[Albion] Why do so many of our fans think we are still a 'small club'?

[BadFish]

I don't think you can possibly understand if you don't live here.

Albion shirts, colours, crests and stickers are everywhere now, and not just in Brighton... all of the surrounding areas too. Miles and miles reaching all around Sussex.

The kids playing football in the park in Albion shirts, listening to 'Free from desire' on the phone on the bus talking about who the best Albion player is. These new fans are not temporary or fickle - these are permanent, life long Albion fans that we are acquiring. Generations.

When I was a boy - it was so rare to see ANYTHING Albion, even in Brighton itself, that it was so astonishing it was genuinely exciting.

But, we were a very small club back then. Most people supported the big clubs.

We weren't a very small club back then. By many metrics we were a medium sized club down on our luck. Now we are a medium sized club riding our luck.

I'll ask again why have you chosen first fan base out of our local area and now fan base in our local area as the measure? And why did you change it?

Why not, say, trophies won? Wage budget?

 

[Eeyore]

I don't think you can possibly understand if you don't live here.

Albion shirts, colours, crests and stickers are everywhere now, and not just in Brighton... all of the surrounding areas too. Miles and miles reaching all around Sussex.

All the kids playing football in the park in Albion shirts, listening to 'Free from desire' on the phone on the bus talking about who the best Albion player is. These new fans are not temporary or fickle - these are permanent, life long Albion fans that we are acquiring. Generations.

When I was a boy - it was so rare to see ANYTHING Albion, even in Brighton itself, that it was so astonishing it was genuinely exciting.

But, we were a very small club back then. Most people supported the big clubs.

Back in the days of the old First Division there were Albion shirts everywhere. Five years later we were playing Sheffield United in front of five and a half thousand.

Folk don't hang around.

Call me cynical, but I was on the windswept Northern terraces when only the hardcore were left. There are clubs in Divsion 3 who are as 'big', and bigger than us, when all is considered.

 

[Commander]

I was a bit young to know but I wonder if this was said in the late 70s early 80s. Or by Charlton fans, Swansea fans, Oldham fans.

The fans you are talking about didnt give a shit about us when we were shit and if it happens again they will ditch us again.

Sorry but your big club forever idea is built on sand my friend.

Just enjoy the good times.

I don’t think this is true at all. Leeds and other similar clubs have loads of fans today who were glory-hunters in the 70’s. We have picked up so many middle-aged fans who have young kids and started watching us to watch some decent live football, either as its local and to see some big clubs in the flesh, or because they weren’t prepared to spend hundreds of pounds every time to take them to their historical clubs of Chelsea / Spurs / Arsenal / whoever. Those kids are now proper Albion fans, and a large percentage of their parents have fallen in love as well. I’m sure some would desert us if we went down, as with any team, but I’d be amazed if a huge amount of them did.

I have a good mate who is from Chesterfield and grew up with a season ticket at Anfield, alternating each week with Chesterfield with his Dad, and who has been to hundreds of Liverpool games (including Hillsborough). He moved down here and started taking his kid to watch Brighton to watch some live football a couple of seasons ago. He is now all-in and is planning on going to Anfield in March for the Albion game… in the away end.

 

[The Grockle]

I don't really get the club size complex so many fans have.

We have massively under achieved for most of our history particularly in relatively recent times. In almost all metrics we would sit outside of top 25 clubs in the country in terms of size and achievements.
Like it or not we'd need to spend a generation in the top flight and pick up some trophies along the way to be considered BIG imo.

We are finally taking advantage of being in one of the biggest unchallenged catchment areas in the country, playing incredible football and nurturing some of the most exciting young talent in world football, surely that enough for now?!

 

[Mustafa II]

We weren't a very small club back then. By many metrics we were a medium sized club down on our luck. Now we are a medium sized club riding our luck.

I'll ask again why have you chosen first fan base out of our local area and now fan base in our local area as the measure? And why did you change it?

Why not, say, trophies won? Wage budget?

For most of my life we have been a small club. It was a rarity to come across another Albion fan, even in Brighton. We were absolutely a small club and the whole footballing world would agree - those that would have heard of us anyway.

Categorising us as a small club because of lack trophies is ridiculous - under that logic, Old Etonians FC is a bigger club than us - and they would continue to be even if we finished 2nd in the Premier League consecutively over the next few seasons.

