[Albion] Premier League: your feelings after 3 years?

[Bry Nylon]

Assuming we scrape over the line again and enter our fourth season in the PL, what are you feelings about dining at the top table?

To be perfectly honest, I fully expected that we would be straight back down at the end of our first season but at the time that didn't matter. Just getting here and playing 38 games in the top division and being on MoTD (last, obvs) every week seemed reward enough.

But now we have clung on by our fingernails for 3 years, is this enough? Getting battered by Abu Dhabi last night whilst their keeper did the crossword with Connolly wasn't much fun but there have been some good days too. Who doesn't love beating Spurs 3-0 at home or taking 6 points off Arsenal? If we stay up I can't see much changing next season and we'll be looking to dig out 8 or 9 wins from somewhere until one season soon the inevitable happens and we slip back through the trapdoor. Or can we really kick on? Tony's investment in facilities, executives and playing personnel deserves so much more but the nature of PL football these days seems to suggest that no matter how much money you throw at it, it's never enough.

 

[worthingseagull123]

Unfortunately without massive investment, we are one of 8 teams there to make up the numbers.

 

[kevo]

One reason I really want us to stay up is I want to see how far the 'Potter experiment' can take us. I do think we are making progress, and will do better next season.

 

[Not Andy Naylor]

Look at Stoke. They kicked on and finished ninth three seasons in a row. And where are they now?

For all but half a dozen clubs - maybe seven if you include Everton - the only certainty is that eventually they will have a bad season and go down. Leicester, Sheffield United, Wolves, Palace, Southampton - it will happen to them all. We are no different.

Enjoy it while we're here. And then enjoy the Championship again.

 

[hart's shirt]

On behalf of us expats who live thousands of miles away from Sussex, it's fantastic to be able to see the Albion live in every league game.

And long may that continue.

 

[Bry Nylon]

Look at Stoke. They kicked on and finished ninth three seasons in a row. And where are they now?

Just off the M6?

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

If we stay up and we will, next season will be really interesting if Potter is backed, not necessarily with loads of money, but in bold squad building. There’s a number of those not just in the current squad but regularly in the team that need to move on. A more dynamic type of player needs to be sourced for true Potter style of football. This short break will be telling if we are looking at the next part of the plan. It wouldn’t surprise me to see a few of the main stays of the last number of years, move on. Think the likes of March may have played their last game for us.

 

[macbeth]

In terms of pure entertainment value, the championship was far better and not just because we were one of the top teams who were constantly winning. Much less of an established hierarchy in the championship (maybe because there are 6 new teams each year), and that element of unpredictability really adds excitement across the whole season. also, I've found myself less than impressed at the sickening corporate nature (so called 'modern football') of the PL, at least in the championship there was a bit less of that, though I accept that that's just how it is and will become more and more a part of football as the years go on.

All that said, I'm still thoroughly enjoying our PL adventure. It is truly enthralling to watch a football club that you've supported all your life be in totally new, uncharted territory, especially with an exciting coach like potter, who knows where we may end up!? As depressing as it is sometimes, in the PL I do, by and large, get the feeling that we CAN achieve anything, whereas in the championship it was only the vague notion that we COULD achieve something special, the PL was still too much of an unknown. We are and will be seeing players of such craft and ability at the club, the calibre of which we have rarely seen. I suppose it's optimistic, but I feel we have everything in place to really push on. I would say, I wouldn't want to look back in 20 or so years time and think that we never pushed on in the league (as difficult as that is) and just hung right around the bottom like a bad smell for a few seasons, just making up the numbers, before disappearing again. But I feel like tony shares this thinking with me, hence the new set up he's put in place here.

Ultimately, I think Brighton deserves a team playing top-flight football and I think we as a club have had more than our fair share of tough times, so while we're in the premier league I'll enjoy every second, though I won't be utterly destroyed if we have to go and join our old friends in the championship for a while. However, I firmly believe that what Tony is putting in place here means that we can achieve something truly special, and i'm certainly on board for the ride

 

[AZ Gull]

Assuming we scrape over the line again and enter our fourth season in the PL, what are you feelings about dining at the top table?

To be perfectly honest, I fully expected that we would be straight back down at the end of our first season but at the time that didn't matter. Just getting here and playing 38 games in the top division and being on MoTD (last, obvs) every week seemed reward enough.

But now we have clung on by our fingernails for 3 years, is this enough? Getting battered by Abu Dhabi last night whilst their keeper did the crossword with Connolly wasn't much fun but there have been some good days too. Who doesn't love beating Spurs 3-0 at home or taking 6 points off Arsenal? If we stay up I can't see much changing next season and we'll be looking to dig out 8 or 9 wins from somewhere until one season soon the inevitable happens and we slip back through the trapdoor. Or can we really kick on? Tony's investment in facilities, executives and playing personnel deserves so much more but the nature of PL football these days seems to suggest that no matter how much money you throw at it, it's never enough.

Look at Stoke. They kicked on and finished ninth three seasons in a row. And where are they now?

For all but half a dozen clubs - maybe seven if you include Everton - the only certainty is that eventually they will have a bad season and go down. Leicester, Sheffield United, Wolves, Palace, Southampton - it will happen to them all. We are no different.

Enjoy it while we're here. And then enjoy the Championship again.

