Stayaway fans has probably been done to death however......

[Barry Izbak]

So Albion fan = someone with sufficient disposable income to pay for some of the most expensive tickets outside of the Premier League.

Albion "fan" = someone who can't.

Thanks for clearing that up.

Or you might say that if its not sold out for the play off chase game against Port Vale, the excuse about the cost will be redundant.

 

[NMH]

Crikey Harty - you actually are doing this "need the fans" thing into the afterlife.

Try telling them you feel sorry for them, because they ARE missing out, and they DID miss out yesterday.

Harping on about 'need' makes you and The ALBION sound like a downtrodden fishwife!

They might like to think they're 'sending a message' by staying away, or some STUPID shite like that!
Let them know - their insistence on staying away is them cutting their own noses to spite their face - think about that expression, it is what they are doing!

Yesterday was a great match - fact.
And those 'stayaway fans' can eat crud hearing about it as far as I'm concerned. Rub it in, why don't you?

 

[Skidmarks]

Is your definition of a fan someone who goes to most/all games?

There's a difference between a fan and a supporter, a supporter helps the club by actually donating some of their hard earned cash by purchasing a ticket, then turning up and cheering on there team in hope the club progresses.

A fan can be classed as someone who may not go but likes to be associated with something when conversation is weak with a fellow football fan, they tend to go on fans forums to find out whats happening so theye can back up what they know of the club, but still they moan about ticket prices even so they make no apperance what so ever.

I think is obvious what one is more important to the club and what ones will feel the real satisfaction once Falmers arrived.

 

[sten]

I wasn't asking you anything Ian, I was asking Dougdeep.

But as you mention it, there are no obvious reasons why I can't go to all games. During the first 2 or 3 years of my West Country exile I retained my season ticket and still made 40+ games a season. Home and away. Saturdays and midweek, I was nearly always there. Like many of those you are speaking to, I guess, I got Withdean fatigue. Of course, like a lot of others too, I find I can get over this fatigue for a 'big' game or if there is a chance of some glory. Hell, I'm even thinking of getting my arse into gear and coming back next Saturday.

Good on you but as harty says its the local fans that let this club down with their same tired excuses for not turning up, giving up trying to convince some of my mates to come back they just pick the odd away game now,they will be mostly turning up for luton away and swansea home and then of course the play offs if we get there very annoying

 

[sten]

There's a difference between a fan and a supporter, a supporter helps the club by actually donating some of their hard earned cash by purchasing a ticket, then turning up and cheering on there team in hope the club progresses.

A fan can be classed as someone who may not go but likes to be associated with something when conversation is weak with a fellow football fan, they tend to go on fans forums to find out whats happening so theye can back up what they know of the club, but still they moan about ticket prices even so they make no apperance what so ever.

Spot on

 

[jonny.rainbow]

Or you might say that if its not sold out for the play off chase game against Port Vale, the excuse about the cost will be redundant.

I'm fairly certain the crowd will be 7,000+.

Dropping the price sells tickets, as was proved by the Gillingham game.

 

[PCBEARDMLORD]

So Albion fan = someone with sufficient disposable income to pay for some of the most expensive tickets outside of the Premier League.

Albion "fan" = someone who can't.

Thanks for clearing that up.

No Probs

 

[NMH]

You are spot on - people do get out of the habit of going to football. At one point during the Gillingham years I bust my leg quite badly. Sitting in the car for the tour of the motorways of the South-East was not possible whilst I was recuperating so, despite having a paid-up season ticket, I didn't go for a few games.

And, do you know, weekends became quite good. For the first time in years (other than the brief Summer period) my weekends were suddenly 2 days not a football day and a Sunday. I quickly got out of the habit. There will be thousands across Sussex who are out of the habit and it's going to take something very significant to get them back into it.

Habit? I don't think you have to be addicted to going to games like a habit - because if you associate football that way, you can - like you intimated - kick the habit (and get addicted to shopping every saturday afternoon, which is UBER-sad!).
What is weird about selecting the occasional game, when it looks like being a decent display of football and picking those to watch, for displays of skills and wits and tenacity - regardless of who is winning??

I don't 'get' these people who only feel it's a decent game when we're winning. The Southend match was GREAT, and many people said it was only good for 15 minutes because we were losing for a lot of the preceding periods! Those may be Albion fans, but they're NOT fans of football, or taking football in as a 90minute game. Connoisseurs of the game they are not, and chances are their knowledge of the game in general, is one-dimensional as well.

I'd pick the games I wanted to watch - and, by strange co-incidence end up going for most of the season (and still getting my shopping done!)

 

[Skidmarks]

The excuse about cost is very definitely a real issue. In case you hadn't noticed incomes are very stretched at present as petrol, home fuel, council tax and mortgage payments get bigger however pay in effect contracts.

Therefore people do genuinely have to make sacrifices financially and football will be one of these as it is a leisure activity.

