Let's All Pack It In...

[Thimble Keegan]

I really think some of the attitude shown by some of our fans makes me wonder why we don't all just pack it in. We have a defeat and everyone goes overboard on the moaning.

We have spent years being mediocre or just plain rubbish and then a couple of seasons of relative success and everyone loses all sense of perspective. Everytime we now lose a game it is all doom and gloom and I just cannot get my head round this. I know on another thread someone has said we should not go on saying it is ok "because we are 5th" but that is wrong. We are 5th and league tables do not lie. I know we are not playing to the standard of a couple of seasons back but at the end of the day this division is shit. We deserve to be where we are.

There was a thread on here a while back saying we are going to win this division by default. That was bascially detailing that this division is crap or incredibly tight (you decide). We maybe not as good as we have previously have been but then no one else is that great in this division either. QPR and even more so Plymouth are putting runs together and giving themselves some breathing space. We got ourselves on a run earlier and went 4 points clear and we are capable of going on another run again.

Whether we can catch the top 2 is debatable but we are easily good enough to finish in the top 4. We played well in patches yesterday (especially) in the first half and if we were more clinical with some of the half chances that came our way we might have got a win. If that had happened everything would have been sweetness and light with us all buzzing. Of course we lost so naturally, our season is all but finished now!!!

If it all goes pear shaped and we end up missing out on the play-offs this season it will be terrible and I will be gutted but not the end of the world. If we get the Falmer green light then that will do for me and then McGhee can look at the squad in the summer and decide what needs doing. I know there is a clamour for signings to be made now but it is only worth signing permanent players as loanees are not the answer. We have a squad so let's use it!!

What is comes down to is that all is not lost so let's not go overboard.

Albion & England forever.

Thimble Keegan
Worthing BHA

 

[Yorkie]

Thank goodness someone else is well balanced

 

[Brovion]

Personally I can't believe we're as high as fifth! I thought we'd finish about ninth so I'm reasonably happy. We all know the standard of this division isn't as good as when we were last in it - the Reading and Cardiff teams of 2001/2 would be out of sight by now.

Still it is a bit of 'tasteless' season. I mean that in the sense of 'bland' not crude. We're out of all the Cups, we're not really playing that well and we know that if we do scrape into Div 1 next year it will take an even bigger miracle to keep us there. I think the realisation has finally sunk in that we have gone as far as we can go with Withdean for a base, getting the green light for Falmer is all that matters.

 

[Beach Hut]

I don't go for all this doom gloom business.

We cannot possibly be as inept as we were once - homing in on the Conference.

You have to hit the lowest of lows to then know that most things are better.

 

[timbha]

fair points well made, BUT I will not accept that as long as we are in a higher position than we were May 1997 things must be better and everything is ok. Thankfully we've left those dark days behind - never to be forgotten but not to be used as a benchmark to measure success - "the bar has been raised".

I spend hideous amounts of money watching the Albion and I sometimes ask myself why (I know the answer), it's a natural reaction to vents one's feelings on this board.

Some of you will remember the decline of the club after we were relegated from Div 1 in '83, then again after losing the Play Off final - on both occasions it was a long and slippery slope. In my memory consolidation has never been an option for the Albion - it's either up or down.

So let's not over react, but equally we must not sit back and do nothing until it's too late.

 

[berkshire seagull]

Yeah lets all agree with eachother how boring

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

But the only result that really matters this season is Yes to Falmer.

Well it is and it isn't. There's the little matter of six thousand souls sitting in the pouring rain expecting a little entertainment, even the odd bit of magic, for their twenty quid. Not unreasonable, that. The attendances are already hovering around the six thousand mark, and if Falmer is the only game in town this season and to hell with the team's performances then how long before the numbers dip to five thousand or lower? Sure for the long term future of the club Falmer is absolutely crucial. But the club also owe the punters who are coming through the turnstiles NOW a fair deal as well. Hopefully when Falmer gets the green light, there might be a bit of early inward investment to try and salvage what's left of the season. Cos this is a team in serious need of re-building.

 

[portlock seagull]

Have to agree about being a tasteless season. I sold half my season ticket whilst I went travelling for 4 months and get it back in January. Went to the QPR LDV and a) didn't know half the team b) couldn't believe how much Knight kept falling over c) see we've yet another manager whilst I've been away d) know we're really not strong enough to go up unless fortunate via the play offs.

Basically with the constant loss of quality players and managers I've accepted we're a div.2 club at best unless Falmer happens. Have put my life and soul into this club in the past but can't get enthusiastic about a 4 hour round trip to a dump of a ground with no atmosphere coupled with the above at greagt cost to my wallet! Not really bothered about this season as I've not been "involved" from the start and we're not exactly exciting.

And why of why did Knight not start the Swindon game if he's the league's top scorer. McGhee would do well to admit he got that wrong in tomorrow's Argus........

 

[Thimble Keegan]

Yeah lets all agree with eachother how boring

You are missing the point somewhat...I am not asking everyone to best mates and all get on I am just trying to dispell all the doom & gloom that seems to come with every defeat.

