How connected to the Albion do you feel?

North Stand Polls said:

The Lost the passion? thread has indicated some feel less connected to the club than they once did.

So, compared to four years ago, when the Albion sat SIXTEEN points clear at the top of League One, with promotion already assured, how does your relationship with the club compare?

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Commander said:

I've always thought that people who crave this sense of belonging and 'feeling connected' to a football club should probably get out more and see some of the world. There are much more important things than pretending you are in some way an integral part of a football club.

That said, I understand that football has changed almost beyond recognition, and that the eleven guys (over) paid to kick the ball around on the pitch are more detached from the people who (over) pay to watch them in the stands than ever. But as I said in another thread, that's not the Albion, that's professional football in general.

If you want to have that sense of belonging and attachment to a football club then you should watch non-league football. There are some great non-league clubs in Sussex, it's a fraction of the price and the quality of the football is much better than it used be.

But for me, nothing beats a big game at the Albion. When we play Palace or when we are doing well and have an important game, the buzz is still as strong as ever. We're crap at the moment, and when we're crap it's never much fun. Unless you're one of these odd people who actually preferred getting soaked watching dreadful football in the worst stadium in the country, and massively over-paying for that too.

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Harry H said:

I probably don't feel wealthy enough to be connected,whereas at the Goldstone and Withdean I did.

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Mustafa said:

I'm the opposite, I felt incomparably more connected at Withdean.

One of the worst grounds in the FL, we were desperately skint for those 13 years - but the pride of not only keeping ourselves afloat, but going on to become one of the most successful clubs in the country over that period was something special - and that was in no small part because of the unity of the fans and the club, something that no longer seems to exist.

The Amex is a fantastic arena - but this corporate nonsense, the masses of fans who don't really care about the club, the overpaid dross that join our books, it's all extremely unappealing - since moving to the Amex I feel as if the club just sees me as a number, how much I am willing to spend etc. Additionally the thought of spending £40 a ticket to pay the likes of Leon Best or Paul Barber excessive wages is depressing - the atmosphere is awful, Tony Bloom is not being completely honest with us, yet the club continually peddles the impression that it's all bloody brilliant, when in reality we're becoming a plastic, tedious, pointless club like Reading (no offence Reading fans).

After years of campaigning for the Amex and tolerating the tinpot (and very wet!) conditions at the Withdean, I expected so much more when we eventually moved to the Amex. It is my opinion that the club isn't being run well enough, we have not made the most of a fantastic opportunity of a new stadium - we could have been something unique, something special, like our fans always have been and is as much as we deserve - but the clubs' obsession of making the Amex a commercialised family-friendly happy-clappy day out is a bloody travesty, I fear it's all going to end in tears as we drive away the real fans - those who we will rely on in times of need.

Perhaps it's not the clubs fault, it could well be just how football has generally become and it is inescapable - but I have always hoped that The Albion could be progressive, something more - and ultimately become the best at what we do. It's really sad that I was probably wrong about all of that.

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