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[Albion] Just how much of a big club is Brighton now? And how big can we get?







Swansman

Pro-peace
May 13, 2019
22,320
Sweden
Define big.

Brommapojkarna IF is the biggest club in Europe... they have the highest number of youth teams and youth players.

Yet some would say they are actually not the biggest club.

There is no real way of defining what a "big club" is. More interesting question is how successful Brighton can get.
 


The Grockle

Formally Croydon Seagull
Sep 26, 2008
5,760
Dorset
I'm not sure it really matters, I don't get really get the desperation from some for us to be perceived as a big club, it screams of inferiority complex.

We are a well supported, one city club who are unrecognisable from the club I started supporting in the mid nineties but we've spent 55 seasons in the 3rd division and never won anything of note. We'd need a generation of top flight football and some silverware to join the perceived top 20 English clubs in my opinion.

I'm sure I'll take some abuse for this post but whenever this subject comes up there's a number of people who need a little dose of reality.
 


loz

Well-known member
Apr 27, 2009
2,482
W.Sussex
The concept of "Bigness" is a weird thing. I think age pays a massive part for a lot of people.

I wouldn't have considered City or Chelsea to have been big clubs when I was a kid.
Regardless of the ownership thing, they are undoubtedly big clubs now.

I still consider the likes of Everton, Newcastle, Villa and Leeds to be big clubs, even though none of them have won anything of note for Donkey's years.
Whereas Leicester seem like a smaller club by comparison.

The idea that we are a bigger club than Derby, Forest, Birmingham or even the likes of Ipswich/Norwich still feels a little far-fetched to me.
But to my Kid's generation we seem much bigger ( i expect)

I was a kid in the early 70s and both City and Chelsea where big clubs then.
 










The Grockle

Formally Croydon Seagull
Sep 26, 2008
5,760
Dorset
Bigger than Palace......

I'd say its close by almost all measures apart from top flight seasons. I think we'll grow into a bigger club but we're just slightly below them right now.

I think if you polled 100 neutral fans 75 would put them above us in size but they're be some ummimg and ahhming
 




Bombadier Botty

Complete Twaddle
Jun 2, 2008
3,258
I'm not sure it really matters, I don't get really get the desperation from some for us to be perceived as a big club, it screams of inferiority complex.

We are a well supported, one city club who are unrecognisable from the club I started supporting in the mid nineties but we've spent 55 seasons in the 3rd division and never won anything of note. We'd need a generation of top flight football and some silverware to join the perceived top 20 English clubs in my opinion.

I'm sure I'll take some abuse for this post but whenever this subject comes up there's a number of people who need a little dose of reality.

Not at all, you are spot on. I don’t consider Leicester a big club and they could hoover up all the titles and European silverware on offer and I’d still never consider them a big club. We are and always will be a small to medium sized entity in the grand scheme imho.
 




CheeseRolls

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jan 27, 2009
6,230
Shoreham Beach
I saw a twitter spat a while back where a West Brom fan was claiming they outbigged us as their club social media following was around 200K where as ours was 28k or something. Anyway we were well and truely outbigged on that measure for what it is worth.

Anyway happy to bore once again on http://clubelo.com/Brighton, which has us ranked 49th in Europe and level with the almighty Leeds United. The rankings are based on comparitive points, win away against a team ranked above you and you gain a lot of points, lose at home to a team below you and you lose a lot of ranking points. Seems to me to be the fairest method of ranking teams, even if it doesn't really account for Pre-WWII league wins, massive followings, or vast social media followings.

You can also get a straightforward ranking list here; http://clubelo.com/Ranking plenty to discuss here on the company we are keeping.
 




dazzer6666

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Mar 27, 2013
55,530
Burgess Hill
I saw a twitter spat a while back where a West Brom fan was claiming they outbigged us as their club social media following was around 200K where as ours was 28k or something. Anyway we were well and truely outbigged on that measure for what it is worth.

Anyway happy to bore once again on http://clubelo.com/Brighton, which has us ranked 49th in Europe and level with the almighty Leeds United. The rankings are based on comparitive points, win away against a team ranked above you and you gain a lot of points, lose at home to a team below you and you lose a lot of ranking points. Seems to me to be the fairest method of ranking teams, even if it doesn't really account for Pre-WWII league wins, massive followings, or vast social media followings.

You can also get a straightforward ranking list here; http://clubelo.com/Ranking plenty to discuss here on the company we are keeping.

That was BAJ/BP (before Ali J/Percy) of course :)
 


GT49er

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Feb 1, 2009
49,181
Gloucester
https://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/englandcontent.htm

Good website.

Club size defined by historical crowds , historical league placings , trophies and current set up. A mixture of it all

No chance anywhere near the size of Leeds and Everton

That website sums it up perfectly. Leeds (13th.) and Everton (5th.) have spent most of their lives in the top division, playing to vast crowds compared to us (Leeds 55K and Everton 75K pre Taylor Report). We are ranked 40th., which seems about right considering we've spent most of our time in the 3rd. tier. Yes, we can move up the rankings, but it is a slow process; moving up 2 or 3 places could take years.

Anyway, the important thing is we're doing well, with real hopes of doing better. :thumbsup:
 






Uh_huh_him

Well-known member
Sep 28, 2011
12,113
I was a kid in the early 70s and both City and Chelsea where big clubs then.

Similar age.

I guess there wasn't really a concept of a big 6 back then though.
Which is the comparison i was (badly) making.

Liverpool pretty much dominated the league, so the concept of a big club was very different back then.
Chelsea were definitely considered a big club, but in a much bigger pool of "big clubs" and probably on a par with West Ham.
Spurs and United had good players but rarely threatened to win the title.

My best mate at school was a City supporter and he was considered to be a real oddity.
Sure they were a bigger club than Brighton or Palace, but they weren't considered to be on the same level as United, Spurs or even Chelsea.

At least that was my impression at the time, but the concept of "Bigness" varies from person to person.
 


Worried Man Blues

Well-known member
Feb 28, 2009
7,286
Swansea
BIG to me are clubs that stay in the top 6 places and often win things, not us.........yet. I still see us as mid Championship side, with a brilliant set up enabling us to punch well above our weight.
 


Monkey Man

Your support is not that great
Jan 30, 2005
3,224
Neither here nor there
football-80-front-cover.jpg

My definition of the natural order of clubs was established by Panini Football 80. I refuse to amend any views or opinions that I formed as a result of collecting those stickers.

That's why Chelsea are and will remain a second-division club.
 


Johnny RoastBeef

These aren't the players you're looking for.
Jan 11, 2016
3,471
In modern terms, and in the context of the OP regarding holding on to our players, club size is purely based upon money.

RB Leipzig were founded just 11 years ago, but are probably considered bigger than all but the big four in England.

They have already managed a Champions League semi final appearance thanks to a wealthy owner with a clear vision. Sound familiar?
 




BNthree

Plastic JCL
Sep 14, 2016
11,452
WeHo
For me it is when it'll be when we've got lots of fans that have don't live in, or have any affiliation to, Sussex. Plus when we're default club for locals instead of following Chelsea or Man U etc. Really that only happens when you're successful and winning things.
 


Napper

Well-known member
Jul 9, 2003
24,452
Sussex
In modern terms, and in the context of the OP regarding holding on to our players, club size is purely based upon money.

RB Leipzig were founded just 11 years ago, but are probably considered bigger than all but the big four in England.

They have already managed a Champions League semi final appearance thanks to a wealthy owner with a clear vision. Sound familiar?

no chance , Leipzig will always be a noddy club. No history or tradition.

Maybe 100 years time they can re-assess that
 


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