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Brighton a Professional run Club
- Thread starter The Birdman
- Start date
Postman Pat
Well-known member
Only thing I really miss is being able to stand where I want, and next to who I want. If the person next to you was a muppet it was easy to move elsewhere. Now you are lumbered for at least a season.
I still miss Withdean and the Goldstone to some extent.
At Withdean, in spite of everything, I always felt that we as fans really mattered to the club and were part of what was going on. The underdogs fighting for our lives and succeeding more often than not. I think Dick Knight takes much of the credit for that.
At the Goldstone (and at Withdean) I felt closer to what was going on on the pitch, closer to the action, and able to relate better to the players. Back then I think I would have been able to recognise most players in the street. Now I doubt I would recognise any of them maybe with the exception of Calderon. Sitting in WSU doesn't help!
Other things I miss about the Goldstone:
- parking near to the north end of Hove Park with a leisurely stroll through the park to the stadium
- not having to purchase a ticket ahead of time. If you wanted to go to a game you just turned up on the day and paid on the gate. No need to plan ahead.
- the whole ramshackle nature of the stadium. The football experience at its best!
- the atmosphere. Just about everyone who went to games at the Goldstone was a "proper" football supporter. Very few prawn sandwich brigade members. The pepole sitting in front of me in WSU never cheer, never shout, never jump up and down with excitement when we score ... I know the club (now) needs these people and their money, but I wish their type could all be seated together in a "library" section.
Things have moved on. The world has moved on. But there was something very special about the Goldstone days and, to a lesser extent, the Withdean days.
At Withdean, in spite of everything, I always felt that we as fans really mattered to the club and were part of what was going on. The underdogs fighting for our lives and succeeding more often than not. I think Dick Knight takes much of the credit for that.
At the Goldstone (and at Withdean) I felt closer to what was going on on the pitch, closer to the action, and able to relate better to the players. Back then I think I would have been able to recognise most players in the street. Now I doubt I would recognise any of them maybe with the exception of Calderon. Sitting in WSU doesn't help!
Other things I miss about the Goldstone:
- parking near to the north end of Hove Park with a leisurely stroll through the park to the stadium
- not having to purchase a ticket ahead of time. If you wanted to go to a game you just turned up on the day and paid on the gate. No need to plan ahead.
- the whole ramshackle nature of the stadium. The football experience at its best!
- the atmosphere. Just about everyone who went to games at the Goldstone was a "proper" football supporter. Very few prawn sandwich brigade members. The pepole sitting in front of me in WSU never cheer, never shout, never jump up and down with excitement when we score ... I know the club (now) needs these people and their money, but I wish their type could all be seated together in a "library" section.
Things have moved on. The world has moved on. But there was something very special about the Goldstone days and, to a lesser extent, the Withdean days.
Return of the Rev
Well-known member
Paying 65p to watch the most exciting football i have ever seen Brighton play 76/77.
TAKING INFLATION INTO ACCOUNT THAT WOULD BE £4.60 AND NOT THE £35 AT THE AMEX FOR WHAT HAS BEEN ONE OF THE MOST BORING SEASONS I HAVE SEEN.
TAKING INFLATION INTO ACCOUNT THAT WOULD BE £4.60 AND NOT THE £35 AT THE AMEX FOR WHAT HAS BEEN ONE OF THE MOST BORING SEASONS I HAVE SEEN.
El Sid
Well-known member
Absolutely. It's was a center forward's inalienable right to send the keeper into the back of the net with a drop of the shoulder.
Andy Lockhead was the best I've ever seen at this long lost art.
Assuming your inflation figures are correct, then that's a bloody good point.
And more importantly, would I prefer to pay £4.60 today to go and watch the Albion at a somewhat refurbished Goldstone, or £35 for the Amex experience? The Goldstone wins hands down.
