The Albion are losing my grandson

[fosters headband]

We talk so much about encouraging youngsters to the Albion and how we have lost generations of kids.
Let me tell you about my grandson. He was an avid young Man U fan at 8 years old. Every present you had to buy him was something to do with Man U.
Why when his family are Albion through and through? At 8 years old I could not get a ticket for him at Withdean, so the only football he watched was on TV, hence his becoming a Man U fan.
The numbers started to drop at Withdean and I was able for the last three years to get him a season ticket next to mine. Everything was great for him, into the cupboards went all the Man U gear. Everything is now blue and white and he could not wait to go to games with me. Since Christmas I have noticed that he keeps saying to me " Oh granddad this is so boring, can we leave now".
Now he is saying he is not sure he wants to go to games and if he does go he now takes one of these blasted pocket pc games with him.
He would leap about, shout and scream encouragement for the team up until Christmas. He is now showing more interest in Man U again and I find this so sad. But it does demonstrate to me just how badly we have declined recently.

 

[bhafc4eva]

Wilkins out!

 

[byf]

Wilkins out!

I concur....

Wilkins new moto...."Losing the fans of today and tomorrow"

 

[Munkfish]

Or your Grandsons not a True fan!

 

[Munkfish]

No to be fair when i went as a kid i would get bored but if hes into his football enough he will stick with it! and at the end of the day its not all about the football when your a kid surley its more about the day out?

 

[REDLAND]

Or your Grandsons not a True fan!

exactly, you can't bully children into supporting 'your' club just so you have someone to go to games with ..

I bet all his mates at school are premiership team supporters and you can guarantee he will take more notice of what they say and think !!!

 

[Bevendean Hillbilly]

Grandson Out!

 

[NMH]

We talk so much about encouraging youngsters to the Albion and how we have lost generations of kids.
Let me tell you about my grandson. He was an avid young Man U fan at 8 years old. Every present you had to buy him was something to do with Man U.
Why when his family are Albion through and through? At 8 years old I could not get a ticket for him at Withdean, so the only football he watched was on TV, hence his becoming a Man U fan.
The numbers started to drop at Withdean and I was able for the last three years to get him a season ticket next to mine. Everything was great for him, into the cupboards went all the Man U gear. Everything is now blue and white and he could not wait to go to games with me. Since Christmas I have noticed that he keeps saying to me " Oh granddad this is so boring, can we leave now".
Now he is saying he is not sure he wants to go to games and if he does go he now takes one of these blasted pocket pc games with him.
He would leap about, shout and scream encouragement for the team up until Christmas. He is now showing more interest in Man U again and I find this so sad. But it does demonstrate to me just how badly we have declined recently.

Kids play with toys, then forget about them after a week while they find a new toy.

So, how does your grandson's attention span say anything about reality in league football?
Incidentally, I was a 'Man Utd fan' while George Best was with them. Then I liked Chelsea when every player's name beginned with 'H' except Peter Bonetti, Charlie Cooke and Peter Osgood. I missed out on watching a lot of great 60's Albion matches while watching 1st Division and European football instead of 3rd and 4th Division footer.

Yes, any kid can decide that the Prem is the domain of quality football, and the only games worth watching. Some of them never grow out of it, hence the buses and trains from Sussex to Old Trafford every other weekend - and those wankers at the offices building sites and factories all still blithering about "younite-ed" and what Ronaldo and Giggs did last Saturday.

 

[fosters headband]

So, how does your grandson's attention span say anything about reality in league football?

What it does tell me NMH is that for two and half seasons he watched the game with excitement and therefore it was not a 5-minute wonder, as I think you are inferring. And that like many older and much more experienced football followers are saying the entertainment value is poor and there are many other things that time can be spent doing. So he has no axe to grind with Wilkins or Knight, as he does not understand these things, but just that hey I am not enjoying this anymore.

 

[Buzzer]

exactly, you can't bully children into supporting 'your' club just so you have someone to go to games with ..

I bet all his mates at school are premiership team supporters and you can guarantee he will take more notice of what they say and think !!!

Absolute tosh.


That is all.

 

[Gordon the Gopher]

No to be fair when i went as a kid i would get bored but if hes into his football enough he will stick with it! and at the end of the day its not all about the football when your a kid surley its more about the day out?

My boy goes to a primary school in Hove. He has now started talking about how much he likes Arsenal despite him being to Withdean and having been bought shirts etc. Reason is that kids are really influenced by their peers and they all support one of the big four. A couple of the Polish kids don't even know we have a local team.
One thing that I do find annoying is that the club talk of recaiming the young fans but then don't bother getting the players into the schools to get the kids interested at an early age. My mate has been a primary school teacher for 15 years in Shoreham, Lancing and Worthing and has never once seen a player in his school.
Incidentally, on a school theme, true of false. Joel Lynch's dad is head of Stanford Juniors in Brighton?

