Tuesday: a day for a new emotion?

[West Hoathly Seagull]

Yes. Exactly that. You've never had it so good.

Alternatively: there is a natural cycle for emotional change after a stressful event and although people's rate of change will differ, there is a general trend and I think posts on NSC already reflect that. If Hyypia remains in the post then by Saturday I think there will be a far more positive feeling in the air if only because losing again, if others win, would really have us cut adrift.

So, a sort of "so what, might as well enjoy it" sort of feeling, as at the Ipswich relegation party in 1992, or the Stoke game where we were cheering Adam Rooney's hattrick, singing "Rooney, Rooney", and "all we are singing, is give us a goal", etc. I'm using it as a lesson that there are far more important things in life than football, and thinking of all the things I'll be able to do having got my Saturdays back. Actually, now being more or less back to full-time working during the week after a few years away from it, the extra time will probably be very useful. I might take in a game at East Grinstead Hockey Club or go and see Harlequins from time to time.

And before anyone accuses me of demanding success, as I said on another thread, I stuck with being a STH at Withdean throughout, including after 2005-06 and 2006-07 apart from one season when I was changing jobs. In those days it was enough for the club to keep going. This situation in my view is all of the club's own making.

 

[Dan Aitch]

Maybe a rendition of "Apathy, Apathy, Apathy" instead of "Albion........

I can't be bothered with that.

 

[aolstudios]

So, a sort of "so what, might as well enjoy it" sort of feeling, as at the Ipswich relegation party in 1992, or the Stoke game where we were cheering Adam Rooney's hattrick, singing "Rooney, Rooney", and "all we are singing, is give us a goal", etc. I'm using it as a lesson that there are far more important things in life than football, and thinking of all the things I'll be able to do having got my Saturdays back. Actually, now being more or less back to full-time working during the week after a few years away from it, the extra time will probably be very useful. I might take in a game at East Grinstead Hockey Club or go and see Harlequins from time to time.

And before anyone accuses me of demanding success, as I said on another thread, I stuck with being a STH at Withdean throughout, including after 2005-06 and 2006-07 apart from one season when I was changing jobs. In those days it was enough for the club to keep going. This situation in my view is all of the club's own making.

Exactly. Pretty much everything that's gone wrong, certainly over the last year, was flagged here & in conversations at matches at the time.
If we are to judge them by their statements & actions, everyone at or near the top of the club, without exception from what I can see, has been complacent & out of touch, to put it politely

 

[Mackenzie]

My overriding emotion is one of incredulity. I think that the strength of feeling on here stems from the fact that Brighton fans, on the whole, are a pretty reasonable and dutiful bunch especially when compared to their peers from other teams. Therefore, once they are angry, collectively, one can be fairly sure that this is well founded and reasonable. It is also durable opinion, and there has been a groundswell of thinking on here and for several weeks, not just days, about the fact that Hyypia is not up to the job.

The board, Barber in particular, seem to be swayed by the presumption that most clubs behave incoherently when it comes to long term strategy and managerial change and they don't believe this is the right way to go. There won't be much net effect, no positive ROI for the settlement amount required. Clarke for Adkins backs up their claim, they will think not much difference talent-wise between the two and I would agree.

Despite what many say on here about the club, in general I think we all get that. We mostly understand the way the club is trying to play football and what the development strategy is underpinning that.

However, the reason that the majority of Brighton fans, us reasonable hordes from the sustainable omnibuses, want Hyypia gone is that he hasn't got a f*cking clue what he is doing!!!

We, being insightful, understand this. We can see when players are confused, we can see when they don't show for the ball. We can see when tactics aren't working, we can read team sheets and think 'WHAT THE F*CK??!!!!' when he plays a self-admittedly flawed midfield AGAIN, WITHIN A WEEK, IN FACT THE NEXT GAME!!

I'm still angry...

