B.W.
New member
- Jul 5, 2003
- 13,666
Perceptions? Maybe. But most players / agents now KNOW we are the real deal, i.e. big players in the Championship.
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How big do some of fans think we are?
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Perceptions? Maybe. But most players / agents now KNOW we are the real deal, i.e. big players in the Championship.
Quite right - weren't we 9th in the country in season ticket sales as well. That's pretty impressive.
We're not big in terms of history, but I would sugest we're progressing nicely.....
mikeyjh
Well-known member
Serious question, why does it matter so much to you lot how 'big' you are, or are not - Don't you just want to win games, leagues, cups and just enjoy the ride when you're not winning stuff? All this worrying about perception does strike me as being a little bit insecure....
*Gullsworth*
My Hair is like his hair
No not really.....we are in a purple patch in our history, helped by a generous chairman and lovely new ground. How many other clubs, with far richer history, massive support and BIGGER potential are all around us in the Championship. We have potential to improve our League status, compromise our increasing support and improve our infrastructure, but we are still a medium sized club.......no bigger than at least 15 of our rivals in our League. If and its a big "IF" we ever get promoted we will be a small club in a pond full of very big fish.
Cheshire Cat
The most curious thing..
We are currently a reasonably successful Championship club. Before that we were mostly crap.
B.W.
New member
- Jul 5, 2003
- 13,666
My primary concern is that many of our fans still have a 'small club mindset'. Thankfully, our chairman doesn't. Nothing to do with insecurity TBH.
B.W.
New member
- Jul 5, 2003
- 13,666
But, again, you are focussing on history, not the 'now'. Agree with the last sentence tho'.
BadFish
Huge Member
- Oct 19, 2003
- 18,223
We are what we are. Endlessly discussing it makes no differnce. The measure of a big club include many factors.
We are currently quite big in terms of stadium and crowds (this hasn't been for long so perception has had chance to change yet for many). We are small in terms of history and success.
My conclusion is that we are big small club sized club at present with the potential to become a big medium sized club if we win stuff.
TBH though it matters little i supported us when we were crap and will support us when we are crap again (hopefully we won't be THAT crap ever again). I am enjoying the ride at the moment but won't let my expectations sour my love for the club and accuse us of underachieving.
I also don't think it makes any differnce to anything how small I view the club to be. The danger is those who view us as too big and start to criticise the manager for not taking us up via automatic qualification. This is what will cause unrest at the club and us to get a reputation as fans who have a sense of entitlement.
I just hope those who think we should be 9th in the Premier League give Oscar the time he needs to get us there.
We are currently quite big in terms of stadium and crowds (this hasn't been for long so perception has had chance to change yet for many). We are small in terms of history and success.
My conclusion is that we are big small club sized club at present with the potential to become a big medium sized club if we win stuff.
TBH though it matters little i supported us when we were crap and will support us when we are crap again (hopefully we won't be THAT crap ever again). I am enjoying the ride at the moment but won't let my expectations sour my love for the club and accuse us of underachieving.
I also don't think it makes any differnce to anything how small I view the club to be. The danger is those who view us as too big and start to criticise the manager for not taking us up via automatic qualification. This is what will cause unrest at the club and us to get a reputation as fans who have a sense of entitlement.
I just hope those who think we should be 9th in the Premier League give Oscar the time he needs to get us there.
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Yeah well put , the gap between us and a team like Liverpool was illustrated with the thread about "You'll Never Walk Alone" the interest in a club like Liverpool is phenomenol worldwide. Oh for the day when GOSBTS is sung by ninety odd thousand at the MCG. Still, we're on our way up.
B.W.
New member
- Jul 5, 2003
- 13,666
What!? Gus' sacking had NOTHING to do with fan expectations. More to do with his self-delusion / HUGE ego, and his outdated view of us as a SMALL club. So, basically, the opposite of what you said.
BadFish
Huge Member
- Oct 19, 2003
- 18,223
His outdated view of us as a small club you say? NOTHING to do with fan expectation you say? The opposite of what I said eh?
