[Football] Biggest clubs in Britain

[Paulie Gualtieri]

Syndicate - Blackpool

 

[Uh_huh_him]

It's always the same.

Every fa group have their own criteria to define "bigness".

I was listening to a Podcast the other day featuring a Palace supporter.
He described Place and Fulham as the biggest clubs that have never won a trophy.

Neither club could currently argue that they are a better, or more supported club than us at this moment in time.
Neither has a glorious past. A handful of good moments throughout their past is about it.

It's a totally subjective list when it gets past the top 10 clubs

 

[Garry Nelson's Left Foot]

People get pissed off and disagree with me every time I say this - but we are a 'big club' now.

We have a huge revenue, large international fan base, and we're an established team in the most watched league in the world now.

What a job TB has done.

I agree TB has done an incredible job.

But...

If those are your metrics then there are currently 17 'big clubs' in England? And if you get relegated then you're 'big club' status is immediately revoked?

Also are all 17 'big clubs' the same 'bigness'? If not what is the label you'd give to the bigger big clubs or the smaller big clubs?

Unlike some members on here, I don't mind a bit of a big club debate. I don't however consider us to be one.

 

[Mustafa II]

I agree TB has done an incredible job.

But...

If those are your metrics then there are currently 17 'big clubs' in England? And if you get relegated then you're 'big club' status is immediately revoked?

Also are all 17 'big clubs' the same 'bigness'? If not what is the label you'd give to the bigger big clubs or the smaller big clubs?

Unlike some members on here, I don't mind a bit of a big club debate. I don't however consider us to be one.

My logic has always been: size of a club = fanbase.

Afterall, football fans ARE the football club.

Winning major trophies absolutely builds a clubs reputation, and therefore cements loyalty of many existing football fans and brings in new ones... but just need to look at Wigan or Portsmouth to know that winning major trophies, even recently, does not contribute towards the definition of the size of a club.

Are all Premier League sides big? No. It takes years to acquire hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of permanent fans around the world and become the absolutely dominant club in the city/region. I would say most current Premier League sides have massive fanbases though, and are big clubs by definition.

If we got relegated - we would not lose all of the fans that we have acquired. We would remain 'big' for a time. Years out of the Premier League though, many of global fans would disappear and lose interest - some of the local ones too.

To summarise, our fanbase is now... massive. Like most Premier League clubs. We dominate the entire county now. We have built massive fanbases all around the world. Relegation for a year or two won't change that - but years outside the top division might.

But one thing's for sure, it would take decades of being outside the top two divisions to ever to be as 'small' as we were at the turn of the century.

 

[Milano]

The biggest clubs in English football for me are Brighton & Hove Albion, Aldershot Town and Whitehawk. All others don't matter- because I don't support them.

The big club debate is a silly willy waving exercise among the third class fans who wear the badge of their chosen tool for the egocentric armchair glory hunt.

I quite like being classed as a small club because when Albion beat a 'big team' the meltdowns and soul searching is a thing to behold.

It also means we stay humble.

Give me a black clad Palace fan who knows what he loves and foolishly adores what he knows, rather than a new merchandise wearing United fan from Woking who spends so much time on their settee and arguing on Facebook that they have bum sores.

I can't think of anything more unfulfilling than being a fan of a 'big club' unless you have a proper story to tell.

Brilliant post

A good friend of mine is a West Ham STH, he hates what that club has become, hates the stadium, hates the tourists, but still loves his club. I don't want that for us.

 

[Triggaaar]

It's always the same.

Every fa group have their own criteria to define "bigness".

I was listening to a Podcast the other day featuring a Palace supporter.
He described Place and Fulham as the biggest clubs that have never won a trophy.

Neither club could currently argue that they are a better, or more supported club than us at this moment in time.
Neither has a glorious past. A handful of good moments throughout their past is about it.

I must have forgotten Palace's European tour.

 

[Giraffe]

Where are Leeds?

 

[pocketseagull]

Premier League clubs ranked by total social media following shows the disparity between the 'big 6' and the rest.

Manchester United in no1 with 214.7 m
Brighton in 13th with 8.4 m (ahead of Palace)

from 2024:

Every Premier League team ranked by how many followers they have

Man City have MORE followers than Liverpool 😮

www.givemesport.com

 

[Garry Nelson's Left Foot]

My logic has always been: size of a club = fanbase.

