The seagulls fans warmed up the pre-match proceedings with a medley of rousing songs, including “Its Raining Men”, “Batchelor Boy”, and “Some day, my Prince will come”.
The Notts fans should have been apprehensive when the Brighton club mascot was seen to dive, shortly after coming on to the pitch.
A refreshment stall selling hot dogs at £20 , and boasting American Express facilities, also contributed to the general sense of unease.
Things got progressively worse.
The nature of the Withdean Stadium is to provide unfettered public access, whilst this may be a fine example of football in the community it can cause problems.
The Seagulls resentment began to fester , when Peter Taylor found that the ground had also been booked by the local authority for a pensioners keep fit class, and by the Worthing Dwarf Hurling Association (WDHA) for a “weigh-in”.
The home changing rooms were very crowded, and Taylors pre-match pep talk was repeatedly punctuated by cries of “Where did I leave my teeth”, and “What do you mean where’s Snow White”
The game itself did nothing to improve the atmosphere. Any Notts contact with a Brighton Player provoked a reaction of pure hatred from the home supporters, and any alleged offence committed by a Brighton player, was ridiculed by both fans, and players alike.
After one alleged offence, the home players sense of injustice was so profound that it required all the referees tact & diplomacy to persuade the offending seagull to hand back Danny’s shirt.
After the match the Brighton faithful could not swallow the result. Notts fans were even set upon by elderly BHA supporters, and one unfortunate man sustained serious bruising caused by an indiscriminately thrown surgical appliance.
Typical of the universal outrage, was an incident involving a seagulls supporter attired in a badly fitting leather suit, kneeling at the kerb side, and attacking a Zebra crossing on Peacehaven Road, with an appallingly tasteless and un co-ordinated Dorothy Perkins PVC handbag, and shouting “that’s for you, black & white bitch”.
He was eventually led away by a young PC, who looked decidedly uncomfortable.
A strange postscript to this unsavoury episode, is provided by the considerable number of letters sent by Brighton supporters to Billy Dearden .
Many were abusive, but strange to relate, some were proposals of marriage.