That said it would be ace if we were all together and pulling in the same direction as it would be a major help. It was mentioned earlier that we should not hark back to the dark old days of 1995-1997 but if those times taught us anything then it was strength in unity.

Albion & England forever.

Thimble Keegan
Worthing BHA

 

[berkshire seagull]

People are turning there back on the withdean know thick and fast,so to think its 3 more years there makes you wonder whats in store.

 

[Thimble Keegan]

Well, I am not turning my back on Withdean!! I think the place is awful but will always keep going through thick and thin.

Albion & England forever.

Thimble Keegan
Worthing BHA

 

[Charlies Shinpad]

I agree with what a lot of people are saying on here,but WHEN we get falmer,will we be able to fill it?

Look at the Swindon game,played on a Sunday in a good stadium,so there is no excuse for the Home fans not to turn up really,the away fans take 2,000 and you can still only get 7,000 home fans to turn up!!

That could be us if we are still playing mediocre football in this Sub Standard Division when we get Falmer.

We need to get ourselves better equipped on the pitch in readiness to progress to falmer and the dizzier heights of the Football league

And worse case scenario we dont want to become another Darlington!!

 

[mitch]

we had two great promotion seasons and as with this expectation levels where considreably higher than before which is right and to be expected.
then last seasons disappointment where a lot of people looked to the start we had but the way the team rallied and nearly got out of it.
so this season starts no zamora,no new replacement strikers brought into the club until late on and i'm thinking mid table finish whilst slowly improving the team.the season starts and we get off to a flyer and most of us are right the standard of the division is'nt great.
but heres the problem are we actually that good or just better than the average i look as a good example as qpr who have been doing well in div2 for a number of seasons and slowly improving there sqauds year in year out.
and if this was going to be the scenario this season then bring it on and that means a good go at the play offs i would be more than happy.as it also gives me the chance to grumble we should still be up there but ha we've had a real bad run but are still in with a shout.

 

[Zebedee]

Well it is and it isn't. There's the little matter of six thousand souls sitting in the pouring rain expecting a little entertainment, even the odd bit of magic, for their twenty quid. Not unreasonable, that. The attendances are already hovering around the six thousand mark, and if Falmer is the only game in town this season and to hell with the team's performances then how long before the numbers dip to five thousand or lower? Sure for the long term future of the club Falmer is absolutely crucial. But the club also owe the punters who are coming through the turnstiles NOW a fair deal as well. Hopefully when Falmer gets the green light, there might be a bit of early inward investment to try and salvage what's left of the season. Cos this is a team in serious need of re-building.

I agree Tom. In my view, we need to think about replacing both Mayo and Watson as soon as we are able to. I've no doubt that their best days are well and truly behind them. The number of times both this season and last that Messrs Watson and Mayo have been exposed by pacey players running at them is nothing short of embarrassing. Two good replacements, a midfielder (I doubt Yeates will be staying much longer and Rehman is a waste of money) and a new striker and we may have a team good enough to win the play-offs. Piercey has done well up front but we need more cover for injuries especially since OGH is not having the best of seasons.

 

[Brady's Old Lady]

Agree with Mitch. We went from Zeros to Heros very quickly! There was bound to be some counterbalance to that.

The biggest problem is that BZ has gone. Leon's doing great but Bobby was about more than scoring hatfuls of goals. The way he held the ball up and was able to attack defences meant that the other team was constantly defending from their own halfway line. That's not happening now, and the impact just percolates right through the team. I also think that Brooker is missed. We don't seem to have anyone that can keep the ball and allow the midfield the time to revert from defensive duties to attacking.

Having said that I'm still very comfortable with where we are after the traumas of the 90s

 

[GUNTER]

This division is there for the taking.

Do we want it badly enough?

If so, we should be beating teams like Swindon or at least coming away with a point whilst winning our home games.

I think we are play off material at best, provided the squad are focused and committed.

 

[Storer68]

At the moment I'm reasonably happy with this season. Post Coppell it could have all gone tits up very easily, but we're still in the promotion race, we've got the Division's top-scorer, and Falmer seems to be within touching distance.

And if he did go up, and then struggled to stay up, welll wouldn't thant be a terrible problem to have.............. struggling to stay in Division 1 - I'll take that kind of season anytime.

and lets face it, we're only six places lower than we were last season -

 

[Titanic]

Well it is and it isn't. There's the little matter of six thousand souls sitting in the pouring rain expecting a little entertainment, even the odd bit of magic, for their twenty quid.

That describes the first half on Boxing Day pretty accurately for me.

 

[Yorkie]

We are still going to games with an expectation and a hope that we can stay in contention for automatic promotion.

Even if that falls away then we can hope for a play off place.

We're not resigned to anything yet.

Falmer may only be weeks away now and that excites me more than anything.

 

[GUNTER]

True, but to be honest, I thought we would walk this division once we got Knight in as out form in the second half of last season would have meant a mid-table finish if we had played like that from the start.

I think Brooker going has had as much of an impact as Zamora and we need a winger to create more chances as Hart is not playing at his best.