[Albion] Guardian Season Preview 2020-21: Albion Prediction Finish Position: 16th

[LamieRobertson]

Who cares ...***k em

 

[Not Andy Naylor]

Little bit like the Soccer Saturday thread. Football punditry is shit. There was a report by Ian Moose Abraham from the Amex on Saturday. Primarily the discussion was about getting fans back into the ground. Moose was very complimentary and excited by the atmosphere created by 2500 people. Inevitably they talked about the game, and here’s the unexpected bit - Abrahams was pretty dismissive of Chelsea but said Brighton played some lovely football AND if they continue in that vein they’ll be a team to look out for. The studio presenters had no interest in that potential narrative thread whatsoever or, much more likely, no knowledge of the club and its ambitions and immediately mentioned Timo Werner again. It’ll take 10 years of top flight survival and success for our club to get recognition from all but a very few commentator/pundits.

But here's the thing: Moose and Ed Aarons have actually seen us play. Soccer Saturday pundits and most of the Guardian reporters haven't. The fact that the Guardian admit that the estimated (in other words, guessed) finishing positions are a composite of all many opinions reflect the fact that Chief Sports Writers and Football Correspondents who tend to report exclusively on the top six and Champions League probably just list the bottom ten at random.

 

[brighton_tom]

Journalist will always go for the prediction that makes them look the least silly. If they picked Man United, Chelsea, and Liverpool to be relegated then readers wouldnt take them seriously. But even us as Brighton fans know there is a chance (hopefully a small one) we could be relegated, so its just a lazy bit of journalism that offends the least amount of people & if we do get relegated that journalist gets to look all clever. Its the way it will always be until we crack being an established mid table team.

 

[highflyer]

I never did like that Polly Toynbee

Larry Elliot, on the other hand, reckons we'll be mustard.

 

[This is me]

I do enjoy the annual optimism of our fans - but the reality is - you need goal scorers to win games. So with a better defence - we may only lose 2 or 3-0 to the better sides rather than 4 or 5-0.

Without a decent centre forward in addition to Maupay we will be a bottom 6 side again & if Maupay has a run of poor games or an injury we will struggle big time.

 

[vagabond]

Guardian Season Preview 1920-21: Albion Prediction Finish Position: 19th!

I'm surprised by the negativity on this thread even if it is NSC. I never thought we would go down last season even during our poor run where we continued to play quite well without getting wins. As the season resumed we looked very good at times and might conceivably have gained more points than we actually did. Since the end of the season we have significantly improved our defensive options which were already quite good and on Saturdays game at least Veltman is a level above Montoya and will keep Lamptey on his toes. Add Ben White to the defensive selection and we have fantastic options that most of the division will envy.

I am not as a rule especially optimistic when it comes to the Albion as that does have a habit of kicking you in the teeth. However, I genuinely think we can threaten the top 10 if we can get a focal point for the attack over the line. I have been watching this lot for over 45 years and this is the best squad we have ever had IMO

I don’t think there’s much negativity mate? More regards the ludicrous prediction made by the Guardian, not about our chances.

Personally I expect us to progress solidly from last season. With a bit of luck around mid table... an additional striker would make us even better.

 

[chaileyjem]

FourFourTwo have us as 14th. FWIW Villa, Fulham, WBA for the drop.

PS - not sure where they found the chap who did their preview .

 

[chaileyjem]

Quite simply, outside the top 6 most mainstream pundits are clueless.

.

Bit harsh.

 

[Greg Bobkin]

I'm not hugely surprised by the prediction. We've been firmly bottom 6 for the past three years and usually teams around that end of the table eventually bite the bullet. There's some confidence around the club at the moment because we stayed up relatively comfortably in the end but we also mustn't forget that we were appalling (longest winless run in the whole football league) for a long stretch of the season before the lockdown. From the outsider's perspective we've not really strengthened. We've got Lallana (32, injury prone) and Veltman (unknown quantity in PL) in but lost Mooy and Montoya. I think that's positive progress but I can see why non-fans might think We'll still struggle. Add to that the fact that there were a few articles/comments from football writers questioning GP's tactics last season and I'd say another relegation fight is to be expected.

But we've also got that fella White from Leeds who is meant to be up there on a par with Messi and Ronaldo after the bucket-botherer manager transformed him from a lower-league clogger to world's best defender™

 

[amexer]

Unless we are again lucky with injuries we will struggle. If Androne comes back with right attitude will be ok but otherwise desperate for another central forward

 

[Silverhatch]

But here's the thing: Moose and Ed Aarons have actually seen us play. Soccer Saturday pundits and most of the Guardian reporters haven't. The fact that the Guardian admit that the estimated (in other words, guessed) finishing positions are a composite of all many opinions reflect the fact that Chief Sports Writers and Football Correspondents who tend to report exclusively on the top six and Champions League probably just list the bottom ten at random.

Exactly, and even more damning on a profession that should work harder to understand and reflect the entire football landscape. I’m sure all the top football writers know (and hopefully) respect Paul Hayward. They could give him or you a call and be more informed of what’s going on in this football outpost. Haven’t got a problem with being placed in the relegation mix - because most PL clubs are (in the mix) - but it’s just the throwaway nature of a composite guess... er, Brighton, er Not Leeds, er Not Villa, small club - 19th. Lazy.

