[Albion] Albion fans’ gripes

[DavidinSouthampton]

Which one are you?

1. I’d rather win 1-0, keep a clean sheet, 3 more points on the board and bollocks whether we deserved it or not.

or

2. I prefer that we lost 4-3 in a jolly exciting and entertaining game, full of incidents and drama and no little skill. Oh well, better luck next time. Still, much better than a boring 1-0 win with only one shot on target.

Many on the Wolves fans forum much preferred the expansive, attacking play to our “dull, negative” approach. Fair enough. But we got the 3 points and they didn’t. Had the reverse scenario happened I wonder whether their opinion would have changed?

Very much in #1 camp, but while being well aware that we can play much better..... and will in the not too distant future.

 

[DavidinSouthampton]

Or old ones like me who complained about similarly negative football last time we were in the top flight (See Mike Bailey). The difference then was it did not cost a small fortune and there were other distractions when things got boring like having a drink whilst still watching the match, and some entertainment on the terraces. I am not so interested in seeing the Albion play "big teams" as watching us win in an entertaining manner. To be clear, I am not one of the moaners (yet), but things need to change. If they do not, I would be happy to go back to the Championship.

For what it is worth, Chris appears top agree about the quality based upon today's Argus article.

I think it's abundantly clear that CH, while being happy to get the points, is desperate for us to play better. He has actually said that we can't rely on keeping the opposition out with 27 shots or whatever, and scoring with our one shot on target.

 

[drew]

Which one are you?

1. I’d rather win 1-0, keep a clean sheet, 3 more points on the board and bollocks whether we deserved it or not.

or

2. I prefer that we lost 4-3 in a jolly exciting and entertaining game, full of incidents and drama and no little skill. Oh well, better luck next time. Still, much better than a boring 1-0 win with only one shot on target.

Many on the Wolves fans forum much preferred the expansive, attacking play to our “dull, negative” approach. Fair enough. But we got the 3 points and they didn’t. Had the reverse scenario happened I wonder whether their opinion would have changed?

But that's not how football works, is it. You don't get to pick the style and score before the game. And just to remind you, Wolves, with their style of play are above us in the league. That may of course change. (posted this before but didn't click on the right button!)

 

[Finchley Seagull]

But that's not how football works, is it. You don't get to pick the style and score before the game. And just to remind you, Wolves, with their style of play are above us in the league. That may of course change.

All depends on your perspective. Wolves may play attacking football but they have scored 9 goals all season (as compared to boring Brighton's 11). You may want to watch a certain style of play but watching my team play like Wolves did on Saturday but not scoring regularly would frustrate me a lot and I wouldn't find enjoyable.

 

[Chicken Run]

This moan about 3 points but unattractive football in the top flight isn’t a new phenomenon, in the early 1980’s Mike Bailey who Back then took us to I highest league finish to date lost his job over it. Loads of fans moaned about similar back then.

 

[Finchley Seagull]

Or old ones like me who complained about similarly negative football last time we were in the top flight (See Mike Bailey). The difference then was it did not cost a small fortune and there were other distractions when things got boring like having a drink whilst still watching the match, and some entertainment on the terraces. I am not so interested in seeing the Albion play "big teams" as watching us win in an entertaining manner. To be clear, I am not one of the moaners (yet), but things need to change. If they do not, I would be happy to go back to the Championship.

For what it is worth, Chris appears top agree about the quality based upon today's Argus article.

And we sacked Mike Bailey, because a lot of fans agreed with you, and that nearly ended up with the club going out of business. I would have hoped people would have learnt from that experience.

 

[erkan]

To paraphrase Attila:

And one day, when our new home’s built, and we are storming back
A bunch of happy fans without a care
We¹ll look back on our darkest hour and raise our glasses high
and say with irritation: What about the possession stats? Why can't I bring a flask in? Why don't we have any chip forks, and what the hell happened to the cup final money?

Well played with that one.

It is almost beyond belief that any Albion fan could currently be disappointed or frustrated by our players and their performances - but there are some very strange folk around..!

 

[LamieRobertson]

And you be happy with that week in week out? Our goal (and only attempt on target) came about because of a miss hit shot from Bruno.

I don’t think you would ever be happy no matter what

 

[Chicken Run]

TBh I don’t mind winning 1-0 each week playing dull football, what I do mind is being put through a bombarding assault by visiting non top six sides for the last 15 minutes, that isn’t enjoyable especially when we hit them on the counter twice and **** it up!

