1 June 2011

END OF SEASON SURVEY

When we published our end of season survey in TSLR029 way back in April, there were simply too many words to fit into our small A5 pages. Thus, here is the full unabridged version which'll keep you busy for at least half an hour of this terrid off season period which is hampering all of our lives. All comments are initial-ised with the full names being printed at the end. Bear in mind that this issue was published with the Southampton game still to be played so the dreams of beating them for the trophy will have to remain just that.

In your words, what happened this season?

We've played Premiership football in League 1 (CX)//I've been walking half awake, through a wonderful, beautiful dream. (HK)//Everything and no one would have expected it. Thrashing teams, glorious football, winning 8 from 8 in March, being top for a long time - the list goes on (TM)//We pissed this fucking league. (JO)//Well, you could put our success down to the way the management team have coached and instilled confidence in our squad to perform the way they have OR it could be my lucky blue boxers and new wrist watch combination which has been worn since Swindon away on the opening game of the season. (BR)//I see trees of green, A stadium too, Thanks to Bloom, For me and you, And I think to myself, What a wonderful world. We're top of the league, credit to Gus, It's been quite a ride, all on his bus. (BZ)// We got good. Somehow. (RM)//I got spat on and flounced from NSC because we're too good for this league. (WW)//Chas sorted it out and we stuck it in the mixer. (LZ)//We done good (JB)//We've learnt how to play total football. (AJ)//The best season of my life so far - aged 44 so the mind can just about stretch to Mullery (TR)//I genuinely believe we may have witnessed the second coming. Not many scholars would have predicted it would have come in the form of a South American lothario. In all seriousness I genuinely believe that we may have witnessed the start of a very special managerial career. So far that difficult second album has gone pretty well so I see no reason why he can't go on to establish a footballing dynasty that given the right backing could flourish for years to come. (BT)//we all hopped on the Gus Bus and bought a one way ticket to the Championship. (BN)//Best possible way to say goodbye to Withdean (RK)//BHAFC became a proper football club again. Our pride was restored on and off the pitch. (SM)//Good manager, good team, chairman will bundles of dough. (TB)//We found God (Gus) started playing great football with some great players. (FY)//Brighton and it's fans have been paid back, with interest, for the faith, loyalty and dedication shown. (TOW)//Zounds! Lawks-a-lawdy! Yikes! Sorry, I'm not very expressive. And I read too many British comics from the 1970s. (FS)//Getting rid of Forster and getting Barnes in instead was the masterstroke we all predicted. And we always knew El-Abd could play at centre-half in the way Gus wants him to. Russell Slade's midfield of Bennett and Dicker also did OK. It's no surprise where we are. (MD)//The sceptics were forced to eat their words. (LB)//Complete domination through beautiful football (TH)//Gus started the bus, sent it whizzing down the league 1 highway, leaving the F1 Aints and Hudds in the dust and then, once ahead, parked the bus and let no one past. Championship here we come. (SCS)//we absolutely stormed it! (SG)//A miracle (AM)//Football is a simple game - If you keep possession of the ball, the other team cannot score (JTM)//Eeeeees not complicated eees simple we win the league! (NR)//We became unbeatable at home. (TJ)//We signed a few players who gus knew could play his way and the others watched and learned (RO)//It all came magically together (JU)//A transformation, with the exception of some clever buys we are the same side as last season and we are walking away with the league (NS)//It's been Bang Tidy! (MU)//Gus and Bloom (JPH)//Gus football philosophy re-educated the players and fans alike. It was a case of, 'forget what you think you know about how to play football, we're starting again from scratch'. It took some longer than others to see what he was trying to achieve but the results speak for themselves. It’s a shame but we still get one or two unenlightened folk screaming to 'lump it forward'. We've moved on from that. We're playing entertaining, winning football. 'The Brighton Way'. (EA)//We started brightly, playing attractive football, took top position and have stayed there ever since, the football became a bit more back to the wall stuff in March but got us the results week in week out, with only a few games left we look odds on for the title, promotion to the championship and to our new home the Amex at Falmer. (RP)//We won lots of games, Murray became the player we all knew he was, Benno nearly left us, Some waste of air Argies tried passing themselves off as footballers & failed (TMGC)//'Standin' on your mama's porch You told me it would last forever Oh the way you held my hand I knew that it was now or never Those were the best days of my life' (CA)//My wildest dreams came true with fantastic flowing football, brilliant home form, a record equalling March, some terrific away results and our very own Field of Dreams emerging for next season. (NBV)//Two men, one from Brighton, one from U r a gay turned up and took the club to new level, on and off the pitch. (BE)//We got good! (ZY)//We had a wicked pre-season in Portugal, signed some good players, and tore the fucking league apart. (AG)//We played tippy tappy football and blew the division away. And we learned how to win games one way or another. (TSOP)

What has been the best game this season, and why?

