[Albion] Decent Albion spread in the i paper today

Stat Brother said:

It's all Brexit's fault.

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Danny Wilson Said said:

PB, GP, BDB and Muzza are all quoted. Muzza says this is just the beginning, PB compares us to a technology company, BDB and GP say 'Careful now', oh and Warren Aspinall says let's go for it (whatever 'it' is).

Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be an online version, which is simply ridiculous in this day and age.

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Danny Wilson Said said:

BDB and GP say 'Careful now'

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Not Andy Naylor said:

Weird there's no online version but here's what they sent me to check:

== Post Details ==
Title: Infrastructure, innovation and smart transfers: How Brighton are punching above their weight
Author: Nick Szczepanik

== Post Content ==

Graham Potter has been widely tipped to coach in the top four of the Premier League one day, but few expected him to do it by taking Brighton and Hove Albion there. Yet today the Seagulls proudly sit in a Champions League place after their best-ever start to a top flight campaign, and the fans are chanting, tongue-in-cheek, about the possibility of a European tour next season.

Of course, a club that finished 16th last season is unlikely to remain in the top four. But according to the xG (expected goals) metric, based on chances created and conceded, Brighton should have ended the 20-21 campaign in fifth place. Sunday’s 2-1 victory over Leicester City, achieved with the help of three VAR decisions in their favour, felt like a significant one – their first Premier League win against the Foxes in nine attempts and a game in which the breaks went their way for once.

“Last season we put together some really good performances but maybe didn’t get the results,” said Dan Burn, the 6ft 7ins defender that Potter, ever the innovator, has deployed as a wing-back. “We’re doing the same this season, maybe got a bit lucky at the weekend, but once you start stringing results together, everyone is really confident, wanting the ball and working hard for each other.”

Arguably the present position is a result of owner Tony Bloom’s stated plan to reach the top 10 on a regular basis. “Each season we are trying to make strides towards that,” Paul Barber, the chief executive and vice-chairman, tells i. “Every part of the club is challenged to ask themselves ‘What would a top 10 club do in that situation?’ It’s a constant process of improvement. Every organisation, whether you are a professional football club or a technology company, needs some type of aspirational goal, and we are no different.”

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Premier League: Ramsdale’s impact at Arsenal, Tottenham’s Kane and Son problem and the Southampton revolution

Bloom has invested heavily in infrastructure such as the 32,000-seat Amex Stadium and £30m training ground, and the impression at both venues is of a club in good health. Dan Ashworth was persuaded to move from his role as FA technical director to a similar post at Brighton in 2019. The under-23 team are third in Premier League 2, a further dozen players, mostly 20 or under, are out on loan to gain experience, and the women’s team top the WSL.

But the pivotal decision, according to Glenn Murray, the former Brighton striker, was replacing Chris Hughton with Potter in summer 2019. “The way he has progressed Brighton is incredible with a limited budget, to bring Robert Sanchez and Ben White through, to make Yves Bissouma a main player,” Murray said. “He is a modern manager. He has changed the whole culture of the club. It is a real learning environment and a brilliant place to go to work. This is just the start, I believe, for Brighton and for Graham Potter.

“But it’s not just Graham, it’s also Tony and the way he has run the club for the past 10, 15 years. The way they got to the Premier League – they didn’t spend. He runs the club so well from top to bottom.”

Bloom’s relatively restrained approach to transfer fees and wages has frustrated some supporters, but the squad boasts quality throughout. Mali midfield player Bissouma, signed from Lille for a relatively modest £15m in 2018 and now valued at around three times that, is their model signing, alongside astute free agent acquisitions such as the experienced Adam Lallana and Danny Welbeck, academy graduates Lewis Dunk and Spain goalkeeper Sanchez, and bargain buys including Tariq Lamptey at £3m from Chelsea and Joel Veltman at £900,000 from Ajax.

Most observers feel that another striker would be the final piece of the Brighton jigsaw, but Potter supports the club’s refusal to overpay for one, insisting that improving the existing strike force is the way forward, as well as demanding more goals from other areas of the team.

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Whether the absence of that extra firepower proves costly remains to be seen, but Warren Aspinall, the former Everton, Aston Villa and Brighton striker who summarises for BBC Radio Sussex, believes that Brighton can build on their strong start. “I think there is a slight chance of getting in the Euro slots, but definitely the top 10 the way we are going,” he told the station’s Albion Unlimited podcast. “Yes, we are having a bit of luck but you make your own luck. Momentum is with us and with a bit of luck we can go for it, I think.”

Potter is understandably more cautious. “We need to understand that we’ve had a good start, we’re in a good place, but the margins have been on our side,” he said. “We need to keep improving, keep working and every game in this league is so difficult, so challenging, so complicated, and we’ll make mistakes if we look too far ahead. We just need to focus on the game against Palace.”

Ah yes, traditional rivals Crystal Palace, whom Brighton face at Selhurst Park on Monday evening. Last season’s meeting at the Amex was the ultimate example of Brighton failing to turn expected points into the real thing. Palace scored with their only two touches in Brighton’s penalty area while Brighton’s 25 shots yielded only one goal. Turn that round on Monday evening and the fans will be even more convinced about that European tour.

