[Albion] Im going to have nightmares about this tonight...

[Acker79]

Since Danny Welbeck went off injured in the draw with Palace, we've drawn with Liverpool, Leicester, Arsenal, Norwich and Newcastle. The only team to beat us in seven weeks before today was Man city. Hardly reason to start panicking.

2 of the five teams you noted got over a quarter of the way through the season without a win. One of them is now a third of the eway through the season without a win. That we couldn't beat them undermines your point a little bit.

Who ? (edit...i looked it up )

In 2018/19 - the wages total was this.


In 2019/20 it was this


Teams with smaller budgets than Albion pretty much er, get relegated and only 1-2 finish ever finish/above/around us.


via http://priceoffootball.com/brighton-2019-20-reel-around-the-fountain/

And this is the fundamental 'problem'*. The top ten target that the club have stated is going to be difficult to achieve when we pay bottom 6 wages. Time and again it has been pointed out that teams will finish roughly in line with wage bill, give or take a couple of places. Leicester's title win was a freak season. We are counting on a freak season like that to achieve a top 10 finish on our wage bill, and will require continued freak seasons to stay there. We fail to beat teams like villa, newcastle, palace, because they pay more, and get a better quality player. So while we pass it around, and slowly plod our way up to the final third then run out of ideas, they have the players who are good enough to retain disciplined, patient shape and the efficiency and ability to take the chances that they get, when they can pressure us, or we lose focus and make mistakes.

I know some of the people who want to believe/hope we can have that freak season will point to the table showing us in 8th, but it isn't the end of the season. Last season we had a great run of three wins in four at the end of January. But look over the rest of the season lots of draws and very occaional wins/losses. We had that purple patch at the start of this season which has given us the impression of having improved further than we actualy have. We will end up in that 15-17 area again because that's how good we are, because that's all we can afford/are willing to pay wages for.


*I say 'problem' because it is a philosophical idea, do I want us to start paying top 10 wages? It's not my money. If the person whose money funds the team wants to limit the outlay, it's not my place to criticise him (I do think it foolish to keep pushing the top 10 dream if you won't fund it). Yes I still get frustrated when we fall short game after game (not enough to finish off winless Newcastle, not enough to actually make Arsenal goalkeeper earn a clean sheet despite such dominance of possessition and territory, etc), but if TB wants the club to run on a certain budget then we should all accept that.

I know there is also this golden dream of an academy where we bring players through, get the benefit of top ten quality players on 'just out the academy' wages, before having to sell them on, but look at Ben White. The best, so far, to come out of the academy and he's sold after one season. Hardly using the academy to get top ten talent before they have proven it and can command those wages.

 

[Eric the meek]

Interesting. I wonder how much money TB actually has. And I will continue to wonder because I don't know and never will. Nobody will.

With that in mind, one is left wondering how his mind works.....

I will try to put myself in his shoes. What would I want?

Sustainability and success. And the pair together are mutually interdependent. And they need income.

We have a know income in the EPL, but it is hugely surpassed by clubs who sell milions of shirts overseas (and 60+K bums on seats probably helps a bit, too). Thus to get to that sort of income, we need to be a global brand. That means we need to start winning competitions.

Hmmm....in the meantime, then, we simply can't afford to crank up the average salary form around £50K a week to around £100K to give us the quality to challenge for trophies.

So, what to do? I think it is build incrementally, get to top ten, and then at a sort of cusp point make a decision whether to risk a step up in salary spend. A gambler's conundrum. Luckily I suspect TB is your man for that sort of malarkey.

Thus we need to do two things. Build incrementally, and then know when to take the big gamble.

Building incrementally is very hard. Clever signings are needed, and they don't always work. And if we happen upon a real superstar we can cash in. As an aside we got more money for that Leeds player than the sum of all our transfers in our entire history. **** me. Think about that. That's deffo a step up in one respect.

