[Albion] A thread of positive things about FH

[Greg Bobkin]

Ooh. I wish you hadn’t said that
Seriously. I think he’s done okay and with some better luck with injuries we would still be in the middle of the fight for a place in Europe rather than on the edges. Some tactical naivety but hardly surprising. I don’t know think we are so far removed from de zerbi ball and more entertaining than under potter.
All in all a good first season with plenty of promise.
I did worry when some people (ITK) started saying he had lost the team but on reflection I really don’t think there’s any evidence of that.

Maybe they weren't as ITK as they thought...

 

[Greg Bobkin]

If we finish a point more than that 9th place after £300m spent over two seasons on first team players then no that’s not a success. If we finish 7th and grab a European place than yes it’s been a successful season.

I'm not sure this is the right thread for you

 

[boik]

Interesting that Kluivert thinks that Bournemouth have had a special season yet many Brighton fans aren’t content with the one we are having

Fair to say that many of us are now entitled. I guess I come into that category too

Not "many", just a gobby few.

 

[BadFish]

I'm not sure this is the right thread for you

I am not sure that will stop him, he likes to share his 'insight' on every thread possible.

 

[One Teddy Maybank]

Not "many", just a gobby few.

Well I consider myself quite positive/optimistic, and I think he has struggled tactically, particularly defensively…. (
Does that make me ‘gobby’ or is it just anyone that disagrees with the equally ‘gobby’ majority?

edit - you’ll see my positive earlier on in the thread

 

[One Teddy Maybank]

Maybe they weren't as ITK as they thought...

Agree. The ITK 9/10 is bullshit….

 

[chaileyjem]

Is that really an achievement comparing squads?

Ok. Let’s compare ourselves to the competition- Other clubs don’t stand still either. Forest , Brentford and Bournemouth are all owned by multi billionaires - all investing more and all targeting Europe. . Let alone Villa, Chelsea. Etc We have a relatively low wage bill yet still Hurzeler has steered us to another top 10 finish (probably). Ask Ange, Amorin , even Glasner why that’s an achievement. The PL doesn’t get easier.

 

[Flounce]

Not "many", just a gobby few.

I’m normally only accused of being gobby when I’ve had too much to drink

I confess some of the performances this season, when I’m watching on tv, has resulted in that happening though

 

[singing4seagulls]

My god, some people on this forum are insufferable.

Every thread, even ones specifically designed to get away from it, descend into the same boring drivel. It's a binary he's not good enough bicker.

There's so many more interesting discussions to have about formations, tactics, management, players etc. and the nuance which is lost with this unproductive approach.

@Justice - you think we should have won the league because we spent money, we get it. You're entitled to that opinion, but you don't need to ram it down our throats.

Some of us see it differently - i.e. we don't buy the finished article like other clubs and often loan players out (you know our whole model), so looking at the £ spent vs what our actual available squad has been (including injuries) is reductive. That's it, OK

Every thread doesn't need you moaning at everything. Cheer up pal! I'm still not convinced FH is the Messiah, but this thread is about positive things. If you can't find one ...

 

[singing4seagulls]

I'll add a related positive thing on FH from me. Ultimately in cold light of day, I sort of agree with something Justice said - money talks.

What clubs spend in the league is normally a pretty fair indicator of league position. It's sad, but true.

So what does that actually look like?

We've got the 15th highest wage bill. So any position above that is outperformance.

So, we're massively outperforming.

Even with our injuries.

And no, that doesn't mean we can't aim higher or strive for more. But just remember every other club has great players, managers and billionaire owners trying to do the same. Just a bit of reality.

--

Also, incase you're interested, we're ranked 9th on squad value. So still doing very well when you think of all the new kids playing and the injuries. Other teams with similar injuries have fallen way down.

But this is a less accurate metric I think due to our model - we build value then sell for profit.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

I am not sure that will stop him, he likes to share his 'insight' on every thread possible.

He's always up for a good argument and a laugh so I'm perfectly relaxed.
I may not agree with him very often*, and his empathy gland may be vestigial, but @Justice is OK.
*In much the same way I don't flap my arms and fly, very often.

