And if the worst happens......

[Dorset Seagull]

and we go down what are the expectations for next season?

We will possibly lose any decent players we have as they won't want to play in Div 2 (4). That will leave either the worst of the rest or any youngsters coming through the ranks. We will then probably be left in mid table mediocrity and falling gates meaning no revenue to attract any half decent players.

The other option is that we keep the squad we have and could possibly make a promotion push although this season only managed 2 draws against Div 2 Luton.

Most people generally assume that if you get relegated it can be positive as you start winning games again and are at the top end of the table but this is not often the case

What do the rest of you think?

 

[Binney on acid]

The worst has already happened. I've got a 2 yr season ticket & have no regrets. Yes it will be Histon / Rochdale / Morecombe & Accrington Stanley next season, but the San Siro & The Bernabeu are only about 5 seasons away..... Brush up your language skills & get your passports sorted. You're gonna need them.

 

[Don Quixote]

What decent players? If they were decent we wouldn't be 22nd.

 

[WhingForPresident]

i seriously doubt we'll even go up in fairness. Obviously we have the players at the moment but i'm sure the likes of Birchall and Murray will be looking elsewhere.
It's not really as if we have the money to sign some of the better players in League Two either, so will probably lead to 10 loan signings, an unsettled board and a club on the verge.
I'm also a tad worried about the size of Falmer and our attendances. We'll be getting 5,000 at most in League 2 and poor away attendances. Just look at Darlington.

 

[murraymints4brighton]

We have to go straight back up to cut out the risk of massive emptiness at Falmer.

 

[portslade seagull]

They would probably have to close one of the stands to save money as Darlington have done If the crowds are to small

 

[coventrygull]

I am a little concerned about League 2. The Team I saw at Walsall are not capable of playing in the BSP.

 

[beorhthelm]

cant see us keeping Murray. others it can go either way.

on the other hand we might start winning again, thats always nice.

 

[brightonmad999]

we will stuggle in league 2 and it will be hard

 

[Theatre of Trees]

Just look at Darlington.

Darlington are not really the right club to make a comparison with. Their ground was built due to an inflated ego of then chairmen who chose to ignore the historically small crowds the club got when surrounded by the bigger north-eastern clubs.

League 2 never did any harm to Hull who were 14th in League 2 in 2002-03 when they played their first game in the their new stadium on Boxing Day drawing a crowd of over 22,000. Despite spending the rest of the year in mid table mediocrity and finishing 13th the lowest home crowd they got after moving was just over 13,000.

 

[BensGrandad]

Darlington are not really the right club to make a comparison with. Their ground was built due to an inflated ego of then chairmen who chose to ignore the historically small crowds the club got.

.

Are we any different with our actual crowd and the number of suporters people like to think we have.

 

[Withdean Wanderer]

With this squad I think we'd be in a relegation battle.

 

[coventrygull]

With this squad I think we'd be in a relegation battle.

Sadly so do I.

 

[Theatre of Trees]

Are we any different with our actual crowd and the number of suporters people like to think we have.

Darlington even in the golden age of big crowds were never a well supported team, like Hartlepool they have to compete with Newcastle, Sunderland and Middlesbrough. If you ask their fans many would say they didn't need the stadium and that Feethams was perfectly adequate for their needs. They also have a problem with not being able to use the arena for any non-football activities which could at least help with their finances.

We've had periods of being well supported, in 1979-80 we were the 12th best supported team in the country, but the fluctuations have always been greater. The Brighton conurbation along with the mid-Sussex hinterland has the potential to be able to fill the stadium which is probably what those building it have factored in. On top of that you will have the new stadium syndrome, much like the first few seasons at Withdean when the excitement of a return to Brighton pulled extra fans in, keep them, get a winning team and the crowds start to return much like it always was at the Goldstone.

As mentioned above Swansea, Hull and MK Dons have built new stadiums whilst in the lowest division and all saw significant rises in their crowd numbers. Hull's is very interesting as they opened theirs midway through a season where they floated around mid table but pulled in 13-17,000 each week from a previous of 7-8,000.