 

[darkwolf666]

Which one are you?

1. I’d rather win 1-0, keep a clean sheet, 3 more points on the board and bollocks whether we deserved it or not.

or

2. I prefer that we lost 4-3 in a jolly exciting and entertaining game, full of incidents and drama and no little skill. Oh well, better luck next time. Still, much better than a boring 1-0 win with only one shot on target.

Many on the Wolves fans forum much preferred the expansive, attacking play to our “dull, negative” approach. Fair enough. But we got the 3 points and they didn’t. Had the reverse scenario happened I wonder whether their opinion would have changed?

Kevin Keegan was a great advocate of Plan 2. Remind me where he is now exactly?

 

[Brovion]

21 years is a long time in football.

Indeed. We can't use Hereford and 1997 as a reference point for absolutely everything. That said however some of the comments on that 'interesting conversation' thread defy belief. Only a very very few to be sure, but the further we get into the Amex era and the more Archer, Priestfield and Withdean fade into history then sadly I think they'll grow in number. And they're not all from young fans either who don't remember the Bad Old Days..

CH as said himself that the performances haven't been that good and we've dodged a few bullets. Mike Bailey (to whom some are now comparing him) never said that after a win. He was very much from the "if fans want entertainment they can go to the circus" school of thought. (Without googling I think that was originally said by Ian Greaves).

 

[Alba Badger]

Missed my flask of coffee, it was nippy.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

1997: “We don’t have a ground. Our owners have completely shafted us. We are losing every week in the fourth division. We are going out of business. We are destined for the Vauxhall Conference”

2018: “We’re not winning Premier League matches in a manner that is easy on the eye”

2018: NSC would look a very different place this afternoon if even 2 of Wolves' 25 shots had gone in. It was a piss-poor home performance by the Albion whichever way you look at it. Well, apart from the 3 points, obviously. At some point sometime our heroic defenders deserve some kind of respite from being human shields. Our attacks are increasingly few and far between. Those desperate 1-0's playing much the same side as we had in the Championship won't see us comfortably through the season. We're riding the very edge of our luck currently.

 

[melias shoes]

1996: Dodgy guts courtesy of the half time burger
2004: Dodgy guts courtesy of the half time burger
2018: Dodgy guts courtesy of the half time burger

The moral of the story.... stop having half time burgers.

 

[Silverhatch]

And you be happy with that week in week out? Our goal (and only attempt on target) came about because of a miss hit shot from Bruno.

Not sure my heart could take that sort of game week-in-week-out. Like many of us, I've seen the Albion thru the years perform on spectrums that range from great to utter shit, and from more direct to tippy-tappy (and probably everything in between). Three grindy-outy one-nils in the Premier League have been bloody exciting and also yielded 9-points. Do I want us to play better, more expansive football? Yes. But let's face it, right now I'll settle for team that is organised and hard to beat. We'll need to be both of those things, and lucky, when we roll into Goodison on Saturday.

 

[sussex_guy2k2]

1997: “We don’t have a ground. Our owners have completely shafted us. We are losing every week in the fourth division. We are going out of business. We are destined for the Vauxhall Conference”

2018: “We’re not winning Premier League matches in a manner that is easy on the eye”

Can't we want more aesthetically pleasing football whilst still appreciating where we are?

 

[pork pie]

And we sacked Mike Bailey, because a lot of fans agreed with you, and that nearly ended up with the club going out of business. I would have hoped people would have learnt from that experience.

I think your link between the sacking of Mike Bailey in 1982 and the financial problems you mention, is to say the least, very weak. The problems were very much "off the pitch", involving the ownership. The ownership is now beyond reproach.

 

[The Large One]

For those moaning about 'unattractive football' (it's a valid point), don't forget that this isn't the way Hughton wants it, and he has said that he isn't overly impressed with the way we are playing. Our defensive approach is good, our ball retention is, at times, shocking (I'm paraphrasing).

We do know how to keep the ball, and for some reason (maybe many) we aren't. So keeping the defensive solidity while improving ball retention will make for a better spectacle.

 

[Rugrat]

Playing entertaining football and winning are mutually exclusive then. Someone better tell Ken

 

[Finchley Seagull]

I think your link between the sacking of Mike Bailey in 1982 and the financial problems you mention, is to say the least, very weak. The problems were very much "off the pitch", involving the ownership. The ownership is now beyond reproach.

I disagree. Relegation was the start of the issues we faced and began a lot of what happened.

We could always change our style and play like Fulham. That is working out really well for them.