[Albion] Bloom: "Top 10... is a very realistic aim for next season"

[Greg Bobkin]

If WE don't GET into Europe, WERE on the PITCH

 

[Milano]

Hopefully then TB is going to back GP with a top ten budget ?

This.
I said last summer that if the club didn’t buy a Murray replacement then we’d be in a relegation scrap. I’ve not changed by opinion.

 

[Robinjakarta]

I know this particular genie is now out of the bottle so there will be no stopping it but I don’t think people should be getting carried away. I have worked in an industry for most of my career where I have been set challenging targets which I have often met, but not always. I wasn’t sacked if they weren’t achieved. Rather it’s all about having a plan for improvement and mostly meeting the targets. It is way too absolutist to jump from ‘top 10 is a realistic aim’ to ‘we must achieve top 10 or heads will roll.’

Great post! We are also likely to lose at least one of Bissouma, White, Welbeck and Potter before we even start.

 

[Robinjakarta]

I also keep saying it, but Maupay had a reasonable first season and started off pretty well this, but what ever happened with the 'bust up' seemed to be pretty much finish his season as mentally he never looked the same after. That is up to the manager to sort

Actually, it's up to Maupay. GP can only help, advise, coach etc. He can't do it for him any more than he can stick the ball in the net for him.

 

[Johnny RoastBeef]

Agreed. And the goals we need are already in the team. On the law of averages alone, a proportion of the near misses from Trossard, Lallana, Moder and the rest must surely go in next season.

Yup. And Lampety's pace will raise our goals tally, not directly but by cranking up the tempo of our general play.

Maupay for instance is a better striker when he acts instinctively, the more time he has the less he scores.

 

[swindonseagull]

If Leeds can come up and first season get 59 points that shows our shortcomings this season.
Their squad is no better than ours ( Bamford/ Maupay) maybe.

 

[Swansman]

If Leeds can come up and first season get 59 points that shows our shortcomings this season.
Their squad is no better than ours ( Bamford/ Maupay) maybe.

Like Sheffield the season before that then.

It happens sometimes. Not the first time a newcomer produce some great results.

As for Leeds squad being no better, I dont know, I'd say they are quite similar in terms of quality. Brighton got the better defenders but I think most people out there would take Raphina over Trossard, Bamford over Maupay, Harrison over non-existent equivalent.

 

[zefarelly]

Yup. And Lampety's pace will raise our goals tally, not directly but by cranking up the tempo of our general play.

Maupay for instance is a better striker when he acts instinctively, the more time he has the less he scores.

Agreed, he doesn't have the brain for time, instinct better suits him.

we don't have the budget for the kind of players who are skillful quick and intelligent

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

If Leeds can come up and first season get 59 points that shows our shortcomings this season.
Their squad is no better than ours ( Bamford/ Maupay) maybe.

And West Ham's success is largely down to Antonio (and boosted by a hugely in-form Lingard). The Albion can happily match WH player-for-player in every other area of the pitch IMHO, but unless the glaring levels of crapness in the final third are properly addressed then it'll just be more of the same. And yes an upgrade costs money. But there's about three of our direct competitors at the arse end of the table in for Chris Wood at the moment for example. Why them not us?

 

[Weststander]

If Leeds can come up and first season get 59 points that shows our shortcomings this season.
Their squad is no better than ours ( Bamford/ Maupay) maybe.

I'd add Raphina, from midfield (mainly out wide, but drifts inside) - 24 starts, 6 goals, 9 assists.

Trossard, for example - 52 starts, 10 goals, 8 assists.

 

[Pavilionaire]

Over the last 10 season the average points tally required to get 10th spot is 48.3. That is certainly doable.

However, changes are afoot. Before 18/19, 49 points would have got you 10th spot 8 years in a row, but in the last 3 seasons that level has climbed from 51 to 53 to 56 points. This is because we have had a succession of poor bottom three clubs.

Given Norwich, Watford and Brentford are coming up again there is a good chance they will struggle and so 10th spot might require the 53 points it did 2 years ago. I can't see our present side amassing an addition 12 points, especially as we are likely to lose Bissouma, and when our budget is well off clubs like Everton, West Ham, Aston Villa that are likely to be contesting that spot.