 

[Gordon the Gopher]

My boy goes to a primary school in Hove. He has now started talking about how much he likes Arsenal despite him being to Withdean and having been bought shirts etc. Reason is that kids are really influenced by their peers and they all support one of the big four. A couple of the Polish kids don't even know we have a local team.
One thing that I do find annoying is that the club talk of recaiming the young fans but then don't bother getting the players into the schools to get the kids interested at an early age. My mate has been a primary school teacher for 15 years in Shoreham, Lancing and Worthing and has never once seen a player in his school.
Incidentally, on a school theme, true of false. Joel Lynch's dad is head of Stanford Juniors in Brighton?

Sorry....make that Elm grove in Brighton!

 

[REDLAND]

Absolute tosh.


That is all.

most posts on this thread would beg to differ

 

[Gully]

On the way home from the next game take a detour past the childrens home, tell him that is where he will end up if he changes allegiance back to Manure, nothing like threatening and abusing someone to make your point...it seems to be all the Withdean whingers are capable of...follow their lead.

PS. I am only joking, he can't be made to follow the Albion but hopefully he will see sense in time and be proud to support his local team, the one his family follow!

 

[eastlondonseagull]

We talk so much about encouraging youngsters to the Albion and how we have lost generations of kids.
Let me tell you about my grandson. He was an avid young Man U fan at 8 years old. Every present you had to buy him was something to do with Man U.
Why when his family are Albion through and through? At 8 years old I could not get a ticket for him at Withdean, so the only football he watched was on TV, hence his becoming a Man U fan.
The numbers started to drop at Withdean and I was able for the last three years to get him a season ticket next to mine. Everything was great for him, into the cupboards went all the Man U gear. Everything is now blue and white and he could not wait to go to games with me. Since Christmas I have noticed that he keeps saying to me " Oh granddad this is so boring, can we leave now".
Now he is saying he is not sure he wants to go to games and if he does go he now takes one of these blasted pocket pc games with him.
He would leap about, shout and scream encouragement for the team up until Christmas. He is now showing more interest in Man U again and I find this so sad. But it does demonstrate to me just how badly we have declined recently.

That's a truly sad story. However, I think he will drift back in time. My first Albion match was when I was eight, Brighton v Liverpool at the Goldstone in 1981, a 3-3 draw. Prior to that game, I was a staunch Liverpool fan because they were the successful team at the time.

Ironically, we moved up to Liverpool when I was 10 and I started going to Liverpool games every now and then, standing on the Kop a fair few times as the Albion were so far away. But I never totally lost interest in the club and started going again once I moved down to Brighton in the late 80s.

Your grandson will have fazes of interest / lack of interest, but I trust that in time he'll stick with them. You'll see

.

 

[ATFC Seagull]

Thats what kids do, if he's still at the very least up for watching the Albion then thats absolutely brilliant. He probably just feels left out of most the banter at school, as his team never plays anyone else's. Staying in touch with watching Brighton will give him a proper understanding about what football supporting is all about, and when he's a few years older he'll realise that the Albion are his true team.

Most the lads that I watch Albion with, who are all around 19-25 sort of age range now used to also follow Premiership teams as kids, but it doesn't mean that as they got to the right age they didn't appreciate the Albion.

Edit: Missed the "can we leave" bit. But I'd suggest thats a problem with football rather than the Albion. But again probably just age!

 

[Munkfish]

I didnt get into the albion until i was about 12-13 i went a few times to the goldstone but not every week i dont think i would of been intrested in it, as soon as i could go with friends and have a laugh it was alot better!

 

[Bevendean Hillbilly]

Absolute tosh.


That is all.

Seconded.

My lad wanted to support Man Utd. because his mates at school did, I initially reacted thus: "Fine, go ahead, but you are not bringing any of their shit into my house", now I have calmed down and simply point out that Football Marketers are no different to fast food chain Marketers, they want him to support their "Brand" because they want his money not because it benefits him. I want him to support the Albion because I love him and supporting his hometown team means he will always have a sense of belonging.

He is now a Seagull for life, poor sod.

 

[Easy 10]

We talk so much about encouraging youngsters to the Albion and how we have lost generations of kids.
Let me tell you about my grandson. He was an avid young Man U fan at 8 years old. Every present you had to buy him was something to do with Man U.
Why when his family are Albion through and through? At 8 years old I could not get a ticket for him at Withdean, so the only football he watched was on TV, hence his becoming a Man U fan.
The numbers started to drop at Withdean and I was able for the last three years to get him a season ticket next to mine. Everything was great for him, into the cupboards went all the Man U gear. Everything is now blue and white and he could not wait to go to games with me. Since Christmas I have noticed that he keeps saying to me " Oh granddad this is so boring, can we leave now".
Now he is saying he is not sure he wants to go to games and if he does go he now takes one of these blasted pocket pc games with him.
He would leap about, shout and scream encouragement for the team up until Christmas. He is now showing more interest in Man U again and I find this so sad. But it does demonstrate to me just how badly we have declined recently.

That sounds to me like he just needs a GOOD HIDING

 

[Starry]

exactly, you can't bully children into supporting 'your' club just so you have someone to go to games with ..

you bloody well can.