Be honest - are you truly excited about today?

Perfidious Albion said:

C'mon fella's ...this is after all the Albion we are talking about, we are not glory hunters who only want to "sing when we are winning" - Barcelona we ain't , so why expect to be top of the league every year?
The comments about the costs are genuine, but that is football these days , blame it on Sky tv distorting the finances of our game...

Whatever happens today , Up the Albion!

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Giraffe said:

Not been to the AMEX for what seems like ages so yes very much looking forward to it. I shall be packing my half time snack shortly.

But more looking forward to Spurs away.

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Beach Hut said:

I enjoy the game, always do and a meeting the Mrs afterwards so a meal out in Brighton so what could be better ?

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Gilliver's Travels said:

Meeting someone else's Mrs afterwards?

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lasvegan said:

My very first visit to the Amex and I could not be more excited about a football match...brimming with optimism also, 5-1 I reckon.

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Diego Napier said:

I can sympathise with (but not share) your downbeat mood but isn't PB pointing out the harsh financial realities of every club in the football league, certainly all those in the Championship, and not just us?

I know it's obvious but finance really has become the be all and end all. The Premiership has turned into a club, the wealthiest 4 or 6 or possibly 8 teams are permanent members who will never leave, the rest are just annual guests. Top teams buy up so many talented young players (Chelsea can afford to have have 22 players out on loan); Manchester United can afford to splurge £140M on a few players (after their owners take £40 profits out of the business); Arsenal can built a 60k seater stadium and pay for it in 5 years; Manchester City have the backing of billionnaires etc. that it's little wonder that the football world has become so distorted. The top teams employ many different professional at considersable cost to ensure their business model preserves and enhances the status quo. The knock-on effect to the lower leagues is inevitable. Unless we have a revolution similar to that in American football or hive off the top Premier League teams into an European super league or people stop watching football on Sky then things won't change.

Goodness me, I started to feel a bit down too; hey, it's match day! UTA!

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chucky1973 said:

bums on seats or ticket sales?

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NODC said:

I'm excited, had to give my season ticket up this season so this will be my first game of the season.

Also it my daughters birthday Tuesday and it was her that said we should go to the football as a treat for her! Dead proud of her what a great choice

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Guinness Boy said:

And if we actually want to start scoring and winning games we will either have to buy even more of the stuff or move on two brand new players who appear not to interest Sami in the slightest

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Guinness Boy said:

Yes - to an extent - but he was also pointing out the unfairness of parachute payments and that we are one of a few clubs in this division not to get them. It is not a level playing field for us.

It's odd, I try to stay in touch with happenings at the club and appreciate how well run it is so it shouldn't be a surprise how much we lose but somehow PB's statement confirmed something I knew but chose not to believe.

That said my son is now back from training and changing from one Brighton shirt to another and apparently he is buzzing. Maybe it'll only take a win for me to come back on this thread and admit I was wrong

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Guinness Boy said:

I just replied to a blog post on TSLR about the disappearance of amusing articles on the Albion in which I admitted I was neither reading nor writing Albion blogs at the moment because I'm just so damn ambivalent and m'eh about the club currently.

You may think the most depressing times on NSC are the transfer window binfests or when people (including me on one thread) argue about immigration, but for me it was the two Paul Barber threads this week.

Where we currently are - at least in my mind - is in a position where we play entertaining football in great facilities with owners and a board who are the envy of many other clubs. BUT - we are losing £1 million a month for the privilege with no real prospect of this changing in the near future. The fans are being asked to buy more of stuff that we know is overpriced just to maintain the status quo. And if we actually want to start scoring and winning games we will either have to buy even more of the stuff or move on two brand new players who appear not to interest Sami in the slightest (and I don't even mean Kemi).

Or in other words I awoke this morning not bouncing out of bed with excitement but thinking 'here we go again, another £40 spend on a 1-1 draw'.

You?

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