Rochdale away - I got to stroke sexy Pete (GP)// Brighton 4 - 3 Carlisle. Much more entertaining than being 3-0 up after half an hour snoozefests. It was a competitive game of football for once. One which had excitement, comical defending, and a last minute, foot like a traction engine, winner. It was the stuff of champions. The stuff of dreams! (BM)//Can't decide between Peterborough and Charlton away. Total football. (DT)//Charlton Away 4-0, some people say Peterboro but they were reduced to ten early on. (TM)//Carlisle, last gasp winner, superb! (SP)//Plymouth Argyle away - decent ground, good support and felt like being in an Aviva advert, what's not to like? (BS)//Charlton away; to me that sent a message that we were serious contenders (RC)//When we BATTERED Southampton at home to secure the league title. It was especially satisfying to see Adkins snap after 90 minutes of abuse, screaming "ONLY IF THEY CAN KEEP UP WITH US! ONLY IF THEY CAN KEEP UP WITH US!" repeatedly, before collapsing in a flood of stupid, stupid tears. (JO)//Carlisle at home. A cracking game with a quality goal in added time to win it. Unbelievable. (BR)//Home - Carlisle - Bridcutt Winner Away - Peterborough - Away Terrace, we were class! (BW)//Peterborough away - good side who score goals for fun and we again kept a clean sheet. (BB)//Brighton 5 v 0 Orient. My best mate supports Orient. (RM)//Charlton, apart from the spitting incident. (WW)//Carlisle at home. Bridcutt's strike and going mental (RE)//Charlton away has got to be the best just due to our sheer dominance. (LZ)//Away v Saints - we saw steel there, we started to believe (JB)//Probably the Oldham game, due to the fact we went to the top of the league. And for Taricco’s celebration in front of the south stand! (AJ)//The away game V Peterborough United. The performance was just sublime and unlike anything we've seen by a Brighton team for over 30 years. (SU)//Peterborough United away - last chance to stand on that famous old terrace, a packed away end, and quite simply a performance that should have heralded at least six or seven goals. Never in 24 years have I seen such a dominant performance against a fellow promotion chasing team. Just simple bloody awesome. (BT)//the home game against Oldham when Sandaza smashed in from 4cm out to send us top of the league. (BN)//Posh away. Best performance since Charlton at Home in 84. Best away performance ever! (RK)//Carlisle and Oldham home. Watford, Charlton, Posh and Oldham away. (MG)//Charlton away. Never before have I seen a Brighton team so comprehensively outplay the opposition. I was absolutely gobsmacked. They were in the Premiership so recently. (SM)//Peterborough away. We were expected to draw maybe lose and a lot of supporters thought a win would be hard to come by but we played them off the park and could\should’ve been 7-0, also a brilliant atmosphere (FY)//FA Cup Vs Portsmouth - pure football lesson against a disorganised, spoilt bunch of whingers. (TOW)//Carlisle. I knew we'd be Champions. We just don't do that. And we did. (FS)//Although tempting to pick Peterborough away or Orient at home, it has to be Carlisle at home for the sheer delight of Liam's goal. (MD)//Charlton (A) showed us that we could believe, Brentford (A) reminded us that standing is good and introduced us to a 10 minute long song that took more than 48 hours to leave my head and the head of my Pompey mate that came with me (TH)//Hopefully Walsall away - promotion & my nephew's first game! (RS)//The one we win promotion with (tbc) (SCS)//Honourable mention for Exeter away because it came at a crucial time and we never looked like coming back until Gus brought on Barnes and went with three centre forwards for the first time (SG)//Carlisle on the radio (AM)//For sheer class, Leyton Orient at home. For sheer mettle, Charlton Athletic at home. (JTM)//Peterborough away. Tore them to bits, fantastic atmosphere on a good, old fashioned away terrace. (N4)//Oldham at home - we went top with an injury time goal and my 3 year old sang all the way home (RO)//Haven't had it yet. (JU)//Bristol Rovers away. Going 1-0 down in difficult conditions in a banana skin game, and still coming away with a resounding victory. And it was the first time I watched a game in a tent (JPH)//Charlton away 4-0 100-1 it was worth a £1. Away support was fantastic (ML)//Charlton away, pure class. Best I have EVER seen us play (MC)//POSH Away. We totally dismantled a very good side in their own back yard in a game they billed their 'Cup Final'. One of the best, complete all round performances Ive seen in 35 years as an Albion fan. (Could have made a 90min DVD imo) (EA)//The Cube. More action in a box than Ankergren gets in his penalty area each week because we're so shit hot. (CA)//Peterborough Away - it was their cup final, their home record was impressive and they were scoring freely. The Super Seagulls completely outplayed them. (NBV)//Charlton away, dominated from start to finish, it was like watching a beautifully crafted piece of artwork. (LI)//Peterborough away; Turning in that performance so soon after Charlton away, spooky! (ZY)

If you had 60 seconds with Gus, what would you say to him?

