[Football] You should be targetting top 4 this season, minimum.

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

I know it’s about the entire 38 games, but I’ve got a horrible feeling the 5 points dropped in the back to back games against Palace and Fulham will come back to haunt us come the final whistle at Villa Park at the end of May.

That said it’s still in our hands.

I was never a subscriber to the 'things* coming back to haunt us' concept..

Things are what they are.

*Except for ghosts, obviously.

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

I suppose it will depend on whether a dopey VAR official draws a line in the wrong place again.

We would now be 1 point behind Newcastle with a game in hand and five points behind Tottenham in fourth with three games in hand.

That decision could well cost us at least Europe and maybe even Champions League

But hey ho, it wasn't his fault really - these things happen

I feel sure that both Newcastle and Tottenham have come across similar onfield problems as ourselves, over the course of a season the League Table rarely lies. The number of points that you end with is normally about par for the course.

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

I simply target a win every week. It’ll be a rocky road. Ultimately making Europe would be a dream come true, the pinnacle so far for our club.

Yep taking it a game at a time is the oldest cliche in the book, but l think it's the right way to go about things. All too easy to get carried away and look too far ahead, and take your eye off the ball.

Finishing 6th, (or maybe even 7th), and qualifying for Euope Leage football next season would be more than enough to keep me happy.

I do think that the top four is a step too far though, but maybe something to aim for in the near future.

 

[Lenny Rider]

I was never a subscriber to the 'things* coming back to haunt us' concept..

Things are what they are.

*Except for ghosts, obviously.

Figure of speech old love

 

[aolstudios]

Top 4 minimum? What's the maximum? The title?!

Mwepu said so. A couple of weeks before his incident

 

[Falmer Wizard]

Just like in a relegation race where you don’t want to have to rely on other results to get out of the bottom 3, us finishing 4th is in our own hands. It’s not something you’d expect to be saying pretty much ever as a Brighton fan but let’s dare to dream just a little bit.

Although if you offered me 4th or 8th and the winning the FA Cup today I’d take the FA Cup win all day long.

If we finish 10th or above i would be very satisfied

 

[Bodian]

I know it’s about the entire 38 games, but I’ve got a horrible feeling the 5 points dropped in the back to back games against Palace and Fulham will come back to haunt us come the final whistle at Villa Park at the end of May.

That said it’s still in our hands.

3 points needed for glory at Villa Park on the last game of the season, 1-0 up with a couple of minutes to go. What could possibly go wrong.

 

[Weststander]

Yep taking it a game at a time is the oldest cliche in the book, but l think it's the right way to go about things. All too easy to get carried away and look too far ahead, and take your eye off the ball.

Finishing 6th, (or maybe even 7th), and qualifying for Euope Leage football next season would be more than enough to keep me happy.

I do think that the top four is a step too far though, but maybe something to aim for in the near future.

My way ameliorates the highs and lows for me.

A loss in the next league game sends some folk dreaming of Top 4 into a downer.

 

[Bod]

By being a finalist beaten by a team already qualified for the Champions' league? I think you're right.

Unfortunately the runner up of the FA cup cannot qualify for Europe.

 

[Triggaaar]

I know it’s about the entire 38 games, but I’ve got a horrible feeling the 5 points dropped in the back to back games against Palace and Fulham will come back to haunt us come the final whistle at Villa Park at the end of May.

It's almost inconceivable that those points won't cost us something. We were robbed for the 2 against Palace, but the 3 against Fulham is just football - on another day we win that easily (like yesterday) but we lost. Them's the breaks.

 

[Mustafa II]

Champions League qualification odds - Betfred

Arsenal 1/500
Man City 1/500
Man Utd 1/12
Spurs 7/4
Liverpool 13/8
Newcastle 7/4
Brighton 7/1
Chelsea 33/1
Fulham 66/1

 

[Triggaaar]

By being a finalist beaten by a team already qualified for the Champions' league? I think you're right.

You don't get a place that way, it goes to the league (I imagine someone's already said this)

 

[Triggaaar]

Unfortunately the runner up of the FA cup cannot qualify for Europe.

So if we finish 5th in the league, but lose the FA cup final, we're banned from Europe?

 

[sydney]

Chelsea, Spurs and Liverpool have been garbage this season. Newcastle good, but they're fading now.

As a neutral, without a doubt, the 4 best teams in England this year have been Arsenal, City, United and Brighton. It's time for you guys to start believing. In 4-5 years you will look back and think, we had those 5 players in the same team at the same time? Player for player, you are as good as any of the aforementioned and are trained better.

over the last 3 months , owing to an over supply of LSD , i have frequently wondered if we will make top 4 ....i have , through many munted states realised that we may make top 6 7 8 ....i very much doubt anything better , im glad for this to be slapped back in my face any time shortly....

