[Albion] Feeling strangely positive.

[B-right-on]

I’m starting to believe that Tuesday was ‘the low’ and that we’ll sweep the hammers aside with a resounding 3-1 victory come the game.

I’ve got nothing factual, just a feeling that we’re going to be back to our best next time around.

On another note, I love a good old relegation dogfight - the relentless lows, counterbalanced by those rare euphoric highs... I’d much rather we were challenging for Europe obviously, but I’d take this rollercoaster vs a mid table yawn fest... just me? Oh well ...

Bring it on!

Hate to poop on your parade but I don't think that was a 1 off. We've 'won' many games if points were for possession, completed passes or shots.

We've won 2 in the last 14 games.

Personally I can't get optimistic until I see that Potter is going to do something different. Sorry.

 

[Kosh]

Hate to poop on your parade but I don't think that was a 1 off. We've 'won' many games if points were for possession, completed passes or shots.

We've won 2 in the last 14 games.

Personally I can't get optimistic until I see that Potter is going to do something different. Sorry.

No parade here, more a winter fayre with the lights taken down.

However; the alternative approach most seem to want is a return to 9 men behind the ball, or Hughton ball - something that spectacularly failed towards the end of last season... we literally could not get out of our half, and i’m amazed to read so many people claiming this approach might work to the point that a clamour for reverting to pretty much the same xi from the end of last season is growing... I mean seriously WTF? So GP has been sussed, so let’s revert to a system that saw Cardiff play is off the park last season...

Kayal, Duffy, Murray all back to lead us to assured points and safety, I’m sorry, but i’m not buying this as the remedy at all.

GP is doing okay, it’s not great sure - but I like what I see, and I like to see shots on the oppositions goal and attacking intent.

 

[Bozza]

6 points against West Ham and Watford - I’d be very confident that we’re staying up, for many reasons beyond the points themselves. Our bookies relegation odds would lengthen by a huge amount.

0 or 1 point - I’d make us odds on to drop.

You see, I'm also really worried about both these games. We need something different up front, and if we don't get it, then I am very concerned about our fate.

 

[peterward]

I’m starting to believe that Tuesday was ‘the low’ and that we’ll sweep the hammers aside with a resounding 3-1 victory come the game.

I’ve got nothing factual, just a feeling that we’re going to be back to our best next time around.

On another note, I love a good old relegation dogfight - the relentless lows, counterbalanced by those rare euphoric highs... I’d much rather we were challenging for Europe obviously, but I’d take this rollercoaster vs a mid table yawn fest... just me? Oh well ...

Bring it on!

Did the Rizzlas run out?

 

[BN41Albion]

Same here, I kept bouncing back, assuming we’d probably overcome Newcastle and Cardiff for example. Wrong.

Just sent a shiver down my spine thinking about all those games again...

It's been quite turgid calender year and a bit points wise, eh, even if some of the football has been lovely to watch this season (up until recently)

 

[Jolly Red Giant]

The difference between the first dozen games and the last dozen games is that teams have figured out how Potter is setting the team up and as a result all the possession is not producing the result. Potter has to now demonstrate that he can adapt - and so for he has failed to do so. This doesn't mean that Brighton will be relegated - but it does mean that points will be harder to come by - and the danger now is that the 5 point gap between the bottom 6 and the rest of the division will grow.

Anyone who thought that this season would not see times like this were/are delusional - this season was always going to be a bit of a struggle with a new system and, despite the extra players that have come in, it is still a weak squad in PL terms. A string of three or four good results will solve the problem - unfortunately the team does not look like doing that at the moment. One win could make all the difference, giving the players a bit of confidence.

 

[B-right-on]

No parade here, more a winter fayre with the lights taken down.

However; the alternative approach most seem to want is a return to 9 men behind the ball, or Hughton ball - something that spectacularly failed towards the end of last season... we literally could not get out of our half, and i’m amazed to read so many people claiming this approach might work to the point that a clamour for reverting to pretty much the same xi from the end of last season is growing... I mean seriously WTF? So GP has been sussed, so let’s revert to a system that saw Cardiff play is off the park last season...

Kayal, Duffy, Murray all back to lead us to assured points and safety, I’m sorry, but i’m not buying this as the remedy at all.

GP is doing okay, it’s not great sure - but I like what I see, and I like to see shots on the oppositions goal and attacking intent.

Good god, no, no, no, NO!!!!

The 10 men behind the ball was just awful to watch at the end of last season. Kayal not upto PL standards imo. Duffy I think would be a key change for us to shore up at the back. Glen is not going to be able to get enough goals to keep us up. All imo.

