Are you missing the Gillingham and Withdean years?

[Hotchilidog]

It's incredible having our beautiful new stadium, and watching the best football I have personally seen The Albion play in my lifetime. It's amazing watching the Albion play and even beat some of the biggest & best sides in the country. I have always dreamed of this moment.

But it's sad that as fans we are no longer really part of BHAFC like we used to be, there is a less of a sense of belonging. It feels like we are not so much following a football club anymore, but more of a brand.

But I believe that it doesn't have to be this way. There are more fans and a greater necessity to make money than ever before, but I don't believe the club needs to sell its soul & lose its values to achieve its aspirations.

Maybe I'm just not that sensitive, but I feel as much a part of the Albion as I ever did. I really do not see what I am meant to have lost in this soul-selling era?

 

[KingstonSeagull]

I miss watching those cheeky buggers climbing trees up on the hill to watch the games and then seeing stewards chase them... Entertainment for when we were playing crap...

 

[Hungry Joe]

Gillingham? No, hated every minute of it. Withdean? Well, there were times sitting in the sunshine in The Theatre of Trees watching Bobby Z and Co weave their magic whilst listening to the rustle of the leaves and sharing a joke with Clarky and Curley that were blissful in a way I've rarely experienced elsewhere. Then again there were times sitting arse-deep in rain on a freezing Tuesday night against Rotherham or someone when I just wanted it all to end.

One thing I miss on a personal note about the Withdean experience was the ease of getting in, around and out again with my dad. I'm so pleased he's lived long enough to experience The Amex in all its wonder, but due to the time it takes now, the stairs and the crowds he's finding it harder and harder at 83 to enjoy it so much, to the point he's gone part-time and is considering giving up save for the odd game sometime in the near future.

Overall I'm loving the new birth and most that goes with it, but will always look back at Withers with great affection.

 

[Silent Bob]

I never really felt the supposed community club aspect that people hark back to and juxtapose with the club now, clearly we are more corporate and moving more in that direction, but to me we're moving there from a kind of small and slightly incompetent version of the same thing. We still had expensive tickets and it's not like everyone in the ground was mates with Dick Knight or something.

I liked the people around me (that aren't the ones I go with) at Withdean a bit better, but there were some annoying knobs there too. That's about it. Getting in and out easily is kind of cancelled out by the abject crapness of the surroundings, I'd rather be dry, drinking a beer waiting for the train queues to go down then sitting out in the open throughout the winters.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

I meant to make this a poll that showed who voted what, is there anyway a mod can amend it?

Is it just me or are there others who NEVER vote on polls that reveal who voted which way?

 

[BHAZiggy]

Maybe I'm just not that sensitive, but I feel as much a part of the Albion as I ever did. I really do not see what I am meant to have lost in this soul-selling era?

Absolutely. We are no less a part of the club than when we were getting soaked every time it rained. Listen to us now. We're louder than we've ever been. Even the Goldstone was rarely as loud as we are now. Who remembers all 4 sides of any of our previous stadia making so much noise?
Players come and go. Managers come and go. Even directors come and go but we are the ever present. We are Brighton and Hove Albion, and don't you ever forget it!

 

[Icy Gull]

Is it just me or are there others who NEVER vote on polls that reveal who voted which way?

That's a no then

 

[Mo Gosfield]

Gillingham? No, hated every minute of it. Withdean? Well, there were times sitting in the sunshine in The Theatre of Trees watching Bobby Z and Co weave their magic whilst listening to the rustle of the leaves and sharing a joke with Clarky and Curley that were blissful in a way I've rarely experienced elsewhere. Then again there were times sitting arse-deep in rain on a freezing Tuesday night against Rotherham or someone when I just wanted it all to end.

One thing I miss on a personal note about the Withdean experience was the ease of getting in, around and out again with my dad. I'm so pleased he's lived long enough to experience The Amex in all its wonder, but due to the time it takes now, the stairs
and the crowds he's finding it harder and harder at 83 to enjoy it so much, to the point he's gone part-time and is considering giving up save for the odd game sometime in the near future.

Overall I'm loving the new birth and most that goes with it, but will always look back at Withers with great affection.

Pretty much how I feel.
For anyone hankering after a dose of the good ol' days I suggest you go to Yeovil, this season. There, you will get it by the bucket-load. A dollop of semi-rural, friendly fun. A small ground with a mix of stands and terracing.
A good day out but a rarity at Championship level.

 

[Paul Reids Sock]

I genuinely miss Withdean at times. I guess for me, it's because it was where I fell in love with the Albion.

I had my first season ticket there and loved the fact that it was my club. People would always say 'You're the only Brighton fan we know' and would want to talk about the club. It was unfashionable to support the Albion outside (and even inside) of Brighton, but that kind of made it fashionable in a weird way.

When I went on a tour of Highbury Kenny Sampson saw the Albion badge I had on my suit jacket and mentioned that it was 'good to still see there are some real football supporters out there', I don't think you'd get that now.

