The Withdean years

[AZ Gull]

4-1 vs Rotherham wasn't bad. Harty & The Bear on the scoresheet.
Didn't we also have four away wins on the spin (Cambridge, Shrewsbury..and two other places) during the same season?

Five consecutive away League victories in October and November 1998: Cambridge (on a Friday night), Barnet (where Ifejiagwa scored the only goal in the rain), Darlington, Hull on a Tuesday night (where we secured a heroic 2-0 victory despite being down to 9 men) and Shrewsbury. The 4-1 home win over Rotherham was the next match played after Shrewsbury. We then lost at Rochdale.

Happy days.

 

[drew]

I miss the opposition fans from those days. it's easier to like 50 blokes from Darlington who've travelled miles to see their team likely lose at a crap athletics stadium than 2000 fans who believe they have a divine right to be in the Premier League and somehow still manage to be snooty about the ground despite the fact their team plays in some identikit bowl in some dull provincial city

You're not comparing like for like. Those 2000 fans you refer to felt the same when they visited the Withdean and those 50 Darlington fans will be the same if they ever get the opportunity to visit the Amex.

 

[drew]

The Withdean team of 2004/05 was better than our current side, which shows how much we punched above our weight at times.

Not sure I would agree with the first part of your statement.

 

[drew]

I wonder if that is how the club's relative success should be judged? I suspect most fans would swap the success of the Withdean years for those from the 70's.

Very much this. Had Mustafa witnessed both periods I would suggest his view might be different.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Nostalgia ain't what it used to be.

 

[KZNSeagull]

Do you miss them?

In some ways I do. Overachieving underdogs, back to back Championships, the romp to the Championship under Gus.

Ok it rained and we got wet and the pies weren't as good

Never thought I'd get misty eyed about that ramshackle ground but as fans the football was often fantastic or gripping, even in the relegation seasons, no?

What we have now will no doubt better those days eventually I'm sure

Surely what we have now is way better already? There is no way that we would have signed 2 bright young European starlets whilst at the Withdean. Whilst are current first 11 may not currently get the juices flowing, the future has suddenly got a lot more exciting as far as I am concerned.

 

[Knotty]

Hugely.

Obviously, somehow, it was the most successful period in the history of the club - but I particularly miss the atmosphere. The unity and rapport of the fans, and the connection we had with the club and its players. I miss the togetherness, feeling valued and involved as a fan, rather than just a customer being provided a service.

Apart from success on the field, most of it a lower levels, that's not the way I feel at all.

Had no more or less 'connection' with the club then compared to now. Have always been treated well as a fan and a customer because I have always been both.

Much happier at the Amex.

 

[MattBackHome]

All this talk makes me want to dig the Withdean Years DVD out again. Do you know, I think I jolly well will.

No need - just stick 'Albion Nights' on and you are GUARANTEED to see our Leon slouched in his chair, grizzling about how unfair life is.

 

[CorgiRegisteredFriend]

I miss The Sportsman and those Paint Pot matches where it was just £10 to get in. Curry sauce on the chips and being sat behind the dugouts both home and away. Incidently in the first season the dugouts were like bus shelters and made of clear plastic. You could see exactly what was going on which lead to some choice abuse from the fans. They painted the plastic with white paint season two which spoiled the fun.

 

[Sweeney Todd]

Withdean was the Theatre Of Trees. Rocket Man hid in the woods and let off a firework whenever we scored. We made the best of the place. Lesser clubs than ours would not have.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Withdean was the Theatre Of Trees. Rocket Man hid in the woods and let off a firework whenever we scored. We made the best of the place. Lesser clubs than ours would not have.

Rocket Man let off the firework from his own garden.

 

[CorgiRegisteredFriend]

And there was Mr Withdean of Tongdean Lane who was the unofficial traffic police.

 

[Seagulls over Essex]

The Wolves fan who scaled the back of the West stand was an abiding memory.

 

[Return of the Rev]

Saw bob booker about an hour ago!

 

[Buzzer]

I miss The Sportsman and those Paint Pot matches where it was just £10 to get in. Curry sauce on the chips and being sat behind the dugouts both home and away. Incidently in the first season the dugouts were like bus shelters and made of clear plastic. You could see exactly what was going on which lead to some choice abuse from the fans. They painted the plastic with white paint season two which spoiled the fun.

I always wondered if anyone ever did join the RAF.

Tell you what I loved about Withdean - the crowd around us in the Family Stand. Really enjoyed those times despite the footie. Chips were nice too.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Board DOWN!

 

[Hotchilidog]

There was a lot to like about Withdean. First and foremost for me were all the people I met there as it was my introduction to being a regular Albion fan. I enjoyed the walk to the ground. The setting was great too, the Theatre of Trees could not have been more apt. I also miss Row Z, the finest of all the rows that backed on to the woods and meant I could spend each game standing.

Most importantly Adams MkII aside the football was just great. Tons of great matches and when we were on a roll the place really was a fortress. The Cheaterfield home game will forever be in my top ten games attended.

Would I want to return? Nah....I love the Amex and the matchday experience I now have. I will however always look back with fondness and a smile at a really great for this football club. That stadium and the people who attended it made this club what it is today.