To boo or not to boo? – Graham Potter deserves respect from Brighton fans on Amex Stadium return

‘Nobby’ Horton was an Albion legend and a personal boyhood idol of mine, but it was the alleged nature of his departure from then the struggling Albion – playing home games at Gillingham and desperately trying to get back to play at Withdean.

Back then, I was basically poacher turned gamekeeper, in a short time I’d gone from fanzine editor to BBC radio presenter, so was probably party to information the fans wouldn’t necessarily hear.

But that’s the crux, back in 1999, even at 35 inexperienced to a degree I listened to people who I believed to be right. But unfortunately I got a very jaundiced version of events, which resulted in me having a different opinion of Nobby on his departure as to my previous ‘hero worship’.

The situation was compounded by my then weekly newspaper column in a well known local daily publication... the upshot being I did Brian, my former hero, a huge disservice.

I thought I knew the full story, Albion related figures I would have trusted with my life effectively spun the whole scenario to make the club look good and Horton bad. Unfortunately, I didn’t, but nearly a quarter of a century on, it was a major lesson learned. Thankfully I got the opportunity to later write to Brian and apologise, which he accepted, but obviously some things can never be unwritten.

So to the present day, and the imminent return to the Amex this Saturday of former Brighton manager Graham Potter with his new club Chelsea.

Debate is rife amongst supporters about the reception he will receive shortly before 3pm with some fans speculating he might get booed by sections of the crowd.

Take it from an old stager, because at 58, that’s what I am. None of us know the full story of Potter’s departure to West London.

Yes he was effectively poached by Chelsea but that was no different from when the Albion lured Potter away from Swansea. It’s business, nothing personal, and spare a thought for the way Chris Hughton was treated back in 2019.

I never made a secret in print that I wasn’t always a fan of Potter, and I clearly wasn’t alone. There were at least three occasions where previously Albion bosses had been sacked for less but Tony Bloom held firm and didn’t wield the axe.

Ultimately, despite a few blips, Graham Potter as a employee of Brighton was a overwhelming success. The ultimate barometer being that the club were in a better place when he left than on his arrival.

But he was just an employee, but also a family man. So when a life changing offer came in from the Blues, not just his life but that of his children and grandchildren, he had to take it.

So as he takes his seat on Saturday, anyone who boos him, is, as my dear old Grannie used to say, “with the pixies” and clearly isn’t a proper Brighton fan.

Pardon the pun, but hand on heart there isn’t a single ex Albion employee I’d boo at the Amex with the obvious exception of Bill Archer, but there’s more chance of Liz Truss returning to No 10 than him reappearing.

So let’s afford Mr Potter the respect he deserves and then let Roberto De Zerbi’s men do their talking on the pitch as I believe it will be an unhappy ‘homecoming’ as I predict a 2-0 Albion win.