So we are building incrementaly (in fits and stars, as everyone who has tried incrementation will know) and waiting for the right moment, some time in the next few years, when to take a signifocant gamble (which will involve buying several players on much higher salaries than or present chaps). While avoiding relegation.

I'd be interested to see what A Dullard thinks of my witterings. Calling [MENTION=31]El Presidente[/MENTION]

Good post. We are lucky to have TB.

He isn't a billionaire for nothing. He has surrounded himself with the best talent available - off the pitch - in Barber, Ashworth and Potter, all of whom I continue to be impressed with. The ethos, after Ashworth arrived was 'evolution, not revolution'.

As fans, we all want instant results. But we also want long term results. That means the sustainability you mention above. In any business, the first rule is to control your costs. So, we don't buy this week's striker of the month, but we trawl the world and develop him in our own academy. Lower cost, lower risk.

We are lucky to have TB.

 

[Icy Gull]

Maybe because we didn't invest in that level of PROVEN talent when we signed Sanchez, Lamptey, Webster, Bissouma, Trossard, Maupay, Mwepu etc, etc. We have always gone for 'up and comers' with our budgets and I really can't see that changing



True, and frustrating as it can be at times, I would go with ours every single time

Problem seems to be that other bigger or better backed transfer wise clubs will nearly always gazump us, by a margin probably, on any up and coming forward who is nearly ready for the step up. So we are left with very big gambles on the striker front, we have not done very well at all so far either.

I do not have the solution but the problem is very clear to me

 

[amexer]

Whilst can understand praise for Watkins goal at no time during game were any of our forward players given the the room that Watkins was given when he received ball.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Good post. We are lucky to have TB.

He isn't a billionaire for nothing. He has surrounded himself with the best talent available - off the pitch - in Barber, Ashworth and Potter, all of whom I continue to be impressed with. The ethos, after Ashworth arrived was 'evolution, not revolution'.

As fans, we all want instant results. But we also want long term results. That means the sustainability you mention above. In any business, the first rule is to control your costs. So, we don't buy this week's striker of the month, but we trawl the world and develop him in our own academy. Lower cost, lower risk.

We are lucky to have TB.

I admire TB's vision for organic growth. I seriously do. However I do have concerns that his vision is in danger of being steamrollered by oligarchs and oil states and will ultimately cost him his place at the top table. Tho maybe he's comfortable with that. Fair play if he is, it would only make him in tune with - I'm guessing - the bulk of longtime Albion fans, many of whom despise the EPL and everything it stands for anyways

 

[Bry Nylon]

get a grip! one defeat to a team with new manager bounce. have you looked at the table. Idiot!

Thanks for your valued contribution.

When you get a moment, have a read of the sticky at the top of the page and perhaps reconsider your posting style if you have ambitions to get past 2 posts on this account.

Thanks.

 

[Dave the OAP]

Watching derby today on the telebox, I am still at a loss why in all the years I have seen him play, we never bought Tom Lawrence.

Always thought he was class


…in another parallel universe, Coca Cola Kid is still as shite as I remember

 

[Dave the OAP]

get a grip! one defeat to a team with new manager bounce. have you looked at the table. Idiot!

You are an angry young fairy cake aren’t you!

You must not call people idiots. It’s not big and not clever…bit like trossard

 

[Cheshire Cat]

You are an angry young fairy cake aren’t you!

You must not call people idiots. It’s not big and not clever…bit like trossard

Do we have an "unparliamentary language" rule now ?

 

[BN9 BHA]

get a grip! one defeat to a team with new manager bounce. have you looked at the table. Idiot!

Have you looked at how many thumbs up the post you are slagging got?

 

[b.w.2.]

No; I suspect that a PL Chairman who’s pumped £300m+ of his own money into his club, and his Technical Director who spent 6 years as Director of Elite Development at the FA have never given it a moment’s thought.