Afterall, football fans ARE the football club.

Winning major trophies absolutely builds a clubs reputation, and therefore cements loyalty of many existing football fans and brings in new ones... but just need to look at Wigan or Portsmouth to know that winning major trophies, even recently, does not contribute towards the definition of the size of a club.

Are all Premier League sides big? No. It takes years to acquire hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of permanent fans around the world and become the absolutely dominant club in the city/region. I would say most current Premier League sides have massive fanbases though, and are big clubs by definition.

If we got relegated - we would not lose all of the fans that we have acquired. We would remain 'big' for a time. Years out of the Premier League though, many of global fans would disappear and lose interest - some of the local ones too.

To summarise, our fanbase is now... massive. Like most Premier League clubs. We dominate the entire county now. We have built massive fanbases all around the world. Relegation for a year or two won't change that - but years outside the top division might.

But one thing's for sure, it would take decades of being outside the top two divisions to ever to be as 'small' as we were at the turn of the century.

I agree, fanbase is a good starting point for size of club. The Amex is apparently(wiki...) the 23rd biggest league ground in England. There are 15 stadiums within 3000 seats either side of it though.

I disagree that we have hundreds of thousands or millions of permanent fans around the world. We have some temporary ones due to players from their countries playing for us. We have very, very few 'permanent' ones in my opinion.

I do agree that we have moved ourselves considerably further up the food/size chain than where we were 25 years ago. There is a generation of football fans around the world who now know who we are. Very few of them are our fans though.

 

[mile oak]

Villa in top 10 now that made me laugh! Maybe the colours got muddled a bit as wouldve thought WHU be in there

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

My thoughts on the big club thing.

Most people who go on about it are tedious willy wavers who've never been to a football stadium

But ....

Size matters. That nebulous notion of size is what gets players to sign or to re-sign. It's what get's TV companies to show your games. It's what attracts sponsors. It's what makes a kid want to put on your shirt for their game in the park.

Agree with Mustafa that the best guide to size is the number of fans. Specifically the number willing to pay to watch the games is a far more accurate guide than Insta or whatever followers. The number of people prepared to stick around during a downturn, the number of people you'll regularly take on long trips also a good indicator.

And the other thing about size. It's not monolithic. 30 years ago, we were probably about the 50 to 60th biggest club in the country. Now we're probably between 10 and 15 and higher isn't impossible. A few of the clubs above are dysfunctional.

This is a period in our history where we need to be consciously trying to grow, both in Sussex and outside. The club are making great waves in this direction, but we need to keep it up.

 

[Mustafa II]

I agree, fanbase is a good starting point for size of club. The Amex is apparently(wiki...) the 23rd biggest league ground in England. There are 15 stadiums within 3000 seats either side of it though.

I disagree that we have hundreds of thousands or millions of permanent fans around the world. We have some temporary ones due to players from their countries playing for us. We have very, very few 'permanent' ones in my opinion.

I do agree that we have moved ourselves considerably further up the food/size chain than where we were 25 years ago. There is a generation of football fans around the world who now know who we are. Very few of them are our fans though.

I think you underestimate the scale of the Premier League's reach - and how so many countries (with lesser leagues) adopt Premier League clubs as their favourite.

1.9bn people around the world watch the Premier League. If 1% of those adopt the Albion as their favourite team, that's 19 million 'fans'. If just 1% of those become permanent, that's 190,000 global fans - surely more than we have locally. I would say that's being pessimistic.

We're very popular in North America. The countless yanks that are on /r/Brighton like the way the club we run, the football we play, the players and often superficially - they like our name/crest/shirt. How many of those are permanent fans? Who knows, but at least some will become permanent, even with relegation.

Of course though, the most important fans we have are the local ones. We are more popular in Sussex than ANY other club now, by some distance. Albion shirts are seen in all our towns and villages along the coast and the A23. It would take a lot more than just relegation to lose many of those.

 

[Questions]

I've found that, when you stand on the scales at the end of the day, it doesn't hugely matter how much shit you're full of, you're still just as big on the dial.

