[Albion] Are we as good as I think we are?

[warmleyseagull]

Being as good as good as you think you are means: no longer looking at the fixtures list and mentally calculating which ones you‘re gonna loose because the other team are massive, which ones you may take away a point if you are lucky and which ones you feel you absolutely have to win because they are shite!

Being as good as you think you are means every match is winnable (with the exception of City), home or away, and thinking it’s really an exciting time to be a Brighton fan.

Agreed, and it is rather like the Championship was in 2011 and onwards. We had delight at just pipping Gillingham to stay up in 2005, only to succumb next season. So it was all rather exciting and novel (quite apart from Amex) to stay comfortably in second tier, then kick on to POs. For several seasons we were a safe, established and accepted (albeit begrudgingly by the punditry) team.

Move on, and it now feels the same; we are not going down, how well can we do. And so good to see a Cup side that isn't like a game of bingo with 79 passing to 43, then to 57. For sure, we need to blood new talent, but also we have the chance to win something, so keep that in mind too.

Perhaps the acid test is when Giraffe gives up (or changes the emphasis to Europe) his tracker...

 

[Bodian]

Perhaps the acid test is when Giraffe gives up (or changes the emphasis to Europe) his tracker...

Yes - I've been thinking that too (the emphasis change bit anyway).

 

[Cotton Socks]

@Bodian Yep, I may not have worded it correctly!

 

[Zeberdi]

At the end of the day it's the 'team' that kick the ball & between them, stick the ball into our net or stop the opposing team putting it in theirs.

 

[BN41Albion]

Counting and chickens come to mind. it's happening, if not this season ...then soon

I'm not sure. Imo the euro spots are pretty sewn up before a season starts forevermore what with the joy of Newcastle joining the top 6 to create a top 7. So unless we win something I'm not sure how we break into that to get into Europe

 

[Cotton Socks]

@Zeberdi I wish there was a joking raised middle finger emoji on here!! It's too late to edit now!!!
Edit to add.... I've edited it!

 

[Pevenseagull]

Something like half a dozen of the best 20 performances I've seen from us have been in the last 8 months. Scintillating entertainment.

We've often played as well as we did in the second half against Huddersfield at Leeds Road in '94 ... But for 90 minutes ... against some of the best teams in the world.

Fully anticipate Sunday to be like the Brentford game.

 

[Sheebo]

Loving every second but well aware it won’t last. Love the championship though so…

 

[Barnet Seagull]

Yes. Yes. Yes we are. What. A. Season.
Love it.

 

[BN41Albion]

No, easy to get carried away, over excited!

Well it turns out the op certainly wasn't getting carried away!

This thread is a bit of a timely reminder for me that, like him or loathe him now, GP was doing a bloody good job with us before RDZ took us up yet another level!

 

[Blue3]

I think we might be a little better than we think

 

[Carbonara]

I think we are very good and had we started the season with a top striker then God knows where we would have finished.However in a normal season Chelsea and Spurs would not have been so bad so 6th place is maybe a tad lucky.

 

[warmleyseagull]

I think we are very good and had we started the season with a top striker then God knows where we would have finished.However in a normal season Chelsea and Spurs would not have been so bad so 6th place is maybe a tad lucky.

Indeed, and therein lies the rub: no team has maintained a sustained challenge to top 6 since the informal elite group came into being. Saints danced around 6th - 8th for 4 seasons and look what happened to them. Leicester broke through the glass ceiling one (twice if you include FA Cup), and look what happened to them. The big deal is probably whether Newcastle can make it an elite of 7. Possible, but they are latecomers to the party, with FFP effectively adding a large hurdle against spendthrift owners.

But maybe we are seeing a bit of a sea change. 2 of the 6 out of Europe, and one getting hands dirty in Europa. We have seen the importance of developing players you have at all the other 5 teams in the top half, all of whom have good Head Coaches who work tirelessly at improving what they have. We may be like jackals, darting in and out and pinching some of the Big Boys' lunch, but our day may come.

 

[BadFish]

Chelsea are going to improve next year, Spurs may not but you never know. Liverpool will be better. It seems that Villa are going to spend big anday improve.

It's going to be tough next year but we have the manager and are assembling the players to kick on next year.

 

[Carbonara]

Considering we are in Europe I think a top 10 finish next season is about as much as we can hope for.

 

[Klaas]

Yes. Yes. Yes we are. What. A. Season.
Love it.

OP

 

[JetsetJimbo]

Considering we are in Europe I think a top 10 finish next season is about as much as we can hope for.

I think, on balance, that this is correct. So why is there a little voice in my head saying "nah, the sky's the limit with this setup and this manager"?

 

[kuzushi]

I think, on balance, that this is correct. So why is there a little voice in my head saying "nah, the sky's the limit with this setup and this manager"?

Unlike GP, RDZ hasn't had much time, but he's achieved loads already, and it looks like Bloom is ready to invest in beefing up the squad, and now it looks like we're going to have some decent strikers with Ferguson and Joao Pedro. So perhaps the little voice inside your head is right.

 

[dazzer6666]

 

[Dick Knights Mumm]

Yes. Yes. Yes we are. What. A. Season.
Love it.

Predicting a European position at the start of the season ........... Respect.