Kalimantan Gull
Well-known member
Go for it. Sheffield United got 54 points, and we were much better than them in the season they went up. I haven't followed them closely, so don't know how different they are now, mind.
Sheffield set out this season with an aim to stay up. They played it tight, stymied the oppositions style of play, got some luck and developed a belief and a confidence as a unit that saw them over-achieve everyone's expectations. Fair play.
They have a style built around counter-attacking the bigger teams with a solid and experienced back-line which they don't leave exposed. Its very similar to what Wolves and Southampton do, and fairly similar to what we did under Hughton. What makes that style of play work is the striker leading the line - you want a strong guy, fairly big, good in the air but mobile, energetic and a hard hit shot on him. Wolves have Raul Jimenez, who is the kind of striker that every lower-prem side will covet, someone like him is the current missing piece for Brighton. He has the perfect combination of those skills listed above. Sheffield signed Ollie McBurnie, not as good, but a similar type of player who scored important goals and led their line well. Saints have Ings, Burnley have Wood. Glenn Murray in our first season up performed a similar role for us - but as these players age so their effectiveness wanes. Our defence was good enough to get the points, but the forward line didn't put away the chances needed to get to 50 points. These players and systems listed aren't identical, but the similarities point to the model for picking up points as a new team in the premier league.