 

[Justice]

I'll add a related positive thing on FH from me. Ultimately in cold light of day, I sort of agree with something Justice said - money talks.

What clubs spend in the league is normally a pretty fair indicator of league position. It's sad, but true.

So what does that actually look like?

We've got the 15th highest wage bill. So any position above that is outperformance.

So, we're massively outperforming.

Even with our injuries.

And no, that doesn't mean we can't aim higher or strive for more. But just remember every other club has great players, managers and billionaire owners trying to do the same. Just a bit of reality.

--

Also, incase you're interested, we're ranked 9th on squad value. So still doing very well when you think of all the new kids playing and the injuries. Other teams with similar injuries have fallen way down.

But this is a less accurate metric I think due to our model - we build value then sell for profit.

You are going on last seasons wage bill surely? I’d imagine the new additions have upped the wage bill for this season. We didn’t sell any big players last summer so Im guessing it has to be higher.

 

[Hiheidi]

Another positive: his calls as to who should stay in the squad (eg. Ayari) and those not needed (to go on loan etc.) seem to be right. It is certainly interesting to see that Potter hasn't managed to get anything more out of Ferguson than FH (which has surprised me), and the decision to let him leave on loan was the right call.

 

[Hiheidi]

You are going on last seasons wage bill surely? I’d imagine the new additions have upped the wage bill for this season. We didn’t sell any big players last summer so Im guessing it has to be higher.

We've shifted Lallana's supposedly big wage, and I assume Groß was also a top earner.

 

[Justice]

My god, some people on this forum are insufferable.

Every thread, even ones specifically designed to get away from it, descend into the same boring drivel. It's a binary he's not good enough bicker.

There's so many more interesting discussions to have about formations, tactics, management, players etc. and the nuance which is lost with this unproductive approach.

@Justice - you think we should have won the league because we spent money, we get it. You're entitled to that opinion, but you don't need to ram it down our throats.

Some of us see it differently - i.e. we don't buy the finished article like other clubs and often loan players out (you know our whole model), so looking at the £ spent vs what our actual available squad has been (including injuries) is reductive. That's it, OK

Every thread doesn't need you moaning at everything. Cheer up pal! I'm still not convinced FH is the Messiah, but this thread is about positive things. If you can't find one ...

I praised him for acknowledging his sleep coaches practices wouldn’t happen over night
I wonder if he realised the gag aspect of that quote or if it was just another cliche

 

[singing4seagulls]

Another positive: his calls as to who should stay in the squad (eg. Ayari) and those not needed (to go on loan etc.) seem to be right. It is certainly interesting to see that Potter hasn't managed to get anything more out of Ferguson than FH (which has surprised me), and the decision to let him leave on loan was the right call.

That's a really good point. Hadn't really thought about it in that way but you're spot on.

 

[singing4seagulls]

You are going on last seasons wage bill surely? I’d imagine the new additions have upped the wage bill for this season. We didn’t sell any big players last summer so Im guessing it has to be higher.

For the current season.

That's why we're so well run as a club by Bloom and outperforming expectations.

And the difference in spending is astronomical at the top end of the table.

So it's not about knowing our place, but when the top 6 are spending double what we are, it helps give a sense of perspective. Things are going ok

 

[singing4seagulls]

We've shifted Lallana's supposedly big wage, and I assume Groß was also a top earner.

Correct.

Lallana was 2nd highest paid in the club, behind... Ansu Fati who was on double Lallana's wages

Gross was 3rd highest paid behind Lallana.

So our wage bill actually fell this season. That's right, all that money spent but our wage bill reduced.

Again, puts the "spending spee" and our actual squad quality into perspective.

Also one of the highest paid players on our wage bill this season is now Ferdi, who has barely tied his boots.

 

[The Optimist]

Duh obviously we have better players since that 9th place finish especially in attacking areas. Are you saying after spending over a quarter of a billion we shouldn’t expect to improve? TB would have been better off saving the money.

This team took the pitch in our 9th place finish season. There’s been some pretty big sales since. What has been our net transfer spend since then? Presumably quite a bit less than £250m.

 

[The Wookiee]

Only 3 teams have lost less games than us so far this season in the Premier League