I MUCH prefer the football of this season so far, but I can see us going down with lots of pretty football unless GP changes something up.

New striker, better defending, I don't know what. But we have looked toothless in attack and defense despite the stats.

Wolves manage nice football, good defence and lots of goals and have quality players. Norwich try to play the same way without the quality and they will go down. We have better players than Norwich but not as good as Wolves, so we can't compete with them at the same toe to toe game. Hence GP needs to do something different imo.

 

[HBoi]

Poor results recently suggest otherwise

While I would love to share your optimism I think that we're going to draw with a West Ham team who also need points badly. Realistically though, anything else other than a draw is ridiculously poor.

 

[BN41Albion]

If only all arguments could be undone with every possible use of ' we suck'

I am trying to stay positive, but at the same time trying to stop caring so much. I am a dad of 2 in his 30s. I need to stop getting in such a grump when we lose.

I agree about the style of football and us not being as sucky as the bunch last year. However, I will brag about a result if we snatch a cheeky 1-0 when being battered, so take a loss as a big negative despite the stats being favourable. I am a particularly negative person with sport. I blame years of Brighton and England football and English cricket

Accepting that we're good odds to be relegated has helped me care a bit less. After villa I was royally pissed off, during/after Bournemouth I resigned myself to relegation which meant I could just think of the positive stuff about the Championship and the fact that treading water in the Prem isn't exactly the most fun for teams like us anyway. Life's too short to get too worked up about it all, really. The likes of palace would take the piss, naturally, but what do they have to look forward to in the prem next year anyway? Exactly the same as every season since they got promoted - trying to reach 40 points. Meh

 

[el punal]

I had that feeling after the 5-0 to Bournemouth last year

I felt so positive that after the game I went online and got a ticket for the Cardiff match immediately. I then did a day of work, spent 2.5 hours getting to the game and then well... that happened.

Forgive me for not being so positive this time round!

Those were my sentiments too. I thought we’d bounce back against Cardiff, wounded pride and all. Boy, was I wrong. After that Cardiff debacle I predicted Knockaert would be shipped out and Hughton would resign. Sort of right I suppose. This time around I do feel more positive - we at least try to play on the front foot even if the end result is lacking sometimes. Rather that than clinging on for a 0-0 draw from the first minute as was the case last season in a lot of games.

 

[Questions]

I’ve said it elsewhere but if that Bournemouth game was played out 100 tines, we’d win more than we’d lose.

Mmm not sure. I bet a lot of Brighton fans were predicting this after 25 mins on Tuesday.
It’s not happening at present. It needs to hurry back.

 

[peterward]

Good god, no, no, no, NO!!!!

The 10 men behind the ball was just awful to watch at the end of last season. Kayal not upto PL standards imo. Duffy I think would be a key change for us to shore up at the back. Glen is not going to be able to get enough goals to keep us up. All imo.

I MUCH prefer the football of this season so far, but I can see us going down with lots of pretty football unless GP changes something up.

New striker, better defending, I don't know what. But we have looked toothless in attack and defense despite the stats.

Wolves manage nice football, good defence and lots of goals and have quality players. Norwich try to play the same way without the quality and they will go down. We have better players than Norwich but not as good as Wolves, so we can't compete with them at the same toe to toe game. Hence GP needs to do something different imo.

Brilliant post!

Wolves recruitment using a Portuguese super agent has proved far more successful, with more quality hits than Winstanley and Ashworth.

This may be wide open of the mark and it's not a dig at GP, but I wonder if maybe everything he's done, all his philosophies that have been successful before are just being exposed by the shear quality of the PL

In that I mean, his brand of possession based football, and attack being the best form of defence (which Poyet did so well as we romped to the L1 title), may have worked well for him in the Swedish leagues as it did for us in L1, the level of defenders you're attacking are lower, if you make defensive mistakes the level of the opposition to capitalise is also much lower. In the PL you're up against some of the best defenders in the world, thus our lack of goals, and defensive mistakes or fragility will be ruthlessly exposed and punished more often than not.

Not doubting his philosophy, but to be on the front foot, and attack, we need more attacking quality to convert possession into goals and much more defensive quality as we leave more gaps at the back to push higher up, much quicker thinking and ball moving CM's to link it all together.

Maybe Potter would have a field day at a club like Leicester, but here the personnel are not high enough quality to play this way in this league??

 

[Weststander]

Brilliant post!

Wolves recruitment using a Portuguese super agent has proved far more successful, with more quality hits than Winstanley and Ashworth.

