Update from the Fan Advisory Board: No one likes us, we really care

The Brighton Fan Advisory Board has been in place for nearly a year now. Almost from day one, it was met with a certain amount of cynicism from Albion supporters.

What difference could it make? Would the club actually listen to it? Was it anything more than a tick box exercise before the government brought in an independent football regulator?

Those are questions that a lot of fans may still feel they do not have any sort of answers to. Which is why we were delighted when FAB member Clive Steed – aka The Flag Man – approached WAB wanting to lift some of the mystery.

Clive explains that it was not just Seagulls fans questioning the concept, lifts the lid on what goes on at meetings, lays out the changes which have already been secured and reveals future plans for the FAB….

When I got a phone call telling me that I had a new job a whole gambit of emotions flowed through me.

Yes, I did it! When can I start? How much money will I get? Will I be good enough? Will other people think I am good enough? What will my new colleagues be like?

Let me answer some of those questions and more for you from inside the FAB.

When can I start?
If it looked like the short listing (April 2022), election results (May 2022) and necessary DBS checks (June 2022) took a long time, then getting the FAB up and running and working with the club took even longer.

The role lasts for two years and I was itching to lace up my boots, pull up my socks and get stuck in; in hindsight oversized shin pads, a hard hat and a thick skin were the PPE really required, but more of that later.

Our first meeting arrived with a photo shoot at the Lancing training ground. The obligatory WhatsApp group had been set up and waves and high fives were abound.

I had recently turned 51 and run a couple of successful businesses so I should have been reasonably confident in my ability to work on the FAB, but self-doubt started to set in. That initial meeting gave me less first day at work vibes and more first day at school… more of that later too.

Allison posted in the WhatsApp group what we were all thinking; what do we wear, football shirts or suits? After all we were fans, supporters going to represent the club we all love, but this was also a professional role for professional people.

If in doubt, chinos and a shirt it was. In the end the whole clothing debate was irrelevant. Fatboy Slim turned up and we suddenly got the feeling this was not an ordinary photo shoot.

In fact, the reason we were at the training ground was because the new home strip was in the house. Norman Cook, the players and the FAB were all to have photos taken wearing the shirt. This was unlike any other first day at school or work I could remember.

Non-disclosure agreements were signed and then the shirt was revealed from under a sheet. Everybody swooned and I put on my best “Thanks Nan I always wanted one of those” faces children have to perform every Christmas and birthday.

Truth is I did not and still do not like the strip – but it certainly was not going to stop me modelling it. A shirt was thrown at me and I went to the changing room (a cupboard).

Unlike most first day of school photos where sleeves are too long and shirts are too baggy, I breathed in, sucked up my dislike of the new kit and strode onto the cat walk.

So that day passed in a blur. Other than briefly becoming models, we sat around a football table and chatted about the usual things supporters talk about.

Where people sat in the ground, who their favourite player was and hopes for the season ahead. The eight of us then said our goodbyes and headed off on a summer break, not having really done anything but with our first proper meeting to look forward to in August 2022.

Will other people think I’m good enough?
None us on the FAB know or understand how the short listing was undertaken or how many votes we all got. And yes, we have asked.

The opinion of social media was made pretty clear: We are a bunch of grey haired, middle aged people who are not representative of the fanbase. There are too many female representatives (not a view you would expect from inclusive Brighton & Hove).

“I did not vote for any of these people,” was the polite version of the response we got. My favourite view was “It is an inside job.”

Secretly, I hope that to be true; that along with knowing about the best young players in South America, Starlizard have a dossier on me which is why I was selected.

They know I struggle in an aerial battle and my xG is very high but they chose me for my biscuits per meeting and average time I can stay awake statistics.

The truth is, I feel those people who thought the FAB bull**** and that the club never listen are the same people who did not put themselves forward for election and still do not like the outcome.

This leads me onto the first explanation behind the title of this article, No One Like Us. It felt like having won an election, none of the fanbase liked us – not quite what we wished for.

That feeling did not stop with only the Albion fanbase. Over the summer and autumn, I was fortunate enough to attend a number of fans forums and meetings with Tony Bloom and Paul Barber which were not FAB related.

