brighton_tom
Well-known member
- Jul 23, 2008
- 5,512
For me anything top 10 would be brilliant. New manager, new players, new tactics, anything could happen so I’d see top 10 as a very successful season.
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[Albion] That’ll do nicely!
- Thread starter el punal
- Start date
I think we can all see that the team hasn't quite gelled yet, so to have 7 points from 3 games is remarkable.
Performances will improve as things properly click and adding in our exciting new players (and a returning legend) will make us even stronger. We could be scarily good in a month or so.
A counter-point to that is that other coaches will have had more of a look at Hurzeler's set-up and tactics, so there will invariably be a period where results aren't so good and some will ask whether he/we have been 'worked out'. Because we're off to a flier, we can afford a dip and still be in the conversation for Europe. How quickly things are turned around will be the key. I'm also expecting the odd shocking result (see Luton last year), simply because we can't be consistently good this early in FH's reign, SURELY?
Unless we are unbelievably lucky, there will be some (more) injuries to cope with. In which position and to whom they occur will greatly affect how disruptive they are (despite our strength in depth relative to last year).
I'm not sure where I'm going with this, other than to say that we are very much ahead of where I thought we'd be and we have plenty of room to improve, so this could be an amazing season. Equally, 3 games is a small sample size and there could be as yet unseen teething problems with the new coach and good/bad luck with injuries will always play a part.
I'm feeling quite chipper this morning, so f**k it, WE'RE GOING TO WIN THE LEAGUE
(though I'm not sure where that leaves me regarding my overall view that next season will be better than this - are we going to win next year's Champions League?!)
Performances will improve as things properly click and adding in our exciting new players (and a returning legend) will make us even stronger. We could be scarily good in a month or so.
A counter-point to that is that other coaches will have had more of a look at Hurzeler's set-up and tactics, so there will invariably be a period where results aren't so good and some will ask whether he/we have been 'worked out'. Because we're off to a flier, we can afford a dip and still be in the conversation for Europe. How quickly things are turned around will be the key. I'm also expecting the odd shocking result (see Luton last year), simply because we can't be consistently good this early in FH's reign, SURELY?
Unless we are unbelievably lucky, there will be some (more) injuries to cope with. In which position and to whom they occur will greatly affect how disruptive they are (despite our strength in depth relative to last year).
I'm not sure where I'm going with this, other than to say that we are very much ahead of where I thought we'd be and we have plenty of room to improve, so this could be an amazing season. Equally, 3 games is a small sample size and there could be as yet unseen teething problems with the new coach and good/bad luck with injuries will always play a part.
I'm feeling quite chipper this morning, so f**k it, WE'RE GOING TO WIN THE LEAGUE
(though I'm not sure where that leaves me regarding my overall view that next season will be better than this - are we going to win next year's Champions League?!)
Nobby Cybergoat
Well-known member
- Jul 19, 2021
- 8,622
Seven points represents a brilliant start.
The new manager is clearly able to get his ideas across to the players who seem to be able to put those ideas into action
The international break buys us some time to get Ferdi, Mats etc up to some level of fitness and Estupinan some intense training sessions to get him back to where he was
The only negative is the injuries to the new players and the current lack of choice at full back and central midfield until they return. Any more injuries in these positions gives us a proper headache
The new manager is clearly able to get his ideas across to the players who seem to be able to put those ideas into action
The international break buys us some time to get Ferdi, Mats etc up to some level of fitness and Estupinan some intense training sessions to get him back to where he was
The only negative is the injuries to the new players and the current lack of choice at full back and central midfield until they return. Any more injuries in these positions gives us a proper headache
ChickenBaltiPie
Well-known member
- Jan 3, 2014
- 937
OK, City & Liverpool look like they’re in a league of their own. Arsenal not far behind. That’s the top three nailed on!
Then you’ve got Chelsea, potentially, but they’re such a basket case of a club as we all know they could easily fail miserably again to achieve what they ‘should’ on paper be capable of.
From there down, Tottenham, Man U, Villa, Newcastle, West Ham, Brentford or Fulham even potentially, AND US.