This may be wide open of the mark and it's not a dig at GP, but I wonder if maybe everything he's done, all his philosophies that have been successful before are just being exposed by the shear quality of the PL

In that I mean, his brand of possession based football, and attack being the best form of defence (which Poyet did so well as we romped to the L1 title), may have worked well for him in the Swedish leagues as it did for us in L1, the level of defenders you're attacking are lower, if you make defensive mistakes the level of the opposition to capitalise is also much lower. In the PL you're up against some of the best defenders in the world, thus our lack of goals, and defensive mistakes or fragility will be ruthlessly exposed and punished more often than not.

Not doubting his philosophy, but to be on the front foot, and attack, we need more attacking quality to convert possession into goals and much more defensive quality as we leave more gaps at the back to push higher up, much quicker thinking and ball moving CM's to link it all together.

Maybe Potter would have a field day at a club like Leicester, but here the personnel are not high enough quality to play this way in this league??

Definitely some truth in this.

The defensive conundrum arises from most teams now employing say three speed merchants to hassle Ryan, Dunk and whoever, playing their pretty patterns. The creative conundrum is that Mooy is now man-marked by two or three, Trossard is also targeted to an extent.

Questions - has Potter got the answers in a footballing game of chess to counter the above with something different which is effective, and does our squad have the top flight quality to execute it?

 

[Easy 10]

My fear is that the players lose confidence not just in themselves, but in Potters methods. If there are rumblings of discontent in the dressing room over certain players being dropped and the constant chopping and changing of the team and formation, and results don't pick up, then it can quickly become a vicious circle. If they lose belief in what they are being asked to do, then we will be in serious trouble.

 

[Shooting Star]

Yep, I'm positive too. We are West Ham's bogey team and I think we'll come up with the goods next weekend.

 

[Live by the sea]

The Bournemouth result massively flattered them. The first goal was a lucky bounce between our two players that set it up, the 2nd goal was avoidable if gross hadn’t been trying to wrestle the player , even the 3rd goal had an element of luck with the deflection that put their player in on goal. We did enough to at least get a draw out of the game and even win it.

Similar chances created against West Ham and Watford and we should be in with a good chance of collecting some points.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

My fear is that the players lose confidence not just in themselves, but in Potters methods. If there are rumblings of discontent in the dressing room over certain players being dropped and the constant chopping and changing of the team and formation, and results don't pick up, then it can quickly become a vicious circle. If they lose belief in what they are being asked to do, then we will be in serious trouble.

If any of this is true you may be right.

But if my old mum had had a cock, she'd have been my dad.

Any facts at all here, at all?

 

[B-right-on]

Brilliant post!

Wolves recruitment using a Portuguese super agent has proved far more successful, with more quality hits than Winstanley and Ashworth.

This may be wide open of the mark and it's not a dig at GP, but I wonder if maybe everything he's done, all his philosophies that have been successful before are just being exposed by the shear quality of the PL

In that I mean, his brand of possession based football, and attack being the best form of defence (which Poyet did so well as we romped to the L1 title), may have worked well for him in the Swedish leagues as it did for us in L1, the level of defenders you're attacking are lower, if you make defensive mistakes the level of the opposition to capitalise is also much lower. In the PL you're up against some of the best defenders in the world, thus our lack of goals, and defensive mistakes or fragility will be ruthlessly exposed and punished more often than not.

Not doubting his philosophy, but to be on the front foot, and attack, we need more attacking quality to convert possession into goals and much more defensive quality as we leave more gaps at the back to push higher up, much quicker thinking and ball moving CM's to link it all together.

Maybe Potter would have a field day at a club like Leicester, but here the personnel are not high enough quality to play this way in this league??

Yepv Well put. Can't help but look at Norwich. Basically the same team as last season that romped the Championship with 94 points, Sheffield United 5 points behind and Villa a massive 18 points behind. Yet they are not able to do that in the PL.

The manager obviously has the skill set and knows what to do, just the players aren't upto replicating it in the PL.

My fear is that we're trying to be Barcelona or City without the players able to play like that.

If so, we need to cut our cloth to what we do have. Not a Hughton 10 man behind the ball and not flat out attack with no defence
A half way house that makes the most of what we have, keeps us up for another year and build up a squad either by more coaching our current players or getting in new blood.

Maybe a case of too much too soon.

 

[oldboyroy]

The pundits who all said careful what you wish for when Hughton was sacked will be proved right if we sink. Can see the match of day sky bt telling us so and would just bloody hate them rubbing it in if that happens

 

[oldboyroy]

1 thing I must agree with in argus yesterday an article saying potter has 100% trust in players. That is good to hear in terms of normally the manager would not slate the players but say something like players need to look at themselves or need to do better etc. Etc. Potter has not publicly said anything like that which I think is a positive.