A v Georgia (Tblisi) 9.11.1996

We arrive into Georgia, the place was full of refugees from Chechnya driven over the boarder by the civil war!

Georgia became independant from Russia in 1991

We change up some money and head off looking for a bar....



We stroll along the local river, stll trying to find a local bar


....................Me with Micky Hanlon, Pete from Coventry and AN Other!!!!!!!!!!!



............................Time to get the flag out for a picture...............



We find a friendly local bar - one of the regulars plays a flute through his nose!



We start on the local beer!



We are joined by the local army and they insist on buying us bottles of vodka! They laugh when I mix it with coke and insist we drink it neat like locals - we do!! The owner then brings us a curry on the house, probably goat possibly chicken but it was gorgeous!!



........after all that Vodka time to try and leave..............................







An impressive ground, time to put up the flags - no segregated area for this game, we were just in with the locals!! Ex-Brighton chairman Greg Stanley was on our trip (with his Chelsea mates). The same day as this game Brighton fans boycotted the Mansfield home game, but broke the gates down just before half time to all get in for free! ARCHER OUT ARCHER OUT!


.....................we are joined by a few locals.............................



The ground was soon full , a 48,000 sell out



England wear the horrible grey kit, but we still manage a 2-0 win.

A v Wigan 5.10.1996 (and march to Mellor)

It was planned that when we played Wigan away we would pay a visit to Mellor, the home town of our hated Chairman Bill Archer. At the game a large number of the away support went into the main stand and Archers puppet David Bellotti was forced to leave the Directors box game just after kick off. We lost 0-1 (our away record in 2006-7 was appalling with just 1 away win all season).

We had a nice peaceful demonstration in Mellor before heading home to Brighton.

Fans United will never be defeated

A v Moldova 1.9.1996

Another fantastic away trip with England. We booked up with David Dryer travel and as no direct flights from the UK to Moldova we had to go via Romania



This is the Syndeny bar in Bucharest.


We transferred to a different airport and flew on to Moldova. This was our first sight at a country very different to back home


This was the view of Kishinev froom our hotel room. To be honest we had no idea what to expect in Moldova, but we were to find the locals very friendly and the beer very mmmm interesting.....







After checking in and seeing the rooms a beer was need quickly! The local restaurant was a fast food place with was a rip off of McDonalds but signified by an unside down sign = W, it was all a direct copy of the places back in the UK (well apart from the M and W of course, but it was the same colours, decour and the same rubbish food!!!)





We venture to the U21s played at the same ground as the main game





plenty of space to put up the flags, well we nearly had the ground to ourselves







a very large scoreboard for a very small crowd...........













A few more people turn up for the main match!!











time for a few beers back at the hotel bar after the game........



...............................and we try and work out the local language. Middlesbrough Mick claimed he found an underground city and told us many tales at one of the local bars. The chairs and tables were very cheap plastic garden things and suddenly the legs on Micks chair decided to buckle and he ends up on the ground! We are all in stitches and as we chuckle away the legs on Petes chair go next!!! At that point we head back to the safety of the sturdy hotel chairs and tables!



<---------What a fine figure of a man



I felt how I looked after a few days of the local brews------->

It was a struggle getting up the next morning. Outside our hotel was a large flight of stairs, despite our warnings Peter took a tumble down them on the way back home on the first night. On the way back after the game he managed to do it again! The man is a legend!!

Once agian we return via Romania so pay a visit againt to the Sydney bar. We have time for another beer or two before venturing home







David Beckham made his international debut in this game.