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[Albion] #TeamsLikeBrighton...
- Thread starter Exile
- Start date
I'm probably in the minority, but I don't get the fuss about the 'teams like Brighton' comment. On it's own it's clearly innocent, it's just a grouping of similar teams, in most instances of it's current use it means teams that have barely any premier league experience (comparatively speaking), have a small wage bill (comparatively speaking), will be looking over their shoulder with a main aim of surviving. An entirely reasonable categorising of us as a team.
When put in the context of established premier league teams, there is admittedly a degree of arrogance to it, but the 'should be beating...' aspect is still entirely reasonable. Take Everton as the recent example. When we played them at their place we were outplayed and well beaten. Most neutrals, and some of the more pragmatic members of our fanbase took the loss as expected. They are Everton, they are generally one of the better mid-table teams in the division, one of the few clubs to have broken into the top four that isn't one of the big six. Their tenure in the premier league has made sure they are a tough side and their wage bill is twice that of ours (or their average wage is). We can't expect to be beating Everton. Given that, shouldn't they be beating teams like us?
Taking it away from Everton... At the start of the season, we look at the fixtures and we identify the games we need to win to survive. A lot of the games that we will view as winnable will be the games against 'teams like Brighton' - namely Huddersfield, Wolves, Cardiff, Fulham etc. Teams expected to be in the bottom third. If we want to stay up this year, we're not going to get a lot of points v the big six, so we're realistically looking to get our points from the bottom eight. We need to be beating... teams like Brighton.
When put in the context of established premier league teams, there is admittedly a degree of arrogance to it, but the 'should be beating...' aspect is still entirely reasonable. Take Everton as the recent example. When we played them at their place we were outplayed and well beaten. Most neutrals, and some of the more pragmatic members of our fanbase took the loss as expected. They are Everton, they are generally one of the better mid-table teams in the division, one of the few clubs to have broken into the top four that isn't one of the big six. Their tenure in the premier league has made sure they are a tough side and their wage bill is twice that of ours (or their average wage is). We can't expect to be beating Everton. Given that, shouldn't they be beating teams like us?
Taking it away from Everton... At the start of the season, we look at the fixtures and we identify the games we need to win to survive. A lot of the games that we will view as winnable will be the games against 'teams like Brighton' - namely Huddersfield, Wolves, Cardiff, Fulham etc. Teams expected to be in the bottom third. If we want to stay up this year, we're not going to get a lot of points v the big six, so we're realistically looking to get our points from the bottom eight. We need to be beating... teams like Brighton.
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pocketseagull
Well-known member
- Dec 29, 2014
- 1,059
Nice bit of playing devil's advocate, but... no team in this division should be confident of a result at the amex. I think it's that opposition fans arrogance coupled with their presumed ignorance of our home form that makes #teamslikebrighton such a good thing : )
Perkino
Well-known member
- Dec 11, 2009
- 5,986
Agreed. However, there are no easy games and the sides who believe they can simply turn up and claim a win against us are starting to discover we will give them a decent match.
I have equally felt that following our results against Fulham, Cardiff and (to an extent considering their poor season) Burnley we should be beating teams like them.
I would hope, it certainly is in my case, little more than a bit of fun. There's something quite amusing observing opposition players and fans grizzle when we beat them. Very gratifying indeed, and makes the victory all the sweeter
Justice
Dangerous Idiot
Fans of other clubs we play at home aren’t the brightest, they only have a 16% chance of beating us at the Amex, Our opposition should be happy to avoid defeat and consider a point a great result.
Bold Seagull
strong and stable with me, or...
Wasn’t it the West Ham captain rather than fans who said on interview ‘we should be beating #teamslikeBrighton’?
Mo Gosfield
Well-known member
- Aug 11, 2010
- 6,284
Most of the ' lesser ' teams ( ' teams like Brighton ' ) cannot cope with our physicality at the Amex. Everton couldn't on Saturday and they are definitely one of the better ' lesser ' teams. We struggle away from home sometimes, when the home team ' puts it about ' It is really only the top teams who beat us at home, through higher skill levels and quicker movement and accuracy.
Barry Izbak
U.T.A.
I think it's the comment that they "should be beating" #teamslikebrighton that causes offence and hints at arrogance.
To become an established premier league club we "need to consistently be beating" #teamslikecardiff / huddersfield / Southampton/ fulham / Newcastle/ Burnley/ Everton / Watford
To become an established premier league club we "need to consistently be beating" #teamslikecardiff / huddersfield / Southampton/ fulham / Newcastle/ Burnley/ Everton / Watford
The only away teams to have won at the Amex in the Premier League are Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham and Leicester. Therefore to think you should be winning at the Amex is quite arrogant (unless you are one of the top teams).
The problem I have with "we should be beating teams like Brighton" is that it arrogantly makes no reference to how well "teams like Brighton" actually played in order to get that result.
