I think some people need to RAISE their expectations of next season

[00snook]

As a direct response to the other thread talking about lowering expectations, below are my reasons why this is defnintely not the right way to go.

All this talk of lowering expectations is absolute nonsense.

The only way to possibly improve at anything ever in the world ever is to achieve what you can, and then do everything in your power to better yourself the next time you do that thing.

This applies to running marathons, running businesses, running the NHS or running Brighton and Hove Albion Football Club.

I would absolutely hate to be somebody who just thinks "well this is my lot in life, I need to be realistic and not strive for anything better"

FFS how would the majority of you feel if Tony and Gus came out in a press conference and said "well next season we are just going to try and not do worse than we did last season; however we expect we will as football is tough. The fans need to lower their expectations"

People would be in uproar about this, and rightly so.

Get a grip people, we need to to better next season than we did this season, or next season is an abject failure. Simple as that.

 

[Seagull27]

I don't think that's entirely what people were saying.

Of course we'll try our best, we'll be doing everything we can to progress. And progress we will - but perhaps not as quickly as some people are expecting and we should be patient. If it doesn't totally work out next season that doesn't mean we're not still on track.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Absolutely! Automatic promotion is a must! Gus OUT, f*** the nice attractive good football, get Big Sam in and lets HOOF our way to glory!

Has big Sam got any glory yet?
My hope is that we do better but I'm not going to go ballistic if we don't or want to chuck in the whole thing if we do badly for some reason. Life just isn't that simple.

 

[00snook]

Absolutely! Automatic promotion is a must! Gus OUT, f*** the nice attractive good football, get Big Sam in and lets HOOF our way to glory!

When did I say a single thing that you have written above?

Honestly Plooks try to stay on track.

Love Gus and the way we play football. I have said that 100's of times on this board.

Just think we need to be striving to better ourselves, not jog along forever in the Championship.

And YES that does mean going for promotion next year. What is wrong with that?

 

[00snook]

I don't think that's entirely what people were saying.

Of course we'll try our best, we'll be doing everything we can to progress. And progress we will - but perhaps not as quickly as some people are expecting and we should be patient. If it doesn't totally work out next season that doesn't mean we're not still on track.

Agree with that entirely, but that isn't what others are saying.

There is a lot of "we will probably do worse next season, and that isn't such a bad thing" on this board, and my point was that this is a bullshit way to look at things.

 

[Rugrat]

Well every team should be going for promotion every year ... kinda seems pointless otherwise and I for one really don't go for the "building" stuff. It may be a reason why we, or indeed anyone doesn't get promoted, but it's not something any half ambitious Manager/Club should declare before a ball is kicked as a reason why they are likely to fail.

I absolutely agree we need to do better next year although I'm not sure if better just means improving on 10th but that would be a start. Play offs would be brilliant

 

[00snook]

Just don't employ the win at all costs attitude. Good, attractive, passing, SUSTAINABLE football is infinitely better than a glory for a few years and then bust unattractive-playing to whatever mercenary footballers strengths you can get style football.

Lets do things properly. If it means oscillating about in the Championship for a while, who cares? Because if we build a sustainable football team playing proper football, developing players, we will eventually get a crack at the big time and we will do well there.

People need to chill the f*** out. Calm down. It is a slow process.

Not sure I agree it has to be a slow process, but you have a point about things being sustainable.

All that being said I still think we need to be improving year on year, not being happy with one season 10th, then 14th, then 8th, then 11th, then 7th or however it pans out.

Guess its just the way I think about things. Unless you are improving whats the point, would be my question.

 

[Gullflyinghigh]

What's wrong with taking a season or two to consolidate our position in the Championship?

Obviously, you play to win regardless, that's how football works, but there'd be no shame or real disappointment from me if we have a few seasons like the one just gone before we go for a real push. With our apparently sensible chairman and presumably happy financial situation we're lucky to be a team that don't NEED to get promoted to survive.

 

[00snook]

What's wrong with taking a season or two to consolidate our position in the Championship?

Obviously, you play to win regardless, that's how football works, but there'd be no shame or real disappointment from me if we have a few seasons like the one just gone before we go for a real push. With our apparently sensible chairman and presumably happy financial situation we're lucky to be a team that don't NEED to get promoted to survive.

Nothing is wrong with this, nor is there anything wrong with seeing an improvement over 5 years as [MENTION=15363]Plooks[/MENTION] has said.

