Brighton v Palace - 'A rivalry as big as any other'

"The clubs may be 45 miles (72.4km) apart, but fans of Crystal Palace and Brighton & Hove Albion say their rivalry is among the biggest in football. It's a hostility born out of 1970s FA Cup drama and the bitter rivalry between former Tottenham Hotspur stars Terry Venables and Alan Mullery - and it shows no signs of abating. "People who write off the match do it due to ignorance," said Palace fan Dan Cook, who runs the HLTCO podcast."

"Seagulls fan Russell Guiver, who hosts the Brighton Rock Podcast, said: "It's the game I'm always looking forward to the most." But he said explaining the rivalry to fans of other clubs was "getting tiresome". "It does certainly seem to confuse people because it's not seen as the nearest team," he said. And Mr Guiver still meets fans of other clubs saying it is not a real rivalry. "I just scoff at them, and tell them they're wrong," he said."

Crystal Palace and Brighton & Hove Albion maintain a fierce rivalry despite being 45 miles apart. The rivalry originated in 1976 when teams met five times in an FA Cup tie amid personal animosity between Terry Venables and Alan Mullery. Recent flashpoints include Palace knocking Brighton out of the 2013 Championship play-offs and the discovery of excrement in Palace's dressing room. Fans from both clubs, including podcast hosts, describe the fixture as highly anticipated and deeply felt, and they push back against outsiders who dismiss the rivalry as illegitimate.

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