Several times we've played well enough at fortress Amex to say we deserved some sort of result, regardless of the opposition. Man Utd were dire but we absolutely thrashed them 3-2. I reckon we'd have beaten anyone outside the top 4 on that day. Same goes for last season's Arsenal home win.
So when someone says "we should be beating teams like Brighton", they actually mean "we should be above teams like Brighton in the table". And actually, they usually are, so it doesn't need saying. But don't think you should be able to turn up at the Amex and just win, because on our day this team can actually play some very good stuff. In fact, our day is quite often which is why we're nowhere near the bottom of the league.
Several times we've played well enough at fortress Amex to say we deserved some sort of result, regardless of the opposition. Man Utd were dire but we absolutely thrashed them 3-2. I reckon we'd have beaten anyone outside the top 4 on that day. Same goes for last season's Arsenal home win.
So when someone says "we should be beating teams like Brighton", they actually mean "we should be above teams like Brighton in the table". And actually, they usually are, so it doesn't need saying. But don't think you should be able to turn up at the Amex and just win, because on our day this team can actually play some very good stuff. In fact, our day is quite often which is why we're nowhere near the bottom of the league.
father_and_son
Well-known member
To become an established PL team we need 30-40 points at Home and 10+ on the road... consistently, season after season.
The Championship should have taught us that any team can beat any other on the day, with some luck, hard work and the right attitude. There should be no "#teamslike...", we should set up appropriately for every team but take nothing for granted.
Statistically we will get more from newly promoted sides but we shouldn't take any game as a given.
el punal
Well-known member
Lovely thread! I am, however, remembering the the old Championship chestnut of a couple of years ago - any team can beat any team in this league. We just happened to beat most of them. 
Postman Pat
Well-known member
The problem with the "teams like Brighton" comment is that there is usually an adjective ahead of it:
Can’t believe we drew with a shocking team like Brighton
Yes you're right but we also need to be more clinical and create more chances Vs weak teams like Brighton.
Absolutely DISGUSTING performance. We should be beating pub teams like Brighton easily.
Pushed for Emery out the moment he started playing 3DMs to pub teams like Brighton, Huddersfield, Burnley
cant believe we couldn't beat an absolutely useless team like Brighton there ****ing deplorable long ball merchants pure hoof the ball. disappointing performance after taking the lead
Can’t believe we drew with a shocking team like Brighton
Yes you're right but we also need to be more clinical and create more chances Vs weak teams like Brighton.
Absolutely DISGUSTING performance. We should be beating pub teams like Brighton easily.
Pushed for Emery out the moment he started playing 3DMs to pub teams like Brighton, Huddersfield, Burnley
cant believe we couldn't beat an absolutely useless team like Brighton there ****ing deplorable long ball merchants pure hoof the ball. disappointing performance after taking the lead
Bold Seagull
strong and stable with me, or...
Was it Spurs?
For me it shows an ignorance of how the football order is changing.
#TeamsLike are generally those who are not supposed to be in the Premier League based on perceived history and if they are a "big club" or not. Thus #TeamsLike Arsenal and Everton should always beat #TeamsLike Bournemouth, Fulham, Brighton, Burnley and Huddersfield, irrespective of the reality.
The reality is that well run, well coached teams who are prepared to spend a few quid can find themselves in the PL easier than some of the giants who now find themselves Championship regulars - see Derby, Forest, Massive, Leeds, Villa et al. Leeds will probably come up this season but there's no way that all in that list can. Many of the teams who I grew up as thinking of established / successful are now in the Championship. When I first went to football, though, Bournemouth were minnows who had a miraculous Cup win over Man U.
In short it shows an entitled ignorance of the changing face of football. Long may they continue to quote it. Not only great bantz on Twitter but it means we're getting results against established PL clubs.
#TeamsLike are generally those who are not supposed to be in the Premier League based on perceived history and if they are a "big club" or not. Thus #TeamsLike Arsenal and Everton should always beat #TeamsLike Bournemouth, Fulham, Brighton, Burnley and Huddersfield, irrespective of the reality.
The reality is that well run, well coached teams who are prepared to spend a few quid can find themselves in the PL easier than some of the giants who now find themselves Championship regulars - see Derby, Forest, Massive, Leeds, Villa et al. Leeds will probably come up this season but there's no way that all in that list can. Many of the teams who I grew up as thinking of established / successful are now in the Championship. When I first went to football, though, Bournemouth were minnows who had a miraculous Cup win over Man U.
In short it shows an entitled ignorance of the changing face of football. Long may they continue to quote it. Not only great bantz on Twitter but it means we're getting results against established PL clubs.
Papa Lazarou
Living in a De Zerbi wonderland
I'm sure Leicester fan suffered this every week in the season they won the title.