Falmer(Amex)

[dje shoreham]

18k average for sure - dont need stats - there is no comparable to Withdean/Amex
Ive been in a few 30k brighton crowds - some of them must still be around

 

[Notters]

Whatever the truth is, I can't wait to find out

 

[Deleted member 2719]

18k average for sure - dont need stats - there is no comparable to Withdean/Amex
Ive been in a few 30k brighton crowds - some of them must still be around

I too have been in some 30k Albion crowds but i feel this is more of a rebuild of fans than a rebirth of fans bounce this after a couple of seasons if the crowds are below 18k, mind you we will be in the prem by then!!

 

[Perkino]

We have a large army of closet fans in the area who will be drawn in initially and if we are successful they will hopefully fall in love with the club and stick around

 

[Brovion]

With regards to travel, will it be worse than it is now, correct me if im wrong but falmer station will be alot nearer than preston park is to withdean.

No, you're right the station is a LOT nearer - but the location isn't the problem. The problem is that Falmer station and the East Coastway line itself aren't really 'fit for purpose' with regards to quickly transporting thousands of people. Falmer station is severely limited in both terms of platform capacity and in the size and frequency of the trains that can stop there.

There have been several threads on here in the past (and no doubt there will be many more!) where this has been discussed. The railway people who post on here have scotched all fond hopes of extra trains, longer trains, shuttles, etc.

 

[Steve Foster]

18k average for sure - dont need stats - there is no comparable to Withdean/Amex
Ive been in a few 30k brighton crowds - some of them must still be around

If we go back to 1979, in the last 30 years+ we have not had one 30,000 home crowd (or indeed a sell out, for a league game).

I remember getting to the Goldstone for that first game against Arsenal at lunchtime, to secure my spot. The occassion was far more momentus than the Albion moving to the Amex. For the first time in our history the Albion having reached the promised land of the top division, playing the mighty Arsenal.

And..................we didn't completely sell out!!

In fact by season 3 & 4 in the top flight, our crowds fell away to 14/15,000 against the Stokes, Wolves, Coventry's of this world. Our most successful season in the top flight when Mike Bailey was manager & Bamber sacked him, because the crowds were falling away, because of non attractive football although we were grinding out results.

Times have moved on, of course. People now want more comfort at stadiums, there are more distractions than watching live football as well.
It is easy for some posters to say that I know folk who have never/rarely gone to Withdean but will be going to Falmer so our attendances will rise from 6,500 to 18,000. Sorry I don't buy it. Until the missing thousands buy their season tickets then as far as I am concerned its just hot air.

A lot will depend on how the team perform on the pitch, however, the ritual for most to catch one or two trains each way to Falmer, may become waring.
It's not a case of being negative, perhaps just being perceptive in human nature.

The Albion can barely get 6,000 of our own fans to watch the team at Withdean. Don't give me all that tosh about the Withdean factor. There are plenty of seats in the North & South side that are near the pitch; and that was when we were in a higher division than now!! Also our magnificent away support that some crone on about is not that magnificent. Over a season what it averages about 800. So those who only go to away games & not to Withdean, but will now attend Falmer, will hardly bump up the gates that much. Take a look at the home gates of our competitors & you will note when the massive BHA turn up, we are invariably not within the top 5 or 6 highest crowds of the season.

Yes, I do think that the crowds will increase substantially at Falmer.

However, once the intial euphoria is done & dusted and if we are still in League 1 in 2012/2103 then there will be many games that we will fail to get 10,000.

 

[Art Vs Science]

"if we are still in League 1 in 2012/2103 then there will be many games that we will fail to get 10,000"

If we are still in league one in 2103 i am never going again

 

[Steve Foster]

"if we are still in League 1 in 2012/2103 then there will be many games that we will fail to get 10,000"

If we are still in league one in 2103 i am never going again

In the year 2103 I will be happy to watch the Albion in any league on earth!

 

[Iggle Piggle]

No, you're right the station is a LOT nearer - but the location isn't the problem. The problem is that Falmer station and the East Coastway line itself aren't really 'fit for purpose' with regards to quickly transporting thousands of people. Falmer station is severely limited in both terms of platform capacity and in the size and frequency of the trains that can stop there.