What is the correct way to pronounce Poyet? (SZ)//This tippy tappy football lark, eeeeess complicated, yes? (PB)//Just beat the f*cking Palace next season. (CX)//What is complicated? (BM)//gracias gracias gracias gracias gracias gracias gracias gracias gracias gracias gracias gracias (RC)//Nothing - my mouth would be full of his cock. (JO)//I'd congratulate him on producing a team which has played the best football I have seen in my 38 seasons watching the Albion. (BR)//Talking makes time go quicker. I would simply want to savour the 60 seconds. Touch his hand. Take in his smell. Look into those mysterious eyes. (BZ)//Nothing. I would be too busy licking him to see what he tastes of. (RM)//1) Will you marry me? 2) Chris Holroyd. Diego Arismendi. What the hell were you thinking? (WW)//How do you do it? (RE)//I have had 60 seconds with Gus, and it was ‘Can i have a Photo please Sir!’ (AVS)//1. Thank you 2. Thank you 3. Thank you (JB)//I love u, but acting on it iz complicated. (SSLC)//Thank you and keep up the good work. And then probably invite him over to my house for a romantic dinner. (AJ)//I love you, please stay with us forever. (SD)//Can you give me some coaching tips for my Under 9's team! (SU)//SAY to him? We would do something else twice! (BT)//I've been banging them in for my 5-a-side team this year, any chance of a run out in the championship? (BN)//Buy seven new quality players during the summer. (TB)//Here is a 10 year contract...please sign here. (ABS)//Thank you for delivering a great team at such a great time...and if you go anywhere I'll send the boys round! (TOW)//Nothing. Never meet your heroes. Especially when they're quite difficult to understand. (FS)//What is the point of having Chris Holroyd on the bench? No, its not complicated, it's very simple - he is no good. (MD)//Don't visit Eva Petulengro. She'll give you crap predictions for next season. (SCS)//Wanna go for a pint? I'm paying. (N4)//Hola Gus. Me llamo el jackal. Queres tu una otra cerveza, caballero? Quero jugar en tu equipo. Es posible? Tengo un pie derecho de dios! Por favor mi amigo, es buen idea. Gracias por tu tiempo. (TJ)//I love you, please also keep Gary Dicker as he's fit. (MU)//You are a total legend, and have turned this club around while playing total football!! (TP)//I would rather the question was 'If you had 60 seconds with Gus, what would you DO to him?' (JPH)//Do you have naked pictures of your wife? Wanna buy some? (MI)//I love you gus will you marry me we could have a civil ceremony (GD)//Gus you are a god, you have done the unthinkable, created a team which play attractive football and are a joy to watch and support (RP)//Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Erm give Glenn Murray whatever he wants (TMGC)//¿cuál es su galleta preferida (CA)//Thank you for showing us the beautiful game can be played in English football. (TDCH)//I would tell him I loved him, and then do literally anything he asked. Anything. (SM)//Don't EVER leave the south coast. (CH95)//Hola Gus, don't you dare even think about ever leaving us. Give the Horse a one year deal. (AG)

What are you going to do for the first game of next season?


