Are we a true Champiosnhip side or really a league 1/2 club?

[DIFFBROOK]

Now, I would suggest that we are a Championship club size club and are just waiting for Falmer to prove that.

But being Devils advocate and opening up discussion, are we really? Are we deluding ourselves, and are really a league 1 sized club? History suggests that we yo-yo between 2nd tier and 3rd tier football.

Everone goes on about our potential. But is our support more fickle than others? After all its the core support that really sees the club through thick and thin times.

I would hope that Falmer will be the catalyst for this club, but are we heading for a Darlington scenario?

Like I said, these are not my views, but I would love to hear others.

 

[Dave the OAP]

I think this new way of ranking clubs is very misleading.

Presently we are in Division 2, looking to drop to division 3.

If you look at our history, we have always hovered around Divi 3 and 4. So one could use the argument that we are really deluding ourselves to think we are anything more and this is just a repeat of the cycle of up and down between divisions ( if that makes any sense)

In our history, we have been in the top flight for 4 years and 1 FA Cup Final...that is it!!! I think that is where the "big club" argument falls down.

Perhaps when Falmer eventually comes along in 2032, then we will have the chance to at least try and attract people to the club to throw us a few coppers, however we will have a tremendous debt to finance and we will need to be attracting big crowds - you only do that with sucessful teams, not bright sparkly stadiums.

 

[Gully]

I wouldn't compare us in any way to Darlington, they have to compete for support with Middlesborough and to a lesser extent the likes of Newcastle and Leeds. We have no direct competition on our doorstep and quite a large and well populated catchment area to draw support from. In fact the only clubs, and I won't get thanked for this, that I would compare us to are the likes of Hull, Plymouth and Carlisle. None of them have a big club on their doorstep and have all enjoyed reasonable success over the years, although I think only Carlisle have like us played in the top flight of English football.

 

[Icy Gull]

I wouldn't compare us in any way to Darlington, they have to compete for support with Middlesborough and to a lesser extent the likes of Newcastle and Leeds. We have no direct competition on our doorstep and quite a large and well populated catchment area to draw support from. In fact the only clubs, and I won't get thanked for this, that I would compare us to are the likes of Hull, Plymouth and Carlisle. None of them have a big club on their doorstep and have all enjoyed reasonable success over the years, although I think only Carlisle have like us played in the top flight of English football.

Whether we like it or not we have lost a large number of potential fans to the Scum both along the coast and in Sarf London. We are a middling League 1 team in terms of crowds hence the problems we have competing on this league, so all the whinging and moaning about potless directors and underachieving players isn't going to change that. The Black Hole is the only way forward

 

[Dave the OAP]

Interesting conversation with a guy who lives down the road to me and has been watching the Albion for the last 30 odd years.

Went to the Millwall game with his two kids. His kids are all Junior Seagulls etc. they came away so dissolutioned, his youngest badgered him to take them to a "better game". He went to Charlton and now his kids are hooked! He has not been to the Albion since and his kids have all got Chrlton Shirts and hats etc.

I suggested that he was hardly being a loyal fan, ( which I nearly got a smash in the face for ) and he basically said he had had enough and now his kids see top teams, in a nice stand and in th dry!

There are four suppoters who we have now lost.( as his wife goes with them, and she never went to the Albion)

I wonder how much this has been repeated since the Bellotti Archer days.

 

[Icy Gull]

Interesting conversation with a guy who lives down the road to me and has been watching the Albion for the last 30 odd years.

Went to the Millwall game with his two kids. His kids are all Junior Seagulls etc. they came away so dissolutioned, his youngest badgered him to take them to a "better game". He went to Charlton and now his kids are hooked! He has not been to the Albion since and his kids have all got Chrlton Shirts and hats etc.

I suggested that he was hardly being a loyal fan, ( which I nearly got a smash in the face for ) and he basically said he had had enough and now his kids see top teams, in a nice stand and in th dry!

There are four suppoters who we have now lost.( as his wife goes with them, and she never went to the Albion)

I wonder how much this has been repeated since the Bellotti Archer days.

Look at the support we used to have (you and I are both old enough to remember ) and I would say as many as we get now and a few more are irretrievably lost to other clubs. Plenty of the older fans, and we had loads of them at the Goldstone, are probably dead or too infirm to go any more. They were never replaced

 

[Deleted User X18H]

I mentioned this on the phone in on Saturday we have only played around 25% of our extistance in the top two leagues we have no divine right to play there historically.

 

[Hadlee]

I think its misleading to look at the History of Clubs to guage how big or small they are.

Take Reading, its only now they are seen as a big Club due to the new Stadium and ambitious Chairman, I believe when Falmer opens it will give us the opportunity to tap into the large catchment area we have but only if the setup is right (ie we are still ambitious)

Also for every lost supporter there is a potential new one who would come along

 

[Curious Orange]

In terms of what we have at this moment we should really be in our traditional role as a third division (League One) side. It has been beyond my expectations that we've spent three of the last four seasons at our current level. The new stadium will allow us the opportunity to alter our expectations.

