[Albion] Would a 17th placed finish in the Premier League next year constitute success?

[TSB]

I understand people have been frustrated this season but I also think our expectations of what constitutes success needs to be lowered. At the start of this season there were fans suggesting on here saying that we needed to be aiming for Europe. I realise this was probably a minority, but that’s just crazy. It’s going to be a few more seasons yet before we can think of anything beyond a relegation battle. That’s not being negative just realistic.

Progression in the premier league isn’t achieved overnight. Throughout the season the gap between 7th and the relegation zone is never that big. The difference between the teams that pull away and those that drop into the relegation battle is consistency. So if consistency is the goal, then surely our best way of achieving that is playing to our strengths, which is our defensive nature.

Hughton will be dammed if we do dammed if we don’t. If he plays attacking, we lose and get relegated he’ll get the boot. If he plays to our strengths, plays defensively and keeps us up but the football is unattractive, people will be calling for him to get the boot. The only way he can win is to play attacking football, and drive us up the table, which is completely unrealistic. Guardiola wouldn’t be able to achieve that given the limitations a club of our size have in trying to compete.

If we want to progress and establish ourselves, we have to acknowledge that it’s done step by step, and is a gradual process. We will continue fighting for survival for quite a while and every time we achieve it we’ll get stronger. Those who are frustrated might just have to bite the bullet and accept that fighting a relegation battle in the premier league is better than when we were doing it in league 1 & 2. We can progress and we can establish ourselves, but only if we get behind Hughton and the team.

When did Brighton fans become so entitled?

This. Very much, this.
Been a bunch of spoilt brats spitting their collective dummies out since January.

 

[Icy Gull]

Sure. What's your point?
We need a chairman with a more entertaining vision?

That not investing enough will, inevitably, end in relegation. Sooner rather than later too.

 

[Uh_huh_him]

Fair enough, the finances don’t really come into it for me, I have always gone hoping for some entertainment but accepting I may not get it every week. Now I don’t expect to be entertained at all but confess my dissatisfaction with the way the team is set up, at home, has ramped up big time since The Saints game.

I’m sure a great performance against City will see me change my possibly fickle attitude again ( and no I don’t expect us to win, just compete and if we lose by a margin, so what, it no longer matters)

But I would say we had a great performance against City at Wembley and against Palace.
The situation isn't as cut and dried as to say the team aren't performing.

I have felt that the team have shown a collective mental frailty over the past month or so.
Which has been more of a worry than the tactics for me.

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

And would you be happy with it?

It’s a tough one for me. At some point you have to try and push on, but all the time you stay in the Premier League, regardless of performances and results, you become more financially stable and more established, which should in theory help you move up in the long run.

But is just missing out on relegation in year 3 enough? I guess I’d begrudgingly accept it if you offered it to me now, but it would make for another unenjoyable season, and we are supposed to enjoy going to watch football, otherwise we wouldn’t spend thousands of pounds doing it every year.

Discuss.

If you check it out, very very few teams get relegated in their third premier league season. Loads go in their first and second...

.....at the end of the day teams like us will always have tricky seasons in the prem, but every now and again they have a great one, including cup runs - and well, you've got to be in the league first to do that... got to be in it to win it...

Leicester, Burnley, Palace, Saints, West Ham, Bournemouth, Newcastle, Watford etc have all come close to relegation some seasons, and have all had decent seasons too....

so if we just manage to survive in 2019-20, at least we'll be there for maybe a great year in 2020-21....

but lets focus on this season first...

 

[Uh_huh_him]

That not investing enough will, inevitably, end in relegation. Sooner rather than later too.

Yeah it's a gamble, but there are many clubs who have spent more and been relegated anyway.

Tony Bloom is spending enough so we should be able to stay competitive in the championship.
More of a Burnley model I would say.

 

[Icy Gull]

Yeah it's a gamble, but there are many clubs who have spent more and been relegated anyway.

Tony Bloom is spending enough so we should be able to stay competitive in the championship.
More of a Burnley model I would say.

I live in hope that the players we get in this year actually fit the CH mould. The recruitment team and CH will need to go up a level if we are not going to have a repeat of the last few months. Constantly relying on the players that got us out of the Championship is not going to work for much longer.

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

Burnley came up, went down, came up again, just about survived, then qualified for Europe. It takes time, and if anything we are ahead of them on the curve...

 

[Nixonator]

When did Brighton fans become so entitled?

Difficult to ingrain what we feel into the younger fans to be fair.

I expect they are tired of hearing about how they should be grateful by now. They're just kids after all.