 

[Insel affe]

we are more or less down,and we have to get used to it. None of us want it to happen,but hey its gonna happen. What happens then is anyones guess, players will leave ,maybe slade or dick. I think we are in for a clear out in the summer of a large scale.We should at least attract the better players in the league,but how quickly everything clicks will be very important.But at the end of the day i will and i know 95% of you guys will still be here supporting them either by going or from afar,its in our blood..........just a shame its not in the players..............so f*** em i dont want them if they dont care,and cant pull there weight in this fuckin division then they can f*** off,because they are not going to try harder in a lower division are they..........f*** em.............

respect to every Albion fan, who follows the albion home or away or from your homes.....WE ARE THE ALBION.....NOT THEM USELESS C*N*S

 

[Biscuit]

With this squad I think we'd be in a relegation battle.

ditto. I think we'll make a few signings though. Recently the board have shown some cash, lets just invest it right!

 

[Dorset Seagull]

we are more or less down,and we have to get used to it. None of us want it to happen,but hey its gonna happen. What happens then is anyones guess, players will leave ,maybe slade or dick. I think we are in for a clear out in the summer of a large scale.We should at least attract the better players in the league,but how quickly everything clicks will be very important.But at the end of the day i will and i know 95% of you guys will still be here supporting them either by going or from afar,its in our blood..........just a shame its not in the players..............so f*** em i dont want them if they dont care,and cant pull there weight in this fuckin division then they can f*** off,because they are not going to try harder in a lower division are they..........f*** em.............

respect to every Albion fan, who follows the albion home or away or from your homes.....WE ARE THE ALBION.....NOT THEM USELESS C*N*S

Absolutely, if the players had worn the shirt with pride then there would be no complaints but it seems it is in our blood but not in their's

 

[Rodfox]

i seriously doubt we'll even go up in fairness. Obviously we have the players at the moment but i'm sure the likes of Birchall and Murray will be looking elsewhere.
It's not really as if we have the money to sign some of the better players in League Two either, so will probably lead to 10 loan signings, an unsettled board and a club on the verge.
I'm also a tad worried about the size of Falmer and our attendances. We'll be getting 5,000 at most in League 2 and poor away attendances. Just look at Darlington.

We would be lucky to get that, we dont get a great deal than that at the moment. Oxford's crowds were mentioned in another thread, with an average attendence this season of around 5000, taking upwards of 1000 away recently. I dread to think what our attendences would be if we sank to the conference.

 

[Smythe]

its because of the players we've got now that were likely to get relegated, why should the so called better players piss off after taking us to league 2!!
They obviously not good enough for league 1!!!
It could be a blessing in disguise, run away with league 2 next year,taking over all these small grounds, get the fans back and then push on to the championship for first season at Falmer!!
Of course i could be wong.

 

[Barrow Boy]

and we go down what are the expectations for next season?

We will possibly lose any decent players we have as they won't want to play in Div 2 (4). That will leave either the worst of the rest or any youngsters coming through the ranks. We will then probably be left in mid table mediocrity and falling gates meaning no revenue to attract any half decent players.

The other option is that we keep the squad we have and could possibly make a promotion push although this season only managed 2 draws against Div 2 Luton.

Most people generally assume that if you get relegated it can be positive as you start winning games again and are at the top end of the table but this is not often the case

What do the rest of you think?

Let's get a few things into perspective shall we, the first game my dear old dad took me to see at the Goldstone in 1962/63 (getting old, can't even remember the exact year) was against Barrow in the old 4th Division. And now, 47 years later, it looks like we're going to end up in the same division. No matter what our aspirations are we have nearly always been a lower league club, flitting between the third and fourth divisions with occasional visits to the second. Yes we have had a few glory years in the top flight and I was one of the lucky one's to have been around at the time, but the reality is that to get the big crowds in we have to be a winning team, it has always been like that with the Albion. There seems to be this great misty eyed romance about the 'good old days' at the Goldstone, yes it could generate a fantastic atmosphere, but it was also a dump and that was why we could never keep the big crowds when we started sliding down the league. The opportunity the club has, when the new stadium is built, is to attract the thousands we will need and to keep them by providing a first class facility and, more importantly, a winning team.
My main worry is that it is not a given, if we do go down, that we will come straight back up, this team has got to be seriously sorted out and I wish Russel Slade the best of luck. But just you watch, if we do get things right the crowds will return, I'll be there next season regardless.