My opinion... Remember you do not have to open/read this...

[Kumquat]

Great honest post.
I've said it all season as well...there is no Plan B.

I think we need a goal poacher rather than a rapper/actor/social commentator. To be fair Ill Manors is my favourite album and film this year, but I think Ben's talents, as extensive as they are, do not stretch to getting us promoted.

 

[drew]

someone posted a thread last week about pushing Gus upstairs and bringing in a young coach
its an Idea I am beginning to warm to

Exactly what job is he going to do 'upstairs'? He is young manager so that won't appeal to him at a small club like ours. He will be ambitious to manage a big club, like every manager before him.

 

[Return of the Rev]

Exactly what job is he going to do 'upstairs'? He is young manager so that won't appeal to him at a small club like ours. He will be ambitious to manage a big club, like every manager before him.

#

 

[Jimmy boy 69]

Wow. What a post. And it took you 4 hours to write that? Hmm, as a writer how long does it take you to write a whole book? And check your spelling on ''Embaressed'' (bit disappointing for a writer, spelling mistakes).
Anyway, do you not think you are being a bit over dramatic? You lost today (yesterday) to a team that is top of the league. I know it grates and you don't think we are good enough to go up etc but sadly for you, we are! There have been numerous managers who have said this season that we are the best team they have played. There is a pattern developing there.
Yes, you lost a man early and that didn't help you but that still shouldn't stop you having a major say in the match. Lots of teams cope with losing a player and put up a solid defensive performance. Obviously that was beyond your team.
But...you are still an above average Championship team. Hell, you might even go up this year! Admittedly you would have to qualify for the play-offs but that is a realistic target for you. All clubs need to feel they are playing for something, don't they? You may well have a chance of just sneaking in there!
For a small club like Brighton who has spent most of their recent history in the lower league's, you have done well to attract a good number of transient fans. You are doing bloody well!
Chin-up!

Well said!

 

[stss30]

I do agree with some of your points. Our two main weaknesses are tactical nieveity (especially defensively) and the lack of a striker who can put away our chances. If we can get a quality striker in January and keep key players fit such and Buckley and Bridge we'll be right up there.

 

[One Teddy Maybank]

My opinion as a scum fan is as follows,
On my limited experience of watching you, the total football that Gus loves and sticks to rigorously, won't get you up. Yesterday's game was typical of what teams will do against you, get in tight, get the midfield won, and all the pretty passing across the back four wont get you a result. Sometimes you have to go more direct , get your wingers out wide and hit em with balls so they can get in behind the full backs, and get crosses in the the danger area.
The sending off changed the game , and CMS woefull attempt at the start of the second half could have made things interesting,but to be honest, you were well beat by a decent team, as much as it will hurt you .
Bottom line is , have another option, sometimes you need to win ugly .

Well put..... I think you probably are a decent team and your best signing in terms of going up may end up being Holloway. Of course I really hope you lose every game from now on.........

 

[boik]

I do agree with some of your points. Our two main weaknesses are tactical nieveity (especially defensively) and the lack of a striker who can put away our chances. If we can get a quality striker in January and keep key players fit such and Buckley and Bridge we'll be right up there.

I'm not sure that I agree with blaming Gus for tactical naivity. Every time I see us, we play extremely well at the start of each half i.e. when Gus has just imparted his instructions. I don't think you can blame Gus for Dunks cock-up yesterday, or CMS hitting the post, or the missed pen and 3 strikes of the woodwork against Bolton.

I honestly think that this team has played some of the best football I have ever seen from an Albion team,including the 79 team, and the best is yet to come. Players will get more used to the division, Albions style of play and each other. Spanish Dave for example is obviously a quality player who hasn't adjusted yet, but he will, as will Dobbie.

If the team involved was Palace, losing to the second placed team, with half a defence missing and only 10 men, would just be seen as expected, and not the disaster that some people with short memories seem to think.

We will come good again, and Palace will have a dip through squad deficiencies exposed by injuries, bookings and natural wear and tear. I will not be at all surprised if we finish above them.

My blue and white striped glass has been half-full or more since '73!

 

[Jim D]

..........Why does Toby the Viking never get a game? I'm certain he'd do a job.
Every time Bridcutt wins the ball, the pass is shit and either goes out of play or back to the opposition........ .

You may be a writer but your eyesight is poor. Toby is barely good enough for the dev side and you've obviously not been watching Bridcutt at all. Sure he sometimes misses a pass, but so does Scholes, Villa, Gerrard, and the whole Arsenal side. It's what happens when you play football.

