Foresight - In 1959 Liverpool were in division 2 (Championship)

[Working class pride]

20 years later they were the leading club in the land and a European force. How many had the foresight to predict that? Can you use foresight to predict the Albion for the next 5, 10, 15 and 20 years?

For me, I will have a go at the next 5 years. I think the Albion will reach the top flight and play to 30,000 gates. After that, much will depend on the academy, whether the Amex can be expanded and perhaps whether the club is sold by TB.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

They were still in the second division in 1961-62.

But that was so long ago that you have to think past 1974, when Manchester United were relegated.

And, of course, 1983 was the year that Chelsea very nearly got relegated to the Third Division.

 

[perseus]

In 1961, Wigan Athletic moved back to the Cheshire County League.


1961 Wigan Rovers left and were replaced by Wigan Athletic from the Lancashire Combination.
1965 Stockport County reserves re-entered, and New Brighton (from the Lancashire Combination replaced Sankeys (Wellington) (to the Birmingham League), and Congleton Town (to the Manchester League).

 

[W.C.]

I think the next 5 years will see us go up. Whether we stay there or not I don't know. If things are still being as well run as now though, I think so.

People will still be talking about plan Bs.

 

[Brovion]

20 years later they were the leading club in the land and a European force.How many had the foresight to predict that? Can you use foresight to predict the Albion for the next 5, 10, 15 and 20 years?

For me, I will have a go at the next 5 years. I think the Albion will reach the top flight and play to 30,000 gates. After that, much will depend on the academy, whether the Amex can be expanded and perhaps whether the club is sold by TB.

You can't really compare us and Liverpool. Even though Liverpool where in the second tier at that time (and getting knocked out of the FA Cup by the likes of Worcester City) it was only a relative slump for them - they'd already won the league five times. Plus they were already a big club in a big city whereas we are a small club in provincial seaside town in a rural county with easy links to the big clubs in London.

So to answer your question: it took absolutely no foresight whatsoever to predict that Liverpool would once again become a major club.

(I know you're desperately trying to get out of the hole you've dug for yourself on the 'bigger fish to fry' thread, but you really have picked the wrong club with which to compare us. As Perseus points out, if someone could have predicted Wigan's rise that would have been something)

 

[Green Cross Code Man]

You can't really compare us and Liverpool. Even though Liverpool where in the second tier at that time (and getting knocked out of the FA Cup by the likes of Worcester City) it was only a relative slump for them - they'd already won the league five times. Plus they were already a big club in a big city whereas we are a small club in provincial seaside town in a rural county with easy links to the big clubs in London.

So to answer your question: it took absolutely no foresight whatsoever to predict that Liverpool would once again become a major club.

(I know you're desperately trying to get out of the hole you've dug for yourself on the 'bigger fish to fry' thread, but you really have picked the wrong club with which to compare us. As Perseus points out, if someone could have predicted Wigan's rise that would have been something)

I agree. Also, having spent many years living in Liverpool, i know for a fact that football defines the lives of a proportionally greater number of people than down here. Brighton, as a city, is well known for its diverse and Bohemian ways whereas Liverpool is mostly (except perhaps for L8) a very homogeneous culture. This also makes a difference.

 

[Vegas Seagull]

We will be playing to 30kish (revenue is more important & will be higher than other clubs 33k gates)at the end of this season, in this division, hardly foresight.
My prediction : you will give up your ST before TB sells the club

 

[Hamilton]

Putting the comparison to one side, this is a potential scenario...

In the 1960's and 70's large numbers of Londoners started to move down to the coastal areas to escape the capital.

In the 70's the universities blossomed and Brighton benefitted from its shabby chic image - the result was that many students chose to stay.

The population grew to 250k

The offspring of those immigrants are now reaching two age groups - the 40/50 year olds who now have their own young adult children (20 year olds) and see themselves as Brightonians.

The 30 year olds who are having younger children (8 year olds)

This sense of family breeds the need for joint cultural pursuits. These are often sporting.

The Albion have managed to avoid disaster thanks to a hard core of fans. Those new fans did not exist in the late nineties due to other pressures in their lives and Brighton as a town not having the same relevance.

There has always been the strong fan base at Brighton, but now the potential to capture a truly large fan base is there.

Over the next 5 years Albion will develop an integrated business plan merging AITC with commercial marketing to bring to life the principles of a community club. The new facilities will attract better players.

In the next 5 years Albion will reach the premier league and be relegated. However, strong community roots will keep the fan base locked in.

In the next 10 years Albion will be promoted again, and by 2022 Albion will have won either the FA Cup or the League Cup or have qualified for a European campaign.

