Will You Miss the Withdean?

[Tesco in Disguise]

imagine the scene: it's may 2008 and the albion are playing the final game of the season, their place in the division secure many weeks ago. it's a glorious, sunny day and the crowd are in a buoyand mood as they know the next home game they watch their beloved stripes in will be at the shiny, new falmer stadium (which has ended up looking just like the architecht's impressions of many years' ago).

the withdean is uncomfortable, cold, silent, embarrassing and depressing. but, for the last eight years, it's been home. it's witnessed some remarkable scenes: the league's first goal of the new millenium, danny c's header to secure the championship title, virgo's header to send the brighton into the play-off semi-final. arguably brighton's greatest striker plied his trade on that field.

can anyone say that it won't be missed?

 

[Barrel of Fun]

Yes. There are some good memories.

Freemans Hatrick on return to Brighton

Zamora cracking them in.

Two championships.

Smashing Wolves.

Annihilating Watford and then Palace scored vs Stoke.

The sunshine belting down and Rocket Man.

Definitely time to move on though!

 

[Da Man Clay]

Twill be missed there are plenty of memories. Such as hit the bar and The sound of the post as gurney missed that pen still time to move on tho.

 

[Edward Scissorhands]

I'll definitely miss it...But whether it's for good or bad...

Hmmmmm....

 

[Braders]

not really all in all , but i do have some top memories from it .... but sitting in the pissing rain in a ground with very little attmospheres not my idea of fun

 

[BendyThumbs]

Yeah i will miss it, but then again i didn't have to sit in it week in and week out.

It is where i saw my first game when i came and visited, and i will always remember that fondly.

 

[Basil Fawlty]

I will difinitely miss it, we have seen some great times there and it will be a complete different experience when we do move into Falmer.

 

[Scotty Mac]

i will miss it - no-more wandering out of the sportsman at 2.55

 

[Schrödinger's Toad]

charlie's header to secure the championship title

Unless he's shrunk dramatically since then, I'm sure that was Cullip ... but still ... I won't miss Withdean a bit now, and most of the best memories of the place will be from the first couple of years, when it was just great to be back in Brighton, to not have to travel several hours to go to a home game. I have little affection for a place where no-one sings and the only noise is people moaning.

I doubt I'll be too upset about leaving.

 

[Easy 10]

I'll miss Withdean like a scab on my foreskin thats gone septic.

 

[cheshunt seagull]

Miss it, no.

But in years to come I will remember the Withdean years as a time when we did extraordinary things in very tough circumstances. Maybe as fans, it will be our finest hour.

 

[DJ Leon]

NO

Not even a little bit.

 

[Commander]

Maybe 'miss' isn't the right word. I'll look back on it with nostalgia yes, but miss it? No.

 

[Withdean Wanderer]

Oh yes, but i've never known anything different (apart from the odd away game).

 

[Bluejuice]

Look to the future, forget the past.

It's done it's job, and will continue to do so over the next few seasons but lets not kid ourselves here. As a football stadium it has always been shit and whilst we should be appreciative (it is still 100 times better than having to trek to the Priestfield) we can't go round in years to come reminiscing about the good old days when to be honest, they aren't that good. We're just making the most of them until our proper home at Falmer is up and running.

We will never forget, but there's no need to get overly sentimental. The place is frankly embarrassing and not fit to call itself the home of our great club, hence it always being referred to as our 'temporary home'.

Once the Falmer superstructure is in my life I could quite happily live without ever setting foot in the Withdean again.

 

[oapdodge]

Some great times as mentioned. Some bad ones. Rochdale before Christmas and getting soaked. But the good times out weigh the bad. But it is so nice to look forward to moving on and out. A roof, bless. Soon be gone but never forgotten.

 

[BUTTERBALL]

No. It is an athletics stadium and nothing else.

 

[Del Boy]

Yes, Its pissed walking distance from my house!! And although it is a ghostly athletics stadium it is in a nice natural bowl!!

 

[ben andrews' girlfriend]

I will miss it i think - its really the first solely albion ground that i remember properly. There've been a lot of brilliant memories there too

 

[Simster]

I'll miss it because we've had some good times at Withdean. And the place will be rocking for the last game, that's for sure. I'll never forget how crap it was though.

But then it's time to move on. My wife has promised to allow me to spend our money on a season ticket for my son (he will be 7) and me for the first season at Falmer - so 2008 can't come soon enough!