The Game of the Name- Hawks dispute rocks Brighton

[townsendaround]

http://www.townsendaround.co.uk/football/the-game-of-the-name-hawks-dispute-rocks-brighton/

An extended version of something I wrote for Non League Daily a couple of days ago, featuring the proposed Whitehawk name change, and the associated fall-out. I thought you might find it mildly diverting.

[Vicarious Thrillseeker]

The Game of the Name- Hawks dispute rocks Brighton

I'm surprised they didn't suggest 'Brighthawk'.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

The Game of the Name- Hawks dispute rocks Brighton

First point of order, is Brighton a city now? Was it one of those made one for the Queen's jubilee or something?

[Sean of the Shed]

The Game of the Name- Hawks dispute rocks Brighton

Brighton and Hove are both towns that make up the city. City status was granted in 2001.
Technically they should be called Brighton Town.

[Paul S]

The Game of the Name- Hawks dispute rocks Brighton

Interesting article that, particularly the bit about Brighton&HA objecting to any use of the name Brighton in the Whitehawk name. Also that Albion fans have been signing the petition to try and stop them from using the Brighton name.

I do think that Whitehawk could do with a name change, but not one quite as drastic as that. What about Whitehawk Swifts, Athletic, Harriers or something similar?

[My Name Is Ian]

The Game of the Name- Hawks dispute rocks Brighton

I find the idea that Albion apparently believe that they should have a monopoly on being a football club with the name "Brighton" in it to be somewhat extraordinary. I'd stop short of having a go at Albion supporters who've signed the petition, though. It's Whitehawk supporters who started it and they're not happy with it. From what I could gather from NSC, most Brighton supporters wouldn't care if it happened.

But something about this story doesn't sit right with me. Summers (the chairman) claims that someone from the FA - he was very, very vague about this - phoned him and shouted down the phone at him about it when they first proposed it in 2013, which hardly sounds like the modus operandum of anybody in the FA, whether at national or county level. And he has been similarly vague in explaining what the benefits of changing name would be.

Not so many years ago, they were going to move to Withdean when Albion left there, but that fell through. The old temporary stands from there are now behind each goal and the covered end is still a mess of scaffolding. And the reason for this benefaction on the part of the owners has never been fully made clear. You hear rumours, though.

[townsendaround]

The Game of the Name- Hawks dispute rocks Brighton

They want to remove the Whitehawk from the name altogether, sadly. I suggested Brighton Hawks. The problem is that the name of Whitehawk has negative connotations to those who live in the area (perhaps unfairly), and the club think that they need to have Brighton in their name to give them more appeal to the neutral/locals and to improve their marketability.

[Bored Of Education]

The Game of the Name- Hawks dispute rocks Brighton

Obviously, with the personal experience shared with many on here, I am totally against a rebrand of any kind (apart from the Somerset Rebels, natch) and the supporters are against it and there is no evidence that Brighton City will being anyone else in. Case in point, we are Bath City but we may as well be Twerton FC for all the rest of the city pays attention to us sometimes compared to you know who.

As for the owners doing so much for the club, well, you could say the same about Assem Allam and, you know....

My main problem with Whitehawk is that they haven't ever done anything so bad that we can call them Shitehawk.

[RobM]

The Game of the Name- Hawks dispute rocks Brighton

I've definitely seen them referred to as Shitehawk but I've always just assumed it was the same kind of tedious crack that has Sunderland play at the Stadium of etc..

Also no idea as to what negative connotations the name would carry.

Happy to be educated.

[SouthdownRebel]

The Game of the Name- Hawks dispute rocks Brighton

Whitehawk the area has something of a reputation locally, it's long been viewed as one of the "least desirable" parts of Brighton.

Whitehawk the club are viewed by some locally with suspicion due to a rapid rise from Sussex County League obscurity to where they are now on the back of some extravagant spending (relatively speaking) by the new owners.