 

[kemptown kid]

I live in hope that the players we get in this year actually fit the CH mould. The recruitment team and CH will need to go up a level if we are not going to have a repeat of the last few months. Constantly relying on the players that got us out of the Championship is not going to work for much longer.

Ryan, Bernardo, Propper, Gross, Ali J, Izquierdo, Andone, Locadia ... Have we really been constantly relying on the promotion team?

 

[durrington gull]

Ryan, Bernardo, Propper, Gross, Ali J, Izquierdo, Andone, Locadia ... Have we really been constantly relying on the promotion team?

Half of those players we cannot rely on!!

 

[Barham's tash]

Ryan, Bernardo, Propper, Gross, Ali J, Izquierdo, Andone, Locadia ... Have we really been constantly relying on the promotion team?

Very true

Half of those players we cannot rely on!!

I’d argue taking injuries out of the equation and ignoring stupid positional deployment then you’re talking about two out of those 8 so actually a pretty good hit rate.

 

[BLOCK F]

El Pres has set out very clearly the relationship between transfer fees, wages and performance on more than one occasion and it certainly makes for interesting reading.
I suppose the argument to be had is could we reasonably expect someone to do better than CH has done with the 'tools' ( don't be rude!) available to him.
Some of us, me included, believe that to be the case and others strongly disagree. It will be ever thus.
I think there is plenty to be disappointed about this season and we have all taken part in discussions on this and other threads, ad nauseam.
There really is no point in regurgitating the old arguments, as we shall all have to wait and see what Tony Bloom decides to do, whether we stay up or not.
Amen to that!

 

[Icy Gull]

Ryan, Bernardo, Propper, Gross, Ali J, Izquierdo, Andone, Locadia ... Have we really been constantly relying on the promotion team?

We certainly did at Wolves, but I guess my point is more that CH reverts to the tried and tested players more often than I’d expect him to when we are desperate for a result. It’s understandable but some are now getting on a bit. Bruno and Murray are still shoo ins when the going gets tough.

 

[kemptown kid]

I forgot Bissouma and Montoya plus occasional, but potentially useful, additions like Balogan and Burn. I agree with Barham's Tash, the success rate of our signings has been decent. Fulham abandoned their promotion team, spent 100 million and were relegated a few weeks ago - no guarantees however much you spend.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

There are many different reasons why people go to watch us. Some don't expect entertaining football as a starting point for their support. Whilst others look at the cost and rightly expect a level of entertainment for the money spent.

Personally I felt I got a better financial deal in the championship, but I understand that Tony was subsidising that.

Football is a social occasion for me where I meet up with regular mates who have sat together for nearly 20 years. When the football isn't good, we resort to gallows humour, and generally have a little whinge, then have a drink and get over it. Sometimes, football is a by-product of just meeting up.
It struck me that Sam Harwood's (the fan of the year who had suffered cancer) Dad only went with him because he wanted someone to take him to football. The Dad then admitted he got hooked, but it also helped him bond with his son.

 

[DavidinSouthampton]

When did Brighton fans become so entitled?

Ever so thankful for what we've got and where we are over here!
Yours 'umbly and gratefully.
God bless you, sir...…. or madam!

 

[pishhead]

Regarding our negative style of play is that a result of poor recruitment or a by product of a pragmatic manager?

Why have attacking wingers in the team when it would appear that their primary responsibility is to help out the team in defensive situations? I've loved Hughton's tenure but if he stays and we start poorly next season the calls for him to go will become much louder.

 

[Goldstone1976]

17th next season (assuming we stay up this season) would not be "success" in my mind; it would be what I anticipate the Board will define as the "minimum acceptable standard". It would thus be "acceptable". "Success" would be 14th or higher. All imo, of course.

 

[Knocky's Nose]

Was talking to Palace fan and ST holder today at the bank (he works behind the counter) who is thoroughly disillusioned with the Premier League and thinks all the fun has gone out of being a fan of a club outside the top six.

I asked if he thought they'd sell Zaha(hahaha) and he was pretty convinced they'd offload him and Wan-Bissaka for £70m in the Summer, then buy four new players with the proceeds in order to simply build a strong mid-table team to stay in the PL, have a bit of a cup run if they're lucky, and.... absolutely nothing else.

That's the best we can hope for, too, along with every other club who currently sits 7th to 20th in the Premier League.

The feeling of being in the Premier League is such a mind-f*ck sometimes.

 

[Muzzy]

If we could finish 17th on 50 points and scoring 80 goals then yes, that would be classed as improving.

Sitting back and playing for 38x 0-0 results isn’t something I relish another season of.




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