Unless you weighed yourself before and after having a shit.
Imagine doing that ?

 

[Beanstalk]

Unless you weighed yourself before and after having a shit.
Imagine doing that ?

I've tried. It makes no difference

You think it would but it doesn't.

 

[Garry Nelson's Left Foot]

I think you underestimate the scale of the Premier League's reach - and how so many countries (with lesser leagues) adopt Premier League clubs as their favourite.

1.9bn people around the world watch the Premier League. If 1% of those adopt the Albion as their favourite team, that's 19 million 'fans'. If just 1% of those become permanent, that's 190,000 global fans - surely more than we have locally. I would say that's being pessimistic.

We're very popular in North America. The countless yanks that are on /r/Brighton like the way the club we run, the football we play, the players and often superficially - they like our name/crest/shirt. How many of those are permanent fans? Who knows, but at least some will become permanent, even with relegation.

Of course though, the most important fans we have are the local ones. We are more popular in Sussex than ANY other club now, by some distance. Albion shirts are seen in all our towns and villages along the coast and the A23. It would take a lot more than just relegation to lose many of those.

True, I might be underestimating our global appeal but I'm basing it off my own experience. I live in Asia and I work with and meet hundreds/thousands of international kids and adults each year.

None of them, none, have adopted Brighton as their team. They know us, some like how we play, others how we're punching above our weight but they're not fans, not in any sense of the word that I would use.

Some of the Japanese follow us because of Mitoma and the number is increasing but make no mistakes, it's Mitoma they support, not Brighton. Of course if Mitoma stays with us for many years and he and we have some success then some of those Mitoma fans will have a soft spot for us, even when he's gone.

On the plus side none of them give even the remotest shit about Palace and some have no idea who they are. Which is very pleasing.

I don't use reddit so I can't comment on our popularity there nor on our general popularity in the states.

Your last paragraph makes me very happy. It's the local fans that are the lifeblood of the club and it fills me with joy to think of Sussex being Albion and not any of the traditional big boys like it used to.

 

[Han Solo]

I agree, fanbase is a good starting point for size of club. The Amex is apparently(wiki...) the 23rd biggest league ground in England. There are 15 stadiums within 3000 seats either side of it though.

I disagree that we have hundreds of thousands or millions of permanent fans around the world. We have some temporary ones due to players from their countries playing for us. We have very, very few 'permanent' ones in my opinion.

I do agree that we have moved ourselves considerably further up the food/size chain than where we were 25 years ago. There is a generation of football fans around the world who now know who we are. Very few of them are our fans though.

I don't know about that.

Sweden and Norway were the first countries to buy the rights ($800 per game ) to show games from the English top flights, back in 1969.
Around 35% of the population in Sweden watched the weekly game.

Today 20% of Swedish football fans over 50 claim they got their favorite team through this. Most of the other 80% obviously support a Swedish team.

And it lasts! Take SwedeWolves for example: 500+ members, annual member trips bringing 40-50 people to England - PL, Championship or League One doesn't matter.

Even if a few million people following the team right now might drop off in worse times, the club has likely made a few hundred thousand people "permanent" fans over the last half a dozen years.

 

[Professor Plum]

Pointless pissing contest. Who cares? Until there’s general agreement on what criteria to include it’s a totally useless discussion. And there will never be agreement on criteria. Therefore pointless.

 

[Triggaaar]

I don't know about that.

Sweden and Norway were the first countries to buy the rights ($800 per game ) to show games from the English top flights, back in 1969.
Around 35% of the population in Sweden watched the weekly game.

Today 20% of Swedish football fans over 50 claim they got their favorite team through this. Most of the other 80% obviously support a Swedish team.

And it lasts! Take SwedeWolves for example: 500+ members, annual member trips bringing 40-50 people to England - PL, Championship or League One doesn't matter.

Does this mean that one day you might come and actually watch a game?

 

[Han Solo]

Does this mean that one day you might come and actually watch a game?

Hopefully. I'd say there's a 50/50 chance I don't spend rest of my life in poverty.

 

[Triggaaar]

Hopefully. I'd say there's a 50/50 chance I don't spend rest of my life in poverty.

If you don't mind me asking (ignore if you do, no problem), but do you work at the moment, and if so, what do you do?