[Albion] Who has been the MOST important person in the rise and rise of BHA

[Lever]

My answer is 'other' i.e. ALL of the above.

It is an unnecessarily divisive poll; competition on this topic is daft.....

 

[southstandandy]

Gritt for me - what he achieved in 1997 was nothing short of a miracle which I'm not sure we would have recovered from had we dropped to the Conference.

Obviously everyone has played a massive part to where we are now, including clearly Tony Bloom, but for me Steve Gritt was the seed of recovery we needed in a desperate hour which we have slowly grown from.

 

[Wellesley]

Without Dick none of us would be here.....





and Fanny of course, before I'm called sexist again.

 

[goldstonegull]

Hard one really. I put Dick Knight, because without him we wouldn't have a football club now, but without Bloom we wouldn't have everything we have now.
So both have been as important as the other.

 

[Frankie]

Tony Bloom,and the Bloom family,especially Mrs Bloom,at some point Tony must have said "evening darling,do you mind if I sink all our cash into a football club that's basically going to eat up most of our stash" or words to those effect.

Dick Knight kept the club going along with hand outs from fans and private investors but Bloom transformed a lower league football club into a established EPL team playing in magnificent surroundings.

 

[Crawley Dingo]

Adams/Zamora gave us a 2/3 seasons at least breathing gap between oblivion and Bloom with promotions, publicity and Zamora as an asset. Therefor Dick Knight/Adams/Zamora.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Without Archer we would still be at that cesspit in Hove.

 

[Not Andy Naylor]

There is an important name missing here, and that's Liam Brady, who stood up to be counted against Archer and Bellotti and began the process by which they were removed.

Without him, there would have been no Dick Knight and Steve Gritt might have saved us only for Archer and Bellotti to take us to P*rtsm**th, or Selhurst or who knows where.

So I'd say Brady, Gritt, Knight and Bloom are all equally important. Without Brady, no Knight. Without Gritt, we'd probably have dropped into the Conference. Without Knight, no Withdean or Amex planning permission. Without Knight, no club for TB to take to the next level, and then the one after that.

 

[Perfidious Albion]

People have short memories. One man stood for Albion in the darkest days, .... Dick Knight. Without him we would have died. There would have been no club for Tony Bloom to guide to success.
Actually, I nearly voted for the fans, I would if the description did not include ‘other’, . It was the loud support of the fans from the terrace , being willing to go all the way to Gillingham , that kept it going.

 

[Stat Brother]

Tony Bloom,and the Bloom family,especially Mrs Bloom,at some point Tony must have said "evening darling,do you mind if I sink all our cash into a football club that's basically going to eat up most of our stash" or words to those effect.

Dick Knight kept the club going along with hand outs from fans and private investors but Bloom transformed a lower league football club into a established EPL team playing in magnificent surroundings.

Definitely Old Ma Bloom is the real hero here.

I can picture the scene.

Tony sat at the empty dinner table.
Knife and fork in hand.
Napkin tucked into his collar.

The front door finally opens and is then loudly kicked shut.

"Where's my hoops and soliders" yells a livid Tone.

Ma.Bloom stumbles into the dinning room carrying:-

Milk
A wheelbarrow wheel.
Cat bed
Wheatabix.
Tins of hoops.
Welders mask.
Eggs.
Crisps.
Garden furniture.
Bread.

and screams back at him:-

"If you didn't piss £400m on a vanity project for some ungrateful simpletons I won't have to shop at Aldi."
"And why did you take the pound coin out of the car?"

"Sorry dear - I'll make us some hoops".

 

[Silverhatch]

The Albion story is so multifaceted it’s really impossible to pin the entire thing down to one person. However, the Bloom family play a MASSIVE part in the past 50 years. If Harry Bloom hadn’t died then who knows where Bamber & Mullery might have taken us. Perhaps the magnificent (in its day) Waterhall Stadium would now be undergoing a comprehensive facelift using Tony Bloom’s fortune and Liam Brady, Paul Samrah, Dick Knight, Steve Gritt and the extraordinarily passionate and creative Albion fanbase would’ve not been required to ALL play their heroic part in the actual rise & rise of the club.

 

[Justice]

Tony Bloom,and the Bloom family,especially Mrs Bloom,at some point Tony must have said "evening darling,do you mind if I sink all our cash into a football club that's basically going to eat up most of our stash" or words to those effect.

Dick Knight kept the club going along with hand outs from fans and private investors but Bloom transformed a lower league football club into a established EPL team playing in magnificent surroundings.

Have you seen the video clip with Mrs Bloom? Tony said I’m going to buy a football club and build a stadium. That’s nice dear ….. £100m plus are you out of your feckin mind

 

[Bold Seagull]

People have short memories. One man stood for Albion in the darkest days, .... Dick Knight. Without him we would have died. There would have been no club for Tony Bloom to guide to success.
Actually, I nearly voted for the fans, I would if the description did not include ‘other’, . It was the loud support of the fans from the terrace , being willing to go all the way to Gillingham , that kept it going.

I don't think it's short memories, I think its more semantics. What constitutes a rise? The poll wasn't the most important person in saving the club, or the most important in ensuring the club's continued survival, it was the most important person in the club's rise. Many people were vital in the club surviving and existing, but specifically to rise from being a football league club to a top flight club, it has to be TB for me.

 

[Greg Bobkin]

This is correct

Knight saved the club for Bloom to take to the PL

But that's the thing. The question posed in the poll is about the RISE of the club – that's down to TB.

However, who is most responsible for SAVING the club? DK, without a shadow of a doubt.

If the question was 'Who was the most important person in the last 30 years of BHA?', that's a different matter – and, yes, it would probably be DK, then TB.