If you’re booing this Brighton and Hove Albion team, maybe you should stay away and find another hobby

It’s exactly what it says on the tin, and many of us won’t admit it’s what we all signed up for the first day we started supporting our respective clubs.

And, as an aside, you can multiply that ten-fold when following England, since the first time I sat down and watched England vs West Germany on telly in April 1972, they’ve disappointed me and the rest of the footballing nation more often than not.

It is without question that the Albion and their supporters are living through a Golden Epoque in the club’s 122-year history.

None of us know how far this squad can progress nor how long these exciting times are going to last, but for Albion fans of a certain age who lived through the dark days of the Goldstone, Gillingham and Withdean it truly is a series of ‘pinch me’ moments.

Regardless of the result against AEK Athens last Thursday it was a landmark night in the club’s history, on another night the Albion could have won, and I will go on record now and state with five group games left Brighton will make it to the knockout stages.

But that still didn’t stop alleged members of the Albion faithful from venting their spleens.

My old fanzine mukka, Pete Kennard, contacted me Thursday to say someone was constantly moaning behind him in the North Stand. We were playing European club football!, clearly that moaning bloke never went to Hereford or saw Ashley Neal in a Brighton shirt?

It didn’t get any better on Sunday, the Albion went 1-0 down to the visitors, Bournemouth, and the terrace detractors started again, so much so that skipper Lewis Dunk made a point of taking issue with them at a break in the play.

The bottom line is, when it comes to the Albion we will all have our various opinions, it’s a democracy. But having watched the team in competitive fixtures for 51 years at over 100 different grounds, and frankly seen some dross in the Blue and White stripes that would have been better served being treated by a vet rather than a physio, I can say now is not the time to be moaning.

What we are watching now truly is fantasy football; this is a young, vibrant squad, the best, to date, in the club’s history; naturally they wont win every game, but who knows what they are truly capable of?

Therefore, even allowing for the fact that they’ve paid the admission, if someone purporting to be an Albion fan sees fit to criticise members of the squad so vociferously while inside the stadium, then maybe, just maybe supporting the Albion is actually not for them.

Perhaps it’s time they get another hobby.