Return of the Rev
Well-known member
INFLATION CALCULATOR BELOWhttp://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/...tion-calculator-value-money-changed-1900.html
AND ONLY PAYING 35P U16 THAT SEASON IT WOULD COME OUT AT £2.13P
Last edited:
Seagull1989
Well-known member
- Oct 31, 2011
- 1,204
I think the club is run more like a business nowadays and we are just customers. I think derby county are a top club for how they treat their fans. Already said that there will be a reduction in season ticket prices if they get promoted and for the playoffs have offered season ticket holders a discount on the home leg
It is being run as a business. That's what we are being told by Barber has to be the way forward. BUT do we as fans still feel as close to the club? Do we still feel as much involved as we used to? As a previous poster mentioned, it's almost as though we EXPECT to win now. That's not right. Winning was the most exciting experience in the world at Withdean and the Goldstone because we were the little guy winning in spite of everything.
No doubt I'm looking at the past through rose-tinted spectacles, but there is no doubt in my mind that I'd like something to change. Not sure exactly what it is that Derby do, apart from what's mentioned above, but maybe we can learn a thing or two.
And finally, do I want us to play in the Premier League? I think so. I'm not 100% sure though. Every season being a battle against relegation would not be fun. So Palace stayed up, but was the season fun for their fans? Will next season also be a fight against relegation for them? Most likely. Realistically, what are the chances of a club like Brighton ever winning anything as a Premier League club? The FA Cup, maybe, but that has been devalued to the point that it's almost meaningless.
Czechmate
Well-known member
The Persil train tickets for away games , cheap as anything ! My shirts and underwear had never and will never again be so white
thisistips
New member
i'm sure I saw chips at the amex last Friday, am I wrong?
I love the Amex beyond belief and would not want to go back to Withdean for anything. But that does not mean I am not grateful that it was there when we needed it most and there were some magic moments in between the rain and iffy football.
The best bits at Withdean for me were eating an ice cream on the grassy bank on a sunny day, before taking my seat in the south stand. Knowing the people who sat around you were die hard fans. You would only go to a game at Withdean when it was wet and cold if you really cared or were slightly unhinged. I also liked the walk under the bridge at Tongdean lane and the first sound of the tinny music coming out of the PA system.
The best bits at Withdean for me were eating an ice cream on the grassy bank on a sunny day, before taking my seat in the south stand. Knowing the people who sat around you were die hard fans. You would only go to a game at Withdean when it was wet and cold if you really cared or were slightly unhinged. I also liked the walk under the bridge at Tongdean lane and the first sound of the tinny music coming out of the PA system.
Agreed.Great to park near the north end of Hove Park and then I didn't have too much hassle getting on the A23,heading home for Reigate where I lived in those days.
Also miss the smell of cigar smoke in the West Stand and horse liniment
coming from the dressing rooms all those years ago at the Goldstone.The funny little fellow selling the Argus and the half-time scores displayed around the ground.
Not so sure about the smelly bogs though!
But we did have many players at Withdean who were far from shit: Zamora, Watson, Brooker, Virgo, Carpenter, Cullip, Currie, Kuipers, to name a few examples. And don't forget we achieved THREE promotions while we were there ... pretty damn good in a 12 year period with football that on many occasions was a damn sight better than some of the dross served up at the Amex.
Tom Hark Preston Park
Will Post For Cash
- Jul 6, 2003
- 72,327
There was definitely a better atmosphere at Withdean for floodlit evening games than there is at the Amex for equivalent games. No idea why, other than maybe it felt a bit like you were spending a night camping in the woods 
Gazwag
5 millionth post poster
Had chips available since the start of this season
Thing I hate more than anything is the play acting forcing the other team to put the ball out of play or worse the team of the "injured" player putting the ball out of play and then getting it back again. I think it was a Huddersfield, one of their defenders went down in the box towards the end so the keeper immediatly threw the ball out of play. Injured defender then got up perfectly ok but we had to throw the ball back to the keeper grrrrrrrrr.
I must admit the Blackpool defender who did it right at the end of the game last week was quite funny when he feined injury for a second and just as the fans were about to give him stick he got up, smiled, winked and gave the thumbs up to the fans in the north.
pasty
A different kind of pasty
From Withdean I miss the 2 or 3 second delay between the away team scoring in the East goal and their fans realising they'd scored 
