Newcastle v Preston

Dick Head said:

To be fair, they've been celebrating going up all season.

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TWOCHOICEStom said:

I mean, I can't really begrudge them being up. They're a Premier League team in the wrong division. Technically, their players are superb. Fitter, more athletic, better on the ball (almost) to a man compared to us. But our game management and commitment has got us where we are. You can't always just play like a Premier League side and expect to win in this division. You've got to be able to play in different ways. That's where the difference has lied for me.

One thing which has irked me though. Some of the tweets I saw last night from their bloody entitled fans.

"Thank god we're out of this shit division and back where we belong" type of thing. I saw it lots. I'd love to see where they'd be if they hadn't had the luxury of a Premier League squad and manager with masses of parachute payments to take them back up. As a club, they absolutely deserved to be in the Championship after their abysmal season.

I'm pretty confident that wherever Brighton end up. We'll never take for granted our league position. You're not there because you've been there for a long time or have 40k season ticket holders or once upon a time you had world class players. You're there because you've won enough football matches within the last few months.

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TWOCHOICEStom said:

I mean, I can't really begrudge them being up. They're a Premier League team in the wrong division. Technically, their players are superb. Fitter, more athletic, better on the ball (almost) to a man compared to us. But our game management and commitment has got us where we are. You can't always just play like a Premier League side and expect to win in this division. You've got to be able to play in different ways. That's where the difference has lied for me.

One thing which has irked me though. Some of the tweets I saw last night from their bloody entitled fans.

"Thank god we're out of this shit division and back where we belong" type of thing. I saw it lots. I'd love to see where they'd be if they hadn't had the luxury of a Premier League squad and manager with masses of parachute payments to take them back up. As a club, they absolutely deserved to be in the Championship after their abysmal season.

I'm pretty confident that wherever Brighton end up. We'll never take for granted our league position. You're not there because you've been there for a long time or have 40k season ticket holders or once upon a time you had world class players. You're there because you've won enough football matches within the last few months.

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TWOCHOICEStom said:

I mean, I can't really begrudge them being up. They're a Premier League team in the wrong division. Technically, their players are superb. Fitter, more athletic, better on the ball (almost) to a man compared to us. But our game management and commitment has got us where we are. You can't always just play like a Premier League side and expect to win in this division. You've got to be able to play in different ways. That's where the difference has lied for me.

One thing which has irked me though. Some of the tweets I saw last night from their bloody entitled fans.

"Thank god we're out of this shit division and back where we belong" type of thing. I saw it lots. I'd love to see where they'd be if they hadn't had the luxury of a Premier League squad and manager with masses of parachute payments to take them back up. As a club, they absolutely deserved to be in the Championship after their abysmal season.

I'm pretty confident that wherever Brighton end up. We'll never take for granted our league position. You're not there because you've been there for a long time or have 40k season ticket holders or once upon a time you had world class players. You're there because you've won enough football matches within the last few months.

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The Fish said:

Everything we've spent has come from player sales, and even then we made a profit. Villa spent more than us gross, and Brighton spent more than us Net.

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The Fish said:

I echo the relief that we're out of this league. More because of the appalling standard of refereeing than anything else. Maybe the coverage too. Oh and the punditry. And the disdain tv companies show fans of clubs by switching the Brighton v Newcastle game to a Tuesday night.

Seriously though, we are hugely relieved to get back up in the Premier League at the first time of asking because we've seen how it becomes more difficult to get in the Top Flight the longer you're away from it.

A couple of things though; the squad Benitez built was a Championship squad, a good one, but not a Premier League squad. Last time we were down, we had Argentinian Internationals, top tier players in every position and a wealth of experience. This time it's plain to see we don't.

Also, this thing about parachute payments comes up all the time, we've spent £0 parachute payments. Not a penny. Everything we've spent has come from player sales, and even then we made a profit. Villa spent more than us gross, and Brighton spent more than us Net.

end of the day the bar was set so high for us this year; Rafa, £55m gross spend, a couple of high profile purchases. Loads of casual observers expected us to piss the league because they fundamentally don't understand this league. You need depth, you need consistency, you need leaders, you need luck. You need a strong defence, a reliable striker and a calm hand on the tiller. This is why you only need 1 more win to clinch the title. Hughton built a squad over a few seasons that grew in confidence as time wore on. Even though you've been leading the table for the majority of the season (I think?) the spotlight has been on us, if we don't win the league it's our failings rather than your success, apparently.

Delighted for Hughton, pleased to see a new fresh team in the top flight instead of Middlesbeige and their ilk.

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hans kraay fan club said:

FFS

This argument comes up from Newcastle fans, constantly. They really don't get it - they simply refuse to accept that they (along with Villa, granted) had MASSIVELY superior resources to work with than every other team in the league.

"But we didn't because we sold a BILLION pounds worth of players, and only sign half a billion pounds worth"

Stupid tw4ts.

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hans kraay fan club said:

FFS

This argument comes up from Newcastle fans, constantly. They really don't get it - they simply refuse to accept that they (along with Villa, granted) had MASSIVELY superior resources to work with than every other team in the league.

"But we didn't because we sold a BILLION pounds worth of players, and only sign half a billion pounds worth"

Stupid tw4ts.

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The Fish said:

Then you're fundamentally not understanding the point I was making.

"No wonder you've won the league after spending all those parachute payments!"
£0 parachute payments spent.