Nail. On. Head. Sums the situation up rather well.
You should think about sending this to the 3 B's. Seriously - I really don't think they get it

I think [MENTION=23842]Scunner[/MENTION] has summed it up perfectly with his post, and I agree [MENTION=22651]aolstudios[/MENTION] that this should be forwarded to the B's.

It probably won't make any difference, Scunner will almost certainly get a thanks for your concern reply....but it is a good representation of how many of us feel.

 

[neilbard]

Tuesday: Comfortably Numb!

 

[Pogue Mahone]

The trouble with Apathy is that it's exactly what those in charge hope for us to feel, then they can go on as normal and not worry about any backlash.

Some may think they are being Apathetic but at the same time not go to as many games as they normally do (this is just an example.) That in itself is being pro-active and not apathetic.

But I understand your view point, after all this is 'only' football after all.

Well, I am feeling quite apathetic, and it's not proactive.

So much about modern football has pissed me off for many, many years.

The Albion always felt different. The war years, though traumatic, were great fun, and it felt good to be a part of a movement that challenged those who cared only about money. Great things were achieved, and the collective sense of belonging was brilliant.

Withdean, though a shithole, provided us with some of the best years supporting the Albion. I introduced my son to the joy of supporting his local team, rather than following some faceless Premier League monolith - at football training he was usually the ONLY kid who turned up in a Brighton kit. My favourite season ever was the last one there, and we were, as the song went, f***ing brilliant.

The Amex was wonderful when we moved in, and it still felt 'different' being an Albion fan. Gus' team continued to improve, and we still had enough local players to keep a tangible feeling of connection.

Then Paul Barber came, and yes, the business side of the club became more professional, more polished...more like everyone else. That feeling that we were different...it's been whittled away, hasn't it? We are now just another big club playing in a big shiny stadium.

All well and good, I suppose. But it's a bit like going to Frankie and Bennie's instead of your local restaurant with it's own character. Tesco's instead of the local grocers. The passion is being replaced by the routine.

It's unavoidable, but that doesn't make it any more attractive. I still go, but only because 'I still go'. I don't know if I will bother so much any more. The sterility of it all pisses me off so much.

And it's not all about Sami. He has to go, but if he doesn't, meh, nor will I. And I will not miss it as much as I thought I would just a few short years ago.

So my apathy is just that. It's not me saying "That'll teach you!" It's me deciding that I can have more fun on a Saturday afternoon.

 

[portslade seagull]

"Hyypia, assistant Nathan Jones, chief executive Paul Barber and head of football David Burke gathered at the Amex yesterday on a day off for the players. "

http://www.theargus.co.uk/sport/albion/11668370._/

Dread to think what the conversation was, probably all trying to prove their worth when all is practically lost
Can just imagine Hyppia stating he has everything under control that we are in a false position and the players don't understand him or his tactics

Burke then advising that he has identified the next lot of 3rd rate players for the January transfer window after spending hours on FIFA15

Barber announcing plans to push sells of the BHA Christmas jumper where you receive one of the leftover pies from last friday as for some unknown reason recently there have been a large number of unsold ones

Jones just agreeing with everything anybody says

 

[Eddiespearritt]

Dread to think what the conversation was, probably all trying to prove their worth when all is practically lost
Can just imagine Hyppia stating he has everything under control that we are in a false position and the players don't understand him or his tactics

Burke then advising that he has identified the next lot of 3rd rate players for the January transfer window after spending hours on FIFA15

Barber announcing plans to push sells of the BHA Christmas jumper where you receive one of the leftover pies from last friday as for some unknown reason recently there have been a large number of unsold ones

Jones just agreeing with everything anybody says

Barber forced Poyet out with an unknown set of charges which amounted to gross misconduct apparently. My emotion today is anger that this situation is not being addressed when it is more than plain to see what is required. What constitutes gross misconduct by a CEO in charge of a football club I wonder ?

