Highest-ever league placing

[El Presidente]

I was there it was during our golden period against Wolves in the league when we beat them everytime we played them.
I think the locals were miffed as the result left Wolves bottom of the table.
Missed the fun back to the station as went by car

We won our first NINE league games against Wolves, six in the old division one and three in division two.

 

[kevo]

So no-one knows for sure whether it's 5th or 6th? Perhaps [MENTION=831]The History Man[/MENTION] can adjudicate...

 

[whitelion]

I had a chance encounter at the Great British Beer Festival this evening with the Brighton legend that is the Doc. Sadly, he's no longer a season ticket holder (he stopped when we moved to the Amex), but he is hoping to get to some of the big away matches (can anyone help him out?).

We had a brief discussion on Brighton's previous top flight adventures. Both of us remembered beating Southampton 2-0 in a midweek game at the Dell in December 1981, to go 5th in the table. However, when you look it up, I'm pretty sure every authority says our highest-ever placing during the course of a season is 6th.

Any stattos out there know for sure? I was convinced we were briefly the fifth best team in the country, albeit for only a few days.

Will we beat it this season....? (or ever....). Our highest ever final position is 13th.

How is the Doc?

He worked with my mother so used to come to the annual barbecue my mother put on in the summer for family and friends.

 

[GT49er]

We won our first NINE league games against Wolves, six in the old division one and three in division two.

We should have gone easy on them in 81-82, when they got relegated - we could have done with our usual six points from them the following season!

 

[El Presidente]

So no-one knows for sure whether it's 5th or 6th? Perhaps [MENTION=831]The History Man[/MENTION] can adjudicate...

Definitely 5th


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[kevo]

How is the Doc?

He worked with my mother so used to come to the annual barbecue my mother put on in the summer for family and friends.

I must admit I don't know him very well at all. I just recognised him from down the years and was very surprised to see him at the beer festival in London. as I'd heard he hadn't been in very good health recently. He told me he'd stopped going to games when we moved to the Amex. I didn't ask why (I remember someone telling me that prior to that he hadn't missed a game home or away since a match at Halifax sometime in the early 70s!). He was hoping to get to some of the big away games (Arsenal, Spurs etc) but as he's no longer a season ticket holder thinks he might not be able to get a ticket. So if anyone on here knows him, perhaps they could help him out.

 

[whitelion]

I must admit I don't know him very well at all. I just recognised him from down the years and was very surprised to see him at the beer festival in London. as I'd heard he hadn't been in very good health recently. He told me he'd stopped going to games when we moved to the Amex. I didn't ask why (I remember someone telling me that prior to that he hadn't missed a game home or away since a match at Halifax sometime in the early 70s!). He was hoping to get to some of the big away games (Arsenal, Spurs etc) but as he's no longer a season ticket holder thinks he might not be able to get a ticket. So if anyone on here knows him, perhaps they could help him out.

There was an article in the Argus about him some years back I'll find the link.

http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/8438..._Albion_fan_blows_final_whistle_on_away_days/

Seagulls fan Graham Talbot has hung up his scarf for the final time after following the team home and away for 40 years.

Graham, 63, has clocked up tens of thousands of miles watching 1,025 consecutive Brighton and Hove Albion away games in league and cup competitions.

He decided to go out on a high at Saturday's draw against Tranmere with the Seagulls still perched at the top of League One.

Graham, who is known as Doc, now plans to spend his time following non-league clubs including Lewes.

 

[Vicar!]

22nd September 1981. We went 5th following a 1-0 victory at Wolves, when Andy Ritchie scored a superb goal from 25 yards. There were about 150 of us there (it was a Tuesday night) and we were then chased all the way to the station after the game by some unhappy locals.

Never run so fast. They were pretty cross.

 

[Return of the Rev]

So no-one knows for sure whether it's 5th or 6th? Perhaps [MENTION=831]The History Man[/MENTION] can adjudicate...

I told you it was 5th so it was 5th.

 

[GOM]

We won our first NINE league games against Wolves, six in the old division one and three in division two.

I always remember looking forward to playing Wolves. I haven't looked at current record but I still always think we'll get a result when we play them.

 

[Gritt23]

We reached 6th in the table and we were in our 3rd season in the top flight. For most BHA fans that should have been a sunlit upland, that for the rest of our previous history, had seemed a million miles away. Were the fans rejoicing and praising the management, were they heck. Not content with solid consolidation at the top level, apparently they wanted glorious attacking football to go with it. Murmurs of discontent became a general widespread gripe about the style of play..." oh...its so boring "..." don't enjoy games anymore " etc etc. The board should have backed Mike Bailey. We were starting to establish ourselves. But, as the old saying goes..." you don't appreciate what you've got til its gone " They sacked Bailey and the rest is history.
Just as Charlton fans, gorged on season after season of mid-table mediocrity in the top flight under Curbishley, decided they should be pushing on for better things and got a very good manager the sack, so ours did the same to Bailey.
Be careful what you wish for.

