The Norwegian Supporters Club Speak to Joy and Sorrows

December 15, 2009 by KevB8ll · 4 Comments
Filed under: Blues News, Blues Supporters Clubs / Websites, Kev's Ramblings

We continue with our series of promoting supporters clubs. This time we welcome Knut Roger from the Norwegian Supporters club. I met Knut at the recent supporters forum and invited him to tell us about the club – and here you go.

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HELLO, ALL YOU BLUENOSES OUT THERE !!

It’s a pleasure to be invited to write an article here on J&S.

Nowadays its more Joys than Sorrow, and it makes it all more easy to write. Blues are showing one of their best run since the end of the 72/73 season, and no- one really know what’s going on at the moment. Happy days.

For two weeks ago it was exactly 40 years since the first English football match was broadcast to Norway and the rest of the Scandinavia. This was marked with a lot of highlights from the past, and one thing NRK picked from their archives – was the Birmingham v Stoke match from 1974 (1-1) Hatton scoring our goal.

It was about those days in 1974 that I started supporting Birmingham City F.C. I was a young boy at that time, and I moved to a new place where the interest of English football was growing fast. I don’t exactly remember why I choose Blues, but that team with Trevor Francis was something special, so I guess it was the skill from that long haired wonder – boy that impressed me. I was also fascinated with the penguin-shirt . . And it was a great moment for me that Saturday we beat Manchester City 4-0 live on the television. (Note by Kev – that was my FIRST game at St Andrews!)

The combination between Hatton and Burns were brilliant. My heart melted… Many years have gone, and there have been a lot of sorrows, but I’ve always been proud to support Blues.

The “B.C.F.C. Supporters club of Norway” was founded 1981 by Martin Kolsrud. He is the leader of the club, and the editor of our magazine “Blues info,” and he use a lot of his time to follow the Blues. He also holds the position of a parson, so we feel we are in safe hands. I think we are about 60 members at the moment, but we now see the opportunity to grow a little.

Before the Preston match, last season, we presented the trophy for the best Blues player of the 08/09 season:

From left to right: Chrille (from Sweden) Lee, Trond and Knut Roger

There are 51 different British supporters clubs here in Norway, and there are about 80,000 members registered. Groundhopper and Bluenose Trond Fuhre are the new leaders of the supporters union (all supporters clubs), and also very active in the “Blues Info” and at the website.

He is also the organiser of the football tournament that the union arrange each year, and next years tournament celebrate its 20 years birthday. For the last years there have been some Bluenoses from England and Ireland travelling over to take part in the football and the party here. Some of those are Phil Marshall, Richard Tyrell, Darren Porter, Chris Hirst, Andy Patterson and Matthew Bate.

Chris and Phil contacted Birmingham City about this tournament a few years ago, and the club was offered us shirts and more… just great! We have been to the final, but have never won. It’s always sunny in Oslo that early weekend in June.

Also the Blues academy had a football school here last summer Dean Holtham from the academy was the chief in command. It was an extremely warm week, but it was a success and they will be back next summer. More than 80 young kids, including my youngest son, got involved.

Brian at the Football School

Some of our supporters visit Birmingham every season, and some nearly every month (Trond).

We love the club, the people, the city, the pubs and more. I have two very good friends from the city I live in, who are good Bluenoses and who I also sometimes travel together with. They are Torger Engeland and Øyvind Mauseth. My sons Trevor & Brian (16&15) are now also growing to be good Bluenoses, and it is a proud dad that brings them over to St. Andrews to see the the boys in royal blue against Reading last Desember. This was their first visit over, and it was a Phillips goal that provided the greatest moment at Tilton Road that day.

My most memorable game was against Norwich at Millennium stadium in 2002, when we got promoted. What a beautiful day. That was Joys!

To be invited to the club for a meeting with Michael Dunford and others, before the Fulham game few weeks ago was something that we really appreciated. Trond and I came over and took part in it.

It was all amazing, and we met a lot of great people. Blues took the three points and everything was fine. It was a long, long Saturday, we stayed at Andy’s place that evening, after we have tested a few different pubs and had been to the Bull Ring. We flew home early next morning. At the meeting, I also promised Kev that I would write this article.

We should have been over more often to St. Andrews, but we fortunately have the opportunity to follow Blues every week here in Norway. If there are some Blues-matches that they don’t view on the telly, then I tune into Tom Ross.

We also hope for many CHUCHO goals and glory days for BLUES. Thanks and goodbye to the old board, and good luck to C.Y. and the new. “Chinese Rock.”

PLEASE bring back ZARATE, please. We also have an English forum on our website if anyone wants to contact us.

COYB & KRO. Knut Roger

A quick thank you to Kev for sorting my norwenglish in the article.

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If you have a supporters club that you would like us to plug, contact me here. Tell me about your club where you are, where you meet etc. Tell me something about you, and if possible a photo.

We have spoken to a number of other supporters clubs, the links to these article are below.

Kev

The Redditch Supporters Club.

The French Supporters Club.

The Dublin Supporters Club.

Tags: Birmingham City, Bob Hatton, Kenny Burns, Kevin Phillips, Michael Dunford, Norway, Norwich City, Premier League, Preston North End, St Andrews, Supporters, Supporters Club, Trevor Francis

Joys and Sorrows Meet Michael Dunford (With Others!)

November 23, 2009 by KevB8ll · 7 Comments
Filed under: Blues News, Kev's Ramblings

Aylesburyblue and myself had the privilege to go to St Andrews on Saturday before the Fulham game, to meet Michael Dunford the club’s new CEO. We were invited along with a number of other representatives from supporters clubs and websites, to meet Michael so he could open communication with the fans.

Since the new board members have arrived, there has been a clear drive to communicate that the club belongs to us – we are a “fwamily”, as Sammy said on the Tom Ross phone in. To be fair to the board – that is being demonstrated so far.

We arrived at the ground at 11.00, which was weird. Crossing the Stratford Road with no one else around, was distinctly odd! Anyway as I was saying, we arrived at the ground, and were shown up and into one of the reception rooms in the Kop. Michael greeted us and introduced himself. We went around the room and introduced ourselves, and an impressive array of folk were there.

From the supporter’s clubs:

Norway, France, Holland, Mid and West Wales, Ireland – closer to home – the Disabled Supporters Club, Redditch and the Official Supporters Club. The American and Yorkshire supporters club were unable to make it.

We also met:

Mo from The official Forum, Andy and Daniel from the Small Heath Alliance, and Brian from Singing the Blues and ourselves.

I think everyone bought a number of questions, however this meeting was very much an introductions time. The intention is to have 3 meetings per year and we have already arranged the next one in February.

Michael Dunford addresses the supporters forum

I was very impressed with the whole set up, the club laid on a buffet for us and genuinely looked after us. I really believe that a new phase has begun. I don’t believe for one moment that the previous administration would have done this, and even if they had – they would have charged for it!

*EDIT – apparently the previous board did have some sort of forum, and they didn’t charge – but I guess my original comment is a mark of some of the negativity the previous board left us.

I’m really looking forward to see how this progresses. Over the next few weeks, we will be looking to support the groups listed above, by doing an article on them to plug them – so keep an eye open! Obviously we will keep you informed via articles how the communication / relationship with the club is going. I am VERY encouraged with this.

I don’t think I have missed anything, but Aylesburyblue can edit the post if I have!