Are we a small club?

[Kumquat]

I run a market stall on Saturdays and had the pleasure of meeting an Australian fella yesterday who was wearing a Brighton shirt. I asked him what brought him to supporting us and he said when he moved over here he was quickly disillusioned with the big money bullshit around big clubs and so decided to support a "small club". He had a good knowledge of the recent Brighton past and had been to a few games.

I thought it was quite nice that we were attracting football-supporting people from abroad although did like him calling us a small club as I actually kind of consider us now a pretty big club on the cusp of the big money bullshit stuff he mentioned. I'm quite happy where we are now as a championship regular. Are we actually a small team? Does it matter if we are or not? What should our ambition be and what is the right balance between success for the fans and keeping that authenticity as a club that truly represents its fans?

 

[bWize]

I would say we are a medium sized club at present

 

[GoldWithFalmer]

If the 92 clubs position was a chart,we would be about 43rd on the list overall,make of that what you will.imvho

or in old english marginally above average.

 

[Prince Monolulu]

How big is big, how small is small?

Had a good chat in Watford yesterday with some Americans from good old Wisconsin over for a week supporting BHA and some Germans over from Munich mostly supporting Watford but a few supporting us.

All adds to the mix.

 

[Dan Aitch]

I'm going to say yes - we are a small club. Now I'm going to ask "Is there anything wrong with being a small club?". I don't think there is. Size isn't everything.

 

[nwgull]

Relative to he football clubs that most foreigners will be aware of - Man Utd, Liverpool, Chelsea Arsenal etc. - we are a small club. In the grander scheme of the 92 league clubs, we're medium-large.

 

[Grombleton]

We're not a small club, but we're not as big as some of our fans think we are.

 

[Napper]

Perceptions . If all fans of all clubs documented their perceptions I reckon we would be where our history has been . 3rd div (near top though ) . 10 more years at this level would probably change things

 

[Taybha]

We are Brighton , we meander through divisions and time with little or no impact on the footballing world , Bloody Smiths fault .

 

[Mackenzie]

We're never going to be a Man United, but we have aspirations of reaching a West Brom!

 

[Mowgli37]

Size isn't everything.

I'll keep telling myself that

 

[Perkino]

We might just break into the top 30 English clubs based on the last 3 years. But compared to the 100's of millions that the top 10 all generate each year we're pretty small

 

[Hastings woody]

I'll keep telling myself that

Not what your Mrs says.

 

[Steve.S]

Surely it depends what you measure it against. 1 Ground? Top 25. 2 success, medium to small ( if you are comparing it against playing years in the 1st/ premier league, FA cups, league cups and playing in Europe). 3 Money? Medium, which is where it will hurt us,as I feel that there are at least 30 to 35 clubs above us. Which will make it difficult to get into the premiership,although not impossible with some good fortune.

 

[moggy]

II would determine clubs history and support as to wether they're a big club or not, regardless of what league they're in.
So I'd put forest, Leeds, in the big club category, I would pitch us alongside the likes of Bristol City, Derby etc

 

[Goldstone Rapper]

Interesting to see a high level of consensus here. I'd go along with us being about 43rd out of the 92 clubs, with our stature based on a combination of footballing success and fan base.

 

[sir albion]

II would determine clubs history and support as to wether they're a big club or not, regardless of what league they're in.
So I'd put forest, Leeds, in the big club category, I would pitch us alongside the likes of Bristol City, Derby etc

Quiet a big gulf between Bristol City and Derby
We're a medium sized club although unlike many clubs who get big crowds in our division we haven't had the finances or stadia to compete,but now we do.

 

[tomfitz12]

If the 92 clubs position was a chart,we would be about 43rd on the list overall,make of that what you will.imvho

or in old english marginally above average.

43 is just 'below average' in that analogy

 

[Cheshire Cat]

If we were "big" we would have played first division/premier league football more frequently than just one short rather unsuccessful spell - and won at least one cup.

 

[SweatyMexican]

In relative to the premier league (which is what most of the media shows to the public), Brighton are a smaller club.

Relative to the WHOLE of England (if you think about it), we are an absolutely massive club. Most of the FL are big/massive clubs relatively speaking compared to the whole of England. It's something like 24 tiers downwards, and we are in the top two.

I mean I don't say "We're a massive club", because that's a trait shared with Billy Big B*******. But in terms of all the thousands of clubs in England we are a pretty decent sized club.