If we stick our necks out and we’re not too pessimistic, I don’t think it’s unreasonable of us on the basis of having achieved it before from a weaker position, maybe(?) despite our best midfield duo EVER, having strengthened considerably everywhere else on the pitch and even more importantly potentially on the bench, to think we can definitely compete with that lot and achieve Europe again.
We’ve kept our best players, all of whom are getting better/stronger. Solly/Pervis still an unknown, Mitoma has yet to get back to his best either really admittedly, but if they come back 9/10th’s as good as they were then there will be no stopping us. Our younger guys just keep getting better and better as hoped. The new signings add serious competition for places and cover for injuries this time round, our big failing from last season and a lesson we already seem to have learnt from!
Top 10 is the MINIMUM we should be hoping for. Infact, we should EXPECT it now at this stage IMO. Doesn’t mean we have to be naive, or become arrogant or entitled or forget where we’ve come from, but it’s good to be hopeful, optimistic and have a target, even if it may seem just that bit out of reach. Something to dream of and be hopeful and excited about, something to stretch for. One of the European spots IS what we should be aiming at, and it is SURELY on the basis of all the indications what TB/PB etc are aiming for, so we should too!!
FH has proven already that he’s not gonna be the potential disaster some will understandably have feared when he was, let’s be honest, a bit of an unknown. He’s not come in and gone crazy with any insanely naive tactical thinking a la Hypia or over conservative like Hughton, although arguably had its time and place. He wants to play attractive football, he wants to compete to win every game, but unlike RDZ I think he’s shown he’s smart enough to realise the importance of not losing too. I think there is a LOT more to come from him and a LOT more to come from the team, and the new signings and we’re just gonna get stronger and stronger. He’s malleable, adaptable and will treat every game differently, make adjustments and keep learning and improving. His youth is a huge asset as I see it, he’s not stubborn or arrogant or rigid in his tactics. IMO we’re just gonna get better and better. He is still presently being very cautious and conservative I feel. The ruthless, killer streak is still yet to come but there is signs of it building.
I said to my dad on the weekend, the thing that gives me the most hope on the basis of what we’ve seen so far is that I think we will get more of those points we’ve consistently dropped historically against ‘weaker’ opposition in the past and seem better equipped to counter faster and kill off the frustrating low block employed by some against us, by hitting them on the break before they can get set up.
We’ve not played spectacularly, we’ve had a fair bit of luck, but to a HUGE extent that you can’t underestimate, a team creates its own luck. Play below your best/potential and still win/draw against top opposition and you’re doing something VERY right. It’s been an INCREDIBLE start and I can only see us going from strength to strength.
Our aim is obviously EUROPE, let’s admit it. Top 10 and we’ve underachieved. Bottom half of the table and we’ve failed. Top 4 and we’ve overachieved. We’ve exceeded our goals and expectations consistently, why wouldn’t we do it again. LET’S GO!
EDIT: I may delete this later, post Ipswich haha, IMO our biggest test yet and will tell us a great deal more about our potential than playing Man U & Arsenal did. FH passed the Everton test with flying colours and I’m confident he will prove what other managers have not thus far, that we can expect to beat ‘teams like Ipswich!’
Long one, SORRY, grateful to anyone that managed to get through all that!
Then you’ve got Chelsea, potentially, but they’re such a basket case of a club as we all know they could easily fail miserably again to achieve what they ‘should’ on paper be capable of.
From there down, Tottenham, Man U, Villa, Newcastle, West Ham, Brentford or Fulham even potentially, AND US.
If we stick our necks out and we’re not too pessimistic, I don’t think it’s unreasonable of us on the basis of having achieved it before from a weaker position, maybe(?) despite our best midfield duo EVER, having strengthened considerably everywhere else on the pitch and even more importantly potentially on the bench, to think we can definitely compete with that lot and achieve Europe again.