[My Name Is Ian]

The Game of the Name- Hawks dispute rocks Brighton

My own view of the club was somewhat clouded a few years ago by the fact that every time I went to a match there, there seemed to be trouble of some sort. I went to two different FA Vase matches there. One against Truro had a bunch of people - who, I was told at the time, were Albion supporters under Football Banning Orders - who'd clearly been drinking since that morning. On another occasion I saw somebody get punched in the face and put out cold in the bar at half-time. There were other incidents, too.

My trips there have always been sporadic, and that was undoubtedly a contributing factor when I lived in Brghton. Now I live in Worthing, I have no particular desire to go there, especially considering what they've done to the ground. Pity, really. It's got a nice bar and the view of the Downs is breathtaking, and the last couple of times I've been there have passed off without incident.

To a point, Whitehawk have been victims of bad timing. The club's ascent coincided with Albion going from being a lower division club playing at a dilapidated athletics track in front of crowds of 5,000 to playing in probably the best stadium of its size in the country in front of crowds of four or five times that number. Brighton isn't just a one club town, it's more that Sussex was, until relatively recently, almost a one club county. Albion were the only Football League club in East and West Sussex until Crawley bought their way up, and people in the south of the counties would probably regard Crawley being in West Sussex as an accident of geography, rather than an intrinsic part of the identity of that part of the world. Crawley/Horsham, that part of the world, has always felt more like Surrey than Sussex, to me.

But they have to find their level, and the owners surely won't pour in endless amounts of money indefinitely. To a point, they're in a good position. They're the only senior club in comfortable walking distance of Brighton town centre (it's about a half hour walk) and they're playing Conference South football, which is a decent standard. But the club's identity is already changing organically. They've got a few "ultras", who fly rainbow flags behind the goal and give a noisy, vocal support. And there are clearly good people involved in the club, running the bar there and so on. The constant feeling I take from the place, however, is that the owners are restless and would like to rip it up and start it again - new ground, new name, new identity. I don't believe that can be foisted upon the club, though. It has to be given the time to grow. But, given what they're paying in wages, I'm not certain that time is on their side.

[SouthdownRebel]

The Game of the Name- Hawks dispute rocks Brighton

The one positive experience I can add in regard to their fans is the good will and support they (or some of them at least) provided Worthing a year ago when the club was financially on the brink. If I can find the relevant details I'll post a link.

Like most clubs, they're not immune to having bad apples among their support though, as Ian has related.

[My Name Is Ian]

The Game of the Name- Hawks dispute rocks Brighton

(Sorry, I've just amended my post to make a bit more grammatical sense.)

[Seven Saxon Kings]

The Game of the Name- Hawks dispute rocks Brighton

Well we're not fans of them after we were 2-0 up in the 78th minute, the floodlights failed and the Ryman League ordered a full replay which we inevitably lost. There was a row with some of our fans as well.

You could say they're better off with Brighton doing how they're doing though than struggling in League Two. It means it's a totally different experience and price bracket from non-league football and the two are very different things, which wouldn't be the case if Brighton had poor crowds, a poor ground and were maybe only £5 more expensive. Maybe those 'ultra' type fans would be going to Albion if that were the case.

It's why despite the fact we know Kingston is full of Chelsea fans, having AFC Wimbledon in our town has been far more damaging.

[Bizarre Löw Triangle]

The Game of the Name- Hawks dispute rocks Brighton

The worst part of this is the attempt to erase a working-class area of the town from the club's identity, right?

They're talking about a ground move too. Seems really grim.

[My Name Is Ian]

The Game of the Name- Hawks dispute rocks Brighton

It says something for the cost of property down here that we couldn't afford to live in Whitehawk on a sole income and had to move to Worthing instead.

But yeah, I'd be unsurprised if that's what was underpinning it all. On the new ground thing, Withdean didn't happen and I fail to see where they're going to get permission to build a new football ground anywhere in the Brighton & Hove area. There's space where they are now to build a perfectly nice little ground (though it might have to be three-sided), but considering what they did in making both ends all-seater, I don't hold out much hope of the job being completed in a satisfactory manner.

[Furtho]

The Game of the Name- Hawks dispute rocks Brighton

Whitehawk say they've withdrawn the application to change their name.