Are you missing the Gillingham and Withdean years?

[Bra]

I been following the club since the goldstone days when my dad took me along. Together we have driven to Gillingham and sat in the pouring rain at withdean. My old man is getting on now and thanks to the great facilities the amex provides I still am lucky enough to get to go to games with him, something that I would not be able to do at withdean. Purely selfishly then I don't miss the old days and am so thankful for the beautiful amex.

 

[ROSM]

I don't miss Gillingham or withdean. I do have fond memories. Mostly in as much that apart from the post Wilkins, pre poyet era at withdean, we were an extremely united, supportive group of fans.

 

[marshy68]

i dont miss withdean or gillingham at all. I dont really miss the goldstone - i think i miss the thought of standing in the North Stand and being 15 again. Above all i still love and always will love the albion.

 

[catfish]

I miss them about as much as I miss my broken neck.

 

[Hotchilidog]

A bit of a patronising post, but I do see where you are coming from - To many people football is just another entertainment event, like going to a concert or play, and the fan & community aspect is not so important to them.

But to many of us the unity of fans and "belonging" to the BHAFC community is as important as the football itself - which is why people still went to shit holes like Gillingham and Withdean to watch crap football and paid considerable amounts to do so.

The sense of "belonging" is why football, and indeed many other sports, is so popular everywhere in the world and invokes such passion. You may not understand it, but like you say, it depends what kind of person you are.

Part of that spirit of community was down to the huge pile of crap that the club was in and it required direct action from the fans. That war was won, those battles do not need fighting anymore. Now that we are watching decent football in a fantastic environment it is time for us to enjoy the spoils of that fight, and let Tony Bloom get on with fighting the battle for promotion.

To some extent I do see where your viewpoint is coming from, but it just happens to be one I do not share.

 

[Baron Pepperpot]

Seems that many are waxing lyrical about the old days and the club we "used to be"

Are you?

I meant to make this a poll that showed who voted what, is there anyway a mod can amend it?

I would say that it is extremely JCL not to ask if we miss the Goldstone.....

 

[Commander]

A bit of a patronising post, but I do see where you are coming from - To many people football is just another entertainment event, like going to a concert or play, and the fan & community aspect is not so important to them.

But to many of us the unity of fans and "belonging" to the BHAFC community is as important as the football itself - which is why people still went to shit holes like Gillingham and Withdean to watch crap football and paid considerable amounts to do so.

The sense of "belonging" is why football, and indeed many other sports, is so popular everywhere in the world and invokes such passion. You may not understand it, but like you say, it depends what kind of person you are.

I had a season ticket at Gillingham, I had a season ticket at Withdean. I went to games to be with mates, have a beer and watch the Albion. I always wanted them to win and there were some great times. It was nothing like going to a concert or play, or any other entertainment event (I'd have asked for my f*cking money back if it was!).

Do you know why I honestly think football creates the passion and tribalism that it does? Because of the scoring system. There isn't really another sport where you can go from abject misery to complete ecstasy in one second like you can in football. And because of that you get that tension, that unbearable hope. And over time, that's what's created the aggression and passion in the game. It doesn't happen with cricket or rugby because that kind of tension rarely exists in those games.

 

[Return of the Rev]

I had a season ticket at Gillingham, I had a season ticket at Withdean. I went to games to be with mates, have a beer and watch the Albion. I always wanted them to win and there were some great times. It was nothing like going to a concert or play, or any other entertainment event (I'd have asked for my f*cking money back if it was!).

Do you know why I honestly think football creates the passion and tribalism that it does? Because of the scoring system. There isn't really another sport where you can go from abject misery to complete ecstasy in one second like you can in football. And because of that you get that tension, that unbearable hope. And over time, that's what's created the aggression and passion in the game. It doesn't happen with cricket or rugby because that kind of tension rarely exists in those games.

For me its about the suppressed homo erotic tension in the crowd that excites me

 

[Icy Gull]

I would say that it is extremely JCL not to ask if we miss the Goldstone.....

I took it as read that all the Goldstone regulars would miss it. We did better there than we have done at the Amex..so far and it's where anyone over 25 or so would have got their first Albion fix. It was a tumbledown shithole by the time we left and I certainly don't miss the last few years there though.

 

[Commander]

I took it as read that all the Goldstone regulars would miss it. We did better there than we have done at the Amex..so far and it's where anyone over 25 or so would have got their first Albion fix

I can't say I miss the Goldstone. It was a dilapidated old dump that was falling to bits, if we're being completely honest. And as someone said earlier, I don't ever remember the Goldstone rocking with all four sides of the ground like the Amex does sometimes, and the Amex is far louder. The only thing I miss about the Goldstone is standing on a terrace. I'll admit I wasn't at the Goldstone for the glory years as I'm not old enough, but I went from 1989 onwards and the Amex is a far better all round experience, despite what the rose tinted specs try to tell you.

Also, we've finished 10th and 4th in the 2nd tier in the first two seasons at the Amex, higher than we finished in the last 30 years at the Goldstone, so it's not really fair to say we haven't done as well there!

 

[DarrenFreemansPerm]

No. The days of travelling to Gillingham on a double decker bus now only serve as a great reminder of how lucky I am to see the team I support in such a wonderful place.