 

[mona]

My opinion as a scum fan is as follows,
On my limited experience of watching you, the total football that Gus loves and sticks to rigorously, won't get you up. Yesterday's game was typical of what teams will do against you, get in tight, get the midfield won, and all the pretty passing across the back four wont get you a result. Sometimes you have to go more direct , get your wingers out wide and hit em with balls so they can get in behind the full backs, and get crosses in the the danger area.
The sending off changed the game , and CMS woefull attempt at the start of the second half could have made things interesting,but to be honest, you were well beat by a decent team, as much as it will hurt you .
Bottom line is , have another option, sometimes you need to win ugly .

You are spot on, sir. Gus's achievement in getting us out of Div 1 was magnificent. Since then we have spent lots of cash, let Murray go and made slight progress. If nothing else comes from yesterday, perhaps some of our fans will stop treating Poyet like a deity. As for Palace it was a good day for you but a few injuries might make a big difference. The trouble with this division is that parachute payments will help undeserving clubs as the season goes on.

 

[Seagull over Canaryland]

I agree with the main thrust of the OP's analysis. Currently we are not consistently good enough to be really serious contenders. On paper our squad looks much stronger than last year. You would hope that a years experience of the Championship would have helped us learn to cope better, especially when things don't go as planned (like yesterday). Yet we are so inconsistent. OK we are in 8th place - so far from a disaster. I think it is the case that in spite of his huge playing experience Gus is very much learning his craft as a manager at this level and still makes naive mistakes or appears reluctant to change his tactics. What the fans are looking for is for him to show that he is learning and these mistakes become fewer.

We have bullied some teams but also looked average against many of our main rivals and even some of the inferior sides too. OK we look fairly comfortable at The Amex (not invincable) and started to look very confident away from home too. I was very encouraged by our style in the opening game at Hull when it seemed Gus relaxed the tippy tappy rules and allowed more freedom of expression. We battered Hull with Bruno, Bridge, Noone and CMS looking very dangerous having 18 shots which was revolutionary compared to last year, giving cause for great optimism. However poor finishing and a moments complacency cost us all of the points. We subsequently played well at Burnley, Millwall and Huddersfield.

However I was alarmed at how readily we were taken apart at Leicester in the opening 15 minutes who seemed to recognise that if they got at Greer in particular right from the kick off we would struggle. It is rather worrying that Gus can be tactically out thought by Nigel Pearson but they executed their plan well and should have been out of sight by the time Barnes fluffed his penalty. Yet I didn't think Leicester were that special and we could have come back but any sort of plan 'B' from Gus seemed far too tentative.

IMHO we still have too many 'good League 1 standard players' in critical positions who are now looking average at this level. Kuszchak, Bruno and Orlandi look to be good signings, and maybe Crofts will find his form. But we have several players who are too marginal. We have been lucky until now not to have lots of injuries or suspensions but now we look very vulnerable. I hope Gus will have a purge so TB can bring in 2 or 3 quality players, otherwise we might be reading similar posts this time next season. I'm sure that TB recognises we are very much 'work in progress' and further investment will follow but also wants to see the current signings perform.

Spending money isn't the only answer - look at Palace, they have motivated an average squad into a confident run that has taken full advantage of the inconsistent form of its stronger rivals. The key seems to be instilling confidence and playing attacking footie through the right formation (maybe a few helpful Refs too, ha ha).

 

[maglers]

Why don't you want Palace to go up? IMO one of two things will happen if they get to the Premier League: they will get humiliated every week (like Reading) or they will overspend in an attempt to stay up and go out of business. And if we're really lucky, both could happen...

 

[DavidinSouthampton]

Had we won yesterday, we would be in the play-off places and only three points behind palace.

As it is, less than half way through the season, we are 9 points behind Palace who are in an automatic promotion place.

Who knows, in 5 matches time we could be above palace - then again we might not. At the end of the season we could be above them if we have a good run and they have a bad run.

As for yesterday, we have major problems with injuries in defence. If Bridge and El-Abd had been there, would things have been different? We will never know.

And as for the Glenn Murray stuff, maybe Gus was spitting blood that we could not keep him, and maybe it was just a matter of timing that we decided we could spend a bit that brought CMS et al in.. If Gus was not that bothered, then maybe it was a mistake, or maybe Glenn would be firing blanks if he had stayed - quite possibly not, but we eill never know. I am not a conspiracy theorist on this one.

maybe the fact that Glenn is not still here is just an indication that this is a well and responsibly run club financially, which has to be a good thing, surely.

Onwards and Upwards. I wonder if Alex ferguson ever made a mistake. Man U did nearly get rid of him fairly early in his tenure

 

[PsychoPaul]

Categorically, Palace will not go up this season.

For what it's worth, I doubt we will either.

And apparently you was going to win yesterday....

 

[Brian Fantana]

And apparently you was going to win yesterday....

I don't see the connection.