When and how was the London NISC formed?
The present incarnation of the club came about thanks to Our Wee Country. It was in late 2003 that a few of us on OWC realised that there was core of NI support living and working in Greater London and surrounding areas, so we decided to coordinate a get together in central London.
Initially we went to a few matches together, and it was on the way to one of these that Owen Shepherd, Marty and myself talked about starting an official NISC. Rather appropriately this was on a tube train.
This led to our official launch in November 2004 near Tower Bridge when we unveiled the then new NI manager Lawrie Sanchez as our honorary president. Lawrie was due to turn up about 7pm, but at 7.15pm I was a little concerned that our surprise special guest (only a couple of us knew that he was coming) hadn’t shown. Anyway, I nipped to the bog quickly and it was while washing my hands that Lawrie walked in. Hardly the most glamorous of surroundings to meet him for the first time, but at least I wasn’t still standing having a piss!
How many members do you have?
We’ve around 50 fully paid up members, but we have over 200 people on our email list for news and events.
Our members are not just from within the M25, as we have others from as far as Northampton, Cambridge, and Kent. We even have a few members in Belfast! Initially we had some members from the south coast, but they have turned traitor and joined the South of England NISC.
How often do you meet up?
As our members are widely geographically spread, we don’t have fixed regular meetings. Instead we tend to arrange get togethers around NI games and matches in the area involving NI players.
For those that can’t go to matches in Belfast or away games, we generally congregate at the Famous Three Kings (F3K) pub next to West Kensington tube station. This is a great sports bar with countless screens all linked to what must be the most comprehensive international TV hub anywhere in London. Basically if there’s a game on 99% of the time they can show it.
This creates a fantastic atmosphere with lots of different nationalities crammed into different corners watching several different matches at once. Although he’s English, Richard the landlord is a top bloke who has taken a bit of a shine to the London NISC, including giving us priority entry and getting on the microphone to start singing ‘We’re Not Brazil’.
The other pub we frequent is O’Neills just off Drury Lane, which is owned by Kieran from Belfast. He has another pub near where I work, and when I was in there one evening I mentioned that I was going to Azerbaijan. I also said that the fans were supporting an orphanage there he went away and came back with a £250 cash donation. I was gob smacked and really touched by this amazing gesture, so we’re happy to give him our support. It was here that the club watched the England game when Jimmy Nesbitt joined us and bought everyone champagne.
Anything that the London NISC are particularly proud of?
In addition to having the coup of getting Lawrie as our honorary president, we were very proud this year to take part in the official London St Patrick’s Parade in London when we hired an icon of London – a classic open top Routemaster bus.
We were in the parade to represent Northern Ireland for the first time and also promote Football for All. This wound people up on both sides of the extreme fence with people saying “That’s too Irish, why are you from NI taking part in that parade” to “How dare you fly an NI flag in a St Patrick’s parade”. That’s good because it shows we, as a fully mixed club whose sole interest is NI football, that we are doing something right. The funniest thing I saw after the parade was on a forum when the London NISC was referred to as a “bunch of happy clappy types”.
We got a good reception from the organisers and the crowd on the day, and even let a group of Irish dancing girls change out of the rain on the bus while holding our club banner up over the windows to protect their dignity!
We’ve also had joint meetings with the London England fans and the London Republic of Ireland Soccer Supporters’ Club (RISSC).
What is your NISC’s most memorable away trip and why?
Even home games are away games for us! That’s a tough question anyway as every away trip is memorable for one reason or another, and there’s someone from the London NISC at every game.
The last trip to Warsaw was funny, particularly when I saw three NI players walking towards a lap dancing bar only to turn around promptly when they saw it was full of NI fans!
The experience of the USA tour was hard to beat, especially taking the piss out of the over enthusiastic Americans at the baseball “Alright sports fans! High five!” seeing the reaction of the Chicago Fire Department when we started singing “C’mon baby light my fire” outside their station, and then blagging our way into a nightclub: “Are you guys in the NI soccer team?” “Errr, yeah.”
Copenhagen was good too, especially when I found out that my hotel was the team hotel. Helsinki has the best looking girls I have ever seen, the cheapest pear cider and Ni supporting Harri Chrisna’s. “Harri, harri, give us a wave!”
Tell us about your ‘road trip’ to Cardiff for the Wales game?
As you can probably tell from my OWC forum name of Specky VW freak, I’m a bit mad on old Volkswagens. I own a 1972 Beetle that I restored in NI when I was 16. I brought this over with me when I settled in England in 1996, and I still drive it. I also have a custom 1956 Beetle that does 0-60mph in 4 seconds and that I go drag racing in.
At the time of the game in Cardiff I had a 1972 VW camper van. I thought it would be a laugh to drive this from London to Cardiff all covered in NI regalia. I put two flags on the back, but my p ièce de résistance was getting some genuine Ulsterbus stickers through my uncle.
I picked up three other club members from the train station and it was great fun driving down with passing motorists waving and beeping horns, as well as and some not so friendly gestures from Welsh fu… sorry truckers! It certainly got plenty of attention in Cardiff city centre as well.
Who is the most legendary member and why?
Not sure if I can single anyone out for this as we’ve quite a few characters in the club. Richard aka Ealing Green is a bit of a legend having been to NI games before I was born, who’s football knowledge is very impressive and he was also behind the first incarnation of the London NISC back in the early ‘80s.