That said being that I was a young'un in the Goldstone days it was ridiculously exciting going to every game, that was regardless of the day, time, opposition or occasion. I remember going to see Brighton vs Palace reserves and I was absolutely buzzing about it, the 'match programme' was essentially a folded piece of A4 and the football was terrible, but it was brilliant.

 

[El Sid]

I can't say I miss the Goldstone. It was a dilapidated old dump that was falling to bits, if we're being completely honest. And as someone said earlier, I don't ever remember the Goldstone rocking with all four sides of the ground like the Amex does sometimes, and the Amex is far louder. The only thing I miss about the Goldstone is standing on a terrace. I'll admit I wasn't at the Goldstone for the glory years as I'm not old enough, but I went from 1989 onwards and the Amex is a far better all round experience, despite what the rose tinted specs try to tell you.

Also, we've finished 10th and 4th in the 2nd tier in the first two seasons at the Amex, higher than we finished in the last 30 years at the Goldstone, so it's not really fair to say we haven't done as well there!

I don't miss it, but I do have some fond memories of the seventies and early 80s. When the place was full the atmosphere was superb. It had a rawness about it which I guess the Amex can't quite match.
However I do have less than fond memories of the place starting to crumble and also questions as to why the place was allowed to get in such a state when to most fans we seemed to have good gates and a good income.
In my humble opinion the club started to suffer as soon as we got to the promised land of the first division. I hope when we get there next time we will be better prepared. Current developments and decisions give me great confidence.

 

[Icy Gull]

Also, we've finished 10th and 4th in the 2nd tier in the first two seasons at the Amex, higher than we finished in the last 30 years at the Goldstone, so it's not really fair to say we haven't done as well there!

The years when we went from the 3rd to the 1st and stayed there with a Cup Final as the final swansong as we fell away again have only been topped in any way by the fantastic League One Championship ( at Withdean)

You may not have seen it but off the top of my head - Ipswich and Derby in the Cups and some evening games including the promotion that we got against Sheffield Wednesday were all, as far as I remember, as good as anything atmosphere and noise wise as the Amex.

Which reminds me - anyone else remember those car stickers -"Hear the Goldstone Roar"? It was true, it did roar at times.

So I have to say I disagree with you there, I'm guessing your lucky enough to be youngish and were only there when it WAS a dump

 

[grubbyhands]

I think we have to accept that those days, together with our memories of the Goldstone, are gone forever. Like it or not, we are no longer seen as supporters; we are customers who contribute to the income of the club.

My memories of the Goldstone are permanently burnt into my brain NEVER to be forgotten, even if I wished to. Gillingham? I only went half a dozen times (bad fan eh?)I will try to forget about there despite it being part of our history. Withdean? as a previous poster said, I felt some masochistic camaraderie with those poor yet eager others sitting with me in horizontal freezing rain watching sometimes awful football,yet knowing,deep in my heart that one day we would get what we really deserved...Falmer.

 

[southstandandy]

I don't miss the facilities at all but as others have said sometimes travelling to lower league grounds with small but hard core support was one of the things I actually quite liked about years gone by. Today everything is a bit more corporate and too business orientated for my tastes. I will still support the Albion but also get to some local county league games when the Albion are away and such days can be great as well. I love the whole essence of seeing local teams play (in the county league) and having local players unlike professional football.

 

[Ulloa's Soul Patch]

I miss the chips and the bacon baguettes, apart from that no

 

[Brovion]

I took it as read that all the Goldstone regulars would miss it. We did better there than we have done at the Amex..so far and it's where anyone over 25 or so would have got their first Albion fix. It was a tumbledown shithole by the time we left and I certainly don't miss the last few years there though.

Hmm. I started watching Brighton in 1966 and I can state categorically that I MUCH prefer the Amex - even though I have to spend most matches sitting down. Granted during the short period of the 'Glory Years' the atmosphere could occasionally beat that of the Amex (the games against Ipswich, Derby and Sheff Wed obviously spring to mind), but also it's often forgotten that the Goldstone could also be a morgue. Even during the 78/79 promotion season I remember Mullery moaning about the lack of atmosphere and complaining that the North Stand had 'dried up'. And when we were in the first division the loudest sound was often the away fans laughing at the place.

The old place certainly had its moments but for consistency of atmosphere week in week out the Amex pisses all over it.

 

[Luke93]

I miss away fans complaining about the Withdean, despite their grounds being terrible. And now we have the Amex

 

[Trevor]

I only attended away games in the Gillingham days. Withdean did have a charm but the Amex is fantastic. There is adjustment as we become a more "professional" club but the standard of football is better than ever and I expect that will broadly continue - You don't get wet any more. There's Attila's poetry in the stadium concourse - we support an excellent club - and I suspect that it will feel better again when a) we start playing again and b) if/when we find out the reasons for Gus going

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

I miss looking around at Withdean to see insane people sitting in the freezing rain and having a feeling of camaraderie with them.
I miss the ease of getting to and away from Withdean.
I miss The Station pub.
I miss chips.

Other than that, HELL NO.

This. Apart from The Station pub. Substitute Brewery Tap.

Other than that, HELL NO.