Sitting in the North Stand sparks a meander down memory lane
On May 9th 1987, I trudged dejectedly up the terrace towards the exit of the North Stand at the Goldstone Ground after Brighton had lost their final game of the season to Leeds United.
Leeds were headed to the playoffs, where they would be unsuccessful in returning to the top tier that year. They would though do so as old Division Two champions two seasons later.
Not only had the Albion just been relegated to Division Three, but I was off to drink beer semi-professionally at university for the 1987-88 season.
I therefore knew it would probably be a while before I stood in the North Stand or indeed saw Brighton play again. But I had no idea just how long.
These were dark days for the Albion and football generally. The highs of playing in the top flight and reaching an FA Cup final at Wembley were only four years behind us, but it seemed longer.
The Premier League hadn’t even been thought of then. The horrors of Heysel and Bradford in 1985 were still fresh in the memory. The criminal tragedy of Hillsborough was still two years away. Being at football grounds was uncomfortable in many ways.
Although the North Stand roof had been replaced after its predecessor had been declared unsafe in 1980, it was still little more than a corrugated metal shed above some concrete terracing with metal crush barriers.
In the Goldstone’s earliest days it was actually the site of a pond. Errant balls often had to be fished out of said pond, soaking wet, with a pole.
For a couple of seasons though, the North Stand was home for me. The noise, for someone who had grown up in the more genteel surroundings of the East Terrace, was incredible.
And nothing matched the surge, the crush, the limbs (before such terms were invented) when Terry Connor frequently hit the net in front of us.
Connor joined in exchange for Andy Ritchie not long before the Wembley final in 1983. Had Connor not been cup tied, who knows what legendary status he might have achieved, putting the sword to Manchester United?
The Goldstone was given an idea when Connor scored a memorable goal in the following season’s FA Cup fourth round win over Liverpool, who would go onto become English and European champions that year.
Connor netted netted an incredible 51 goals in 156 appearances. That Leeds game at the end of the 1986-87 proved to be his last before heading along the south coast to newly promoted Portsmouth for £200,000.
He now coaches the national side of Grenada, and perhaps deserves more recognition for his goal scoring feats in an Albion shirt and part in the club’s history.
So why am I harking back to leaving the North Stand that day in 1987, Terry Connor and relegation to Division Three?
I do not sit in the North Stand at the Amex. But like many others, I took the opportunity presented by a League Cup tie against third tier opponents Crawley Town to watch from a different part of the stadium.
It served as a reminder of how much has changed since I was a North Stand regular in 1987. Here we were, being introduced to our latest £25 million signing.
Ferdi Kadioglu joins from Galatasaray, Turkish champions in 1987 whilst Brighton sunk into the third tier. Three days earlier and it was the turn to meet our club-record £40 million buy Georginio Rutter, ironically from 1987 opponents Leeds.
Victory over United meant Brighton held top spot in English football for a few hours on Saturday. Back in 1987, United were just beginning their glory era under Sir Alex Ferguson which saw them win two Champions Leagues, five FA Cups and countless Premier League titles. The Albion now regularly beat them, to the point where it is no longer a surprise.
I will be back in my usual place at the Amex next time. But 37 years on from that Leeds game in 1987 and just over seven miles from the site of the old Goldstone Ground, I returned to the North Stand.
And although so much has changed, much of it remains the same. We sang and cheered when the ball hit the back of the net. It all now just happens at a place none of us could have imagined.
Warren Morgan @WarrenBHAFC
