Brighton / Coventry (1 Viewer)

Captain Dart

Well-Known Member
We can scatter you on the sacred turf of our new Pool Meadow ground, built when they do away with a central bus hub.

Pool Meadow is a decent idea, never occurred to me. The buses don't have to be centralised so much. That idea is crying out for a feasibility study.
 

NorthernWisdom

Well-Known Member
Pool Meadow is a decent idea, never occurred to me. The buses don't have to be centralised so much. That idea is crying out for a feasibility study.
They've been talking of getting rid of the central hub for years.

It'd be slightly crazy, it'd need some leaps of faith (maybe it'd end up like the Vicente Calderón, with the ring road going through the fabric of a stand!) and acceptance it'd be a community asset rather than something purely to make money (a bit like a waterpark, eh) but it'd be a sensational spot for a ground.
 

Captain Dart

Well-Known Member
Is the site big enough?
 
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Deleted member 4439

Guest
Brighton are not poorly supported at all. Walk around the centre of Brighton and you see a lot more Brighton shirts being worn that you do Coventry shirts in Coventry.

Of course you bloody do - flying high, with money coming in, same as Leicester. When you look at what they pulled in over the last 30 years, given league, position, momentum and era, they don't look to be particularly well supported for a population of that size.
 

Sick Boy

Well-Known Member
Of course you bloody do - flying high, with money coming in, same as Leicester. When you look at what they pulled in over the last 30 years, given league, position, momentum and era, they don't look to be particularly well supported for a population of that size.

They have had the same level of support for the last 10 years. The overwhelming majority of the population has moved from outside the city as well.
 

Irish Sky Blue

Well-Known Member
Is the site big enough?
Stick the ring road through / over the ground and include White Street too ;)
As mentioned more room with the demolishion of the swimming baths and sports hall although something student related will already be planned for there I would think. If you had a stadium with student accommodation as part of the package I am sure it would be looked on more favourably.
 

theferret

Well-Known Member
They have had the same level of support for the last 10 years. The overwhelming majority of the population has moved from outside the city as well.

I think they have decent support, but also have a big catchment area with little competition - their 'local' rivals are Crystal Palace (Crawley are historically a non-league side). The population of Sussex is 1.6 million - as opposed to 850K in Cov and Warwickshire.

Historically we are much better supported - in fact it isn't even close. We have just gone through a season with the lowest average home attendance in our history (excluding N'ton obviously). These are desperate times. The current fortunes of the two clubs could not be more different so making any comparisons is difficult and pointless really.
 

theferret

Well-Known Member
As mentioned more room with the demolishion of the swimming baths and sports hall although something student related will already be planned for there I would think. If you had a stadium with student accommodation as part of the package I am sure it would be looked on more favourably.

There is another city centre site that (with enough money) might be suitable. It runs from Upper Well Street to Bishop St. All the land is owned by Trinity Mirror, and most of the buildings are either vacant or derelict. TM do have planning mission for a development that would sweep it all away, so clearly wholesale redevelopment of the area is possible. Would cost a serious amount of money though.
 

Brighton Sky Blue

Well-Known Member
Brighton are not only a one city but almost a one county team, whereas we are surrounded by league clubs. The main difference is that our owners have been here for 10 years and show zero sign of budging. Brighton's used them to sell the ground but then buggered off-while the future was difficult for them after that point the cancer had gone.

As long as SISU persist any success will be by accident rather than design.
 

Captain Dart

Well-Known Member
Stick the ring road through / over the ground and include White Street too ;)

Very similar size to the Butts, tight but could be done.
pm-but10.jpg
 

Sick Boy

Well-Known Member
Nah, have a look at their attendances prior to 1999.

Didn't the Godstone Close in 97? When you consider the levels they were playing at they aren't that much less than our averages. I can still remember 9k for an opening game of the season at HR in the mid 90s. I will give you that our supportbase is larger though.
 
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Deleted member 4439

Guest
Didn't the Godstone Close in 97? When you consider the levels they were playing at they aren't that much less than our averages. I can still remember 9k for an opening game of the season at HR in the mid 90s. I will give you that our supportbase is larger though.

Think it was 99. But, tbf, all attendances were down off the back of the eighties, not least as I recall because there was a lot of aggro at matches at that time. When population base is taken into account, the fan base of both is similar - and as I say akin to the Leicesters of this world. None of the clubs are 'big' football clubs in the sense of fanbase per pop. It's simply the size of Coventry's consistency that moves it into being a D2 club in the normal scheme of things.
 

theferret

Well-Known Member
Didn't the Godstone Close in 97? When you consider the levels they were playing at they aren't that much less than our averages. I can still remember 9k for an opening game of the season at HR in the mid 90s. I will give you that our supportbase is larger though.

Actually there is a massive gulf between the attendances. What they are getting now is unprecedented for them. Their top 5 average attendances in their entire history have been in the last 5 seasons. Good luck to them though, they deserve some success.

There was no 9K opening gate in the mid 90s. We had 11k against Wimbledon for the 94/95 opener (which caused a lot of head scratching at the time as it was the first game of the new East Stand). It was about that time that attendances started to improve notably across the country. The 80s were desperate. When you consider Wolves only averaged 4,000 in the old third division in the mid 80s, it shows just how far the game has come since then.
 

trevelfarandwide

Well-Known Member
Thats how far we have fallen. Its realistic that it will take that long for us to get back.
Oh well, it gives our grandchildren something to be hopeful about.
 

Sussex Boy

Well-Known Member
Life-long Brighton fan in peace. I've lived in Coventry for 7 years so have a soft spot for the Sky Blues. Lots of people I know support Cov and it's really sad to hear from them about the demise of the club at the hands of SISU. I'm in my mid-twenties so I started watching the Albion when we were exiled at Priestfield and then in the Div 3 days at Withdean. Unfortunately it seems like Cov are following a parallel history to us. All I can say is that if you look at our past few years, and especially our promotion to the Premier League this season after 34 years, our story may give you all hope that there will be light at the end of the tunnel. I just hope that tunnel isn't too long.

What's the latest with the Ricoh? Are the club planning to move to Butts Park? I only see bits and pieces from the telegraph and from what colleagues etc say. Are SISU open to any takeover offers? Also with regards to fanbase etc, is Warwickshire quite a large catchment area for the Sky Blues?

#GOSBTS #PUSB
 

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