Yes i would agree, that the ticket prices are a joke, but isn't that football?
I think Southend charge more than us!.
It does seem funny though how Brighton, one of the richest places in England with an extremly dense population can't afford to watch Albion?, Why?
7 yrs ago tickets prices were down £3, no one was complaining and we were in the bottom division but there was success on the pitch.
It seems the ticket price is an easy excuse to the fact why people in Sussex don't watch the Albion, "We don't wanna watch crap football" is the real excuse proven by the sell-out of the Leeds match, same prices tickets but for some strange reason loads more fans?

Its not so much the tightness of the board but infact the fans!

 

[sten]

Yes i would agree, that the ticket prices are a joke, but isn't that football?
I think Southend charge more than us!.
It does seem funny though how Brighton, one of the richest places in England with an extremly dense population can't afford to watch Albion?, Why?
7 yrs ago tickets prices were down £3, no one was complaining and we were in the bottom division but there was success on the pitch.
It seems the ticket price is an easy excuse to the fact why people in Sussex are don't watch the Albion, "We don't wanna watch crap football" is the real excuse proven by the sell-out of the Leeds match, same prices tickets but for some strange reason loads more fans?

Its not the so much the tightness of the board byinfact the fans!

Blimey spot on again , can i join you love club

 

[jonny.rainbow]

I think Southend charge more than us!.

Nope.

Most expensive ticket is £20 in advance or £22 on the day.

 

[Skidmarks]

Oh yeah one last thing, If these so called 'fans' wanna start watching them once the new grounds built, whats gonna be their excuse to why they can suddenly afford the exact same priced tickets for the exact same club for the excact same sport just in a different ground?

answer:" i'm converting from a fan into a supporter"

 

[Beach Hut]

The losing the habit is an issue as I didn't go to football for a good 15 years or so once.

Perhaps with Falmer there will be that option to be able to offer better value deals to get more people in and hopefully once they are "hooked" they become STHs.

I know for a fact several parents at my lads footie club have said once Falmer is built they will be committed so perhaps Withdean really is costing the club fans.

BTW Harty this subject is being done to death.

 

[bhanutz]

I'm hacked off with meeting people in and around the County who say "Oh yes I am an Albion fan, have been for years, but I'll wait until they get Falmer before I go back and watch them."

It a bit like saying "I love my wife but I won't take her out until she has surgery to look like Louise Redknapp!"

We need these 'fans' now, not in two or three years!!!!

The thing that makes me laugh is the amount of times people on this board slate the premiership and their 'plastic' fans. We have our fair share!

 

[BigGully]

I also think it is a cultural thing.

When I was younger masses of youngsters would move on mass and unsupervised and pay on the turnstile.

Now you are unlikely to see many youngsters 12-16 without a supervising adult.

This excludes many that do not have the willingness of an adult to take them, or even encourage them to attend.

Thats how you start the habit, thats how me and my mates started and continued in to middle age.

We get groups of local teams but that are for one offs, next week these youngsters on the main stay away.

Now I am not too sure how we get around this one !!

 

[drew]

I can't believe some of the crap written about whether you are a fan or if you are more correctly described as a supporter. There are fans that go to the games and there are fans that go to some games and fans that go to no games. What difference does it make. I am sth and have been going for over 30years but couldn't make the play-off final. Does that make me any less of a fan? If people don't want to go so be it. They are missing out whether it is because of the state of Withdean, cost, prefer to do the shopping. It would be nice to see a packed Withdean but I doubt that is going to suddenly give the place an electric atmosphere. What does annoy me is when people give pathetic excuses for not going. First two calls on the phone in summed it up. First one didn't want to sit in the family stand because it's too far away from the pitch. He would only have paid £1 for his kid to go! I know people who prefer the family stand to where the old family area was at the end of the southstand. The second caller was complaining about there being no numbers on the seats. Get a life. If it such a problem then ask a steward or another supporter.

If people can't afford to go to every game then try and go to every other game, or every third game at home. It's all well and good going to away games instead and whilst we have a reputation for good away support, it doesn't put money in the clubs pocket. Also, to use this as an excuse because of cost is stupid. It costs far more to get to the other end of the country than it does to get in at withdean. (I appreciate there are some genuine fans who cannot afford to go but I suspect there are none that can't afford to go to at least 2/3 games per season at home! Or am I being too harsh).

 

[Skidmarks]

Nope.

Most expensive ticket is £20 in advance or £22 on the day.

What a shocking difference!, I would be rich if I'd supported Southend instead, so so much cheaper.

 

[Skidmarks]

The thing that makes me laugh is the amount of times people on this board slate the premiership and their 'plastic' fans. We have our fair share!

So so true.

 

[Questions]

It its 13 quid for the Port Vale game then fans can afford it.

If they are fans they will hear about the reductions on here, in the local press, on the club website or through friends who are fellow fans.

If they still do not turn up lets move on from the cost of tickets arguement because its more than that that keeps folks away.

 

[Skidmarks]

I'm a fan of rump steak. Can't afford to eat it every week though.

Neither do I, so I can save my money for Albion games!.