Dave's Home From Home

This article was generously provided to ClubFootball by the British Council, which operates in China as the Cultural and Education Section of the British Embassy.

The ground is the spiritual home, the heart of the club, the place of worship for the fans. Nowhere else can compete with the atmosphere and warming familiarity of watching your team run out on the hallowed turf. It's the only way to watch your team. Or is it?
 
The Albion
 
It was a quiet Saturday afternoon and West Bromwich Albion were playing at home up in the Midlands, England. Dave didn't expect to see many fans that day. However, at 12 o'clock, three hours before kick-off one of Dave's staff told him that 40 fans could be seen coming down the street towards his pub. Dave was a little perplexed by this, most of the fans should be up in the Midlands watching the game live. He thought that perhaps they were fans of another team. However, when the crowd got to the pub door it was clear they were all Albion fans who had come to watch the game on Dave's big screen. He was delighted to see them.
 
However, he guessed from their Midland's accents that they weren't London based fans. He was right. They were all from West Brom. So he had to ask them what were they all doing here, 130 miles away, on match day? They all looked at each other and laughed. It turned out that even though they all had tickets to the game because WBA weren't playing very well at the time they decided that instead of watching them live, they'd have a better time if they visited The Albion in London and watched the game with Dave instead. That is The Albion - the pub.
 
So why is this spiritual annex to the club so far away from its Midlands roots? To find the answer we need to find out about Dave Chapman.
 
No chance
 
Dave didn't have much of a chance. No chance at all really. His Dad, a Celtic fan, but living in Kent, South England, took Dave to his first match when he was barely school age. It was a big match, the biggest in English club football. His Dad gave Dave an ultimatum that day. He was told he must choose a team to support for that game and that he would be stuck with team he chose for the rest of his life. He went for the team with the blue and white striped shirts simply because something struck him about the design. And when that team went on to win the game then there was no turning back. Dave was hooked for life.
 
The team was West Bromwich Albion. The game was the 1954 F.A Cup Final at Wembley. The result was 3-2 to WBA, against Preston Northend.
 
Hitting the bar
 
Living in Kent, Southeast England, and then the East End of London, made it difficult for Dave to see his team regularly. However, by the time he was in his teens he was regularly making the 130 mile (210 kilometres) trip from London to West Bromwich to see "the Albion" play at their Hawthorns ground. Since those days Dave has worked mainly in the music business which involved a lot of worldwide travel, however match days were nearly always somehow slotted in to his busy itinerary. Dave's been in a new profession for some time now, one that has availed him of a great opportunity to indulge his passion for WBA. He is now a publican. And his pub, of course, is called The Albion.
 
The Duke of Sussex
 
For many years in the residential back streets of London's Shoreditch, just east of the City (London's financial centre), sat the quiet local pub, the Duke of Sussex. The small pub was on a small traffic island and served the community of market traders, hospital workers, and families in the area very well. In 1998 Dave and his wife, Sue, bought the pub and changed the name to The Albion. At first the locals were not keen on the change of name but Dave pointed out that 'Albion' is the old Roman name for the Island of Britain. The pub sits on a traffic island so he cleverly pointed out the name was still apt. This, coupled with the warm reception you get at the pub, soon had everyone feeling at home again.
 
The Albion is still very much the social meeting place for the community but now, through Dave's obsession with WBA, serves a much wider community also, the community of football in general, and WBA in particular. There is no escaping the WBA memorabilia that adorns all the walls and the bar itself. And there's no escaping the massive popularity the pub has with Albion fans. On match days in London it is a must for fans that have travelled down from the Midlands before they go on to the game. Fans from as far afield as France, South Africa and New Zealand have all made a pilgrimage to the pub, as its fame continues to spread.
 
Booked
 
The Albion's Visitors books make impressive reading and serves as a comprehensive Atlas to the place names in the UK. Not to mention the fact that the fame of the pub has attracted the attention of some famous guests. These include celebrities such as the comedian Mel Smith, the Hollywood actress, Minnie Driver, and the TV football presenter Lisa Rodgers.
 
However, pride of place in the Visitors books is the name of Brendan Batson, former WBA star in the 1970's and 1980's, and currently Vice-President of the Professional Footballers Association (UK).
 
Also, amongst the luminaries are former Man Utd and West Ham Utd captain and Republic of Ireland International, Noel Cantwell, and the current Chairman of WBA, Paul Thompson, who made a special visit to the pub at the start of the 2000/2001 season.
 
Die-hard fans
 
On approaching the pub the first thing that strikes you is the giant WBA logo that dominates the pub's exterior - a throstle (a small song bird) on a small branch set against a blue and white striped shield. The Albion is the only pub in Britain that has the club's permission to use their logo. Inside, the bar area is compact but has given up room for a massive screen for fans to watch the games on TV.
 
In the way that British ex-patriate communities are keen to appear 'British' and then exaggerate their identity in their adopted community, the same can be said of the displaced fan. The underlying eagerness to stamp their identity, to show their true colours, can lead to trying to over impress people with the signs of their allegiance and identity. The memorabilia in the pub is certainly very impressive and covers nearly every square inch.
 
It ranges from framed matchday programmes dating back to the turn on the century, through to pendants from different teams from around the world. However, Dave explains that he hasn't decorated the pub himself. All the footballing treasures have been donated by die-hard fans who simply want to add to the atmosphere of the pub and share the club's history with the next generation of supporters.
 
Capacity crowd
 
The place is always packed when Albion are on TV and fans travel from all over London and the South East of England to enjoy the atmosphere. Dave also screens other games from the British and European leagues and sees the pub as a haven for all football fans.
 
However, it will remain a London 'Home away from Home' for Albion fans. A little bit of the Hawthorns and a whole lot of the Albion spirit.

Jon Wilkinson, May 2001