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Not Andy Naylor said:

Weird there's no online version but here's what they sent me to check:

== Post Details ==
Title: Infrastructure, innovation and smart transfers: How Brighton are punching above their weight
Author: Nick Szczepanik

== Post Content ==

Graham Potter has been widely tipped to coach in the top four of the Premier League one day, but few expected him to do it by taking Brighton and Hove Albion there. Yet today the Seagulls proudly sit in a Champions League place after their best-ever start to a top flight campaign, and the fans are chanting, tongue-in-cheek, about the possibility of a European tour next season.

Of course, a club that finished 16th last season is unlikely to remain in the top four. But according to the xG (expected goals) metric, based on chances created and conceded, Brighton should have ended the 20-21 campaign in fifth place. Sunday’s 2-1 victory over Leicester City, achieved with the help of three VAR decisions in their favour, felt like a significant one – their first Premier League win against the Foxes in nine attempts and a game in which the breaks went their way for once.

“Last season we put together some really good performances but maybe didn’t get the results,” said Dan Burn, the 6ft 7ins defender that Potter, ever the innovator, has deployed as a wing-back. “We’re doing the same this season, maybe got a bit lucky at the weekend, but once you start stringing results together, everyone is really confident, wanting the ball and working hard for each other.”

Arguably the present position is a result of owner Tony Bloom’s stated plan to reach the top 10 on a regular basis. “Each season we are trying to make strides towards that,” Paul Barber, the chief executive and vice-chairman, tells i. “Every part of the club is challenged to ask themselves ‘What would a top 10 club do in that situation?’ It’s a constant process of improvement. Every organisation, whether you are a professional football club or a technology company, needs some type of aspirational goal, and we are no different.”

Read More - Featured Image
Read More
Premier League: Ramsdale’s impact at Arsenal, Tottenham’s Kane and Son problem and the Southampton revolution

Bloom has invested heavily in infrastructure such as the 32,000-seat Amex Stadium and £30m training ground, and the impression at both venues is of a club in good health. Dan Ashworth was persuaded to move from his role as FA technical director to a similar post at Brighton in 2019. The under-23 team are third in Premier League 2, a further dozen players, mostly 20 or under, are out on loan to gain experience, and the women’s team top the WSL.

But the pivotal decision, according to Glenn Murray, the former Brighton striker, was replacing Chris Hughton with Potter in summer 2019. “The way he has progressed Brighton is incredible with a limited budget, to bring Robert Sanchez and Ben White through, to make Yves Bissouma a main player,” Murray said. “He is a modern manager. He has changed the whole culture of the club. It is a real learning environment and a brilliant place to go to work. This is just the start, I believe, for Brighton and for Graham Potter.

“But it’s not just Graham, it’s also Tony and the way he has run the club for the past 10, 15 years. The way they got to the Premier League – they didn’t spend. He runs the club so well from top to bottom.”

Bloom’s relatively restrained approach to transfer fees and wages has frustrated some supporters, but the squad boasts quality throughout. Mali midfield player Bissouma, signed from Lille for a relatively modest £15m in 2018 and now valued at around three times that, is their model signing, alongside astute free agent acquisitions such as the experienced Adam Lallana and Danny Welbeck, academy graduates Lewis Dunk and Spain goalkeeper Sanchez, and bargain buys including Tariq Lamptey at £3m from Chelsea and Joel Veltman at £900,000 from Ajax.

Most observers feel that another striker would be the final piece of the Brighton jigsaw, but Potter supports the club’s refusal to overpay for one, insisting that improving the existing strike force is the way forward, as well as demanding more goals from other areas of the team.

Read More - Featured Image
Read More

Whether the absence of that extra firepower proves costly remains to be seen, but Warren Aspinall, the former Everton, Aston Villa and Brighton striker who summarises for BBC Radio Sussex, believes that Brighton can build on their strong start. “I think there is a slight chance of getting in the Euro slots, but definitely the top 10 the way we are going,” he told the station’s Albion Unlimited podcast. “Yes, we are having a bit of luck but you make your own luck. Momentum is with us and with a bit of luck we can go for it, I think.”

Potter is understandably more cautious. “We need to understand that we’ve had a good start, we’re in a good place, but the margins have been on our side,” he said. “We need to keep improving, keep working and every game in this league is so difficult, so challenging, so complicated, and we’ll make mistakes if we look too far ahead. We just need to focus on the game against Palace.”

Ah yes, traditional rivals Crystal Palace, whom Brighton face at Selhurst Park on Monday evening. Last season’s meeting at the Amex was the ultimate example of Brighton failing to turn expected points into the real thing. Palace scored with their only two touches in Brighton’s penalty area while Brighton’s 25 shots yielded only one goal. Turn that round on Monday evening and the fans will be even more convinced about that European tour.

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Guinness Boy said:

Nice.

Good to see Wazza using "we" and "us" and you managing to resist it

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