On the plus side, my little sister attended her first match on Saturday, and she wants to come again, despite the loss.

 

[Barrel of Fun]

We must have Falmer in place for when the massive increase in housing is underway. There are developments popping up all over the place and a massive drive of affordable hosuing in the South.

There is nothing to stop us heading back up the leagues later on, should we experience a free fall due to lack of financial clout.

 

[The Oldman]

Inclined to agree we are not a "big" club if that means staying in the top 2 divisions. But are Ipswich and Norwich "big" clubs? Yet they have consistently been in higher divisions than us although we all used to be together in Division 3 (South).

I do think the one big difference is in ground and facilities. I do smile at all the romancing about the Goldstone. It was a crappy stadium, albeit one of happy memories. It should have been redeveloped or we should have resited in the 60/70's and also provided decent training facilties. Hove Park was laughable as a training venue and the current facilties are not much better.

All of this is due to a lack of investment long before Archer and the evil one came on the scene. I've said it before generally our county of Sussex does not support it's club . In Norfolk and Suffolk the Landed Gentry, Lords, Bishops, commerce all back Norwich and Ipswich in a way that we have never seen, and the local councils fall over backwards to help their clubs.

Even if we do get Falmer, there is no way we will be a big club with a 22,000 seater stadium. That will not generate enough revenue to keep us in the top flight.

Think we have to accept that our history shows we will never be a consistently top performer in the big club league and that's why I think we have been lucky to have punched above our weight these last 2 seasons.

Doesn't mean I don't love the Albion to bits and am not giving up my support after 55 years of watching, whether we are in with the big boys or not.

 

[Virgo's Haircut]

With the resources we currently have I would say we are a League One side at best.

When we move in to Falmer though I'm sure this will change and hopefully we can push for some kind of silverware.

 

[Tom Bombadil]

I think in our current circumstances we are nothing more than an overachieving League 1 club. If we get the stadium then the liklihood is the boost in attendances will transform us onto the level of a Stoke or Hull.

 

[Simster]

We are an overachieving middling league one club in terms of current stature. However, this shouldn't be used as an excuse for our current predicament. For the past two seasons we have started the season as a championship club, so ought to have had the ability to pull in some half decent players even if only on loan. It is for this reason that I am baffled as to why the manager has been unable to get so much as a sniff of the type of players we have needed since the French lads join.

 

[n1 gull]

We are an overachieving middling league one club in terms of current stature. However, this shouldn't be used as an excuse for our current predicament. For the past two seasons we have started the season as a championship club, so ought to have had the ability to pull in some half decent players even if only on loan. It is for this reason that I am baffled as to why the manager has been unable to get so much as a sniff of the type of players we have needed since the French lads join.

Totally agree. How the hell can Colchester get Yeates and we get no one at all?
Its been the most disappointing season in a long time.

 

[SULLY COULDNT SHOOT]

When we had the Goldstone we were a Championship side at best that would challenge for the play-offs from time to time. Let's be honest.... our days in the old First division were heaven!

With Falmer we are a league 1 side at best and that's why I won't be worrying if we do go down. I think we've been bloody lucky with manager sover the last six years and the reason we are in this position is all about money and propsects for players, not the manager.

When we get Falmer then we can start getting back to being a touch Championship side and , hopefully, push on from there.

yet, at the end it doesn't matter.... I will be supporting Brighton whatever division we are in and that will be pleasure enough.

And I know this will really annoy some people but I would like to be winning a handful of games in a lower division than not winning at all in a higher one..... I want this club to be playing where it CAN play... not where all we get is dissension both amongst the players but also amongst the fans.

 

[Gazwag]

Why should history have any bearing on which Division we "deserve" to be in. If that what the case what the f*** are Wigan doing in a cup final and challenging for a European spot next season.

Using the Darlington analagy of why they are where they are as they have to compete with Middlesborough etc, Wigan have to compete with just as bigger clubs and the history of being a Rugby town.

Football today is all about getting to a division high enough to earn good TV money and having a chairman/manager who can then spend that money in the most successful way.

 

[culvers]

I think we will remain in this League 1 Championship yoyo situation up until Falmer and then probably for the first few seasons there. After a while i think we can establish ourselves as a championship side with perhaps the odd season where we challenge for the playoff spots.
Without further substantial investment though, not just money form the increased gate revenue but a very rich investor, we will never become a dominant side in the championship or a premiersip side.

 

[Dave the OAP]

Why should history have any bearing on which Division we "deserve" to be in. If that what the case what the f*** are Wigan doing in a cup final and challenging for a European spot next season.

Using the Darlington analagy of why they are where they are as they have to compete with Middlesborough etc, Wigan have to compete with just as bigger clubs and the history of being a Rugby town.

Football today is all about getting to a division high enough to earn good TV money and having a chairman/manager who can then spend that money in the most successful way.

I think this is more to do with anticipation rather than history, however we have never really been a continually "successful" club, and to assume that with falmer we will suddenly realise this "huge popential" may be a bit previous.

 

[Goring Gull]

At the moment well and truly league one, even historically we've generally been bottom 2 divisions.