That's exactly how it was. To be fair it was pretty dull offerings, but we weren't alone in being too content to play for draws, which is exactly why they brought in the 3 points for a win a few years later. That didn't happen for any reason other than to encourage teams to go for the win more, and it certainly wasn't only because of Mike Bailey and his tactics down here.

He played the percentages, and it made us as successful in terms of League position as we've ever been. The bizarre bit for me, was how quickly it turned on Bailey. You say Charlton, but that was after YEARS. We seemed to be anti-Bailey within weeks.

 

[Gritt23]

I always remember looking forward to playing Wolves. I haven't looked at current record but I still always think we'll get a result when we play them.

I can still remember being totally shocked by their League Cup Final win vs Forest. Always had a soft spot for the tricky trees, and they were a great side in those days, whereas we ALWAYS beat Wolves, so how could Forest fail. I can still see the coming together of Shilton and Needham(?) leaving the ball to run free for Andy Gray to knock it into the empty net.

 

[kevo]

I told you it was 5th so it was 5th.

Even though the club programme after the Southampton game said victory had moved us up to our highest-ever league placing of 6th? Perhaps we were equal 5th!

 

[hans kraay fan club]

5th in September 1980 or1981 I think.

That record go in Live League Table stats on Saturday if we went 1-0 up.

Only if more than 2 of the 7 games that will finish before we kick off, finish in draws.

 

[kevo]

Finally have the definitive answer to this.

We went 5th by beating Wolves on Tues, 22 Sep,1981. That was our highest ever league placing, although we only remained 5th for 24 hours as Man City and Nottingham Forest won their games in hand the following evening to push us down to 7th.

These were the top 12 placings in the Divsion One ;league table at 10pm on 22/9/81:

1. West Ham Utd Pld 6 GD +9 Pts 14
2. Ipswich Town Pld 6 GD +7 Pts 14
3. Swansea City Pld 6 GD +3 Pts 12
4. Southampton Pld 6 GD +3 Pts 10
5. Brighton & HA Pld 6 GD +2 Pts 9
6. Tottenham H Pld 6 GD -1 Pts 9
7. Nottm Forest Pld 5 GD +1 Pts 8
8. Manchester U Pld 6 GD +1 Pts 8
9. Liverpool Pld 6 GD +1 Pts 8
10. Arsenal Pld 6 GD +1 Pts 8
11. Manchester C Pld 5 GD 0 Pts 8
12. Everton Pld 6 GD 0 Pts 8

The Albion programme notes which said that the midweek victory over Southampton at the Dell on Dec 8 had moved us up to our highest-ever league placing were thefefore incorrect, as we only went 6th after that win. These were the top 7 standings at 10pm on Dec 8. 1981:

1, Ipswich Town Pld 16 GD +9 Pts 32
2. Manchester U Pld 18 GD +13 Pts 32
3. Southampton Pld 18 GD +5 Pts 30
4. Swansea C Pld 17 GD +2 Pts 30
5. Tottenham H Pld 16 GD +7 Pts 28
6. Brighton & HA Pld 18 GD +6 Pts 27
7. Arsenal Pld 16 GD +3 Pts 27

I seem to remember we were hovvering around 7th or 8th (with a potential UEFA Cup spot not an unlikely prospect) until the final months of the season, when a really bad run (only two wins in our last 14 games) meant we finished a disappointing 13th. Still our highest ever final league position, though.

 

[Hiney]

 

[dangull]

So, if we want the club to reach its potential, a few extra thousands hopefully could be added at some point. There wont be many games this season without being mainly full, unless relegation looks inevitable.

 

[Freddie Goodwin.]

Those crowds show how low football had become and our crowds were typical of many in the league. Watching the Albion away was a chore, we'd often let in a goal at about 70 mins and might as well go home as never a chance of us scoring.

BUT....having said that, we had some fantastic away wins. I was at the Southampton game and they were hoping to win and top the league for the 1st time in their history, ha!

 

[Not Andy Naylor]

Those crowds show how low football had become and our crowds were typical of many in the league. Watching the Albion away was a chore, we'd often let in a goal at about 70 mins and might as well go home as never a chance of us scoring.

BUT....having said that, we had some fantastic away wins. I was at the Southampton game and they were hoping to win and top the league for the 1st time in their history, ha!

We also won at Tottenham and Liverpool that season.

 

[Bodian]

we'd often let in a goal at about 70 mins and might as well go home as never a chance of us scoring.

We stayed up though - so, bodes well for this season!