26 points from the last 22 games!!!!!

[Bold Seagull]

I don won't poyet out, I just thought when we started the season we would be in a slightly stronger position . Maybe I expect to much and the experienced players we signed are not as good as I thought.

If only football were that simple!

 

[Prettyboyshaw]

How dare he say we are underachieving...STONE HIM!

Theway we can play and the amount of times we do actually play like that, together with the amount of chances we create and the amount we actually score means that the team is not living up to its potential....is that a better way of saying we are underachieving?.....STONE ME!

 

[Blues Rock DJ]

our record would have been better if we had played to our strenghts more, especailly at home. we have the most attacking squad in the league yet continue to play 1 up front at home. Been syaing it for ages along with others, 442 would suit us better, its worked great for Leicester, Cardiff and Palace, why do we think it should be different. I would rather win 5-4 every week than draw or lose 1-0 to teams that stick 11 men behind the ball.

I love our club and actually am happy to stay in the championship as its a very good standard and we actually have a chance of winning every game, but minor changes to the home line up could of yeided about 4 more wins and then we are in the play offs.

I would just like to add, I love Poyet and his decision is final and Ill stick by him.
Super seasgulls

might live to regret saying it, but we will never go 4-4-2 under Gus, fact!

 

[TWOCHOICEStom]

How dare he say we are underachieving...STONE HIM!

Theway we can play and the amount of times we do actually play like that, together with the amount of chances we create and the amount we actually score means that the team is not living up to its potential....is that a better way of saying we are underachieving?.....STONE ME!

I think the point is that people keep on WHINGING like we're in a relegation scrap in League 2. We are EIGHTH in the Championship playing wonderful football in a wonderful stadium, pushing for the play-offs. We're a few steps away from being truly brilliant.

People need to chill out.

 

[Mellotron]

How dare he say we are underachieving...STONE HIM!

Theway we can play and the amount of times we do actually play like that, together with the amount of chances we create and the amount we actually score means that the team is not living up to its potential....is that a better way of saying we are underachieving?.....STONE ME!

The point is that this is a BRILLIANT time to be an Albion fan but so many people just won't stop MOANING. You'd think we were bottom of League Two.

 

[LE19]

At least 6 clubs in this division are set up to be in the Prem. EVERYONE wants to get to the Prem.

This. If people want a sport where performance isn't affected by opposition upstarts, they should watch golf, athletics or darts.

 

[Vegas Seagull]

might live to regret saying it, but we will never go 4-4-2 under Gus, fact!

What bout last match when CMS came on Gus said he wished they could have been 'paired together' for longer

 

[fleet]

1 point a game is relegation form, 2 points a game promotion. Small margins really, but we have to turn performances into points for the rest of the season. We really need Ulloa to be the missing link and to make sure we play to the strengths of him and CMS

 

[Mo Gosfield]

I posted a thread recently saying I thought the wheels came off after Millwall away and got absolutely slaughtered for it. The point I was trying to make was that in each of the last two seasons, we have got off to a flying start. 2011-12 16 points from first 6 games.....2012-13 16 points from first 7 games. We all knew that those runs weren't going to last but we were all hoping for a different pattern this season..i.e more consistency. We have seen exactly the same pattern this season as last. A good start, followed by a winless run, followed by a decent November, followed by a poor December. We started January well, this season, like last but rather worryingly, we have now embarked on a winless run again.
The squad does appear stronger but it hasn't made any difference to results. Perhaps the division is stronger than last season.
All I know is that 26 points out of 66 is pretty mediocre. Some posters on here are calling it a blip. Well fine, if you regard half a season as a blip. It cannot just be brushed away with a ..." chill out, we are heading in the right direction, everything is rosy under Gus " type of attitude, which you get on NSC all the time.

 

[sydney]

This is a shocking return and I believe we are underachieving. The squad gus has put together is very strong and I think we should be in the playoffs and pushing for promotion. And when you look at the table and see we have only won TWO more games than the team BOTTOM of the league it shows we haven't made much progress since last season. People keep saying we need a few more season in the championship but I disagree if we don't go up this yr then it's bye bye bridge, bridcutt and Buckley and a ageing squad is another year older. The next two games are so big they are must win.

eh...?? eh..??eh..?

 

[Steve.S]

You're right. 8th at the beginning of February is UNACCEPTABLE with our COLLOSAL playing budget.


Can I ask how long you've been an albion fan?

I think people are blinded by the stadium. They seem to think because we can get big crowds we should be in the PL. I never get the "with the squad we have" it's like all the other clubs such a Cardiff, Watford, Palace, Etc all have shit squads and rubbish players. Anyone with any sense can see there are at least a dozen clubs who have the money and players to get into the PL and we are just one of them. If we had the budget that Cardiff have then I could understand, but we don't. It's a tough league and we could be here for years and good players will come and go.

 

[MattBackHome]

Our next two games are MUST WIN multiplied by MASSIVE to the power of MAKE OR BRAKE.

