When can we consider ourselves a 'big' club

[DavidinSouthampton]

At one point on the radio yesterday I heard someone talking about big clubs in the championship in terms of Blackburn Rovers, Birmingham and Notts Forest.

I think I'd rather be where we are.

 

[Da Man Clay]

When we start qualifying regularly for Europe. Don't think that'll ever happen. I wouldn't classify Leicester a big club for example.

 

[Cheeky Monkey]

I wouldn't classify Leicester a big club for example.

Exactly, Stoke could win the Premier League five years running and still wouldn't be a big club, or even a medium-sized club. There are about ten big clubs in England, and no matter what division they play in or what they do or don't win, they will remain the big clubs. A subjective thing obviously.

 

[BadFish]

Leicester gave us all hope mate

True, they won the league and now are a bit bigger than they were before. But still back to battling it out for the 7 - 10th place. A dodgy managerial decision and a few wrong signings and they will be back to battling relegation.

I am in an optimistic mood today

 

[StonehamPark]

We'll never be big, but we're not too small.

The lady tells me it's the perfect size. Whatever that means.

 

[Doonhamer7]

That is the best definition of a big club

 

[Doonhamer7]

Oops replied to wrong message - should have been one above that said "when people who have never seen us play start supporting us" think Chelsea pre-abramovich or Man City pre-Abu Dhabi. Me people all over the world support them

 

[Seagulltonian]

When we're turning over £3 Million pound a week? (Which would give us a total revenue of £156,000,000 a year )

Just had a look at the following article, the numbers now in football are scary
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/jan/19/manchester-united-record-revenue-deloitte-football-money-league-rich-list-real-madrid

We've come a long way since the portakabins at the Withdean!

Also in these days of mega money and gaining "big clubness", is when we have fanclubs abroad and we're selling a million replica tops around the globe a year, and the "brand" is known.
Plus staying in the top-flight for the next five years would be a start as well of course.
But until then, little old Brighton & Hove Albion from Sussex is a plucky underdog coming up to have a play with the bigboys

 

[Gully Forever]

In all honesty, if we become a team like Stoke and are comfortable in mid table in the Premier League I will probably get bored. Much more exciting being a top part of the Championship style club with the occasional forray into the Premier League instead of fighting it out for 7th year after year.

Gutted we didn't win that trophy this year. That is what its all about.

You do realise that running a club our size in the championship hemorrhages money!. The upkeep for the amex is huge.
We need to play in the premier league in order to stop leeching from bloom.

 

[BadFish]

You do realise that running a club our size in the championship hemorrhages money!. The upkeep for the amex is huge.
We need to play in the premier league in order to stop leeching from bloom.

Yes of course, but fiscal necessity doesn't make midtable in the Premier League any more exciting.

Hopefully we can establish ourselves there and find out for ourselves how much fun it is.

 

[BeHereNow]

Well, out of all the teams that haven't really won much, we get the biggest home/away crowds and TV audiences.

But because we haven't won much and spent the majority of our exsistance in the third tier, we won't be considered as big as teams like Derby and Nottingham Forest.

We are probably somewhere between 20th and 30th.

IF we stay in the Premier League for a decade, keep filling out the stadium, keep the atmosphere and a decemt, support the team rain or shine, have some decent cup runs and win a few, then we could break into that top 20.

Keeping good crowds if come down would be a good indicator that we aren't small.

 

[perseus]

50 points in the Premier League, all in one season.

 

[theboybilly]

I heard a bloke on Radio Sussex this morning talking about 'a small club such as Crystal Palace', and they have been in the PL for a good few years now.

They are not an established PL club yet though. Palace are always fighting relegation and have been saved thus far by managing to be just better than three teams each season. Each managerial appointment is made, not to take the club forward, but to save their arses. The present incumbent has no record of real achievement either. And the Americans will want a return on their investment at some point too.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

When a Brighton player is caught up in a sex scandal published in the sun....

 

[HastingsSeagull]

I don't wish to be one.

If we move to a 60k type arena or somehow evolve into one, having won the FA Cup and stayed in the Premier League 8+ seasons straight, have developed at least a couple of England players ourselves and I can buy one of our shirts in any regular branch of an Asian sports store THEN we'll be a franchise (oooooops big club).

 

[Weststander]

When we have 50,000 stadium, full every home game.

 

[Dave the OAP]

To be fair, big clubs tend to be on history and achievement.

Man Utd and Liverpool are the two biggest clubs.

You then have the clubs presently like Chelsea, arsenal, Tottenham, Man City

Then the history boys...Huddersfield, Newcastle, Bolton Blackpool that sort of thing

Then the Jcls. Leeds etc

 

[Megazone]

Big Club= Plastic

 

[Nixonator]

Why would anyone want our beloved club turned into a conglomerate shitfest of investor groups, asian fans, 60k seater libraries, zero interaction between club and fans, or empathy towards players on outrageous money to whom we cannot possibly relate?

I like where we are now and I wouldn't be too saddened at relegation, so long as we give a decent account of ourselves and are in a better position to bounce back than the struggle of the last few years. Having said that, in my opinion the club is heading for bigger things which should give me encouragement, but instead saddens me that it will soon be unrecognisable to those that have been through the strife to save it.

It's good for the kids, and I absolutely love seeing the amount of shirts being proudly worn everywhere around Sussex nowadays.

 

[dazzer6666]

I don't get this obsession with whether pretty much any club, including ours, is 'big' or not. There's no official measure, and no meaning to it - it's boll*cks. I like us as we are.