I shall be flying from Toronto and will hopefully be in attendance at The Amex. (PB)//try and behave (GP)//Probably sit there quietly, and be totally overwhelmed. (HK)//Spend ages on trying to work out how to use the oyster card thing to buy some noodles and a bottle of coke, maybe strut my stuff down the catwalk in the new club shop, then cry at how ridiculously good our new home is. Then have a moan about how our passing game won’t work in the Championship. (BM)//Tightly hold my children’s hands and show them what a proper home crowd at the team we love looks like - oh and cry. (RG)//Get to the amex early and have a good nose round, then retire to the bar and get slowly pissed. (TM)//Our group will walk from the site of the Goldstone to Falmer. Don't wish to be part of a big walk attracting the media, just a symbolic gesture. (BR)//Wake up like a kid at Christmas, suck in the atmosphere, and enjoy Falmer! (BW)//Blub like a baby probably. (PMB)//Lament the fact our new ground is out of town. (RM)//Moan? (WW)//Walk over the hills to see the stadium in all its glory. And cry a lot. (RE)//Open up the Champagne that has been on ice 14 years (AVS)//I'm not going to get too drunk...I want to remember everything. (LZ)//Get emotional (PS)//1901 - G&T and prawn sarnies. I don't like gin or prawns but I don't care! (JB)//Have a wank in the norf stand toilets (SSLC)//Savour the fact that I am able to watch the first game at the new stadium. Many didn’t live to see that day, my mother included (BG)//I'll be in bits (TR)//Feel like I was 8 again on Xmas morning. (RK)//If I get a ticket - probably teary-eyed in the stands. If I don't - probably teary-eyed at home. (SM)//Head to the goldstone, our old drinking haunts of the Hove Park Tavern, The Exchange before heading to the Bloom'in marvelous Amex. (ABS)//Prepare the normal way and enter the ground with my grandad whose been taking me for 10years and see my first game of us at our real home as my first was in 2000 and sing my heart out for 90 minutes (FO)//Pub - Train - East Concourse Bar - Cry - Game - Bar - Train - Pub. Just hope my 13yr old daughter and 9yr old son can get me home ok. (FS)//Get to the Supporters' Bar as early as possible. And leave late. (LB)//Get a ticket! Or sulk! (RS)//Sit down in front of my computer and weep tears of frustration that I can't be at the Amex. (SCS)//Arrive a little earlier than I have been for the Withdean. Very possibly indulge in some on site alcohol sales. (DR)//Get the train down from Dorking with my Dad, get to the ground early, probably buy the new shirt, get in the ground and sample some real Ales. (N4)//Be in Italy. But can't wait for the other 22 games travelling from Doncaster. (MU)//Watch us lose 2-0 to Barnsley from my North Stand perch (JPH)//Play cricket (ML)//Go to it (MC)//sit in my west stand seat behind Gus’s dugout (I’m not stalking him) probably get there 3-4 hours before kick off to make sure i don’t miss any of this historic occasion (GD)//Turn up as early as possible, Try and work a nice arse groove in my new padded seat. (TMGC)//Turn up at 9am and leave a trail of drool all around the ground and up to my seat, watch Gary Hart and Kerry Mayo score the first goals at the Amex, then get splattered. (AG)//Sing in a manner that would make the Go Compare bloke sound like The Horse Whisperer (TSOP)

What do you hope is going to happen at the Amex opening ceremony?


Crystal Palace will burn down (GP)//That they shoot Archer and Bellotti out of Cannons (CX)//Keith Chegwin and Timmy Mallett whipping the crowd up into a mild frenzy of a Mexican wave and massive foam hand waving, whilst Mark McGhee and Leon Knight fight it out to the death in the centre circle in inflatable fat sumo suits. (BM)//Brass band blaring out GOSBTS. That it’s done with class; no American razzmatazz, no screaming PA loon. The crowd will make enough noise on its own. (DT)//Fatboy Slim, into Sussex by the Sea by the Royal Marines Marching band followed by us walking out of the tunnel to the loudest noise ever heard (RG)//Diana Ross Missing a penalty to symbolise this current season for us (BS)//Free booze for everyone! (AR)//The age of Gully's Girls is upped to a minimum of 18 to stop me feeling ‘confused’. (RM)//Hopefully they will play a game of football. (PS)//I should put the hurt and anger behind me now - but why don't we build a bonfire. (TR)//We lure Messrs Bellotti and Archer back to rejoice in the splendour of our new surroundings and then in a ceremony akin to the Ashes bail burning we light a funeral pyre in the centre circle and the team inhale the smoke, from which they grow strength and go on to win the Championship in style. Revenge and redemption all in one. (BT)//Gully's Girls do a nude show. (TB)//Bill Archer on a Stick and Dick Knight, Martin Perry & TB get the prolonged ovation they so rightly deserve (TOW)//GOSBTS played by a proper military band; miked up and banging out over the mega-wattage-tannoy. And Attila plays some 'Dexys' - preferably 'There There My Dear'. (FS)//Maybe a bonfire with certain individuals on the top and in the middle would be nice. (MD)//I just hope my bladder holds out. (LB)//There's no way they'd sanction the burning of effigies, so I don't think it'll happen (TH)//We get an automatic pass to the Premiership (then I can watch us live on TV every week) (SCS)//Every person who made it possible, through all those years of shit, get the full appreciation from the fans that they deserve. Either that or Jo from the Gully Girls gets her bangers out. (N4)//GOSBTS slowly! (NR)//Gully's head will explode. (TJ)//Rename it Falmer. (MU)//Costa v Watts. Mud wrestling (JPH)//Tony Bloom will hand out free Champagne (MI)//Gus says yes lol. Hopefully, watch a top level premiership team get taken apart by our superb title winning side (GD)//Diana Ross scores the penalty this time. She’s as bad as our lot! (EA)//Dancing girls, old team’s players and tony bloom paraded around. The man is our saviour along with Dick knight and a host of other unsung heroes. (RP)//A bare arsed paddling of Bellotti & Archer on the centre spot. And the unveiling of a statue of the clay head from Lionel Ritchie’s 'Hello' video (TMGC)//Nigel Adkins and Alan Pardew will join Gully's Girls in a routine to the tune of the Only Way is Up by Yazz (BE)//A Beijing-esque opening ceremony culminates in the launch of a rocket that is launched by a lit Dick Knight fart which destroys Selhurst Park (AG)//A giant papier mache seagull will burst open to reveal Gully's Girls dancing to Steve Miller Band's Fly Like An Eagle but with the lyrics changed for obvious reasons (TSOP)

Withdean was alright huh? What was your favourite game at the ground?