Lol [emoji23]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[BRIGHT ON Q]

No; I suspect that a PL Chairman who’s pumped £300m+ of his own money into his club, and his Technical Director who spent 6 years as Director of Elite Development at the FA have never given it a moment’s thought.

Let's hope they do more than just think about it in January.

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

View attachment 142296

<the blink of an eye>

View attachment 142297

Just a single point, (and an inferior goal difference), above our old nemesis from up the M23 now. That said though, surely no one seriously expected us to stay in 4th place for very long, before we started to slide down the table a bit, (not too far down though l hope).

I still feel far more optimistic than l was at this stage last season, and feel confident that we will stabilise somewhere in mid, or just below mid table soon.

 

[Dave the OAP]

Just a single point, (and an inferior goal difference), above our old nemesis from up the M23 now. That said though, surely no one seriously expected us to stay in 4th place for very long, before we started to slide down the table a bit, (not too far down though l hope).

I still feel far more optimistic than l was at this stage last season, and feel confident that we will stabilise somewhere in mid, or just below mid table soon.

I think leeds may define the rest of our season in a few ways.

We are struggling to win as we all know, and are sliding slowly down the league after giving us, perhaps false, hope that we had learned how to play this division and would push on. If we don’t win at home to leeds, who let’s face it are there for the taking, I can see this being a very long winter ahead with the likes of Chelsea, West Ham Man United etc looming up on us.

Be watching spuds this afternoon and hoping they can put leeds away today and pile more pressure on the “ chosen one”

BTW. a Man City looking very good against a side that we were not even close to at our place!

 

[Weststander]

I think leeds may define the rest of our season in a few ways.

We are struggling to win as we all know, and are sliding slowly down the league after giving us, perhaps false, hope that we had learned how to play this division and would push on. If we don’t win at home to leeds, who let’s face it are there for the taking, I can see this being a very long winter ahead with the likes of Chelsea, West Ham Man United etc looming up on us.

Be watching spuds this afternoon and hoping they can put leeds away today and pile more pressure on the “ chosen one”

BTW. a Man City looking very good against a side that we were not even close to at our place!

This.

A draw against Leeds would be equally shit, extending the ever growing winless run.

It’s a ‘must win’, purely to break this ever growing run and give the squad a timely boost in confidence.

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

Let's hope they do more than just think about it in January.

Whilst agreeing wholeheartedly, l'm still not holding my breath.

 

[Swansman]

I think leeds may define the rest of our season in a few ways.

We are struggling to win as we all know, and are sliding slowly down the league after giving us, perhaps false, hope that we had learned how to play this division and would push on. If we don’t win at home to leeds, who let’s face it are there for the taking, I can see this being a very long winter ahead with the likes of Chelsea, West Ham Man United etc looming up on us.

Be watching spuds this afternoon and hoping they can put leeds away today and pile more pressure on the “ chosen one”

BTW. a Man City looking very good against a side that we were not even close to at our place!

"be there for the taking: To be available for one to easily obtain or achieve."

Imagine that after five years of Premier League still believe that any teams are "there for the taking"

The game is... a game. A win would be very, very nice and give back a bit of confidence but it wont "define the season".

 

[Dave the OAP]

"be there for the taking: To be available for one to easily obtain or achieve."

Imagine that after five years of Premier League still believe that any teams are "there for the taking"

The game is... a game. A win would be very, very nice and give back a bit of confidence but it wont "define the season".

Sorry you are on my ignore list due to the constant shite you dribble on here….anyone tell me what this non Brighton fan is saying or is it more shite?

 

[Insel affe]

Sorry you are on my ignore list due to the constant shite you dribble on here….anyone tell me what this non Brighton fan is saying or is it more shite?

More shite.

 

[El Presidente]

This.

A draw against Leeds would be equally shit, extending the ever growing winless run.

It’s a ‘must win’, purely to break this ever growing run and give the squad a timely boost in confidence.

Doncaster Rovers at the Goldstone in 1997 was a ‘must win’ match. Leeds isn’t.