Ian Hart: It's never dull supporting the Albion

A well worn phrase I know but it's certainly is never dull supporting the Albion. Back to back defeats against Newcastle and Forest respectively, saw all the knockers and detractors coming out of the woodwork and writing Chris Hughton and his team off. The visit to South Yorkshire on Tuesday night to take on relegation haunted Rotherham United almost took on the mantle of the most important game in the club's history since the Hereford United game in May 1997.
By The Newsroom
Published 10th Mar 2017, 07:30 BST
Updated 8th Jun 2018, 03:39 BST

Defeat at the New York Stadium on Tuesday, coupled with other results elsewhere would have be seen to many as not just a wobble but a total collapse.

Over 46 Championship matches there will always be more than one blip, I’ve almost been amused by the mass hysteria surrounding the Albion’s latest couple of stumbles, pardon the cliche, but it is a marathon not a sprint, and a comfortable 2-0 win in Yorkshire puts the Albion back in the box seat. Next up at the Amex it’s Derby County on Friday night for a live TV date, and another win will strengthen the Albion’s position at the top of the Championship.

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Despite the aforementioned hysteria I still believe the Albion will get promoted, 1st or 2nd in Championship is immaterial, the prize of the Premiership is all that matters.

It’s highly unlikely that the Albion will win every game between now and the end of the season, but neither will everyone else around us, so when inevitable reverse does happen I hope we don’t get the same kind of reaction we’ve had over the last week or so.

Remember the words of the legendary Micky Adams “ Keep the Faith”.

On the subject of keeping the faith I’m sure most longtime Worthing Football Club supporters can remember the times, actually no that long ago, when the team struggled to attract crowds of 250, couldn’t afford to pay any players and was in point of fact days away from going to the wall.

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What happened next is well documented, and now Worthing find themselves the envy of a number of football clubs in the South of England.

They rightly point out, form is temporary class is permanent, and after the hugely successful season last season, this year was always going to be a journey into relative unchartered waters.

Worthing are nowhere near a relegation fight, they won’t go down, and the current bad run will bizarrely make Gary and Jon better managers, and this whole situation is a huge learning curve for a relatively young squad, and ultimately is part of their overall development as players.

Haye vs Bellew, excellent entertainment, clearly no ‘Thrilla in Manilla’ or ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ but ultimately with Haye pocketing a reported £4million and Bellew acknowledging that his pay cheque of £2.5million will set his young family up for the rest of their lives.

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After the quite vicious pre-fight trash talk, it was all handshakes and smiles at the end which almost evoked memories of Pallo and McManus.

One thing is for sure, with that kind of money in their accounts, neither should even think about getting in the ring with Antony Joshua, as that would be a totally different matter.

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Related topics:AlbionChris HughtonIan HartSouth YorkshireRotherham UnitedNewcastle