I think both of you are correct, but I don't see it as a result of the Premier League. In 90 years of existence prior to the PL, we managed to reach the top division....once. And our relegation from Division One was as inevitable then as it will be from the PL now.

It is a function of being a supporter of Brighton and Hove Albion, rather than being a supporter of Manchester United, Liverpool or Manchester City. I knew what I was getting into when I was in my early teens, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

 

[Bry Nylon]

One reason I really want us to stay up is I want to see how far the 'Potter experiment' can take us. I do think we are making progress, and will do better next season.

I fully agree with what you say but Potter can stand in front of a magnetic board with a handful of coloured discs until the cows come home; but without SIGNIFICANTLY better players in every department we're always going to be 5 points away from Blackburn Rovers away on a Tuesday night.

 

[Sleaford Seagull]

I really think we're a couple of players away from being in the 40-50 point club each season, rather than the 35-40 point region we've found ourselves in so far. If we can win 2-3 more games next season then that's real progress and as long as we're progressing, even slightly, then I'm happy.
I've enjoyed the last 5 years supporting Brighton more than any other, winning all the time in the Championship for 2 seasons was fantastic but the end goal was always the PL.

Long may our story at the top level continue as far as I'm concerned.

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[Swansman]

For all but half a dozen clubs - maybe seven if you include Everton - the only certainty is that eventually they will have a bad season and go down. Leicester, Sheffield United, Wolves, Palace, Southampton - it will happen to them all. We are no different.

I think its possible to break into that half a dozen clubs that are very difficult to relegate/would immediatly bounce up. The key is to do the "impossible" once: reaching the Champions League and use the extra money and the status wisely, like improving your youth academy and expanding the stadium. Once you consistently produce great players and got a 45-50k+ arena its going to be difficult for most clubs to compete.

Newcastle and Leeds had the chance but ruined it through mismanagement and incompetence. Arsenal however showed it can be done. Yes they have always been a fairly big club but aside for one or two titles in the 80s/early 90s, how much success did they have in the last 50 years before Wenger? They snowballed his success and now they can **** up over and over without even getting close to relegation.

Sort of the same thing with Chelsea, though thats a pretty different story since their success story is pretty artificial. That said, they are now a club strong enough to be competitive even if Abramovich would stop investing and just scratch his scrotum for ten years.

It is definitely possible to establish the club above the eternal yoyos if it is done wisely. It is surprising that another few clubs havent managed to do it so far since the money in PL should allow you to build a club that is generally going to crush any newcomer. I think Brighton and a few other current PL clubs could be able to do so - my guess is that in ten years the league will be (unfortunately) a lot more stabile with 15 or so clubs just crushing the bottom 5-ish year out year in.

 

[Brian Parsons]

I've compared this with our 4yr tenure in the old Div 1. First game at home to Arsenal hammered 4: 0. Standing on Hove station shell shocked but we survived for 4 seasons, when a trip to Wembley cost us dear. This time around I think we can stay for longer. Saturday was a lesson in how it should be done and I read somewhere basically what was the difference between us, was 200 million pounds worth of players. A very apt description I feel. So onwards and hopefully upwards and a more stable position.

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[OzMike]

I think that the covid virus and tightening of purse strings will heavily influence the spending in the closed season.
I can see maybe 2 players coming in and a few leaving, with some of the youth being promoted, but there are players who maybe with some mentoring can change their outlook and improve on certain aspects of their game.
I would prescribe hypnosis for Propper, to stop him from constantly giving the ball to the opposition when they are in scoring positions.
Like all the lesser teams of this division, there won't be that much cash to splash around.
Bringing Walton back is a must I think, to keep Ryan more focused, Ben White should come back and be utilised as well and if not working he could go out on loan in the second transfer window.

 

[saafend_seagull]

On behalf of us expats who live thousands of miles away from Sussex, it's fantastic to be able to see the Albion live in every league game.

And long may that continue.

If we were in the championship you can see every game live too since the last 2 years.


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[saafend_seagull]

I've compared this with our 4yr tenure in the old Div 1. First game at home to Arsenal hammered 4: 0. Standing on Hove station shell shocked but we survived for 4 seasons, when a trip to Wembley cost us dear. This time around I think we can stay for longer. Saturday was a lesson in how it should be done and I read somewhere basically what was the difference between us, was 200 million pounds worth of players. A very apt description I feel. So onwards and hopefully upwards and a more stable position.

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£200m?!

Our first 11 cost £95m. Man City’s cost £560m.

Our subs brought on £40m, and theirs £105m.


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[Steve Foster]

The biggest problem for us in the last 3 seasons has been the lack of goals. I am actually surprised how well we have done this campaign considering our weakness upfront. Maupay keep; Connolly needs to go on loan to a mid Championship team, Murray retire - find a centre forward for £20-£25m. Perhaps we can raid a side that goes down or misses out on the playoffs.

Any spare cash - look at a pact midfielder.

That should keep us going

 

[BBassic]

The Championship is better.

 

[Icy Gull]

A bit Meh tbh. I would be gutted to go down though....until the first game in the Championship

 

[Palacefinder General]

A bit Meh tbh. I would be gutted to go down though....until the first game in the Championship

If the PL experience is a bit meh (I don’t disagree) how can the prospect of a long slog through a Championship season, with the aim of being promoted back to ‘meh,’ hold any appeal at all?