Then there’s Shaun - Englishman, author, raconteur and hardcore NI fan, who not only attends EVERY game in person but who always manages some new twist on a green outfit.
Who in your club can’t hold their drink? (Ahem, Azerbaijan, ahem!)
Cheeky get! I very much doubt that I’m the only NI fan ever to make a complete fool out of himself at an away game. Spending the entire day in the pub for a late evening kick off and then drinking most of a bottle of duty free Bushmills just before the game is not clever. Special mention must go to Gary, Andy and Rod for picking up the pieces.
Will your club retain Lawrie Sanchez as President?
Yes. I sent him a letter saying that, although we were extremely disappointed at him leaving, we really appreciated what he had done for NI and also the personal contribution he made to the London NISC (he really made the effort to attend several of our events). He replied saying his decision to leave was “with a heavy heart”, that “NI will always hold a special place within me” and that he would be “delighted” to remain as our honorary president.
How do you think Worthington will compare to Sanchez?
I was prepared to give Sanchez a chance, and look what he achieved for us. Worthington certainly has the experience of management at a high level and has a proven track record, arguably more than Sanchez when he took over. He knows what it is to be an NI fan, so will want to do a good job for us on a personal and professional level.
I also suspect his accent will probably mean he probably won’t have to face the same flack as Lawrie did from the local media.
How do you see the current senior squad setup?
As I write this in early August, my main concern is that Worthington will tinker too much with the squad. Although it is made up of players from several different divisions, the current squad is proven to work very well as a unit.
Having said that, its good to have plenty of options in case of bans or injuries, especially if the players play top level, week in, week out. I personally think some fringe players like Gareth McAuley should be given more of an opportunity to prove themselves in competitive games. If new players are brought in, or if they come in from the cold, then what they must do is gel with the other members of the squad and play their socks off for their country and the fans.
Some people have concerns, but I genuinely believe David Healy, Steven Davis, Chris Baird and Aaron Hughes all playing together at Fulham is a good thing.
How do you think the IFA have improved in the past 5 years?
The merchandising is now fantastic. It used to be very difficult to even get an NI top, but the range of available stuff and the fact that you can buy online is fantastic – especially for London NISC members, although I think it’s a bit unfair to charge us more postage though!
Football For All is a brilliant initiative and Michael Boyd deserves praise for his work.
What do you think the IFA could do better?
They can start with buying a new burglar alarm.
Stewarding at Windsor Park during matches needs further improvement. The stewards in the stands should be more proactive in challenging and ejecting any problem ‘fans’, enforcing no smoking legislation and ensuring crowd safety. I suspect that if an incident happened where a stand had to be evacuated quickly, the stewards would not be up to it and people could be hurt as a result. A vast majority of fans are no hassle, but maybe a few highly visible community police officers equipped with video cameras is something worth looking to further deter any unwelcome behaviour.
I also think the IFA still has work to do in modernising its management structure, having some fresh faces and gaining the real respect of the hardcore fans. Just as you think they are getting somewhere, then there’s a media and PR disaster when they seem to shoot themselves in the foot with contradictory messages or just seeming slow to react, awkward and disorganised. As the governing body, they need to raise their game and be much slicker in this day and age.
Are you for or against the Maze Proposals? (both as a club and individually)
Personally I fully support a new stadium, but not at the Maze. Outside of Belfast will have no atmosphere and particularly crap for those of us who already pay good money to travel from London every time. And what about visiting support? They should be enjoying what Belfast has to offer and not be stuck out at the Maze site.
As a club we support the Amalgamation of NISC’s policy on the Maze.
Do we need a new stadium?
Yes. While it generates an awesome atmosphere, the physical infrastructure of Windsor Park is under severe strain when it comes to capacity crowds at international matches. I also think its grossly unfair on all the other Irish League clubs that the league’s richest and biggest supported club do very well out of NI games and that an appropriate percentage of this income has seemingly not been reinvested in the ground.
My first choice is for a new Belfast stadium, but there are no concrete proposals (all seems a bit last minute reactionary stuff). While I would be reluctant to have Windsor Park redeveloped, I would still prefer this over a move to the Maze.
What do you think the supporters can do better?
I think what the supporters have achieved in recent years is brilliant, and the UEFA award is recognition of this. Jim Rainey deserves a knighthood for his tireless and selfless work in helping to exorcise the specter of sectarianism from NI games.
There’s still work to be done, particularly challenging the disrespect given to a certain part of the National Anthem. I do like the idea of our own anthem for more of an individual identity, and think this should be to the music of the Londonderry Air (Danny Boy), which is universally associated with Northern Ireland. However, this should be in a shortened version and with specially commissioned lyrics that will instill a real sense of national pride amongst all the support and the team on the pitch. Perhaps there should be a competition to come up with these lyrics. Worth a debate.
Can we qualify for Euro 2008?
Yes, but it will be extremely tight. If we keep up the momentum, win the games we are expected to and other results go our way we can do it. As a fan you have to believe and I soooo hope we do.
What does the future hold for the London NISC?
We will continue to develop the club and increase the benefits we can offer members, e.g. our website blog and regular communications. With Lawrie as manager of Fulham, and with his four NI signings, we are also developing closer links with Fulham FC. Look out for our banner at Fulham games!
How can potential GAWA new recruits contact you?
Email: info@londonnisc.co.uk
Website: www.londonnisc.co.uk
Blog: http://londonnisc.blogspot.com
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