[Albion] Are we just a bit ‘meh’?

[jcdenton08]

The correlation is wages paid and league finish, not so much transfer budget spent. We’ve spent £200m plus on players but our wages expenditure will still be mid table.
Apart from that, I agree with yr post.

I’ve covered this in another thread breaking down our summer transfer spend, average age 20.89 years old, €30m of players on loan, €60m injured for the majority of games. €42m (Rutter) has been one of our best players and Minteh (€35m) is showing signs.

The only players we’ve signed who are available but yet to really break in and shine are Wieffer and Gruda, but it’s only early December and they’ll get their chance in due course.

 

[southstandandy]

I'm in positive mood - 12 more points and we should be safe!

 

[tedebear]

Aren’t we only a few points from mid table though, and finished there last season? It’s all very close in fairness hence the inference?

My "consistency" comment was in game though. We can have an amazing first half, then the wheels fall off second half and vice versa...We get these glimmers of an incredible team, then someone has a monumental brain fart, or the passing is quite frankly diabolical. Not sure its being measured, but I'm hoping the glimmers are trending up and the brain farts down generally, so that we finish higher than last season....Its all good though...just frustrating being a Brighton fan sometimes as probably for all clubs.

 

[5Ways Gull]

This is the best time ever to be a Brighton and Hove Albion fan. And I mean EVER!

 

[Gabbiano]

For the last several seasons we have been the team where top young players come to develop.

This year we're doing the same for a top young manager too.

There's some kinks to iron out. Game management needs improving. I think we will finish the season strong.

But my god it's frustrating. I don't think we deserve Europe any more than say Fulham or Bournemouth. We've just built some hype that our own fans are now buying into. We haven't played a full 90 mins of top quality all season, about 7-10th is probably correct on merit.

Far from the finished article, but perhaps our club's model means that we will never be the finished article.

 

[BrightonCottager]

Like Fulham, you are a midtable side either a good or bad run from a European place or looking down. The upper half of the 'other 16' is so congested, that we dropped several places by drawing against Arsenal!

 

[BadFish]

Meh? Meh?

The most exciting few years of Brighton football in our history and people are wondering if we are Meh and calling for the managers head.

Football fans are brilliant.

 

[MTSeagulls]

I think the Guardian see us as a bit Meh as, more often than not, in their 'Ten Talking Points' before and after the weekend fixtures we are usually around 9th or 10th and frequently it's mostly about our opposition.

 

[Brian Munich]

I’ve covered this in another thread breaking down our summer transfer spend, average age 20.89 years old, €30m of players on loan, €60m injured for the majority of games. €42m (Rutter) has been one of our best players and Minteh (€35m) is showing signs.

The only players we’ve signed who are available but yet to really break in and shine are Wieffer and Gruda, but it’s only early December and they’ll get their chance in due course.

Definitely this. Historically a good number of our best signings have been slow-burners who've either gone on loan at a lower level and/or taken a season to get up to speed: Mac Allister, Caicedo, Mitoma, Bissouma, Van Hecke, Baleba are all good examples.

I think Ferdi and maybe O'Riley would've featured much more by now without the injuries. Other than that, I'm certain that they were signed for long-term potential. Even Rutter at age 22 can be considered a work in progress - Gyokeres was struggling to score goals in the Championship at that age.

 

[rippleman]

We are a young team with a young manager (not that anyone ever mentions it). Most were expecting a midtable finish this season, we have over achieved so far and puhed expectations higher. The best thing we can do is calm the f*** down and show some patience. All signs are that things will come good and improve, might have to wait for next season though.

I was expecting mid-table until Mr Chairman spunked over £200m on new signings. That does tend to raise expectations somewhat.

How long do we need to be patient for? Or rather, how long is it before our best players get poached and we have to start all over again? If we are only mid-table wage payers still, it won't take much to entice the likes of Baleba, Hinshelwood, Buanotte, Joao Pedro, JPVH away.

 

[Muzzman]

Some people still don't realise this was always going to be a season of transition. New manager, new players, new project to reach European places regularly. It's not going to happen in this season, enjoy the ride getting there though.

 

[jcdenton08]

I was expecting mid-table until Mr Chairman spunked over £200m on new signings. That does tend to raise expectations somewhat.

How long do we need to be patient for? Or rather, how long is it before our best players get poached and we have to start all over again? If we are only mid-table wage payers still, it won't take much to entice the likes of Baleba, Hinshelwood, Buanotte, Joao Pedro, JPVH away.

The £200m has got us to mid table. We were on our last legs the second half of last season, our squad was stretched extremely thin and the players were exhausted and playing through injuries. If we’d have started the season without reinforcements in the summer I think we’d be really struggling.

Out of interest, where do you think we should be? What’s the end game in your view? Top six? Top four? Champions?

I hate to break it to you, but this is very probably as good as it will ever get, possibly aside from winning a cup competition. Based on our budget, the size of our club both domestically and internationally, top half finishes hopefully challenging for Europe are the highest realistic consistent target we can achieve.

I would suggest if you have higher expectations - not hopes, but expectations - that you choose at this point to support Liverpool, Arsenal or Manchester City because I don’t think the Albion will ever reach the levels you seem to expect.