Now I feel there is an expectation and I have even had a few people question where I was in the bad days (Them not knowing I spent 2 and a half hours travelling each way to see us lose at Withdean) People were texting me before the playoffs saying how we were favourites and anything other than going up would be a let down. I was just amazed we were there and had current internations in the squad.

I guess the transformation has happened so quickly and for me it has been weird going from supporting a club that were the plucky underdogs that people loved, but only because they weren't a threat, to being genuine contenders for promotion.

I wouldn't change where we are, I guess I just really enjoyed the journey to get here.

 

[Icy Gull]

Absolutely. We are no less a part of the club than when we were getting soaked every time it rained. Listen to us now. We're louder than we've ever been. Even the Goldstone was rarely as loud as we are now. Who remembers all 4 sides of any of our previous stadia making so much noise?
Players come and go. Managers come and go. Even directors come and go but we are the ever present. We are Brighton and Hove Albion, and don't you ever forget it!

I agree, I go for the football and the atmosphere, which I love at the Amex, regardless of innumerable threads saying how shit it is (the atmosphere not the football!). I still go with the same people I went with to Gillingham and Withdean so don't miss anyone from those days either. The fact that we have played such sublime football at times just improves the day's experience. yes it's a bugger getting out and sometimes, after a defeat, I wish I could just bugger off at full time without a massive queue to get away.

I still whinge and moan when we are shit, ohh and ahh when we are great. The only thing that has changed for me during the game is that we now have massive crowds and the whole experience is so much more civilised. Some don't like that but as you get older the more important these things become

 

[wilko1]

YES miss the Goldstone a little bit...but travelling back and forth to Gillingham....NO.....and getting soaked at Withdean....NO

 

[Hungry Joe]

I wouldn't change where we are, I guess I just really enjoyed the journey to get here.

Spot on, me too.

 

[Hotchilidog]

Absolutely. We are no less a part of the club than when we were getting soaked every time it rained. Listen to us now. We're louder than we've ever been. Even the Goldstone was rarely as loud as we are now. Who remembers all 4 sides of any of our previous stadia making so much noise?
Players come and go. Managers come and go. Even directors come and go but we are the ever present. We are Brighton and Hove Albion, and don't you ever forget it!

Glad it's just not me then. I totally agree.

 

[Postman Pat]

But it's sad that as fans we are no longer really part of BHAFC like we used to be, there is a less of a sense of belonging. It feels like we are not so much following a football club anymore, but more of a brand.

How were you part of BHAFC at The Goldstone that you are not now? Genuine question, I was too young during the Goldstone years to feel like I was part of it. I turned up when I felt like it, paid on the gate and stood in the North Stand. This will be my 2nd season as a season ticket holder with my son, and having a shared interest with him is great.

 

[Normandy seagull]

Absolutely. We are no less a part of the club than when we were getting soaked every time it rained. Listen to us now. We're louder than we've ever been. Even the Goldstone was rarely as loud as we are now. Who remembers all 4 sides of any of our previous stadia making so much noise?
Players come and go. Managers come and go. Even directors come and go but we are the ever present. We are Brighton and Hove Albion, and don't you ever forget it!

this is a great post. I suppose some of us are looking for the best of both worlds. The present set up with more of the old 'being part of the journey' feel

 

[Brovion]

Maybe I'm just not that sensitive, but I feel as much a part of the Albion as I ever did. I really do not see what I am meant to have lost in this soul-selling era?

That's my view as well. I feel as much a part of the Albion as I did in the days of Bamber or indeed any chairman or era. The Albion is us, the fans. The club officials simply run it for us and if we all walked away the club would cease to exist.

 

[Kosmonaut]

Only thing about Withdean I miss is the fact that I lived so close.

 

[Commander]

But it's sad that as fans we are no longer really part of BHAFC like we used to be, there is a less of a sense of belonging.

I guess it comes down to what kind of person you are. Personally, I go to football to have a laugh, support the local team, see some mates, have a few beers, hopefully watch a decent game and maybe even win, then spend a few hours ranting about this that and the other in the pub afterwards. And I'd rather see us play at the highest possible standard, in the best possible surroundings. I've never really felt like I needed a sense of 'belonging', I kind of get that from real things like my family and friends, rather than a few thousand strangers who happen to be watching the same football match as me. Each to their own though eh, some people clearly need a bit more than that for various reasons.

 

[Twinkle Toes]

It's incredible having our beautiful new stadium, and watching the best football I have personally seen The Albion play in my lifetime. It's amazing watching the Albion play and even beat some of the biggest & best sides in the country. I have always dreamed of this moment.

But it's sad that as fans we are no longer really part of BHAFC like we used to be, there is a less of a sense of belonging. It feels like we are not so much following a football club anymore, but more of a brand.

But I believe that it doesn't have to be this way. There are more fans and a greater necessity to make money than ever before, but I don't believe the club needs to sell its soul & lose its values to achieve its aspirations.

I couldn't articulate those feelings any better. Very well said (IMO).

 

[Beach Hut]

Glad the club is now safely moving forward