 

[Oh_aye]

Chelsea, Spurs and Liverpool have been garbage this season. Newcastle good, but they're fading now.

As a neutral, without a doubt, the 4 best teams in England this year have been Arsenal, City, United and Brighton. It's time for you guys to start believing. In 4-5 years you will look back and think, we had those 5 players in the same team at the same time? Player for player, you are as good as any of the aforementioned and are trained better.

Hmm. Not for me Brian. I think we'll edge into Europe in 7th or ideally through the FA Cup if we do do it. For all the days like yesterday there have also been the Fulhams, Villas, Palaces. You just can't have that inconsistency and get in the top four.

If we've got any chance quite a lot of teams are going to have to have an extended shoddy period. I can only see Newcastle doing that.

 

[Bod]

So if we finish 5th in the league, but lose the FA cup final, we're banned from Europe?

No, but in the context of the OP’s question the runner up will not qualify for Europe.

They changed the rule in 2015 after the likes of Hull and Stoke qualified for Europe after finishing runners up in the FA cup to a team that had already qualified for the Champions League.

Although the rule change did stop Palace getting to Europe after 2015/16 it does remove from us the tantalising prospect of qualifying for Europe at the end of April having beaten Grimsby and a Championship side.

 

[Nobby]

I feel sure that both Newcastle and Tottenham have come across similar onfield problems as ourselves, over the course of a season the League Table rarely lies. The number of points that you end with is normally about par for the course.

I wonder how many times so far the head of PGMOL has had to apologise to either Newcastle or Tottenham for gross negligence. Cost us two points, which in a league like this could be absolutely crucial at the end of the season. Every single point is so hard won.

 

[Triggaaar]

No, but in the context of the OP’s question the runner up will not qualify for Europe.

I know, I replied similarly just after you, but thought the wording of your post was funny, that's all

Although the rule change did stop Palace getting to Europe after 2015/16 it does remove from us the tantalising prospect of qualifying for Europe at the end of April having beaten Grimsby and a Championship side.

And Liverpool

 

[severnside gull]

Just like in a relegation race where you don’t want to have to rely on other results to get out of the bottom 3, us finishing 4th is in our own hands. It’s not something you’d expect to be saying pretty much ever as a Brighton fan but let’s dare to dream just a little bit.

Although if you offered me 4th or 8th and the winning the FA Cup today I’d take the FA Cup win all day long.

I kinda get that having been to Wembley for both games in ‘83. Still time has moved on and things change and the FA Cup maybe isn’t all it once was.
2 wins and just getting to the Final this year will probably give us a place in Europe. Top 4 seems very remote. 6th achievable. But still such a long way to go.

 

[edna krabappel]

My take on the other teams around us:

Newcastle are on a poor run and have a painfully thin squad once you take away the few true stars. Almiron appears to have predictably reverted to the mean (ie the Paraguayan Craig Mackail-Smith) after his Grealish-baiting hot streak in autumn. Burn has lost form and is no longer the Geordie messiah, and there's no chance of the likes of Longstaff being in that squad next season so who knows how they'll feel about pushing things too hard. They lack creativity in midfield; Wilson's form has also dropped off a cliff, and when you see them bringing on dross like Jacob Murphy, Matt Ritchie and (the Poundland Adama Traore) Allan Saint-Maximin to try and retrieve a losing position in the league cup final, you realise how little depth they have. Our average bench is far better, and I include 18yr olds like Buonanotte and Enciso in that on top of the likes of Welbeck.

Liverpool are bound to win a few more (written while they go 3-0 up against Man United), but I wonder if they might remain inconsistent regardless, as Gomez, Van Dijk, Alexander-Arnold and Robertson are having shocking seasons.

Chelsea are a horrible club who can't seem to score and who undoubtedly deserve failure following their ill-considered supermarket sweep in the last two transfer windows. So if there's any karma in football, they will fail.

Fulham have been on a great run, but were lucky to beat us (at the Amex anyway: they played us off the park at Craven Cottage in the Potter days). I think they're decent but more about form than class, if that makes any sense at all. Form doesn't necessarily last.

Similar for Brentford, only with a very different style of football. Brentford tend to rely on home form, are very direct which can be easily found out by smart enough opposing managers, and I've always felt they're all playing at their absolute maximum. When you get to that point, you have nowhere else to turn the moment the luck runs out or the form drops off...or your star striker gets banned for months by the FA for illegally placing bets on football matches.

I was discounting Man United from anything but Champions League places, but having seen them defend at Anfield this afternoon...