Chesterfield 1-0. Or Leicester 3-2. Or Carlisle the other week. (HK)//Withdean has been brilliant to us, for all its flaws, it has hosted the most successful era of football I have watched in 24 years of going. Three automatic promotions, and the play offs in 2004, but my favourite game was still the first one. Brighton 6-0 Mansfield. It meant that I never had to sit on a double decker bus to Gillingham ever again in my life. (BM)//Swindon play-off win. We either had excellent home records, or atrocious. No middle ground. (DT)//Although obvious it has to be the Swindon play off semi. Soaking wet and very, very happy. (RG)//Tough one. For me personally probably Man City at home, tho Carlisle this season came close and Chesterfield Cullip header. (TM)//Steward Baiting (BS)//’Well the 30 minutes are almost up, Swindon fans...but you're not there yet. In it goes..! OH IT'S GONE IN! Brighton, in added-on time, have snatched the goal through Virgo! Incredible! Once again there is late, late, late drama in the play-offs!’ (JO)//I'll have to go for the Swindon game. When all was lost, feeling thoroughly pissed off and soaked to the skin, up stepped Adam Virgo. To coin a phrase, marvellous scenes. Made all the more better as I was able to share it with my then nine year-old daughter. (BR)//The 'cupset' against Man City was excellent. The 4-0 drubbing of Watford and news filtering through that Palace had scored, giving us hope of a great escape, was a wonderful experience. I'm going to go with the Mansfield Town. Back in Brighton. Our future looking brighter. Local boy bags a hat-trick and there was finally a buzz. (BZ)/1st Jan 2011 5-0 win over Orient - relentless. (BB)//Presuming you want something other than 6-0 first game/Swindon Play Off/Chesterfield title win, I'll opt for playing Wolves off the park, 4-1. OGH - class act! (WW)//Carlisle 4-3 was superb. I blew my load when Bridcutt smashed in the winner. (LZ)//The 8-0 cup match. I remember Joe Gatting being brought on - I think we were already 6 up, Gatts of course missed an open goal. The bloke behind me shouted ‘You only get one chance!’ (TR)//On a selfish note it would have to be the 6-2 game against Torquay United. I had lost my mum the day before after a long battle with illness and the Albion were the perfect tonic. (BT)//1. Chesterfield - Seeing a Brighton captain lift a trophy for the first time was unbeatable and unforgettable. 2. Bristol City - Never gone more berserk at a goal. 3. Swindon - But came close with Virgo's. (MG)//Tough question - I'm hoping it will be Southampton in a few weeks. (SM)//Swindon in the play-off final. An emotional rollercoaster of high's and lows. (ABS)//Cheaterfraud at home, Danny Cullip, brown envelopes everywhere and the win that made us Champions, irrespective of the Crooked Spireites' ludicrously lenient points deduction. Justice. (MD)//Stuffing Sunderland and the NSC match sponsors being told by Martin Perry to sit down and keep quiet. The Sunderland directors were delightfully gracious to us. (LB)//Possibly v Leicester when we were 2-0 down, Or beating Chesterfield/Reading. But most likely when we beat the world's richest club. (DR)//Albion 1-2 Swindon Town...Albion win on pens. 'Nuff said! (JTM)//Chesterfield on that tuesady/wed night. Danny Cullip header, 1-0 win that made sure we won the League regardless of their points deduction. The South Stand shook like never before when that ball went in. (N4)//This season Orient, in total Man City! (NR)//Northwich Victoria, first round of the FA cup 2006. (NS)//Man City. However, I was in the away end. (MU)//Not the full game but the end of the '04 Swindon playoff semi final second leg was the mutts. Virgos header and the pens! Awesome! (EA)//Beating Cheaterfield - Cullip's bullet header, putting their supporters in their place and making our rightful claim for the first of the Withdean trophies. Closely followed by the Swindon Play-Off Semi 2nd Leg, in the lashing rain and looking dead and buried - Virgs we salute you! (NBV)//The Swindon play-off game. By far and away the best 2-1 defeat that I got drenched watching ever. (SM)//The Chesterfield title game, i watched it from the trees (ZY)//Man City Cup win, or last day survival win under Russell Salad (TSOP)

Oh god, Withdean was awful! What was the worst game you ever saw there and why?