This is all dependent on three factors - selection of the right management; integrated commercial and community business plans to secure assured revenue and support; consistent leadership from the board.

How's that?

 

[perseus]

I am a product of the sixties (when I was at school) and there was constant friction between supporters of south London clubs (mainly Chelsea and Palace) because we found out that some of the people at our secondary school secretly supported other clubs because that is who their Dad actually supported (coming down south around WWII). I do not know about Bohemian (Shoreham was, not that we knew it, just what we are used to) but there was nothing to compare to going to a football match (unless you were a die hard Mod or Rocker)..

The upshot was for the size of the Brighton area population was we underachieved attendance wise because the town was full of Londoners. It was beginning to change in the seventies. But that coincided with a major recession (later in the south than the north). At least we do not have to compete with Rugby like Cardiff, Hull, Bristol.

Not sure what it is like at school now?

From what I have garnered we have got some way to go yet before we are a Premiership set-up. I think our main rivals will be Palace, Southampton and West Ham. There are thousands of new supporters and also thousands that still do not go because they have not adjusted to the new way of going to games (getting tickets in advance).

Current problem with defensive teams: it has happened before notably in 1976-77 when we were invincible at home hitting seven past York and Walsall, holding Derby 1-1, and then Wrexham did us 0-2 at home (this meant we needed a to draw with them away 0-0). No other team managed to win that season at the Goldstone though.

 

[ditchy]

From what I have garnered we have got some way to go yet before we are a Premiership set-up. I think our main rivals will be Palace, Southampton and West Ham. There are thousands of new supporters and also thousands that still do not go because they have not adjusted to the new way of going to games (getting tickets in advance


I disagree . i think we have a premiership set up . We are certainly on a par with set ups like Stoke , Norwich, Reading Southampton , and better than QPr . If we do get to the Prem this will be fine tuned even more

 

[BensGrandad]

20 years later they were the leading club in the land and a European force. How many had the foresight to predict that? Can you use foresight to predict the Albion for the next 5, 10, 15 and 20 years?

I have often said that anybody at The Goldstone watching us play Liverpool in 1961, if it was suggested that one of those teams would be one of the top teams in Europe within 5 years, most would have said BHA.

 

[perseus]

I have often said that anybody at The Goldstone watching us play Liverpool in 1961, if it was suggested that one of those teams would be one of the top teams in Europe within 5 years, most would have said BHA.

Before my time. After we signed Bobby Smith, I thought we would shoot up Division 3 in the second season. But the legend did not play any more. I hope this does not apply to Vicente. In 1971, I thought we needed a bigger ground as we could not cope with the crowds. But that came to nothing as well.

 

[Gazwag]

In 1961, Wigan Athletic moved back to the Cheshire County League.


1961 Wigan Rovers left and were replaced by Wigan Athletic from the Lancashire Combination.
1965 Stockport County reserves re-entered, and New Brighton (from the Lancashire Combination replaced Sankeys (Wellington) (to the Birmingham League), and Congleton Town (to the Manchester League).

And it was only 10 years ago, when we did our back to back championships, they finished 10th in League 1 and they are now in their 8th consecutive season in the premier league

 

[SeagullSongs]

Slightly off-topic, but look at the final table for the First Division at the end of 89/90, a lot has changed...

Liverpool - never won the league since, who'd have guessed that at the time?
Aston Villa - fighting relegation for a few years now.
Tottenham - no major change
Arsenal - no major change
Chelsea - no major change
Everton - no major change
Southampton - relegated multiple times, only just returned to the top flight.
Wimbledon - RIP. Long live AFC Wimbledon!
Forest - solid second tier side.
Norwich - went down, but now back to their former glory?
QPR - fallen, risen and now probably on their way back down.
Coventry - haven't been a force for a while, now languishing above the relegation zone in the third tier.
Man United - now arguably the biggest club in the world, having won pretty much everything at least once over the last 20 years. Won the league 19 times, etc.
Man City - Current champions of England, how many of them would've thought they'd have to wait 22 years though?
Palace -
Derby - They were in the top flight? News to me.
Luton - 5th tier side now, dark days indeed compared to 20-odd years back.
Wednesday -
Charlton - On the way back up after quite a long time in the lower tiers?
Millwall - doesn't look like they'll be back up there in a hurry.

 

[Working class pride]

I have often said that anybody at The Goldstone watching us play Liverpool in 1961, if it was suggested that one of those teams would be one of the top teams in Europe within 5 years, most would have said BHA.

I find this interesting and think people can be quite short sighted and fooled easily by the modern media. A well run, highly professional Albion has hardly ever happened. Before the Albion have just been a well supported club. Put the support and run it well then the result could be very interesting.