So an unforgettable season for the Albion nears its end – one that will go down in the history books as the club achieved a triumphant return to the highest echelons of English football after some 34 years.

The Albion broke many records this season, too many to list – but the fact that promotion to the Premiership was secured with three games still to play speaks volumes for what Chris Hughton and his playing squad have achieved.

Twenty years ago we left the Goldstone – our home for over 90 years – amid bitterness and the vilification of the then board. Protests were a regular occurrence at matches, new weekly initiatives were dreamt up and each Saturday saw the matches overshadowed by off-field activities.

At the Albion’s last ever match at the Goldstone Ground against Doncaster Rovers, I took my seat armed with a hammer, chisel and a full length spade. No bag searches in those days. As the match ended, the eerie sound of hammering filled the air as fans wrenched away souvenirs. We took seats, clocks, hoardings – anything that could be removed was taken away to be hoarded in homes around Sussex and beyond. Turf from the pitch was an easy “catch”.

Some 20 years later and I found myself on Albion’s pitch again – this time with no weapons of mass destruction, just me and my two sons. No tears of grief this time, just tears of unadulterated joy. The feeling of incredulity still hasn’t gone away – we have risen from the basement of English football. We’ve beaten homelessness and we are no longer a laughing stock. We are front page news and ascending to the Promised Land is our just reward for all our efforts.

From despair in 1997 to hope (the Withdean years) and ultimate glory in 2017.

The campaigns we fought –Bring Home the Albion, Withdean Invites the Seagulls Home (WISH), the Yes Yes! referendum, the Falmer For All campaign, the Seagulls Party… all were rewarded by a squad and a manager that had a unity of purpose and bounced back after last season’s heartache.

In 1978 we narrowly missed out on promotion to the then Division 1 under Alan Mullery. But one year later, we made it. History repeated itself with last season’s pain and agony, on goal difference this time round but all now long forgotten.

Video footage of the celebrations is all over social media and we can see what it means to the players and staff at the club – it means as much to the supporters. And that binds us together even more.

My sons are part of the next generation of Albion supporters – they are blue and white through and through.

Sebastian, 18, will doubtless soon graduate to the North Stand from the East Upper (depending on seat availability). He relayed tales of the celebrations in Brighton on Monday night with such passion and exuberance – it reminded me of my youth and how I told my father of the celebrations after the Newcastle 3-1 win in 1979. He chose his university on the basis of proximity to Premiership grounds, in anticipation of the day that has now arrived.

Toby, 12, can’t get enough of the club – it’s his passion. Photographs and autographs post-match are now the norm. He is the Albion house statto and nothing passes him by.

So yes Monday gave me enormous pride. The baton has been passed to the next generation. We have arrived – in a unique union between chairman, manager, board, club staff and supporters. I used to end my articles in the fanzine Gulls’ Eye in the late Nineties with the tag line “Together we will win!” In the modern Twitter age, the club now runs with simply #Together. And together we go forward, we have achieved much – let’s hope there is more to come.

#Together has a special poignancy – with Beram Kayal (a Muslim) and Tomer Hemed (a Jew) playing alongside each other for the Albion – as they do for their Israeli national side – friends since childhood. That is a wonderful sight to see – and one that should be an example to all across the political/religious divide.

As the season ends, I especially remember fellow campaigners who are no longer with us – Paul Whelch, Roy Chuter and Sarah Watts – cruelly taken before we reached the Premier League.

We owe an immeasurable debt of gratitude to Dick Knight and Tony Bloom – and the teams they assembled to steer the good ship Albion back from Gillingham to Withdean and then on to the Amex.

To all the players that have worn the stripes over the years and to the supporters who cheered them on through wind and rain (and there was a lot of that at Withdean) – thank you, we did it. Our journey is complete – together we won.

  • Paul Samrah, chairman Falmer For All Campaign, Football League Supporter of the Year 2008, Albion PA announcer 1997-2013