The 1999 match against Chester where we capitulated two goals late in the match to turn a win into a loss. The next day I flew to NZ (no causal link though). (SZ)//2006. Losing 5-1 to Stoke. I flew from Toronto to attend a game that Mark McGhee deemed meaningless. It wasn't meaningless to me or anyone else, you dour Scottish twat. (PB)//The 0-1 defeat to Walsall's 9 men. Sake. (HK)//September 20th 2008. Brighton 0 - 1 Walsall. Walsall down to 9 men after 30 mins. We suffer the humiliation of them scoring, then it was 45 minutes of Matt Richards crossing the ball, Clayton Ince catching it, wasting time, then kicking the ball up to Tommy Elphick. He would then kick it out wide to Matt Richards, who would cross the ball where Clayton Ince would catch it, time waste and kick the ball up to Tommy Elphick. (BM)//Rochdale 4-3 defeat in the first season. Soaked. (DT)//The Prosser Sheffield United game was a shocker (RG)//Rochdale at home, 4-3 defeat in the wind, rain and cold and had a broken wrist, that's another story for another day mind. (BS)//Ipswich when we stayed up; playing the high ball to a 5 ft 2 striker all alone up front; I thought i was going to have a heart attack the tension was so great (RC)//Tricky. Either the game where Hinshelwood scored a spectacular own goal or, and this one probably edges it, the game where Elphick got a second yellow then Hawkins came on and got an immediate red. Horrible. (BR)//Too many to pick one! But if you put a gun to my head Palace, when they got the last min winner. (AR)//Any game when it rained and I was in the South stand. (BB)//When we lost to Stoke 5v1 (I think). Not the worst game of football and made better by being shown on TV HARRANGING Mark McGhee. Oh and Doug Loft scored. Other than that it was shit though. Proper shit. (RM)//The game after Sussex won at Lords. McGhee's last Withdean home game, everyone in the ground hungover, lost 4-0 I think. Shite. (WW)//Too many to mention (AVS)//They all fade into one... Mansfield 1-3 loss in the FA Cup just about wins it. (LZ)//Play-off game v Swindon (SD)//Watching us lose against Southampton and play so badly when we got relegated from the Championship. (SU)//I should say Sheffield United, sorry Phil Prosser 4 Albion 2, but it gets edged out by the very sorry performance against Stoke City and one Adam Rooney. Our "defence" made him look like Wayne Rooney that day. (BI)//This season, Brighton 0-0 Woking, in the cold and the rain. I’d rather have a double hernia than watch that again (BN)//There are a few. Doncaster at home during Wilkins' first season in charge (with the weird retro kit) stands out, as does defeat against 9-man Walsall. 1-1 draw against Luton in the pissing rain. 0-0 against Orient on New Years Day last year. Dread to think how much money I've spent watching some of those. (SM)//Hereford (0-0) bloody boring (SA)//Getting beat 4-0 a coupla seasons ago [the Great Escape] with my son BEGGING us to leave. Can't remember who it was; Hartlepool[s]? (FS)//Losing 4-0 to Crewe in Micky Adams' 2nd spell rates up there for me but there are so many to choose from. (MD)//Boxing Day 2005, QPR, went with my Mum, which was nice, but saw Charlie Oatway's leg break right in front of us, which was horrible. (TH)//The Stoke 5-1 loss... abject. (JTM)//Orient in league cup! (NR)//Oldham 24/10/2009 2:0 Defeat, because we were just plain awful. (TJ)//Millwall defeat Xmas/new year. We lost 2-1 and it was freezing (RO)//Pick any one from Micky's 2nd coming. (JU)//Sheffield United October 2006, sinking to our eleventh straight defeat, then the next game was... well... (NS)//Probably losing to Mansfield in the FA cup while Dean Wilkins was in charge, dire performance but the following 2 seasons at home weren’t exactly anything to write home about (TP)//McGhee, lose, rain (JPH)//One wet Tuesday night when we lost to Lincoln. Awful. (RP)//At the tail end of McGhee's reign we played Crewe & it was like no one cared. The crowd was shit, Performance shit. Only redeeming feature of the day was some guy having a shouting match with old pints a after the match (TMGC)//Stockport. Hawkins. 22.08.09. (CA)//Quite a few to choose from! The Prosser Sheffield Utd game, Palarse with that last minute goal, Wigan hammering us (I missed the first 2 goals queuing to get in!). (NBV)//Jan 1st a few years ago, we lost 1-0 to Southend. I could barely see, partly due to the hangover and partly because we'd bought our seats online and it turned out they were practically in Preston Park bowls club. (BE)//We lost 1-0 to MK dons in the Slade era, was an awful game, no atmosphere and an attendance of around 4000 (CH95)// I'll plump for that Stockport Hawkins cameo, 4-2 to Stockport. (AG)

What was the funniest thing you ever saw at Withers?


