Paul Barber's Manchester City programme notes

We welcome the players, staff and officials from Manchester City to the American Express Community Stadium for tonight’s Premier League fixture, and our final home game of the 2020/21 season.

We also extend our congratulations to Pep Guardiola, his staff and players on securing the Premier League title for the third time in four seasons – a fantastic achievement – and wish them well in the UEFA Champions League final later this month.

A special welcome is also due to around 8,000 Brighton & Hove Albion supporters who are returning to watch a Premier League match live in our stadium tonight after an absence, in some cases, of almost 15 months; it’s been great to see their desire to get back.

The impact of fans being absent from our matches has been well documented since the pandemic began and, as good as our broadcast partners’ efforts have been to replicate the atmosphere, it will be just fantastic to have some of the real thing tonight!

Those of us lucky enough to attend the three matches [Southampton, Sheffield United and the test event last summer against Chelsea] when fans have been here in the past 15 months, were struck by just how much noise 2-2,500 fans can make – so, almost four times that number should be loud!

In recent weeks, fans have of course also made their voices heard off the pitch with strong opposition to plans for a European Super League, and also their fierce defence of the English football pyramid, not least the ‘dream’ of progression through merit.

In light of recent events, the Government’s fan-led review of football will inevitably – and rightly – cover a wide range of issues that those who love the game care about, with a view to improving dialogue, in all its various forms, between clubs and their fans.

Some clubs already have fan ownership, some have fan advisory boards, many other clubs enjoy excellent less formal relations with their fans, and a couple have reacted to recent events by making new provisions for fans’ representatives to sit on their boards.

With a lifelong fan as our chairman, a board made up of lifelong football supporters (including five lifelong Albion fans), and regular dialogue with our fans’ groups, we would like to think we are already well placed when it comes to representing and respecting fans’ views at board level and throughout the club.

However, there is always room for improvement and innovation so we will certainly go into the forthcoming review with an entirely open mind, and we will be very happy to contribute our experiences of fan consultation and our views on what the future could look like.

This club is, of course, very well aware of the importance of fans – our own as well as those from other clubs – in helping us through some of the most difficult periods in our history, so please be assured we will always listen, and respond, to fans’ concerns, queries and opinions, regardless of the outcome of any review.

This subject leads me nicely to the first of my end-of-season thank yous: the support of our fans throughout the extended period of playing behind closed doors, during the back end of last season and for most of this campaign, has been fantastic.

We have really appreciated the messages of support – both direct to the club and via numerous social media channels – the constant encouragement, and the engagement, via Zoom, when we have invited you to join us for our various lockdown Q&A sessions. Yet again, and even in your absence, you have helped us over the line and constantly reminded us why having fans back in the stadium means so much, so, thank you, and for those of you here tonight, I hope you have a great evening back at the Amex.

I’d also like to thank Graham Potter, likewise our players, coaches and staff, both here at the stadium and at our training ground, full-time, parttime and casual, club and charity, who have been so hard-working, loyal, resilient, professional and positive through the most troubling of times. I’m very proud of, and grateful for, everything you have done for the club over the past year or so. You’ve all been magnificent.

It would, of course, be entirely remiss of me not to thank Tony Bloom, our chairman, for his vision and unwavering support for this football club, and not least his incredible ongoing financial commitment, and also our board of directors for their hard work and oversight of the work I, and a very large team of staff, do to support and protect Tony’s investment in our club.

And, as has been well documented, we are absolutely delighted to have signed a new long-term agreement with American Express, our principal partner, who stood alongside us as this stadium was coming out of the ground, and who have been with us on every step of the journey since. Thank you to Charlotte Duerden, Beverly Sawyers, Mel Green and all those at Amex who continue to have faith and confidence in us. Thanks also to Nike, Snickers, Sodexo, Heineken, Monster Energy, Energizer, Score Hero and betway, as well as to our many other local commercial partners – too numerous to mention here – who continue to provide the club with loyal and dedicated support. It is very much appreciated by all of us.

So, as the season comes to a close, and with it, we hope, the worst of the pandemic, a final word for the excellent work of Dr Rob Galloway, our stadium doctor and A&E consultant at the Royal Sussex, Rob’s many frontline colleagues in the NHS – both here in Sussex and up and down the country – and all of the other key workers who have all done so much, both individually and collectively, to help see us all through the worst of experiences and times for so many people. We will always be very grateful to you, and won’t ever forget your sacrifices for us. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

With the 10th anniversary of the Amex opening almost upon us, I hope you enjoy tonight’s match – and have a safe, peaceful and happy summer.