Brighton & Hove Albion, memories of my dad and a modern-day football fairytale

Brighton & Hove Albion were my local club. Growing up a few miles along the coast, my earliest experiences of watching football came at the Goldstone Ground. I remember standing on the terraces, climbing up to the top of the fence and being told off by the stewards. As a young woman, my mum had worked at the stadium bar on match days. And my dad would recount stories of how he saw the players out and about. “Kit Napier? I fixed his telly once!” he told me when we went to the Amex for the first time.

I should probably be a Brighton fan. But in my class at school, I don’t remember many Seagulls supporters: it was all Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal, Tottenham. Back then, Brighton were not very good. My dad and one of his best friends got me into Spurs and I was seduced by the style of play (a lot different to today’s team), by the glamour, by the bright lights of White Hart Lane, by the sublime skills of Glenn Hoddle and Chris Waddle. Meanwhile, the Seagulls struggled in the lower leagues, and I was probably part of a ‘lost generation’ of fans for BHAFC.

But I do have fond memories of attending games at the Goldstone. One of those in particular stands out. “Want to go to the football?” my dad asked one Saturday. So off we went to watch Brighton – via the pub, a few pints and a first-ever game of bar billiards – against Hartlepool. At the time, the Seagulls were at the foot of England’s fourth tier, seemingly set for relegation and hurtling towards oblivion with the stadium sold for redevelopment and ready to be demolished.

That day, fans from across the country and Europe came to the Goldstone Ground. Seagulls supporters had mobilised to set a date for a protest. It was called Fans United and boosted by the extra support, Brighton won 5-0. A remarkable run followed that win and I remember listening on the radio on the final day of the season as Brighton somehow scraped a draw at Hereford – thanks to a famous Robbie Reinelt equaliser – to stay in the Football League on goals scored. And against all odds.

The consensus was that, if Brighton had dropped out of the Football League on that day in 1997, it would have taken many years for the Seagulls to get back. With the club in dire straits financially, it might even have been the end of Brighton & Hove Albion as we knew it.

The following years were still tough. With the Goldstone Ground knocked down, Brighton were forced to play their ‘home’ matches over 70 miles away at Gillingham’s Priestfield Stadium for two whole seasons. And for more than a decade between 1999 and 2011, Brighton’s home was Withdean Stadium, an athletics track with only one proper stand. Olympic gold medalists Steve Ovett and Sally Gunnell used to train there. I had, too. Withdean was a lovely place for running, but it was not a football stadium – and was unsurprisingly voted the fourth-worst ground in the country in 2004.

But Brighton slowly worked their way back. In 2009, local entrepreneur Tony Bloom bought the club. In 2011, the Seagulls started a new life at a permanent home in Falmer: the Amex. And in 2017, BHAFC won promotion to the Premier League. Five-and-a-half years later, the Albion are enjoying the greatest era of their history. To quote one of the city’s most famous residents, DJ Fatboy Slim, they’ve “come a long, long way together – through the hard times and the good.”

To this day, Brighton have not won major silverware. (The Albion drew 2-2 with Manchester United in the 1983 FA Cup final and striker Gordon Smith missed a golden chance to win it. “And Smith must score,” commentator Peter Jones said, and that later became the title of a fanzine for the Seagulls. They lost the replay 4-0). But last Saturday, ahead of their home game against Liverpool, the actual World Cup trophy was present by the side of the pitch at the Amex as part of the reception for Argentina midfielder Alexis Mac Allister following his heroics in Qatar. And those scenes set the mood for what followed: a wonderful 3-0 win over Liverpool – a first league victory against the Reds at home in more than 60 years.

There is no trophy for that, but football is as much about moments and memories as it is about silverware. Under Roberto De Zerbi, Brighton are playing arguably the finest football in the Premier League at the moment. Their fans have never had it this good. Friends told me on Thursday night of a family member and Albion supporter who was there last Saturday for the Liverpool game. “Best day of my life,” he had said.

After all the club has been through, it is a modern-day football fairytale and it is no surprise that the fans feel grateful. My dad would have loved it, too. He is sadly no longer around, but those memories of watching Brighton with him at the Goldstone will stay with me. Since his passing, I have spent a lot more time back in the area. I have his blue-and-white scarf now and like him, I will always follow the Seagulls with interest (as well as Spurs) and be buoyed by their successes. Good old Sussex by the sea.