 

[portslade seagull]

Barber forced Poyet out with an unknown set of charges which amounted to gross misconduct apparently. My emotion today is anger that this situation is not being addressed when it is more than plain to see what is required. What constitutes gross misconduct by a CEO in charge of a football club I wonder ?

It is pantomime season I suppose and we seem to be the star attraction at the moment, I think most other clubs in the championship are loving this because we are cementing one of the relegation spots so they only have to worry about the other 2. ... Its annoying because you just know Reading will tonk us on Boxing day now after their swift change of manager and we will still have the hapless one ruining our christmas

 

[Eddiespearritt]

My overriding emotion is one of incredulity. I think that the strength of feeling on here stems from the fact that Brighton fans, on the whole, are a pretty reasonable and dutiful bunch especially when compared to their peers from other teams. Therefore, once they are angry, collectively, one can be fairly sure that this is well founded and reasonable. It is also durable opinion, and there has been a groundswell of thinking on here and for several weeks, not just days, about the fact that Hyypia is not up to the job.

The board, Barber in particular, seem to be swayed by the presumption that most clubs behave incoherently when it comes to long term strategy and managerial change and they don't believe this is the right way to go. There won't be much net effect, no positive ROI for the settlement amount required. Clarke for Adkins backs up their claim, they will think not much difference talent-wise between the two and I would agree.

Despite what many say on here about the club, in general I think we all get that. We mostly understand the way the club is trying to play football and what the development strategy is underpinning that.

However, the reason that the majority of Brighton fans, us reasonable hordes from the sustainable omnibuses, want Hyypia gone is that he hasn't got a f*cking clue what he is doing!!!

We, being insightful, understand this. We can see when players are confused, we can see when they don't show for the ball. We can see when tactics aren't working, we can read team sheets and think 'WHAT THE F*CK??!!!!' when he plays a self-admittedly flawed midfield AGAIN, WITHIN A WEEK, IN FACT THE NEXT GAME!!

I'm still angry...

Agree with every word - I cannot fathom what is going on the heads of these people - except a burning desire not to pay redundancy. IT IS NOT WORKING but the club will continue to pretend it's ok. Definition of madness. I am very angry that some of the most level headed fans in the country are being treated with contempt and very regrettable complacency. The cavernous empty stands will be Barber's leaving gift to the club.

 

[Hyperion]

It's not about emotion. It's about facts and the correct action to take regarding those facts. We are shi*. Our manager is shi* and our recruitment team are shi*.

Our board has taken no action. Thus, the board are shi* for not making sure their "customers" are satisfied.

What price the sale 15000 2nd hand cushioned pull down seats?

Aside from that, I can only assume the big boss is happy with the achievements of our playing staff and management team?

I can't think of a period of time where 22nd is acceptable to our club.

I also can't think of a time where the apologists of poor performance feel it okay to pin our proud past to the notice board of failure as an excuse for the here and now

 

[Giraffe]

I've seen the Albion for long enough now to know what a relegation season looks like and this really does feel like one unless something changes.

The fact Bloom has disappeared to Australia and appears to be happy to let Paul Barber and David Burke handle things is interesting. Suggests he has total faith in both. Whether he has the same faith in Hyypia no one knows.

So that just leaves me with one emotion "confusion"

I completely trust and respect Bloom, but can see everything unravelling and don't have any faith in Barber/Burke to sort it out. So yes confused, totally confused by Blooms lack of action.

 

[oldboyroy]

Confused and despondent are what I am but will be following my team at wolves on sat and will give 100% support to them all including Hyypia as it seems he is here to stay and if or when we go down then its the board who will be totally responsible as its them that call the shots

 

[jimbob5]

Great idea about having a new emotion then!

 

[Lower West Stander]

Angry is my main emotion too.