Colin Hawkins own goal against Hartlepool. It will forever be part of Albion folklore for the rest of time. A text book diving header if ever there was one. (BM)//Steve McMahon, Blackpool manager, going really red and then getting sent off on a very sunny day (RG)//THAT pitch invasion at the Man City game by our disabled colleagues. (TM)//Standing behind Laurie Sanchez when he was managing someone in the JPT, he had a long trench type coat on, hands in pockets, we were chanting Dirty old man. He turned round and gave us a wave. (SP)//The away fans having to watch from Hove (RC)//Tricky. Either the game where Hinshelwood scored a spectacular own goal or, and this one probably edges it, the game where Elphick got a second yellow then Hawkins came on and got an immediate red. Hilarious. (JO)//The wheelchair pitch invader against City and Russell Slade joining in with the "He's got no hair" song following another pitch invasion after the Stockport game at the end of the 08/09 season when we stayed up. Very amusing. (BR)//Colin Hawkins (BW/BN)//The ring a roses goal celebration a few years back was funny but cringeworthy. The Gary Hart miss in the one of the last games of the season last year (or was it the year before) was pretty funny too but I guess seeing a bloke in a wheelchair invade the pitch after the Man City game tops the list. (PMB)//Nathan Jones being outpaced by a squirrel. Nah, scratch that. The mobility scooter invading the pitch after the Man City game. (BZ)//Watford fan shouting homophobic abuse at us after we'd beaten them only to have no come back when we pointed out that their ex-chairman and most famous fan is Elton John. I thought he was going to explode trying to think of a come back. (AR)//Colin Hawkins's own goal; Mark McCammon dribble the ball into the corner from the half way line despite us losing at the time; Seb Carole come to take a corner vs Palace and scuff it. Admittedly, not THAT funny at the time. (RM)//Colin Hawkins is only narrowly beaten by Andy Petterson falling arse over tit against Gillingham. (WW)//The guy behind me standing up and clapping the linesman every terrible decision. (RO)//Someone walking up to the top row in the south stand with his burger and chips finely balanced only for him to slip arse over tit on the last step and throw the food all over himself (AVS)//Kanu trying to close down our centre backs whilst they just played one-two's between each other. (AJ)//The Swindon fans' faces after the play-off game (SD)//Watching Tommy Mooney's missed penalty and all of us singing ‘Hit the Bar’ (SU)//The big brown envelope against Chesterfield will take some beating. (BT)//Mike Newell getting sent off. (RK)//McGleish went off on crutches last season right in front of the South stand. You could see he was dreading the long trudge off the pitch and the banter between him and the fans was (for once) quite good-natured in this case. (SM)//A team mascot that was about seven feet tall. (TB)//Peter Ward missing a penalty twice in a testimonial and to hear he shot he missed is Peter Ward pissed? (FO)//The catering! (TOW)//Gus calling the fourth official Danny DeVito at the Notts County game a couple of weeks ago. (FS)//My mate's face when he found out he'd won Heroes & Winners but the prize was Groundsman for the Day. (MD)//My 3 year old daughter at Kerry Mayo's testimonial thinking everyone was chanting seagulls because there were lots of birds flying around (TH)//One early season game in the early years, a drunk trying to climb to his seat and falling over everyone and everything. How the stewards let him get away with it I will never know. And then he slept through the entire game (I know because he was snoring right in front of me) (SG)//The brown paper bag being passed over our heads in the South Stand during the Chesterfield game. (N4)// Charlie Oatway. (TJ)//The hole appearing on the pitch in the home game against Hartlepool (RO)//Alan Pardew's face. (JU)//Warren Aspinall's first game. (NS)//Linesman falling over normally do the trick for me, although Gus' not watching penalties routine is also quite entertaining. (TP)//The wheelchair pitch invasion which resulted in the offender being wheeled away by a steward (JPH)//A one legged man get removed by the stewards, took them ages once he removed his false leg and sat on the steps (MI)//Mark McCammon flooring Danny Shittu into the sand pit (MC)//Darren Freeman lifting his shirt on millennium day to wish everyone a Happy New Year (GD)//Wheelchair man vs Citeh in the League Cup. (TMGC)/Stockport. Hawkins. 22.08.09. (CA)//The looks on the Swindon fans faces after we mugged them in the Play Offs. (NBV)//Agdestein, Kaz and the Horse when they were paraded not long after having signed. They looked like they'd walked into the wrong place, at the wrong time, in the wrong clothes. And they couldn't wait to get the hell out again. (BE)//The squirrel running down the wing against Leicester (was it?) was amusing. (SM)//Gordon Greer’s sending off in his first home league game against Rochdale this season (CH95)//Gus standing behind dugout when we get a penalty (TSOP)

If you could take any souvenir from Withdean what would it be and why?