Before and during the whole sorry affair there were planty on here complaining that he should have taken us up in the top two and he underachieved. Not the reasons for his sacking I am sure but often the reasons folk said they were happy for him to go.
Anyway just one small, slightly tounge in cheek part of my overall post (apologies i fotgot one of my NSC posting rules)
ExmouthExile
Well-known member
- Feb 11, 2005
- 1,806
Easy Peasy League?
B.W.
New member
- Jul 5, 2003
- 13,666
To be fair, Gus' public pronouncements don't amount to 'gross misconduct', but they were certainly not well-received by his boss (and rightly so).
Phat Baz 68
Get a ****ing life mate !
- Apr 16, 2011
- 5,026
I couldn't give a monkeys what other clubs think of us !!!
I support my local team , not a team that are 300-500 miles away that I have never seen and never will.
I support my local team , not a team that are 300-500 miles away that I have never seen and never will.
It's that stuff Tour De France cyclists take.
Cold Gettin Dumb
Active member
- Jan 31, 2013
- 462
Thinking we are big is a necessary part of us succeeding.
we believed in a new stadium, and got it. Believed in a manager that had burning self belief and nearly got it, but definitely went on the ascent. Its only natural to want to carry on upwards.
think tall, walk tall.
Being 'realistic' in an overall state of mind encourages boundaries.
Ambition goes hand in hand with confidence and self belief or you wont get anywhere.
For that reason, I'm definitely in the 'big club' mindset.
we believed in a new stadium, and got it. Believed in a manager that had burning self belief and nearly got it, but definitely went on the ascent. Its only natural to want to carry on upwards.
think tall, walk tall.
Being 'realistic' in an overall state of mind encourages boundaries.
Ambition goes hand in hand with confidence and self belief or you wont get anywhere.
For that reason, I'm definitely in the 'big club' mindset.
Disagree with you on two fronts. Firstly in the old fashioned sense of potential, we arguably have as much as any in the Championship as a result of having a huge catchment area. In this sense we've massively underachieved in the past. Id say in this sense the only club with more potential is Leeds.
In the modern sense, potential is realised by having a multi billion pound investor - something which could happen to any club.
somerset
New member
Top ten Championship......it sounds an obvious thing to say given our circumstances, but its inescapable that we are at our level but with the potential for a foray into the Prem from time to time.
We are very comparable to Ipswich, Norwich, Cardiff, Swansea, Hull to name five.
We are very comparable to Ipswich, Norwich, Cardiff, Swansea, Hull to name five.
Monkey Man
Your support is not that great
Every club is a big club to its fans. It's really not worth obsessing over where we fit into the grand scheme of things. To me the league position, and maybe the size of the crowd, are the best measures of how much progress any club is making. At the moment both these metrics are looking good for us. And we have a chairman with an appetite for more.
Yes, we could probably imagine a scenario where we finish mid table in the Premier League, and perhaps do what the likes of West Brom, Swansea and Norwich have done before us.
But equally, we could fall through the divisions at some point and find ourselves scrapping with Crawley and Rotherham in League 1.
This club was good enough for me when we were homeless and broke and playing terrible football, so everything since then has been a bonus.
Yes, we could probably imagine a scenario where we finish mid table in the Premier League, and perhaps do what the likes of West Brom, Swansea and Norwich have done before us.
But equally, we could fall through the divisions at some point and find ourselves scrapping with Crawley and Rotherham in League 1.
This club was good enough for me when we were homeless and broke and playing terrible football, so everything since then has been a bonus.
Downlander
New member
- Apr 14, 2011
- 71
Brighton - otherwise known as "London-by-the-Sea". 12th biggest conurbation in England and one of it's most famous and dynamic. Host city for numerous national & international events...... Never, in a hundred years, had a football set up capable of exploiting it's potential - until now! Everything has now changed - thanks to the infrastructure that Tony Bloom has enabled. Big, small, medium? Call the club what you like. Just expect this club, for the first time in it's history, to achieve the success a city like this should expect.