Now, had the criticism been "You've been able to spend £55m! of course you should be in the race for the title!", that's reasonable, but again, there's context. Benitez lost/sold/released nigh on a full squad;

Krul
Janmaat Colo Taylor xxxx
Townsend Sissoko Tiote Wijnaldum
de Jong
Cisse

So he had to buy a squad for this division, that costs a lot of money, especially when the bar is set high. To be considered a success in the eyes of the wider world he apparently had to buy a squad that got promoted, immediately, as champions. He bought 11 new players for c£55m, so, c£5m a player... not exactly largess for a recently relegated Premier League side, now is it?

Had we invested in the January window I think we would have won the title, and been better prepared for the 17/18 season, it's not like we would have been risking our long term financial security.

I can understand the jealousy from the teams that have finished beneath us, but surely, surely, Brighton fans should celebrate their achievements in beating this horrible cheating bourgeoisie club that had the temerity to spend within their means to achieve their lofty ambitions?

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The Fish said:

Then you're fundamentally not understanding the point I was making.

"No wonder you've won the league after spending all those parachute payments!"
£0 parachute payments spent.

Now, had the criticism been "You've been able to spend £55m! of course you should be in the race for the title!", that's reasonable, but again, there's context. Benitez lost/sold/released nigh on a full squad;

Krul
Janmaat Colo Taylor xxxx
Townsend Sissoko Tiote Wijnaldum
de Jong
Cisse​

So he had to buy a squad for this division, that costs a lot of money, especially when the bar is set high. To be considered a success in the eyes of the wider world he apparently had to buy a squad that got promoted, immediately, as champions. He bought 11 new players for c£55m, so, c£5m a player... not exactly largess for a recently relegated Premier League side, now is it?

Had we invested in the January window I think we would have won the title, and been better prepared for the 17/18 season, it's not like we would have been risking our long term financial security.

I can understand the jealousy from the teams that have finished beneath us, but surely, surely, Brighton fans should celebrate their achievements in beating this horrible cheating bourgeoisie club that had the temerity to spend within their means to achieve their lofty ambitions?

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The Fish said:

I echo the relief that we're out of this league. More because of the appalling standard of refereeing than anything else. Maybe the coverage too. Oh and the punditry. And the disdain tv companies show fans of clubs by switching the Brighton v Newcastle game to a Tuesday night.

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Stat Brother said:

They just refuse to learn the simplest of lessons


Former Newcastle winger Chris Waddle echoed Shearer's view and believes Benitez will be in demand.

"The fans love Rafa - obviously - but I think Rafa will have a lot of tasty offers on the table from around Europe," Waddle told BBC Radio 5 live.

"If he doesn't get the reassurances he needs to strengthen his team - and I mean strengthen it - he's probably going to be looking elsewhere.

"I know fans will not want to hear that but he'll not want to be in a relegation battle next year."

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GT49er said:

Missing the point? Well, so are you a bit. OK, forget the parachute payments (although you'll certainly have had them, and doubtless they'll come in handy sometime) - but the fact that you were able to generate enough money from selling players to splash out £55M on new players (and with some to spare) puts you financially way ahead of almost every other club in the division.
11 new players for c£55m, so, c£5m a player... not exactly largess.....? It is for the Championship!
By the way, just for comparison purposes, our all time record signing is, I believe, the £4M we paid for Duffy. Anyway, the two best teams are going up via automatic promotion, the sun is shining, and it's good to be alive............

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hans kraay fan club said:

The point the YOU are fundamentally missing, is that your '11 players at £5m' that you bat off as pennies, is MORE than our RECORD SIGNING (Duffy @ £3.7m)

Ignore where your spending power came from (£30m of it for a player you all HATED anyway) - its irrelevant to this discussion - Newcastle SPENT MORE MONEY on players in the last summer transfer window, than the Albion have in their entire 116 year history. Forgive us if we're not terribly impressed with Rafa's miracle.

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Stat Brother said:

They just refuse to learn the simplest of lessons


Former Newcastle winger Chris Waddle echoed Shearer's view and believes Benitez will be in demand.

"The fans love Rafa - obviously - but I think Rafa will have a lot of tasty offers on the table from around Europe," Waddle told BBC Radio 5 live.

"If he doesn't get the reassurances he needs to strengthen his team - and I mean strengthen it - he's probably going to be looking elsewhere.

"I know fans will not want to hear that but he'll not want to be in a relegation battle next year."

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The Fish said:

Yes, we spent a lot, but Benitez didn't spend £55m adding to an already strong squad, he literally bought a new team (1 'keeper, 4 def, 4 mid, 2 Str) because the one he inherited wasn't getting close to the play offs, let alone the automatic spots. We spent well within our means and look likely to finish 2nd. We should have kept the money in the bank and not gone for promotion this year? I should walk round in barefoot because some people can't afford shoes? We're not cheating the system, we're not endangering our long term financial future so I don't really understand the complaints from Brighton fans, especially as they're the ones who're going to lift the pot at the end of the season.

If anything, your success is made all the sweeter by finishing above all of the nasty big spenders?




Who's claiming it's a miracle, man? Benitez built a squad to achieve our goals, he achieved our goals. Job done, but as you could see by the reaction from our fans last night, we're not celebrating like we've pulled off a miracle. We've celebrated a difficult job well done.

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BBassic said:

I agree with you on thr standard of refereeing in this league but I did some reading into it a couple of months ago and of the refs regularly officiating in this league something like 12 of them are also regularly officiating in the Premier League. The problem isn't with this leagues standards, it's with the standard in general.

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