable but the rest where pathetic! Australia looked up for it, we looked like a team too rich and tired to bother competing.
Premiership arrogance was on display big time last night, pulling on an England jersey doesn't mean much these days sadly.
Alex Ferguson/Wenger's influence goes a long way into dragging football down to club is be all and end all of football as they pay your salary and you do and say as they say. The boos at half time were 100% justified.
Second half was better, but we still left with 10 minutes left so missed the
3rd Australia goal. We were staying in Ilford so wandered back towards
Barking and had a Chinese meal on the way back.
This morning was a travelling nightmare.
Midnight off to sleep
5.30am bl**dy alarm goes off
5.40am jump up in panic and dress and wash in about 30 seconds and out of Travel inn
5.45am Waiting outside Redbridge tube station for replacement bus to Barking as Central line still shut
5.55am bus turns up
6.05am at Barking so go down to catch District line to Victoria
6.15am still waiting
6.16 hooray train
6.26 Aldgate east - sat and wait for 5 minutes due to Hammersmith line being closed
6.46 arrive at Victoria
6.47 train I want to catch just leaving
6.49 I arrive on station concourse, missed it........grrrrrrrrrrrr
7.02 train to East Croydon
7.10 still sitting on train at Victoria.....grrrrr contents of hot cheese pastry thing plop out all over newspaper...ouch...
7.20ish sitting just outside Selhurst with good view of some dodgy football ground....curse the place under my breath
7.30ish finally arrive into East Croydon, off train and decide need a wee, mens toilets on platform 3/4 closed, run over to platform 1 and 2, locked, help emergency, only one platform left and thankfully these are open!!!
look at indicator boards - all Sussex bound trains delayed due to broken down train at Blackfriars
get the delayed 7.31 at 7.47, which is just in front on the on time 7.46 fast train to Brighton, but that might be delayed so advised to get the first late running slow train as expected to arrive before the on time fast service!
arrive into Brighton about 8.40.....finally finish reading article on female orgasms in free metro paper...interesting!!!!!!
8.41 Seaford train I need to work shown on indicator board as delayed (West Worthing train shown as delayed, next Victoria train delayed, Cardiff train Cancelled, next Hastings train delayed aaaaaaaaargggggghhhhhhhhhhhhh).
Reason for all these delays, broken down trains! I blame the snow we had a few weeks ago as obviously means trains in wrong place, staff at wrong stations and add leaves on the line from Autumn and what right do I have to expect the trains to run, let alone run on time......................................
The Eastbourne train is sitting waiting to go hooray, but doors on the new rain wont work. Boooooooooooooooo. The train limps of towards the depot with as much enthusiasm as an England player, slow and laborious...
9.05 Seaford train arrives, 5,000 people attempt to board it, finally get us all crammed on, so lets go,noooooo lets sit around for 10 minutes or so
9.15 train lurches forward and we are off
9.24 arrive at Moulsecoomb Wooooo Hoooooooo
So 5.30 to 9.30 to travel 70 miles? Glad I had that free metro paper to read!!!
Anyone else going to the 40 note fund raiser at the Dog Stadium tonight? I am leaving work early and walking as I don't trust the trains!
Mark R