Both Tony and PB publicly stated they felt the FAB was unnecessary because fan engagement at the club was high. We had forums, official supporters groups and PB’s willingness to respond to questions and complaints via email to any fan no matter what the issue.

Now it began to feel as if the two most powerful men at the club did not like us, as well as the majority of Brighton supporters.

Maybe that is a slightly harsh assessment. But the Albion are known for strategy and future planning and at the time the FAB was commissioned, there was the prospect of the Crouch Report and an independent regulator for football.

Brighton and many other clubs oppose such a move. The founding of the FAB felt like a proactive response to try and avoid mandatory regulation. The club could turn around and say “We already have a fan board”… although not a fan on the board.

(And to be fair, If I was Tony and had invested in the region of £400 million of my hard-earned cash, I would want to pick my board members personally too).

Disliked by all sides, I began to feel like a politician. I had even won an election but without a manifesto, unless you count the 500 words “Hi, I’m Clive, I love Brighton” vanilla piece which earned my place on the board.

It felt like we would have little power to change anything in four meetings per year lasting 90 minutes. Again, I draw your attention to the title of the piece!

What will my new colleagues be like?
There were eight members of the FAB elected and by the time of the first meeting in August 2022, two had resigned. You can imagine what that did to our popularity with the club.

As I mentioned earlier, joining the FAB was like a first day at school. Our August meeting began with a dressing down from PB and I felt like a naughty schoolboy, albeit one in detention for the wrongdoing of others.

That said, we were there to do a job and since then, we have been hard at work. Unsurprisingly, it has taken time to get going. We had to work out what we could do and what we couldn’t do. What skills the group had and what skills did we need.

The logical thing was to set up working groups looking at targeted areas. So far, these include match day experience; equality, diversity and inclusivity; ticketing and catering; and way finding.

Early on, we requested additional members be voted onto the FAB to increase diversity. We were light on a North Stand season ticket holder, a fan under 30 and somebody with social media skills to communicate what we were doing and where we needed help and supporter opinion.

Unfortunately, no candidates to fulfil those roles were near the top of the next tier down in the original voting. Mindful of cries of vote rigging, the club felt that appointing people out of turn would be undemocratic and further undermine the FAB.

Since coming together, we have really begun to grow as a group. We have a chairman, Gillian and Allison and I take it in turns to act as secretary and do other admin bits.

Whilst our meetings with the club are limited and therefore bandwidth to get our points across minimal, we have a weekly hour-long Zoom call between us every Monday evening. This has helped us become more organised with what and how we want to achieve things.

We were not consulted on Albion Allies or the away ticket policy as these were early in our tenure. We have though been asked for our views on home FA Cup ticket sales and season ticket price increases for the next season.

More recently, we have been asked to play a central role in the review of the travel scheme. There has been a growth in trust from the club, which I believe has come about through the work of the FAB collectively and individually in supporting our day-to-day contacts, acting professionally and doing what we say we are going to do.

It was greatly appreciated at the last FAB meeting to be told that the club feels us an extended and valuable resource to the supporter services department specifically.

To use the school analogy again, we have gone from naughty schoolboy to more like a senior prefect; and who knows, house captain or head boy may one day be achievable!

How much money will I get?
The other FAB and members and myself are all volunteers; we do this for the love of the club, for personal pride and none of us expected or have sought personal gain.

In exchange for our efforts, to date we have received a tour of the Amex as part of the ED&I Stadium Tour. Whilst on the tour, we were taken into the quiet room in the East Stand.

This is a place where fans who are overwhelmed by noise and crowds can watch the game from behind glass. It was one of the many good things the Albion do which I had previously been unaware of and it made me feel very proud of our club.

We were given a copy of a book – Where Seagulls Soar – along with other members of official supporters clubs and we were granted use of the museum at the Amex for a pre-match function.

I personally used the event to thank those who had helped with fundraising and deploying the Roberto De Zerbi flag, which I will talk about in more detail shortly.

So far, I am a couple of hundred quid down in diesel and have spent two nights in hotels at my cost whilst visiting supporters clubs.

I do no want to ask for mileage money from Uncle Tony, although future members may need this, and they should be able to request it. My bank balance is slightly poorer because of the FAB but by life experience is much richer.