There have been several threads on here in the past (and no doubt there will be many more!) where this has been discussed. The railway people who post on here have scotched all fond hopes of extra trains, longer trains, shuttles, etc.

If we fast forward to October 2011, Does that mean we can expect to see threads from Beach Hut complaing that he had to wait 1 HOUR for a train and that ex Withdean season ticket holders should have been given preferential treatment in the queue?

 

[The Great Cornholio]

The Albion can barely get 6,000 of our own fans to watch the team at Withdean. Don't give me all that tosh about the Withdean factor. There are plenty of seats in the North & South side that are near the pitch; and that was when we were in a higher division than now!! Also our magnificent away support that some crone on about is not that magnificent. Over a season what it averages about 800. So those who only go to away games & not to Withdean, but will now attend Falmer, will hardly bump up the gates that much. Take a look at the home gates of our competitors & you will note when the massive BHA turn up, we are invariably not within the top 5 or 6 highest crowds of the season.

And this, my friends, is why it is pointless arguing facts with this moron. The Withdean factor is "tosh" apparently. Based purely on the fact that there are "plenty of seats near the pitch". Ignoring the fact that there is still a running track between them and the pitch. Ignoring the fact that there of course aren't plenty of free seats in these prime areas as the bulk of season tickets are in these prime locations. Ignoring the fact that you cannot park within a mile of the ground and the nearest station is 15 minutes away. Ignoring the cramped seating and poor facilities. Ignoring the lack of atmosphere. But most ridiculously of all so I will spell it out - IGNORING THE FACT THERE IS NO ROOF MEANING ALL BUT THE LAST FEW ROWS OF THE NORTH STAND GET DRENCHED.

That is to say nothing of the creative accounting when it comes to away support. Let's take Orient as an example. We took 1834 fans to Orient. They bought 327 the same distance. Meaning we took just over 28% of our average home attendance whilst they took just 6% of theirs. We took 1333 (20.6%) to Southend and they brought 594 (7.7%). Further north, we took 459 (7.1%) to Oldham and they brought 133 (2.9%). And they are just 3 examples I picked at random where both games were on a Saturday. Showing we consistently take between twice and four times the relative percentage of home attendance than most other League One clubs. Now I am no "financial expert" but these figures (FACTS btw) suggest to me that this disparity is caused almost solely by the "Withdean Factor" you dismiss as tosh. For both home and away fans which you also appear to be omitting from your figures.

 

[Dick Knights Mumm]

Anyone who thinks there is no Withdean factor is speaking tosh.

 

[Iggle Piggle]

TGC. Just to pick up on one of Steve Fosters points. If it's a Tuesday night and we have Hartlepool at home in League 1, 2012 /13, What do you reckon our crowd would be?

 

[The Great Cornholio]

TGC. Just to pick up on one of Steve Fosters points. If it's a Tuesday night and we have Hartlepool at home in League 1, 2012 /13, What do you reckon our crowd would be?

I have no idea as there are far too many variables. But I really don't what this obsession with "unfashionable clubs" is. Rather than thousands abandoning Hartlepool, it is more the case that thousands extra come to see Leeds or Southampton. We are not talking about Hartlepool away, we are talking about a home match. The suggestion seems to be that people will flock to Oldham at home on a Saturday but stay away for Hartlepool on a Tuesday doesn't stack up for me.

Many things will have settled down by 2012/13 such as Season Ticket sales, public transport capacity etc. If you are asking me to conjecture then I would say an average or 14000 with a low at your beloved Hartlepool of 12000-12500. But that is a guess based on instinct as well as current known facts. I have never claimed to know exact figures - all I am doing is challenging the flawed logic of someone who continually portrays their opinions as facts. I have outlined many known facts and reasoning behind my conjectures and all I get back is that the Withdean factor is "tosh". Which sums the man up sadly.

 

[Iggle Piggle]

I have outlined many known facts and reasoning behind my conjectures and all I get back is that the Withdean factor is "tosh". Which sums the man up sadly.

I see where he is coming from if you look at it from a purely numbers perspective but equally I can see the other side of the coin that none of the other teams who have moved grounds have come from such a shabby stadium and there is a very large catchment area for BHA which we are lucky to have.

