' Brighton Fan, My day in Cardiff. '

10am out of Brighton and would arrive in Cardiff at 15.45.

Train journey was ok apart from the carriages which were like antique and had to change twice. Stayed in the Marriott Hotel outside Cardiff station which was better than we thought it would be.

Quick stroll and we had steak at the new Cardiff steak of the art on Churchill Way, bit pricey for fillet but we're here for a good few days so that wasn't a problem as treated ourselves to a good nosh and wine.

Got a taxi via Dragon Taxis to the ground and got dropped off at the ticket office and purchased our tickets. Made our way round to the away end and on the way I was trying to light my roll up but the dam lighter wouldn't work so this blonde female (very nice, dam fine looking) steward #477 obliged and gave me a light and she had two lighters and she handed me one but it was pink, I laughed and she realised her error so handed me her purple one. Why cant our stewards be like these instead of being biased and argumentative and spreading f*cking lies and wanting a reaction which results in violence with home fans.

Inside the ground 16.30, pies, yuk, we waited 25 minutes and they were dire, I could understand with hundreds in the queue but there was only 4 of us. Another issue I have with clubs, serve crap food for extreme amounts and treat us like fodder.

Game.

Line up and it was set up for a draw, first half i was looking around the ground and taking in the views,i don't like the new tier above the bottom tier, you've got a twenty foot gap of concrete blocks which make it look tacky, Tan should of invested with windows and boxes because it's an eyesore. First half was....

2nd half, same as the first really but I did notice when you made some noise with 14k inside then I did say that this ground would be deafening will a full Cardiff crowd and also what i was looking at is how close the other end is unlike our ground. Our ground could have 30,750 inside but it wouldn't make as much noise as 14k like you.

Wasted £480 on a shit game of football, 2nd half then the same as the first, we had a free kick which was our best chance and Marshall stretched and yawned and pushed it over, luckily it wasn't at our end otherwise Stockdale would have conceded. We was poor but you was even worse considering you was at home, you looked like the away team for a good potion of the game which I was shocked as we're utter shit.

After the game and we made our way onto Sloper Road and we didn't know where to go so got a burger and coffee from the burger van outside the HSS hire store opposite the bus station so eat and drank till the road was nearly deserted and got chatting with this Cardiff chap who I spotted in the van and he asked where we're heading, town centre, he offered us a lift back to our hotel in the city centre which we accepted. He is mates with Tim who owns the burger van and he drove us back and he was fuming about the performance and club so we were all in good company, He dropped us off and I gave him a tenner as that was taxi's charge.

How times have changed, I was all emotional as we was eating, drinking and got a lift home with a sensible Cardiff fan, wasn't like that at Ninian Park.

Got up at 7 am, had a swim, breakfast and we decided to head home. Great two days away from Sussex. Nice ground, Nice fans, Stewards were great and allowed us out at half time for a smoke.

I'll be back without a doubt but it'll be awhile as we're getting relegated.

Regards

Glad you enjoyed your couple of days, but you are right the game was dire.

Great write-up! It's what supporting your club is all about. Best of luck for the rest of the season.

Good account. Shame the game was awful but I hope you had a good time

I spoke to you at Tim's Burger Van (best Nosh anywhere near the stadium on a match day) and you guys were sound

Good craic and glad one of the guys was able to offer you a lift into town. Just sorry about the shitty grub inside the ground (I refuse to buy anything but the Bovril! ) and the bloody game itself!

Glad you enjoyed your day. Surprised to hear an away fan compliment our home support (when we actually bother making a noise), we rarely ever get that.

What has gone wrong at Brighton ? I know there were things going on towards end of Poyet era and I tipped Brighton to win play offs that year ?
We're in a mess but we know why !!

Such a shame about the football,2 years ago both had good teams.I hope you stay up but not at our expense

Seems a nice Guy. Glad the steward gave him a lighter. But shame on the jerk who accepted the tenner.

How did you have your steak cooked mate? And what sauce did you have on it?

Good account. Shame the game was awful but I hope you had a good time

I like Wales and will revisit in the summer and have a proper look around the valleys and venture into the remote parts of the countryside.

I spoke to you at Tim's Burger Van (best Nosh anywhere near the stadium on a match day) and you guys were sound

Good craic and glad one of the guys was able to offer you a lift into town. Just sorry about the shitty grub inside the ground (I refuse to buy anything but the Bovril! ) and the bloody game itself!

The chap (Can't remember his name) lives in Newport so our hotel was on the way and didn't mind giving him a tenner as I'd have to pay for a taxi so no harm no foul.

It's great speaking with the locals and they were all top lads and friendly. The food at all grounds are overrated and over priced and you can't beat the burger bars like Tims, proper food and cheap compared to the grounds and you can understand why they do a roaring trade before and after matches.

Shame the game was a bad advertisement for footy, can't believe these overpaid donors are on £10k - £20k plus a week, shocking, and that's why my love for the game is dwindling with every season that passes.

nice meeting you and like minded Cardiff fans

Glad you enjoyed your day. Surprised to hear an away fan compliment our home support (when we actually bother making a noise), we rarely ever get that.

I always take note of the fans and atmosphere when attending away games. I said 14k (it was 19k) for the attendance and I was basing that on our attendances. We had a crowd of 23,500 for a midweek game and everyone laughed when it was announced as no way was there that many in attendance and some Brighton fan asked the council as the club have to inform them on actual gates meaning how many came through the turnstyles and on that evening it wasn't 23,500 it was 16k

Don't why clubs do it for as all clubs do it now so when I said 14k then after looking around and given your capacity of 33k then I had a rough guess.

You made more noise then our ground when its full, don't know if that's due to your stands being steeper than ours which makes your ground on top of the pitch. I could see your end behind the goal clearer whereas ours I need binoculars.

I bet when your end if full I expect it could be very intimidating for the away team and fans.

What has gone wrong at Brighton ? I know there were things going on towards end of Poyet era and I tipped Brighton to win play offs that year ?
We're in a mess but we know why !!

f**k sake, spent an hour writing on why and it vanished as it said it's been posted but hadn't finished it. Not doing it again tonight so will do it tomorrow, saves you falling asleep reading it

Nice one Hova, I realky enjoyed reading your comments, I'm glad you enjoyed your trip. I have had some good times in Sussex, inclufing a great weekend in Pease Pottage with friends. Look forward to hearing from you again

Glad you enjoyed your day. Surprised to hear an away fan compliment our home support (when we actually bother making a noise), we rarely ever get that.

I always take note of the fans and atmosphere when attending away games. I said 14k (it was 19k) for the attendance and I was basing that on our attendances. We had a crowd of 23,500 for a midweek game and everyone laughed when it was announced as no way was there that many in attendance and some Brighton fan asked the council as the club have to inform them on actual gates meaning how many came through the turnstyles and on that evening it wasn't 23,500 it was 16k

Don't why clubs do it for as all clubs do it now so when I said 14k then after looking around and given your capacity of 33k then I had a rough guess.

You made more noise then our ground when its full, don't know if that's due to your stands being steeper than ours which makes your ground on top of the pitch. I could see your end behind the goal clearer whereas ours I need binoculars.

I bet when your end if full I expect it could be very intimidating for the away team and fans.

When the stadium is full we do tend to have a good atmosphere, but it will be a long time before we get over 30k for the first time.