[Albion] So, we're a big club now...

[Mustafa II]

We will be swiftly forgotten about as soon as we drop in to the Championship, like Swansea and others before us.

Big club? Meh.

Swansea were a small club like we were... their Premier League stint had a similar reputation boosting effect to what we're experiencing right now.

Only difference is... we're doing it better.

 

[Perkino]

I will certainly be shouting "You should've stayed with a big club" at Bissouma, Cucurella, Trossard & Potter et al when we take a lead against their new sides

 

[Bridcutt]

Not big at all. Want a short cut to becoming a big club though? Winning the Europa League would do it

 

[Stato]

There is no such thing as 'big'.* Its a nebulous concept that risks complacency among those running historically successful clubs.

Brighton, as every pundit who covers us points out, is currently well run. Whether or not our relative success on the pitch is sustained is actually less important than remaining well run. There is a small minority of teams that are not one bad season away from relegation and the consequences, if things are not well managed, can be devastating.

All the time TB is in charge or his principles remain, I'm confident that the people of Sussex and their kids and grandkids will have a team to support. That's enough for me. 'Bigness' is a nonsense to be avoided. Becoming concerned about it risks turning Brighton fans into the kind of people who Tweet / ring phone in shows to demand that people lose their jobs because they do not permanently overacheive in relation to their budget. Having dodged a bullet with Sussex raised Piers Morgan becoming an Arsenal troll, we don't want any of us to become him.

All clubs have a unique history** and are of equal value to their community, whether that be large or small. Those that don't understand, cherish and value this fact are a danger to the game we all love. It's the kind of thinking that led to the superleague nonsense.

However, what TB & PB have acheived is, as the OP suggests, incredible. - Literally incredible, in that it's still hard to accept that it's true.


* - That's not to say that teams from Yorkshire aren't 'Massive'.

** - Of course, in Palace's case, that should be 'two unique histories': 1) their actual history and 2) the one they stole off a club that folded three decades before they were truly founded.

 

[trueblue]

We're not a big club. There are clubs lower down the leagues bigger than us because of their fanbase and the fact that we've never actually won anything. What we are, which is better, is a well-respected club, known worldwide because we've basically beaten all the teams at some point that most fans globally support.

Doesn't bother me. Be careful what you wish for. The price of becoming a big club nowadays is either a speculative investor with an eye on profit or a dodgy owner looking for some good PR. I'll happily stick to us being plucky underdogs in touch with the community we come from. It's much more satisfying and enjoyable. Where's the fun in buying guaranteed success?

 

[Icy Gull]

We may not be that big but I reckon we are the club that fans of other clubs worldwide seem to love watching. Any football fan would surely, we are a bit fecking special at the moment

In fact we are the envy of a few bigger clubs than us currently, especially Chelsea

 

[Dave the OAP]

I am in France at the moment and had an Internet problem. Visit from an Orange technician who saw my T Shirt with Brighton and Hove Albion on it. Went on to tell me how he enjoyed watching us and what good football we played. He said he thought the PL was the world’s best league, but had never heard of us five years ago. Knew of and praised De Zerbi and a few of our players. Marseilles fan

Did he say all that in English?or franglaise?

 

[Icy Gull]

Did he say all that in English?or franglaise?

He spoke a little English, I speak Pidgin French but understand quite well. He said it in French

Were you hoping I just started talking louder and ending every word with an O to get my message through?

 

[Sheebo]

We’re bigger than we were, but calling us a big club seems pretty laughable to me.

We’re a smallish club in a big league.

Medium-big sized club. Were small-medium 20 years ago. Then medium 10 ago. Now medium-big. Will never be big-big. That’s my take on us. And we’ve landed at medium-big now for the foreseeable - maybe forever from now (in our lifetimes).

Obviously all depends on how you measure it. We’re the 6th best footballing side in the best league in the world right now though - that’s almost indisputable.

 

[BN9 BHA]

We are indeed a top club, at the moment. But big? Yes compared to Seaford Town or Eastbourne Borough or even Bury or Peterborough. But big compared to Liverpool, Man U etc. Nah.

Newhaven are a big club compared to Seaford Town

 

[Dave the OAP]

He spoke a little English, I speak Pidgin French but understand quite well. He said it in French

Were you hoping I just started talking louder and ending every word with an O to get my message through?

I do hope you shouted..it’s a brexit prerequisite.

 

[dangull]

Since the Amex was built it was inevitable over time that the resources would put the club in a higher position in the pyramid of football clubs in this country than at anytime in history, and off course Tony Bloom has a lot to do with that as well.

 

[The Grockle]

We'd have to spend a couple more decades in the top flight and pick up some trophies to be considered anything like a big club.

Bigger?? definelty, big... no way

 

[CAPTAIN GREALISH]

We'd have to spend a couple more decades in the top flight and pick up some trophies to be considered anything like a big club.

Bigger?? definelty, big... no way

Long long way together long long way to go

 

[kojak]

possibly the biggest club never to have won a major trophy?

 

[bluenitsuj]

No we are not a big club.

 

[kojak]

I am in France at the moment and had an Internet problem. Visit from an Orange technician who saw my T Shirt with Brighton and Hove Albion on it. Went on to tell me how he enjoyed watching us and what good football we played. He said he thought the PL was the world’s best league, but had never heard of us five years ago. Knew of and praised De Zerbi and a few of our players. Marseilles fan

Marseille FFS!

 

[LamieRobertson]

Looking forward to the inevitable bounce of this thread when we're done 0-2 by Luton this weekend

You can get odds on them winning

 

[Cheshire Cat]

It's undeniable that we're a big club now. World famous in football, with fans all around the globe. The BHAFC crest seen all around Sussex, more so than any other club now.

The legacy the club has created in the last few years, and particularly the new fans that we have acquired, will surely protect us from ever worrying about extinction again, even should we drop a few rungs down the football pyramid.

Should that happen - thousands of fans would lose interest, but also thousands would still stick around. Four figure gates are a thing of the past for us now, regardless of which league we find ourselves in.

So while this incredible journey of top 10 Premier League football won't last forever - and it doesn't like it's about to come to abrupt end either - Brighton and Hove Albion FC is going to be the most popular team in the county, with fans all over the world, for years to come.

We have gone from unknown minnows, just 15 years ago we were a struggling homeless League One side... to one of the top teams in the world.

What Bloom & Barber have done with this football club is beyond legendary.

Got to love deluded blind optimism.

We went from (proper) First Division to near oblivion within 15 years (and most of that time we were crap), not that long ago.

What happens when Bloom exits, for whatever reason - age, death, taxes, whatever - and we are sold to some asset stripping private equity mob.

Big compared to whom - Burgess Hill Town and Whitehawk?

 

[el punal]

Okay, we are not a big club but we are an exceptional club. What the Albion achieved last season was astonishing bearing in mind the upheaval of Potter et al trotting off to Chelsea and losing our star players in Cucarella and Trossard. Widely and rightly lauded for replacing both coach and players with improved models astounded the football world. Throw in our style of football and a recruitment strategy to die for it’s no wonder we are the envy of all when it comes to how a club should be run.

So we may not be a big club in size or stature or history but you can be sure that we are the most admired.