Similarly, deciding that a random Saudi team is a big club all of a sudden because it has a billion pound wage budget, despite 2,000 attendees to its games, is ridiculous.

A football club IS its fans - and our fan base is no longer a small one.

 

[Glawstergull]

The size is irrelevant.
It’s my club.

 

[Crawley Dingo]

There are about 50 Championship clubs. In good years they will be where we are or higher and maybe win a few pots. In bad times they'll be in Div 1.
This is the "Brighton Era", how long it lasts for or how much is won I dont know. Maybe it'll be permanent or maybe we will go the way of Pompey.

I'm just loving every minute of it and am not fretting about the future.

 

[Greg Bobkin]

A single top-six PL finish does some funny things to people...

 

[Sarisbury Seagull]

Because we’re told by our manager in every other interview that we’re not a big club?

 

[SteveU]

All it takes is Roberto leaving, one ill-judged managerial appointment, then one more and we could well be in the championship. Unless you're Real Madrid, anything can happen.

I get what you’re saying, BUT we are bigger than De Zerbi.

He is a quality manager but when he leaves it’s not all over by a long way.

 

[portlock seagull]

Size only matters if you’re small.

 

[Dibdab]

I think it's better than being a big club plastic.

I still think of us a Division Three club done well. I like to think of us that way. It means we appreciate things more. No sense of entitlement, more pleasure.

Never forget the rock from which you were hewn.

And don't forget, Leicester City fans probably thought that they would never be going back downstairs. Southampton too. And Leeds

Plenty of big teams in the Championship. I think it’s fair to say with our infrastructure we’d never be a small club like Pompey even if we did somehow find ourselves in League one again.

 

[The Fits]

Being a big club is about success. Simple as that.

 

[dejavuatbtn]

I’m just glad we are a club. Could so easily not have been. Personally I don’t give a shit about being a so called big club or premier league. I just want us to exist as a pro club for our fans.

 

[Superphil]

If you think there are more Brighton supporters than Man U supporters in Sussex then I’m pretty sure you’re wrong. And there are just as many Man U supporters in every other county in the UK. We’re a small club, and will be until we have a couple of PL titles and a handful of cups to our name.

 

[BN9 BHA]

When I was in school, I was the ONLY kid in my year with Albion things. Now it's rare for a kid to NOT be an Albion fan in Sussex, particularly in Brighton.

I honestly don’t think it’s rare for a kid not to be an Albion fan in Sussex.
Newhaven/Seaford/Peacehaven there are still many kids in seen wearing Man Utd, Liverpool, Chelsea and especially Arsenal shirts.
There are many families that have moved down to Seaford and Peacehaven from the London area, the kids don’t support Albion.
Obviously many more kids in Albion shirts than 10 years ago, which is great.

There must be areas of Sussex well away from Brighton that not that many kids are Albion fans.

 

[GT49er]

Being a big club is about success and sustaining it for 40 -50-100 years. With a 50K plus stadium (usually full) and a worldwide fanbase probably of millions. Simple as that.

Corrected for you.

We're a medium sized club now (maybe top 50 out of 92 over the past 100 years in the UK). I'm happy with that. A mega-million arab state investment and top 4 and a good run in the CL year after year - that wouldn't be my team any more.
Anyway, we'd never get permission to expand the Amex to a 60K seater! Probably wouldn't fill it either.

 

[birthofanorange]

I honestly don’t think it’s rare for a kid not to be an Albion fan in Sussex.
Newhaven/Seaford/Peacehaven there are still many kids in seen wearing Man Utd, Liverpool, Chelsea and especially Arsenal shirts.
There are many families that have moved down to Seaford and Peacehaven from the London area, the kids don’t support Albion.
Obviously many more kids in Albion shirts than 10 years ago, which is great.

There must be areas of Sussex well away from Brighton that not that many kids are Albion fans.

Indeed - there were loads when I was at school, although some 'liked' the so - called big clubs, purely on their name/trophies/ history.

 

[Triggaaar]

We're not anymore... and we probably never will be again.

There's a man who doesn't know what never means


(sorry, no offence meant)

 

[Justice]

Many clubs have been a success in the prem and ended up back down the divisions...
We are living the dream now but nothing lasts forever.

Everton, Bolton, Leeds, Burnley and Sheffield United have all been where we are now and aren't now!
And plenty more then that too

They didn’t have Tony Bloom at the helm