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

This is a shocking return and I believe we are underachieving. The squad gus has put together is very strong and I think we should be in the playoffs and pushing for promotion. And when you look at the table and see we have only won TWO more games than the team BOTTOM of the league it shows we haven't made much progress since last season. People keep saying we need a few more season in the championship but I disagree if we don't go up this yr then it's bye bye bridge, bridcutt and Buckley and a ageing squad is another year older. The next two games are so big they are must win.

oh god you as well

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

Progress is the key word and for me there hasnt been enough for the amount the squad has been improved.

never in your albion supporting life has there been progress like we are making now. What do you want for gods sake?

 

[Sheebo]

I don won't poyet out, I just thought when we started the season we would be in a slightly stronger position . Maybe I expect to much and the experienced players we signed are not as good as I thought.

You and others expect too much. In an ideal world we'll go up within 4 yrs like Swansea did. This lg is class - why are so many intent on this 'must go up' every season? Maybe some of you didn't watch us when we were a shit league 1 team?

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

I think that it's more relevant that if we'd got just 0.2 points more per game this year we'd be in a playoff position.

Last chance saloon now though, so really need a win v Hull so as not to fall further back.

Palace play watford and middlesbrough in the next 2 matches so points above us will be dropped.

Fingers crossed that Palace drop all 6 points , we still have a game in hand plus they have to play their Cup Final on March 17th

 

[bernardo]

From my point of view:

The Albion doesn't need to buy any more for at least three years.

Dunk is probably the best player at the Albion and definitely my favourite. I've only gone to the Amex once, but after twenty minutes you knew it about number 5. And it happens to be the only Brightonian alongside Hammond.

The Albion's DS, having finished third in their division, they have the best defending record of all the DS divisions in the whole country, better even than United's or Liverpool's. They are the only team who's conceded less than ten goals.

The seagulls already have the team. All you need to do is start bringing players up from the DS squad. Let them learn from the good players you already have. What was wrong with Dobbie. He almost got the seagulls six points singlehandlely against Peterborough ( having played two minutes) and Wolves ( taking the penalty in the last minute ). Mackail-Smith is an amazing player. You don't get the supporters writing you a song if you are average...

Individual skills: I've seen more at Brighton seafront, Preston park, etc...in these thirteen years here than in Madrid or the Spanish footbal on telly. The other thing is the technique, to learn to apply those skills on the pitch for your team ( i.e. Stephen Gerrard, Lampard ), and that comes with the experience.

There's enough talent in streets of this city to be playing in Europe every year.

The Albion has the coach, the players and more importanly, the supporters.

Start building a Team for the City of Brighton and Hove.

Here is a video of Luis Aragonés, the coach that rescue the Spanish national team in 2008 giving them their first title for almost 50 years. This is his speech for the Atletico players 20 minutes before their 1992 King´s Cup final against real at the Bernabeu.

After placing the blackboard in the dressing room and drawing all the tactics and individual and collective movents for their own team and the opponents, he asked: "Have you understood?...are you sure?...really?...because you know what?...this...( banging on the blackboard )...this counts for nothing! What counts is that I'm up to my balls of losing against this team, and in this stadium...What counts is that you are Atletico de Madrid and that there are 50.000 on the stands that are going to die for you...We have to die for them, for your shirt and for your dignity. We have to get out there and say on the pitch that there's only one champion and they are wearing a red and white shirt". And so tells Bernd Schuster and ex-Barcelona and real player, that he never went on to a football pitch more ardent and convinced of a sure victory.

Real Madrid - Atletico de Madrid Final de copa 1992 - Homenaje a Luis Aragonés - YouTube

 

[Kumquat]

I think the OP isn't totally out of order, we ARE underachieving with this squad.

I'm not concerned about it though, we're putting the squad together and getting ourselves set up so when we make the step up, we're ready for it. I have absolutely no doubts that we'll be in the Premier League before too long, and no doubts at all that Poyet is the man to take us there. And then keep us there, which is what really matters. It's not an overnight job, Poyet has my total support because we ARE improving all the time and I have no doubts that if we miss out this season (not a disaster), we'll be right at the top of the league next season.

I agree with that, just hope we can hold onto Gus for another season. Even if he doesn't get us promoted, someone will eventually take him. Just hope that Bloom can find someone to play the same assing football when he goes as Swansea have done over the past few years.

 

[the wanderbus]

our problem is that we don't kill teams off then end up drawing games we should have won. We could easily have at least half a dozen points more than we've got. When we develop that killer instinct our points total will shoot up. The trouble is that it will probably be next season before that happens.

 

[Ninja Elephant]

I agree with that, just hope we can hold onto Gus for another season. Even if he doesn't get us promoted, someone will eventually take him. Just hope that Bloom can find someone to play the same assing football when he goes as Swansea have done over the past few years.

I wonder if the Swansea model might be the ultimate guidance tool. They had Martinez who instigated the change, got them established in the Championship and then left for pastures new. Paulo Sousa came in and added defensive steel whilst still playing the Martinez principle and then ultimately they hired Brendan Rodgers who combined the defensive style with more attacking flair and bosh, look at them now! Michael Laudrup is THE inspired managerial choice of the season, or the last few seasons, and they're in no danger at all of being relegated and the way they're run is very sustainable. That's what we're after.

They won League 1 in 2008 (at the Withdean!), they got promoted to the Premier League after 3 Championship seasons, so why are we getting so worked up about potentially not getting promoted at the end of our second?