And as for us losing our best players… well, yes. This is the only possible way our benefactor will ever see any of his huge interest free loan paid back to him. That is the business model, because with our tiny commercial income and low gate receipts compared to the big clubs, the entire business model is built around developing and selling players for profit in order to keep the club solvent and within FFP guidelines.

 

[boik]

This whole "we've spent 200 million we should be brilliant" is really starting to p!ss me off.

Surely people are clever enough to realise that it was an investment FOR THE FUTURE, taking advantage of a special set of circumstances. You only need to look at Chelsea to see how it works. Buy some good players, get impatient, slag them and everyone off and...."Oh look. They're actually starting to play well now".

Patience people.

 

[jcdenton08]

Oh, and Everton, West Ham, Leicester, Palace and several relegated sides have spent over £500m since 2019, and it hasn’t brought them success.

Our £200m (which, by the way, is still a net positive figure factoring in our huge sales) is a drop in the ocean compared to top sides. Manchester City for instance are paying De Bruyne £21m a year in wages.

We just can’t compete. What do you suggest?

 

[jackalbion]

I was expecting mid-table until Mr Chairman spunked over £200m on new signings. That does tend to raise expectations somewhat.

How long do we need to be patient for? Or rather, how long is it before our best players get poached and we have to start all over again? If we are only mid-table wage payers still, it won't take much to entice the likes of Baleba, Hinshelwood, Buanotte, Joao Pedro, JPVH away.

A while, we aren't signing ready made players, and we continue to pay mid table wages. The fees and spend is irrelevant, until we increase our wage structure.

 

[Justice]

Oh, and Everton, West Ham, Leicester, Palace and several relegated sides have spent over £500m since 2019, and it hasn’t brought them success.

Our £200m (which, by the way, is still a net positive figure factoring in our huge sales) is a drop in the ocean compared to top sides. Manchester City for instance are paying De Bruyne £21m a year in wages.

We just can’t compete. What do you suggest?

Would you be saying we can’t compete if we had beaten Leicester, Wolves, Ipswich? We would be right up there.
We can compete and have the squad depth to compete.
The manager isn’t getting it quite right will he learn remains to be seen.

 

[London Irish]

I think the stupid individual errors of the past few days by Bart and Igor has crimped everyone's mojo a bit (and that dumb O'Riley own goal). But generally I'd say the squad strengthening has improved the team this season (as you would hope with the money spent!) so I think all things being even we will have an uplifting season. I think this awful run of individual errors should end and everyone will cheer up a bit. Europe still a very achievable target - beating the marks of RDZ's 6th place team, dunno about that. Fab is on a learning curve and we'll see where that takes him, too early to make big calls about him yet

 

[jcdenton08]

Would you be saying we can’t compete if we had beaten Leicester, Wolves, Ipswich? We would be right up there.
We can compete and have the squad depth to compete.
The manager isn’t getting it quite right will he learn remains to be seen.

I’m saying the top sides are consistent, because they have mature, experienced top level professionals who can grind out performances week after week after week. I’m saying that our wins against Manchester City et al are a demonstration of the ability our players have, and the poor results you’ve mentioned equally demonstrate where the same squad are in their development.

The manager is doing a good job so far, gelling his squad together, introducing the new signings. He’s going to make mistakes (Potter and De Zerbi both made plenty, and they are far more experienced), but at the end of the day the players themselves on the pitch are ultimately responsible and if one has a brain fart like Bart on Thursday, or Igor on Sunday, there’s not a lot anyone can do, including the gaffer.

I think you need to be realistic about our place in the pecking order. Healthy ambition is good, unwarranted expectation less so, but you do you.

 

[Justice]

I’m saying the top sides are consistent, because they have mature, experienced top level professionals who can grind out performances week after week after week. I’m saying that our wins against Manchester City et al are a demonstration of the ability our players have, and the poor results you’ve mentioned equally demonstrate where the same squad are in their development.

The manager is doing a good job so far, gelling his squad together, introducing the new signings. He’s going to make mistakes (Potter and De Zerbi both made plenty, and they are far more experienced), but at the end of the day the players themselves on the pitch are ultimately responsible and if one has a brain fart like Bart on Thursday, or Igor on Sunday, there’s not a lot anyone can do, including the gaffer.

I think you need to be realistic about our place in the pecking order. Healthy ambition is good, unwarranted expectation less so, but you do you.

The average age of the Chelsea squad is 23, hardly mature experienced pro’s.
I didn’t really see it coming although they are being managed exceptionally well.

No one is saying we should win the thing although we should be doing much better than we are with the players available.

I didn’t actually mention what I thought our expectations should be although I will go with TB’s European places.

 

[cheshunt seagull]

Our record could quite easily be W9 D3 L3, second on 30 points. Which would be phenomenal.

Equally though we could have failed to turn things round against United, City and Spurs or hold on at Newcastle and we could be 8-12 points worse off.

Personally I don't think we're "meh", I think we're close to being an excellent side, but currently we have a soft underbelly.
There are a lot of good sides in the EPL. All the time we are above or around Aston Villa, Spurs, Man Utd and Newcastle we are categorically punching above our weight.

This was always likely to be a transitional season, with all the new players and a green, young coach. I strongly suspect we are slightly ahead of where TB and PB expected us to be at this point, despite the financial investment.

I agree that we are close to being an excellent side. What I find worrying is that having to rebuild our midfield each season means we are always in a state of transition.