We’ve kept our best players, all of whom are getting better/stronger. Solly/Pervis still an unknown, Mitoma has yet to get back to his best either really admittedly, but if they come back 9/10th’s as good as they were then there will be no stopping us. Our younger guys just keep getting better and better as hoped. The new signings add serious competition for places and cover for injuries this time round, our big failing from last season and a lesson we already seem to have learnt from!
Top 10 is the MINIMUM we should be hoping for. Infact, we should EXPECT it now at this stage IMO. Doesn’t mean we have to be naive, or become arrogant or entitled or forget where we’ve come from, but it’s good to be hopeful, optimistic and have a target, even if it may seem just that bit out of reach. Something to dream of and be hopeful and excited about, something to stretch for. One of the European spots IS what we should be aiming at, and it is SURELY on the basis of all the indications what TB/PB etc are aiming for, so we should too!!
FH has proven already that he’s not gonna be the potential disaster some will understandably have feared when he was, let’s be honest, a bit of an unknown. He’s not come in and gone crazy with any insanely naive tactical thinking a la Hypia or over conservative like Hughton, although arguably had its time and place. He wants to play attractive football, he wants to compete to win every game, but unlike RDZ I think he’s shown he’s smart enough to realise the importance of not losing too. I think there is a LOT more to come from him and a LOT more to come from the team, and the new signings and we’re just gonna get stronger and stronger. He’s malleable, adaptable and will treat every game differently, make adjustments and keep learning and improving. His youth is a huge asset as I see it, he’s not stubborn or arrogant or rigid in his tactics. IMO we’re just gonna get better and better. He is still presently being very cautious and conservative I feel. The ruthless, killer streak is still yet to come but there is signs of it building.
I said to my dad on the weekend, the thing that gives me the most hope on the basis of what we’ve seen so far is that I think we will get more of those points we’ve consistently dropped historically against ‘weaker’ opposition in the past and seem better equipped to counter faster and kill off the frustrating low block employed by some against us, by hitting them on the break before they can get set up.
We’ve not played spectacularly, we’ve had a fair bit of luck, but to a HUGE extent that you can’t underestimate, a team creates its own luck. Play below your best/potential and still win/draw against top opposition and you’re doing something VERY right. It’s been an INCREDIBLE start and I can only see us going from strength to strength.
Our aim is obviously EUROPE, let’s admit it. Top 10 and we’ve underachieved. Bottom half of the table and we’ve failed. Top 4 and we’ve overachieved. We’ve exceeded our goals and expectations consistently, why wouldn’t we do it again. LET’S GO!
EDIT: I may delete this later, post Ipswich haha, IMO our biggest test yet and will tell us a great deal more about our potential than playing Man U & Arsenal did. FH passed the Everton test with flying colours and I’m confident he will prove what other managers have not thus far, that we can expect to beat ‘teams like Ipswich!’
Long one, SORRY, grateful to anyone that managed to get through all that!
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Apart from the fact we've got 7 points from three very losable games, I have two main sources of optimism:
1. The squad depth;
2. The fact that (apart from Liverpool and Citeh, and to a lesser degree Arsenal and Villa) no one else seems to be up to much. For example, both Newcastle and Spurs looked VERY average yesterday. Chelsea are inconsistent. Man Utd have no discernible tactics.
I realise it is ridiculously early in the season to predict much, but I think Villa and Spurs in particular will struggle with all the extra European games. Chelsea and Man Utd possibly, too. It promises to be a fascinating season!
1. The squad depth;
2. The fact that (apart from Liverpool and Citeh, and to a lesser degree Arsenal and Villa) no one else seems to be up to much. For example, both Newcastle and Spurs looked VERY average yesterday. Chelsea are inconsistent. Man Utd have no discernible tactics.
I realise it is ridiculously early in the season to predict much, but I think Villa and Spurs in particular will struggle with all the extra European games. Chelsea and Man Utd possibly, too. It promises to be a fascinating season!
- Jul 7, 2003
- 47,628
Thirty plus years of watching the Albion tells me that of all the games we've played so far and still have to play by the end of September, the ones most likely to trip us up are Ipswich and Forest.
Then of course we move into October, and in my mind, we are always crap in October for some inexplicable reason. Maybe the players don't like Halloween decorations.