I just think that being happy with a worst season next season than the one we have just had is madness.

 

[pork pie]

Absolutely! Automatic promotion is a must! Gus OUT, f*** the nice attractive good football, get Big Sam in and lets HOOF our way to glory!

What "nice attractive football"? I cannot see anything remotely attractive about backwards and sideways passes at a walking pace. IF we must play tippy tappy Latino football. we should at least try to do it at a tempo that does it some justice. Our poor man's version is about as attractive as Dot Cotton from Eastenders.

 

[Seagull27]

Nothing is wrong with this, nor is there anything wrong with seeing an improvement over 5 years as [MENTION=15363]Plooks[/MENTION] has said.

I just think that being happy with a worst season next season than the one we have just had is madness.

What about if we have a worse season next year, but then challenge for promotion the year after? I think that's what people are getting at, even if we did come 12th-16th next year then it may not be a disaster as we may be in a better position to challenge the following year.

 

[00snook]

What about if we have a worse season next year, but then challenge for promotion the year after? I think that's what people are getting at, even if we did come 12th-16th next year then it may not be a disaster as we may be in a better position to challenge the following year.

Yes, and also we MAY be in a worse position.

Plenty of may's there.

Still in my opinion the only way to do things is to improve season upon season.

I would expect that Gus feels the same way

 

[Seagull27]

Yes, and also we MAY be in a worse position.

Plenty of may's there.

Still in my opinion the only way to do things is to improve season upon season.

I would expect that Gus feels the same way

Yes, we should improve each season. But we could still improve upon this season - in terms of our squad, and our future chances of promotion - and yet finish lower down the table next season.

 

[kevtherev]

Show me a good loser and I will show you a loser. This board seems to be full of them. 10th place finish this season, so next season we should be aiming at the top six anything below 10th would be a failure.

 

[00snook]

Yes, we should improve each season. But we could still improve upon this season - in terms of our squad, and our future chances of promotion - and yet finish lower down the table next season.

So a better squad equals a lower league position?

Surely in that case they are a worse squad

 

[00snook]

Show me a good loser and I will show you a loser. This board seems to be full of them. 10th place finish this season, so next season we should be aiming at the top six anything below 10th would be a failure.

Yes kevtherev, well said my son. Finally some sense spoken.

Have never met anybody who is a winner who is happy with a performance that wasn't at least as good, if not better than his last one.

 

[kevtherev]

What "nice attractive football"? I cannot see anything remotely attractive about backwards and sideways passes at a walking pace. IF we must play tippy tappy Latino football. we should at least try to do it at a tempo that does it some justice. Our poor man's version is about as attractive as Dot Cotton from Eastenders.

Spot on,,,I shake my head in disbelieve when I hear people comparing us with Swansea. They attack with pace and the ball always seems to be moving in a forward direction..Even they are starting to be found out a bit. Any manager/team who's tactics do not change from time to time, will get found out and end up everyone's whipping boys. That's why managers have clubs scouted ffs..It's not rocket science, it's a football managers job!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Seagull27]

So a better squad equals a lower league position?

Surely in that case they are a worse squad

Not necessarily.

1) The league will be a lot harder next year, so although we're a better team than we are this year, there are more teams that are better than us

2) Instead of trying to build a team that will get promotion immediately (extremely hard, expensive and prone to failure), we build a team that take a while to settle and to gel into our style, but once they do then we challenge for promotion in a much better position with players that know how we play. This might take a couple of years, but, in my opinion, more likely to succeed.

 

[stss30]

Agree with that entirely, but that isn't what others are saying.

There is a lot of "we will probably do worse next season, and that isn't such a bad thing" on this board, and my point was that this is a bullshit way to look at things.

Another person to completely miss the point. I'm not saying doing worse isn't a bad thing. I'm just saying that we overachieved in the early part of the season and need to get in quality players as early as possible to give them time to gel as a team. Just because we were challenging for the play offs this season does not mean we will be challenging for them next season, but that is the aim.

 

[stss30]

Not necessarily.

1) The league will be a lot harder next year, so although we're a better team than we are this year, there are more teams that are better than us

2) Instead of trying to build a team that will get promotion immediately (extremely hard, expensive and prone to failure), we build a team that take a while to settle and to gel into our style, but once they do then we challenge for promotion in a much better position with players that know how we play. This might take a couple of years, but, in my opinion, more likely to succeed.

Exactly.