[Albion] Premier League 30/1 - 31/1

[MattBackHome]

So, should we get less than 4 points from the next 2 games, would you then have any concerns?

It's hard to answer your question but I'll try. I'd put my current concern level at roughly 2/10, or very low (based on my view of our performances, squad qualities, new signings and the miasma all around us).

I reckon that it's far more vital for the team to accumulate the upcoming home points, so if we fail to get 6 points from West Ham & Swansea, that would be a greater cause for concern for me than failing to get any additional points tonight or at Stoke.

So for example if we lose tonight and beat West Ham it would only very slightly raise my concerns, but failing to get 3 points on Saturday, regardless of what happens tonight would raise them more. Sorry if that's a convoluted explanation.

I've had loads of Non-Albion mates texting stuff like 'You lot NEED to win at Southampton' when it's blatantly not true.

 

[Triggaaar]

No getting away from the fact that the Swansea result is not great for us

Indeed, so don't finish your sentence by trying to get away from it

but if we are going to stay up we need to be winning our own games, not worrying about everyone else.

We're not going to win that many of our own games. SCC are odds on to win tonight, a draw would be a good result.

 

[Triggaaar]

When losing against top 6 sides, most said it's the games against the other teams that will decide our fate. It's starting to look like we were wrong.

I genuinely wasn't one of the most.

I think a lot of Albion fans must have always tuned out of the PL, until we made it there.

Palace and Bmuff to name just 2, have had several wins against top 6 teams in recent seasons, which effectively kept them up.

To rely entirely on games against the other 13 clubs narrows chances of getting vital points.

You say that you weren't one of most (fine) and that you know teams need to get points off the top 6 to stay up, and then you go on to say:

I always thought we'd lose all 6. Anything other than that would be a pleasant surprise to me.

I looked forward to the other 26 games, as we had a chance.

 

[Weststander]

I've had loads of Non-Albion mates texting stuff like 'You lot NEED to win at Southampton' when it's blatantly not true.

This.

With home advantage and a far better squad than ours, it would be a surprise if Stains failed to comfortably win tonight. Stains winning has by far the shortest odds.


Bizarre that many think that it will be the hammer blow to our season.

Our home games are vital.

 

[DTES]

Leaving St Mary's with 0 points will not be a disaster in itself... but Southampton gaining 3 points will be. If we lose tonight, then even if we beat West Ham on Saturday, the absolute best case is that we match Saints' return for the week - with 2 out of 4 of the "winnable" run gone.

It won't relegate us - of course it won't - but defeat tonight will be a BIG blow.

 

[Weststander]

You say that you weren't one of most (fine) and that you know teams need to get points off the top 6 to stay up, and then you go on to say:

Pre season, I didn't see our quasi-Championship squad getting anything from the top 6. So it's panning out. Making the other 26 games vital to us.

Totally separately, as a PL watcher, I'm well aware that Swansea, WBA, Bmuff and Palace fairly often get wins against the top 6. And will continue to do so. Simply because they either have pace and PL quality match winners, or in WBA's case they've always had a gaggle of PL quality giants able to cause mayhem at set pieces.

IMO we didn't have those attributes, making it bloody difficult in top 6 games.

 

[Triggaaar]

Pre season, I didn't see our quasi-Championship squad getting anything from the top 6. So it's panning out. Making the other 26 games vital to us.

Totally separately, as a PL watcher, I'm well aware that Swansea, WBA, Bmuff and Palace fairly often get wins against the top 6. And will continue to do so. Simply because they either have pace and PL quality match winners, or in WBA's case they've always had a gaggle of PL quality giants able to cause mayhem at set pieces.

IMO we didn't have those attributes, making it bloody difficult in top 6 games.

So in other words, you were one of those who thought it would be the games against the other 13 teams that would decide our fate? (as you'd already written off games against the top 6).

 

[Triggaaar]

Leaving St Mary's with 0 points will not be a disaster in itself... but Southampton gaining 3 points will be.

SCC are considered the 7th most likely club to go down. While we don't want them getting extra points, the priorities are: 1) Points for us (obviously), 2) Lack of points to Hudds, Swans, WB 3) Lack of points to Newc, Stoke, SCC.

So us not getting 1 point is a bigger deal than SCC getting 3.

At the end of the season, if we could add 1 point to our tally, or take 3 off SCC, I expect the former is more likely to save us from relegation.

 

[GreersElbow]

Leaving St Mary's with 0 points will not be a disaster in itself... but Southampton gaining 3 points will be. If we lose tonight, then even if we beat West Ham on Saturday, the absolute best case is that we match Saints' return for the week - with 2 out of 4 of the "winnable" run gone.

It won't relegate us - of course it won't - but defeat tonight will be a BIG blow.

This is spot on.

A relegation rival, who occupy one of the bottom 3 spots. A win for Soton is bad for us. A draw would be reasonable.

 

[Weststander]

Pardew & WBA bottom. That'd be so sweet after 38 games.

(As long as we're 17th or higher).

 

[AmexRuislip]

Taxi for Conte!

 

[Weststander]

Bmuff beat yet another top 6 team, one of several over the last 3 seasons. Wonder what the formula is?

 

[afcb]

Bmuff beat yet another top 6 team, one of several over the last 3 seasons. Wonder what the formula is?

The manager.

 

[erkan]

The manager.

Of course it is. Nothing to do with a billionaire owner and several years of squad building with Premier League money.

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[TSB]

Bmuff beat yet another top 6 team, one of several over the last 3 seasons. Wonder what the formula is?

Drugging the away team tea?

 

[afcb]

Of course it is. Nothing to do with a billionaire owner and several years of squad building with Premier League money.

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Not sure he's a billionaire..your chap has put far more into your club than ours has. We just have the better manager. Agree about squad building but we were in the same position as anyone else who came up including you. I'm not even saying we are safe yet.

 

[djentist]

Not sure he's a billionaire..your chap has put far more into your club than ours has. We just have the better manager.

Better manager and game changers who can actually make an impact coming off the bench.

 

[Weststander]

Better manager and game changers who can actually make an impact coming off the bench.

You've hit the nail head with it being their game changers.

 

[Bozza]

Not sure he's a billionaire..your chap has put far more into your club than ours has. We just have the better manager. Agree about squad building but we were in the same position as anyone else who came up including you. I'm not even saying we are safe yet.

“Our man” has pumped hundreds of millions of pounds into the club’s infrastructure in order to set the club up for years to come.

You play in a posh non-League ground.

 

[djentist]

You've hit the nail head with it being their game changers.

They have Ibe who tore us a new one at Dean Court after coming on and is beginning to show more of what he can do this season, Stanislas who isn't getting into their team but would walk into ours, Ryan Fraser who is three times the player March will ever be, Lewis Cook, old reliable £80,000 + a week Jermain Defoe on the bench as their backup impact option, they've just loaned out a striker to Wolves that would stake a claim in our first 11.

Meanwhile we've got Knockaert, Anthony Knockaert, except everyone does understand now and he has been found out at this level, or Solly March who just isn't good enough unfortunately after some early promise. Ulloa or Murray coming off the bench for each other at the moment, both of whom are good enough but neither of which offer anything drastically different from each other.