Maybe I'm being overly pessimistic here, but I wonder whether we have lost an 'element of surprise' going into next season? I think many teams this year expected us to be a mediocre league 1 team with aspirations of getting to the play offs, but in the first couple of months I think teams were stunned by our style of play and we virtually played them off the park- Charlton, Peterborough etc. Nearer the end of the season, teams seemed to work us out and we had to scrape victories... I just hope that we make the additions to our team which mean we can still play gusball and not get pressurized too much on the ball-which will inevitably happen more in the Championship. This is why I think we need to retain Murray or get someone in with equally good aerial ability because when teams did try and close us down this season- Bournemouth away springs to mind, we looked a bit clueless and didn't have a plan B...
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Lost the 'element of surprise' going into next season?
- Thread starter stss30
- Start date
Lush
Mods' Pet
I was thinking about this while watching the FA Cup Final. Stoke were playing catch up and lumping/hurling the ball forward to their powerful strikers, as they are wont to do. But never has Gus's mantra that "if you don't have the football, you can't score", been truer than the last 20 mins or so of that game.
- Thread starter
- #3
I'm fully in favor of Gus's style of play. I'm just saying that I hope we get someone with good aerial ability as another option, because we're going to get pressurized on the ball much more in the Champ and as I say when we have been pressurized this season we have seemed slightly clueless as to what to do
Obviously it's going to be a lot harder next year and we'll need the players, but I think we'll still have some element of surprise. Don't forget, at the start of this year, most bookies/experts had as down to be in the playoffs so we weren't all that much of an unknown force - of course, we completely out-did that prediction, but I think most people were a bit wary of us.
I believe it will be similar this year. Teams will be wary of us, and perhaps more aware of our style of play, but I don't think many people will expect us to do much better than a top half finish.
So if we do defy expectations, we will still be a surprise team to some extent. Though personally, I don't think we will be competing to quite the same degree as we did this year.
I believe it will be similar this year. Teams will be wary of us, and perhaps more aware of our style of play, but I don't think many people will expect us to do much better than a top half finish.
So if we do defy expectations, we will still be a surprise team to some extent. Though personally, I don't think we will be competing to quite the same degree as we did this year.
Scoffers
Well-known member
It depends so much on who we can bring in, I'm guessing more teams try to play football in the Championship than L1 so our passing and link-up play will need to ramp up a notch or two to be as effective as it was this last season.
British Bulldog
The great escape
- Feb 6, 2006
- 10,967
I'm would imagine Gus and the coaching staff have learned a lot from this season and knowing next season will be a lot harder I'm sure they'll bring in the right players to cope with the task ahead, I would'nt say we did'nt have a plan B because when needed we could grind out results in scrappy games where the opposition stopped us playing our passing game.
Icy Gull
Back on the rollercoaster
- Jul 5, 2003
- 72,015
Big difference is that in most of those games the opposition forwards missed a couple of sitters, that will not be the case next season as the quality of strikers is much higher. Without improving the quality of our defence at Championship level I don't think we'll be able to sit back and let teams come at us for the last 20 mins of a game whilst we sit on a lead.
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- #8
Yeah, we were never comfortable in the last 15 minutes- Yeovil, Oldham. And this is why I am a bit concerned. In the Championship if you give the ball away cheaply lets say 3 times at least one of these times the opposition would score
British Bulldog
The great escape
- Feb 6, 2006
- 10,967
The other difference is we'll have better players to cope with the better opposition.
- Thread starter
- #10
Watford fans seem to think us and Soton will do well Next season. - WFC Forums maybe just because we beat them though!
gripper stebson
Well-known member
- Jul 27, 2004
- 6,680
From a Watford fan:
"IMHO Brighton will be either Champions or Runners-up."
Blimey
"IMHO Brighton will be either Champions or Runners-up."
Blimey
Gritt23
New member
I don't think our style relies much on "surprise", it's just whether teams can do anything to stop it. Let's face it, when we went to Stoke, we knew EXACTLY how they would play, but stopping it was something quite different.
bhamex1901
New member
- Dec 20, 2010
- 679
My personal opinion is that on average you are pressurised less the higher up the leagues you go. Obviously some teams (the well organised Stoke) are different but you do seem to get more time on the ball. I am just hopeful for a consolidating season - I would be happy with top half.
Publius Ovidius
Well-known member
certainly our "style" suited Stoke, as when we were tippy tappy passing it at the back, then just rushed us and took the ball at will.
OK Stoke are premiership, but there are some very good sides in teh championship who have quick players and i assume that is what managers will; send out against us.
OK Stoke are premiership, but there are some very good sides in teh championship who have quick players and i assume that is what managers will; send out against us.
mcshane in the 79th
New member
- Nov 4, 2005
- 10,485
Very true. Everyone knows how Spain play, but no one really came close to stopping them winning the World Cup
That was one of our best performances of the season, if we can add to the squad and feel no pressure next year we have as good a chance as anyone else
Icy Gull
Back on the rollercoaster
- Jul 5, 2003
- 72,015
Corrected your post for you, at the moment we are only looking to lose better players
Before anyone goes off on one, my tongue is very firmly in my cheek here
Pavilionaire
Well-known member
- Jul 7, 2003
- 31,093
The results would seem to suggest that in the second half of the season we finished strongly, and that only after securing the Championship did we take our foot off the gas.
That doesn't bother me - if often happens. QPR's results deteriorated once they'd secured promotion, it's in the nature of professional players to relax once they'd secured their objective.
As for next season, it's too early to comment as the transfer season hasn't got into full swing yet. We've seen enough of Championship football in the last 8 or 9 years to know it will be tough, but I don't see any real signs for pessimism. There are other sides with much more to worry about - Doncaster, Barnsley, Portsmouth being 3.
That doesn't bother me - if often happens. QPR's results deteriorated once they'd secured promotion, it's in the nature of professional players to relax once they'd secured their objective.
As for next season, it's too early to comment as the transfer season hasn't got into full swing yet. We've seen enough of Championship football in the last 8 or 9 years to know it will be tough, but I don't see any real signs for pessimism. There are other sides with much more to worry about - Doncaster, Barnsley, Portsmouth being 3.
We surprised league one teams who were familiar with us so had expectations. Championship sides (Portsmouth andWatford aside) aren't familiar with us, perhaps that means we can surprise them, or that they won't know what to expect from us.
I imagine there's also a degree of "Brighton are only a league one team, they may have done well in league one, but we're a big championship club we could have done better than them", so there may still be teams that underestimate us.
I imagine there's also a degree of "Brighton are only a league one team, they may have done well in league one, but we're a big championship club we could have done better than them", so there may still be teams that underestimate us.