What has the FAB done?
Some simple gains have been made. The bag drop which used to be at the top of the staircase to the coach park has now been moved to the bottom, so that people are no longer having to go against the flow down the stairs with a suitcase after the game with hundreds of fans coming the other way.

This was a blind spot on behalf of the club, who were not even aware it was a problem. The change was made rapidly within a week of the FAB bringing it to the club’s attention.

The club have also listened to the FAB and recently balloted supporters on safe standing, something we were very keen to allow the entire fanbase to engage with the club on. This has not been without its difficulty.

We are starting to learn that what we want as individuals is different to the fanbase. I think many fans claim to represent “The North Stand” or “True Brighton Fans” (and I am still waiting to find out what a true fan is) when really are they are talking individually.

This is why labels do not really stick. I have been called out on social media for being a 1901 member, which therefore means I eat prawn sandwiches and leave early. But hey ho.

The most fascinating part of being on the FAB has been speaking to other Albion supporters to find out the issues that matter to them, through face-to-face interactions, email and social media.

Some of the concerns surrounding safe standing involved one fan who could not afford to sit anywhere but the North Stand but could also not stand up for 90 minutes. What would happen to them if the entire North became a safe standing area?

Another supporter had stopped going to away games because of the persistent standing and was now worried it would be the same at home games.

Diversity and inclusiveness is often held up as being woke and all about LGBTQ+ issues. To me, an inclusive football club is one that helps fans support the team home and away in a way that is safe and accessible to all.

As I reach the autumn of my life and carry too much weight (beers and pies don’t lie), the prospect of sitting at an away match and watching football does appeal.

My hope for the safe standing question was – if those who were impacted were in agreement – that people moved across the North Stand and into one ultras, fanatics-type section where the focus is on flags, singing and tifos. People might even want a drum (for the avoidance of doubt, I am drum agnostic).

When I have been in the North Stand and at nearly every away game the atmosphere is excellent. But sit in the East Stand between the halfway line and the North and the signing sounds rushed and split across a number of sections, meaning it is equalled or bettered by the away fans. Hopefully, the FAB can play a part in helping the club find a solution that works for everyone.

My personal high point of being on the FAB so far was leading the new RDZ flag across the North Stand after a lot of hard work.

It was all worth it when a group of supporters started singing “We’ve got a flag, we’ve got a flag” to the tune of We’re on the Ball. The speed and wit of football chants always makes me laugh.

The design, purchase and subsequent organisation of the flag was no mean feat. The idea was born in a matchday atmosphere subcommittee meeting.

I felt supporters had never really taken to He Who Must Not Be Named, partly due to him replacing Chris Hughton and partly for his total lack of charisma and the frustrating home form.

I was thinking how RDZ would feel walking into his new role, much like all the questions I posed at the beginning of this article when I was elected to the FAB. Many of the points we could not influence, but we could welcome the new manager and make him feel loved.

A similar view was being shared across social media and within days, we had a flag designed, approved by the club and crowdfunded. Nagging self-doubt kicked in during the process, helpfully fuelled by a fair bit of online negativity.

It should not have the manager on it. It should not be the Italian flag. The club should pay for it, (by the club, those suggesting that meant Tony spending more on top of his £400 million plus). Nobody is going to donate. What happened to the Dunk Wembley flag?

Fortunately, I remembered what PB had said at our first FAB meeting: “If I had listened to all the advice on North Stand Chat, the club would be bankrupt and out the Football League. Sometimes, you have to listen to what people say and then get on with what you think is right.” That is what we did with the RDZ flag.

To many, that means I am now Clive the Flag Guy. Whilst that is great, I am mindful that I operate as a member of the FAB.

Organising the RDZ flag was the right thing to do at the time; now I am currently focussing on changing the club’s policy to make it easier for anyone to organise flags, tifos or whatever else they want to do.

The FAB moving from operational gripes like “I could not get a pint in the West Upper at half time” to more strategic issues like the atmosphere and safe standing which have been talked about for a long time but never much done are where we as a group want to go.

We are about to embark on additional FAB member recruitment to help spread the workload around, better reflect the makeup of the fanbase and make the transition to the next group of FAB members smoother.

How the rest of our time as the first FAB goes I do not know. But rest assured we do care and we are all doing our best. Stand or Fall.

Up the Albion.

Clive Steed @1066_seagull