To do that we would need to cover the loss of Bissouma and sign a decent striker who would have to deliver 13-14 goals.

 

[Seasidesage]

I would be amazed if TB meant top 10 or you're out. Given the stats, the age of the team, the general improvement during last season and the specific improvement in the calendar year its a realistic aim but to give us the best chance of success we do need to address some weaknesses. If you are going to set a target you need to give your staff the where with all to achieve it.

 

[Superphil]

He's going to need to get his chequebook out just to stand still, so if he really thinks this, he's going to need to get it out big time.

 

[KeegansHairPiece]

Top 10 is probably another 19 points more than we got last season. That is a lot. A hell of a lot.

The only positive is that you can find the lost points very very easily when you analyse where exactly we lost them by looking at the horrific defensive mistakes (which largely disappeared when Sanchez replaced Ryan) and the countless big chances missed by Maupay, Connolly & Trossard. Sort those issues out and it could be top 8.

Each league can vary wildly in terms of what 10th can mean. Pretty much a 10 point swing over the last 10 years of the points needed for 10th (not what 10th actually got, just the points to finish above 11th).

Points required to finish 10th:
20/21 – 56
19/20 – 53
18/19 – 51
17/18 – 44
16/17 – 45
15/16 – 48
14/15 – 48
13/14 – 46
12/13 – 45
11/12 – 47

Average required for 10th over 10 years: 48.3pts.

 

[Swansman]

He's going to need to get his chequebook out just to stand still, so if he really thinks this, he's going to need to get it out big time.

As they've repeatedly said, Brighton are trying to reach that position with a different strategy than other clubs. Hopefully it works as it would be good for football in general.

 

[KeegansHairPiece]

Over the last 10 season the average points tally required to get 10th spot is 48.3. That is certainly doable.

However, changes are afoot. Before 18/19, 49 points would have got you 10th spot 8 years in a row, but in the last 3 seasons that level has climbed from 51 to 53 to 56 points. This is because we have had a succession of poor bottom three clubs.

Given Norwich, Watford and Brentford are coming up again there is a good chance they will struggle and so 10th spot might require the 53 points it did 2 years ago. I can't see our present side amassing an addition 12 points, especially as we are likely to lose Bissouma, and when our budget is well off clubs like Everton, West Ham, Aston Villa that are likely to be contesting that spot.

To do that we would need to cover the loss of Bissouma and sign a decent striker who would have to deliver 13-14 goals.

Great minds.

I mean 19 MORE points i.e. 60pts is pretty much challenging top 7 every season of the last 10.

 

[Pavilionaire]

Each league can vary wildly in terms of what 10th can mean. Pretty much a 10 point swing over the last 10 years of the points needed for 10th (not what 10th actually got, just the points to finish above 11th).

Points required to finish 10th:
20/21 – 56
19/20 – 53
18/19 – 51
17/18 – 44
16/17 – 45
15/16 – 48
14/15 – 48
13/14 – 46
12/13 – 45
11/12 – 47

Average required for 10th over 10 years: 48.3pts.

Is this what they mean by an Echo Chamber?

 

[KeegansHairPiece]

Is this what they mean by an Echo Chamber?

It's too muggy here, I need my air con on.

 

[darkwolf666]

This.
I said last summer that if the club didn’t buy a Murray replacement then we’d be in a relegation scrap. I’ve not changed by opinion.

Even though you were wrong last season?

 

[BeHereNow]

We really weren’t that far off from being top 10 last season. When I speak to people about it now, I do tend to say I think we’ll finish in the top 10 next season, I just have that feeling. Wouldn’t be a failure if we didn’t get there. To finish in the top 10, we need to beat the bottom 6 home and away at the bare minimum really.

Finishing up there with the wages we pay would be a brilliant achievement.

If we ever did finish in the top 10 for a few season in a row, I wonder how much more our season tickets would cost, as Tony would well be within his rights to raise the prices quite significantly, after all, it is a business, not a charity. Yes, I know the club would earn much more in various ways from being a top 10 team.