 

[portslade seagull]

Little old Brighton under the radar. Personally believe we will finish 2-3 places higher than last season

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Unless we are again lucky with injuries we will struggle. If Androne comes back with right attitude will be ok but otherwise desperate for another central forward

Maybe GP Is indeed counting on The Second Coming Of Andone. But having TWO niggly little buggers up front runs the risk of one or other being sidelined for disciplinary reasons for large chunks of the season

 

[Deleted member 2719]

The day the Guardian live in the real world surely has to come, another day passes by.

Albion will finish above 14th, minimum.

 

[keaton]

I'm not sure I understand this bit. Should they have not 'predicted/guessed' but told us factually where we would finish. When you say 'admit' do we know how much pressure they were on to reveal this? Did they crack under interrogation?

 

[Uh_huh_him]

Without goals we will struggle again. We haven’t strengthened there so the prediction isn’t far off the mark. Don’t know why this is upsetting so many?

It isn't upsetting, just ignores the fact that we have been lacking a goalscorer for some time, without ever slipping into the relegation zone ( apart from a 1 game spell at the start of our first season)
Even when Glenn was at his best, we were overly reliant on him and yet still managed to stay up without ever being in the relegation zone.

Last season we scored more than Palace and Newcastle and the same as Sheffield Utd.
West Ham scored 10 more goals than us, finished below us and their top scorer managed the same total as ours.
So why is it that we are seen as needing a goalscorer in order to survive?
Why do journalists think we will finish 2nd from bottom, if we are just lacking goals?



Our attacking options are better right now, than any other premier league season.
Our strength in depth, in all positions, has improved season on season.
It is injuries that cause more teams to fail rather than lack of goals.

19th? very lazy and clueless journalism.

 

[jamie (not that one)]

Is Paul Merson a writer for The Guardian now?

 

[Icy Gull]

But here's the thing: Moose and Ed Aarons have actually seen us play. Soccer Saturday pundits and most of the Guardian reporters haven't. The fact that the Guardian admit that the estimated (in other words, guessed) finishing positions are a composite of all many opinions reflect the fact that Chief Sports Writers and Football Correspondents who tend to report exclusively on the top six and Champions League probably just list the bottom ten at random.

Are we really expected to believe that football writers don’t watch all PL league teams? Maybe it’s only when we are against the big six, so their views would be tainted. I am gobsmacked that sports writers would comment on a teams chances when they haven’t actually seen them play though. How fecking lazy and unprofessional is that!

You are in the loop though so I don’t doubt what you say I’m just stunned by what you are saying

 

[Not Andy Naylor]

Exactly, and even more damning on a profession that should work harder to understand and reflect the entire football landscape. I’m sure all the top football writers know (and hopefully) respect Paul Hayward. They could give him or you a call and be more informed of what’s going on in this football outpost. Haven’t got a problem with being placed in the relegation mix - because most PL clubs are (in the mix) - but it’s just the throwaway nature of a composite guess... er, Brighton, er Not Leeds, er Not Villa, small club - 19th. Lazy.

I generally dislike that 'lazy journalism' tag because it is, in itself, pretty lazy, but in this case you are spot on. Over the Dunk to Leicester thing last season and the Ben White situation, I have been phoned for a steer by precisely two journos - David Anderson of the Mirror and Tony Banks of the Express (which is now part of the same group as the Mirror). Both good guys and to be trusted. Neil McLeman of the Mirror is another who calls to check stuff.

Too many of the writers who do transfer gossip are happy to believe agents without questioning their motives and agendas. The Dunk to Leicester story last season was fuelled by an agent who wanted his player signed and hoped to hurry it along by presented us as a possible rival for his signature because we would be selling Dunky and have the fee to spend on a replacement. Personally I'm never so sure of anything that I don't do a little checking with people who know what is really going on at clubs, but I suppose some writers are rather scared of having a story shot down by inconvenient facts. If you'd just finished your 400-word 'Dunk to Leicester' story, the last thing you'd have wanted would have been me telling you 'his agent says it's 97 percent certain he's not going anywhere'.

 

[Not Andy Naylor]

Are we really expected to believe that football writers don’t watch all PL league teams? Maybe it’s only when we are against the big six, so their views would be tainted. I am gobsmacked that sports writers would comment on a teams chances when they haven’t actually seen them play though. How fecking lazy and unprofessional is that!

You are in the loop though so I don’t doubt what you say I’m just stunned by what you are saying

In defence of my noble profession, you can only go to so many games and very few writers choose where they are sent. For example, I reported on Chelsea eight or nine times last season for various papers but only saw Tottenham once. And I didn't go north of Vicarage Road. So although I gathered a lot of knowledge about Chelsea from what I saw and people I spoke to at their games and at press conferences, I wouldn't claim to have a very valid opinion on Wolves, Newcastle or Burnley beyond what I've seen on the TV.

Now, as I've said above, I know who to ask if I need information, but that's just me. Some writers just assume they already know everything.