To me Barber's empathy with the fans is totally false. He had no problem making cost cuts such taking away card reward points from purchases except on match days - something which would make little difference to the club but a massive difference to fans, or hiking food prices. He lectures us all on FFP, formulates the club strategy on it and then "very reluctantly" votes along with everyone else and rolls over. He writes reams of condescending diatribe in his programme notes.

Yet when it comes to team affairs, the club is a mess. If he sorted that out (which is all any of us care about really) then we could all put up with the above nonsense - but he hasn't. Success on the pitch is the most important thing - and I think MR Barber has either forgotten this or is just too corporate to care.

 

[Mancgull]

Analysis of performance in a company should be based on key performance indicators. In football, on the playing side, this is pretty straight forward. You look at the league table and see three wins out of 21 games. Has the manager been given a decent chance of turning the poor performance around? Too many chairmen panic and sack the manager too quickly. We seem to be suffering from a lack of action.
The question is why. I would suggest that as Sami seems to be trying hard, and has been dealt a poor hand by Burke, they are giving him longer than they otherwise would.
Unfortunately, I think there is a stubbornness as well, based on the ' intensive recruitment process' they went through in appointing Sami after the managerial fall outs from Gus and Oscar leaving. This could be a very costly mistake as any 'recovery plan' under a new manager will be particularly difficult to execute if given less than 20 games and with no input into the Jan transfer window.
The Board seem to be playing with fire and covering up their own poor decision making in appointing Sami. Meanwhile the fans lose the faith, revenues drop and Tony will pick up the cost.

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

Barber forced Poyet out with an unknown set of charges which amounted to gross misconduct apparently. My emotion today is anger that this situation is not being addressed when it is more than plain to see what is required. What constitutes gross misconduct by a CEO in charge of a football club I wonder ?

To be honest the current season's results must amount to some sort of gross misconduct somewhere within the club.

Time to suspend and sack the culprits.

 

[Eeyore]

Friday

Saturday:

Sunday:

Monday:

Tuesday: Having seen Pogue's post above, a whole new perspective: Soul Searching-regardless of the team position, is it the same as it once was ?

 

[edna krabappel]

I feel a bit pissed off with it all. But there's no question of me not going, at least not to home games. Away games that I might have made the effort for previously are looking a little less tempting, it's fair to say (apart from Fulham on the 29th).

I'm scratching my head to remember when the most depressed I've ever been as an Albion fan was. Too easy to say the Archer-Bellotti years, as that almost goes without saying. I think, for me, it would be a time when we'd already been at Withdean for several years, Falmer was still a pipe dream (public enquiries etc), the team was, as ever, total crap, and there seemed no realistic prospect of anything changing for the better for another five, six years. That was the period when, if I was ever going to jack it in, that would have been it.

Now, it's just a different sort of pissed off, I suppose because expectations have changed. I have every faith that Tony Bloom is a very astute businessman, and thus he must have some reason for backing Hyypia right now. I hope it's not for financial reasons or just blind loyalty (but I remain convinced that Bloom would not watch the club sink out of sheer blind loyalty).

I can see why non ST holders might decide not to bother with home games, especially not at £30+ a pop for a ticket. Me: the Albion on a Saturday (or a Friday, a Monday, occasionally a Sunday, and quite often a Tuesday) is just what I've always done, and what I'll continue to do. It might piss me off even more, but then again so does work some days, and I still turn up for that.

I think my problem is that I've always lived in hope that something better- either in life or in an Albion sense- is just around the corner. And I'd hate to miss it when it comes.

 

[thealbionfan]

Nope...still Friday to Monday feelings for me. I will not be going back whilst Hyppia is still in charge and I am thinking about giving up my season ticket. Have followed the Albion for many years, but I am just completely disillusioned now. This is not the same as when we had no money and we were scrapping for survival at the bottom of the league (I fell over backwards to support the team then!)...something does not feel right at the club anymore and I'm not sure I really want to be associated with it...am sure nobody will miss me, but if there are others who feel like me then we the club may have to have a rethink...