It is all conjecture as so much of it will be influenced by activity on the pitch. If we go up this year and by a miracle the year after as well, I’d expect we'd pretty much sell out every week. I just don’t think it’s that unreasonable to suggest that we might not break 10K if we are still kicking around in League 1 on a Tuesday night the wrong side of Christmas. The novelty of a new stadium will inevitably wear off at some point as will standing around waiting for a train or something like that (the subject of which there will be many threads on here in a years time)

If you actually cut through a lot of what you and SF say, you are not really that far apart just one looking at it half full and the other half empty. In the Hartlepool example (I have no idea why we have picked on them), you are only 2-3K out.

 

[The Great Cornholio]

I see where he is coming from if you look at it from a numbers perspective but equally I can see the other side of the coin that none of the other teams who have moved grounds have come from such a shabby stadium and there is a very large catchment area for BHA which we are lucky to have.

It is all conjecture as so much of it will be influenced by activity on the pitch. If we go up this year and by a miracle the year after as well, I’d expect we'd pretty much sell out every week. I just don’t think it’s that unreasonable to suggest that we might not break 10K if we are still kicking around in League 1 on a Tuesday night the wrong side of Christmas. The novelty of a new stadium will inevitably wear off at some point as will standing around waiting for a train or something like that (the subject of which there will be many threads on here in a years time)

If you actually cut through a lot of what you and SF say, you are not really that far apart just one looking at it half full and the other half empty. In the Hartlepool example (I have no idea why we have picked on them), you are only 2-3K out.

Try telling the board that is it is only 2-3K when that is at least £60000 a match below their break even calculations. The simple question is - do I believe my reasoning and instinct along with that of the owner of the football club or do I believe a random guy on here who posts NOTHING but negativity so is either a troll or far too enamoured with their own deluded viewpoints?

 

[Albion Dan]

The undeniable truth that the Withdean factor is TOSH. I cant see why anyone would stay away, let alone not bring their young kids

 

[jezzer]

It will be chaos at falmer station after the match and that is all you will hear about unfortunately from everyone unless some radical proposals are secured in the next 11 months.

There needs to some serious park and ride facilities nr the falmer and/or lewes areas to alleviate the train traffic and unless I`m mistaken there isnt hardly any. The amount of trains that can get through that line on both sides in 1 hr is peanuts compared to what will be required. Although on a saturday alot of fans will stay behind for a beer and watch the 5 oclock sky game at least i hope we can, the evening games will be farcical with everyone trying to get their last connection from bton, inc the away fans, they`ll be tales of people having to get taxis home cos they missed their last train etc etc etc.

This is potentially one of the main concerns that could affect the longevity of support if not enough is done. I`d like to know what the clubs stance is on this at this moment in time.

 

[Brovion]

The undeniable truth that the Withdean factor is TOSH. I cant see why anyone would stay away, let alone not bring their young kids

Indeed! I'm a neutral in this spat between Steve Foster and Couldn't Give A Rat's Arse (to give TGC his other name) but the 'Withdean factor is tosh' statmement is just wrong. It's certainly a major factor in my non-attendance at most games.

EDIT: And I notice the people in that photo are STANDING UP! What part of "it's an all-seater stadium" don't they understand, they're all breaking the law, it's against the rules, they should do what they're told and not antagonise the stewards, yada yada yada.

 

[The Great Cornholio]

Indeed! I'm a neutral in this spat between Steve Foster and Couldn't Give A Rat's Arse (to give TGC his other name) but the 'Withdean factor is tosh' statmement is just wrong. It's certainly a major factor in my non-attendance at most games.

Wow - you either have a good memory or are my stalker!

 

[Brovion]

Wow - you either have a good memory or are my stalker!

I just thought it was really funny! You wanted to change your username and, perhaps bit unwisely, put a poll up with a shortlist and asked people to choose. 'Couldn't give a rat's arse' was one of the options and when, unsurprisingly, it won, fair play to you, you had it changed! On the opening page where you see the last thread title and the name of the last poster you'd see things like "Will we get relegated this year? ... Couldn't give a rat's arse"