The League One title. (SZ)//Andrew Hawes microphone. Best commentator whilst listening to Seagulls World / Player from overseas. And it'll remind me of Lickergate. (PB)//The clock's pretty tacky, but would look good in my kitchen. (CX)//The little brunette Gully's Girl? Can't tell you why. (HK)//The South Stand. (DT)//My seat. (TM)//A poncho. (RC)//The souvenirs I will take are my memories. (BR)//Corner Flag, it would look great in my garden! (BW)/The chair in front of me. After the kickings I used to give it when we played under Adams, I think it deserves some TLC. (PMB)//A burnt out rocket from Rocketman and a Gully's Girl. (BZ)//Our home record and donate it to Falmer! (AR)//Nathan Jones's haircut, circa 2003. (RM)//Gary Hart. Failing that, the hammer net would look quite good in the back garden. And perhaps Rocketman fancies working for our 6-a-side team. (WW)//Some rain, because we're going to forget what it feels like and it'll make us appreciate the Amex even more. (RO)//That crap clock in the corner (AVS)//One of the dug outs so that I can put it at where my football club plays our home games so that our kids stay dry! (SU)//Tony blooms wallet (BN)//Gus? (SM)//A photo to remind me how bad it was. (TB)//The League 1 Championship trophy... should look cracking in the new cabinet at Falmer. (ABS)//The turnstile; I'd use it as a gauge for abdominal girth. All the time I can squeeze through. (FS)//Maybe a recording of the gentle murmur of the North Stand to help me get to sleep at night. (MD)//Rocketman. (LB)//The hammer pit (TH)//The roof... Oh wait! (RS)//A tree (SCS)//A piece of turf to go alongside my piece from the Goldstone (long since amalgamated into the lawn but I know where I planted it!) (SG)//A piece of the hammer net, because the first time I heard the ‘we've got a hammer net’ song I cried laughing! (AM)//The shot-put net. Not sure why, think it would make a wonderful conversation piece at BBQ's. (N4)//Picture of the view from the away end (NR)//The water jump - I was splashing around in it with the players after the div3 championship trophy presentation. All good grounds should have one (RO)//The long jump pit so the kids can have their own beach in the back garden. (JU)//Take the spot at which Bobby hit the first time volley vs. Halifax Town. (NS)//I’m not sure I would take something, it's not quite the same as the Goldstone, but still I will miss the place in a strange way. (TP)//One of the dugouts as I'm too cheap to fork out on a new sofa for the lounge (JPH)//One of Gully’s girls, one over 16 obviously. (MI)//One of the loudspeakers because many times you could hardly hear what anyone was saying. (RP)//A bag full of long jump pit sand? (TMGC)//One of Gully's Girls. I'll give her back in August. (BE)//A football, they're expensive, like (LI)//The penalty spot. Just because. (TSOP)

SiNZ (SZ)/Phil Beeney (PB)/Gus pooyet (GP)/Coxy (CX)/hans kraay fan club (HK)/Brett Mendoza (BM)/Dan Tester (DT)/Regency Gull (RG)/Tony Meolas Loan Spell (TM)/Superphil (SP)/Braders (BS)/Robbie c (RC)/Johnny (JO)/Brian Riggs (BR)/Blue and White Tiger (BW)/Ponce Mohammed Buzzer (PMB)/Baz (BZ)/Arthur (AR)/Bognor Bystander (BB)/Rich Morris (RM)/Withdean Wanderer (WW)/Robbie (RE)/Art Vs Science (AVS)/Loz (LZ)/Padders (PS)/johnnyboy (JB)/Stefan Swifts Love Child (SSLC)/Alex Jones (AJ)/BensGrandad (BG)/sams dad (SD)/Trevor (TR)/Supaseagull (SU)/Bigtomfu (BT)/bnfrnkln (BN)/Rob K (RK)/Marc Gorry (MG)/Simon Morgan (SM)/Tory Boy (TB)/Another Berkshire Seagull (ABS)/sam (SA)/Foaty (FY)/Tim Over Whelmed (TOW)/fire&skill (FS)/Midfield Diamond (MD)/Lord Bracknell (LB)/thisistips (TH)/Redseagull (RS)/ SULLY COULDNT SHOOT (SCS)/Severnside Gull (SG)/amahwrang (AM)/Drew (DR)/No Response (NR)/Jam The Man (JTM)/nickols4 (N4)/theJackal (TJ)/Rosm (RO)/Julian (JU)/Newman-seagulls (NS)/Mutley (MU)/Toby Pugh (TP)/JPH (JPH)/Midland (MI)/Maski1 (ML)/MC (MC)/golddene (GD)/Early (EA)/Rockypaul (RP)/tonymgc (TMGC)/Carter (CA)/Nobby's Betamax Video NBV)/Limpar (LI)//TheDonkeyCentreHalf (TDCH)/Ben Rawlings (BE)/Limpar (LI)/Sam (SM)/chazhop95 (CH95)/Ziggy (ZY)/ Agent G (AG)//The Sock of Poskett (TSOP)

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