Then of course we move into October, and in my mind, we are always crap in October for some inexplicable reason. Maybe the players don't like Halloween decorations.
This is a fair analysis of the situation IMO. Arsenal were unlucky not to beat us as they were in control of the game when Rice got sent off, but on the other hand they were fortunate to beat Villa who absolutely battered them the previous week.
Villa are in Europe and are already struggling with injuries, which is good news for us - Bailey did his hamstring this weekend and they already had Kamara and Cash missing among others. Man Utd's problems are massively overstated in the media though. On another day they'd have beaten us (and that would have been considered an excellent result for them), which only leaves yesterday's battering at home to Liverpool who will clearly be title challengers. Newcastle, Spurs, and Chelsea have all started predictably inconsistently.
Excluding ourselves, my dark horse to threaten the top 6 is Fulham. I like some of their signings and once they have bedded in I think they might prove to be a tidy outfit.
Agree with most of this. Do think Fulham will struggle a little without Paulinha who was their most important player.
Gabbiano
Well-known member
City, Arsenal and Liverpool look strong and should be top 3 again.
Then, it seems to me that between us, Tottenham, Chelsea, Villa, Man U and Newcastle (maybe West Ham, but not yet convinced) the remaining Euro spots are up for grabs. Remember also there's the possibility of 5 CL spots now.
We've been good so far but we have had luck on our side. Without Rice's card and Zirkzee's offside were in a different position.
We've also been starting very slowly every game so far. That needs to change.
Then, it seems to me that between us, Tottenham, Chelsea, Villa, Man U and Newcastle (maybe West Ham, but not yet convinced) the remaining Euro spots are up for grabs. Remember also there's the possibility of 5 CL spots now.
We've been good so far but we have had luck on our side. Without Rice's card and Zirkzee's offside were in a different position.
We've also been starting very slowly every game so far. That needs to change.
Re man u , no !
They're rubbish. They finished 8th last season. And they've gone and signed more rubbish. Only fernandes and mainoo would get in our team.
Not really true. They are crap by the standards of other big clubs but they'll still finish top half. We could easily have lost our game with them, and remember they were good enough to beat Man City in the Cup Final last season.
FatSuperman
Well-known member
- Feb 25, 2016
- 2,922
The big problem for me is that the person in charge of Recovery and Physiotherapy at Brighton appears to be Wreck-It Ralph. If we can get back to the levels of injury / management we had a few seasons ago, we'd be in such a strong position.
oldboyroy
Well-known member
Whereas I was quite confident we would get 6 out the 1st 2 but expected a loss at Arsenal. Having said that, we've had the rub of the green so far with decisions going our way
Yes but top half is rubbish for the amount theyve spent and size of the club.
Baldseagull
Well-known member
A ridiculous penalty awarded for the ball hitting Dunks arm behind his back.
Wouldn’t have been given this season, as his handball’ proved against Arsenal.
- Aug 24, 2020
- 7,094
A drill down into the stats:
----------------------Possession Touches in opp box (us first)
Everton 0 - BHA 3 61.8% 29/18
BHA 2 -1 Man Utd 48.3% 33/28
Arsenal 1-1 BHA 64.2% 33/31
7 points, 6 For 2 Against. We beat Everton easily, edged it against Man U, creditable draw against Arsenal.
We are creating chances.
Overall, a pretty good start I'd say.
Edit: sorry for formatting.
----------------------Possession Touches in opp box (us first)
Everton 0 - BHA 3 61.8% 29/18
BHA 2 -1 Man Utd 48.3% 33/28
Arsenal 1-1 BHA 64.2% 33/31
7 points, 6 For 2 Against. We beat Everton easily, edged it against Man U, creditable draw against Arsenal.
We are creating chances.
Overall, a pretty good start I'd say.
Edit: sorry for formatting.
3. Fab. Hugely impressed with everything I am seeing/hearing from him so far. Astute, humble, honest and already seems to have formed a great bond with the players and mended any issues left from the De Zerbi era. Squad 'togetherness' seems on another level already