An olive branch to the Potter outs tonight

[hampshirebrightonboy]

I never voted out, but I did get damn frustrated with all the tinkering. Imagine how good he’ll be if we can buy him a real striker!

I've always been Potter in, even the tinkering which keeps players fresh and we are reaping the rewards now. Potter got so much stick for changing the team for Arsenal when we only had one days rest.
Expect more tinkering against Burnley a lot of the player looked knackered.

 

[DJ NOBO]

There won’t be one from me....unless we head back towards the relegation zone

To be fair, having done my first poll the other day I can see they’re quite moreish

 

[Icy Gull]

To be fair, having done my first poll the other day I can see they’re quite moreish

But only if they’re public and we can see who voted for what, otherwise they’re a waste of time imo

 

[Uh_huh_him]

The thing is I don't think things HAVE changed - apart from now getting the rub of the green slightly. The performances have nearly always been good, we just weren't getting the wins. There have been a handful of games we were actually second best, but couldn't get the wins. It was obvious they would come eventually if we kept being the better side in games.

Ryan out Sanchez in is probably a part, but all those draws earlier when we deserved to win weren't really due to Ryan mistakes.

Potter is the daddy and saddens me how dim a lot of people are,

The real pity is if we'd had above average luck we'd be around top 6 this season - THATS the level we've been at.

All hail Graham, and his MOR post match interviews.

Absolutely this.
It was a very slight difference that was the problem.

A slightly underperforming keeper was having a massive impact on the defence and results.
Potter made the difficult call and transformed the club's fortunes.

 

[Simster]

I've always believed in Potter as you could see that the team were well coached and improving. Some of the first touch football is joyful compared to where we were a couple of seasons back, and equally the determination and effectiveness of the press and the pace at which we get back into shape is something to behold.
However, although always a Potter advocate, I was beginning to doubt due to our horrific set piece defending and the 3-1 half time at Wolves pushed me very, very close to the limit. I said then that the second half would be critical and the response from the players assuaged any doubt.
I'm delighted for the manager and the players that luck has turned a bit but I still have underling concerns around our profligacy in front of goal and our depth at left back. To a man, you cannot fault the effort that the coaches and players have put in and you can see there is belief as a unit.
We're in a good "moment" right now but I do get the sense that these good moments will become more frequent and last longer.

Good post, this.

Personally I'm expecting the good moments to last longer simply because of the nature of our squad. We are not heavily reliant on a first XI, we have a squad where the talent is spread relatively evenly across the 25 or whatever and that is going to help as the injuries pile up for all teams towards the end of the season. It's another reason I'm not looking down anymore - we are miles better than the bottom three and I wouldn't be at all surprised to find that Potter is privately targeting a top half finish.

As for the point of this thread, I've always been Potter IN (well I moved to fence after Arsenal) but it's all a bit "look at me" and didn't need to be said. If you want to show some goodwill then join those of us who are staying quiet rather than acting all superior over those who dared to question a team and manager with one home league win in a calendar year.

 

[Justice]

What a load of codswallop...?!

Just admit that you and the other bedwetters couldn’t have been more wrong with your “Potter Out!” nonsense.

 

[zefarelly]

Whilst I voted out a few times in a a frustrated post match wobbler, I, like most, have enjoyed the style . . . having said that, BHAFC PLC is a business now, not pure sport or the performing arts, financial survival and the health of the club relies on positive results. we have not been getting them and questions needed to be asked.

Anyone has a valid point in criticising the results over the last year, they've not been good.

Most of this season has been a when will it click, the signs are there but it's not happening. . . . . with just the odd result when we're staring at the abyss . . . . This last month we've not only carved out good performances, stylish play AND got results, for the first time in our PL tenure we've beaten 2 'big teams' on the trot. Have we ever done that before ?

It truly does feel like we've turned a corner now. and the belief has spread through the squad as we've had to use it due to injuries.

The real test now is our next 4 league games, all against 'teams like these' . . . . It will confirm our place on the next rung up the ladder and as good as secure our PL status if we win at least 2 of them.

Sods law says we'll lose to Burnley now ;-)

and we still need a working striker!

 

[beardy gull]

What’s the point of having a mind if you never change it?

 

[Albion Dan]

Pompous crowing disguised as an olive branch to massage your ego. You have an annoying and needy desire to dominate the conversation and it shows in every post you make.

.

This is quite frightening, we have found some territory we firmly agree on

 

[Wellesley]

What’s the point of having a mind if you never change it?

That's what I used to think.

 

[Coldeanseagull]

Always been potter in, bar one dummy spitting incident, but for all our good performances we do need to back these up with a few more goals.....it'll happen..... it's the next step

 

[andy1980]

Utter Garbage. Sure 5 wins in 12 months playing dreadful football, hanging onto draws by the skin of our teeth and no obvious plan for the future and I would be screaming Potter out louder than anyone. But that simply hasn't been the case has it. In fact it has the the exact opposite, the problem with your ilk is you cannot separate good solid performances with the future in mind albeit with some errors and bad luck, from woeful hanging on for dear life praying for good luck football, if the points tally is similar.

That is rubbish. He is ticking all the boxes for sure, but the most important box to tick is winning enough not to loose what you have (in other words staying in the Premier League).. In 2020 that didn't happen. It needs to be about 10 games a season. Based on 2020 that would have been 6 games.

It was a long enough period of time to question if he could turn it around or not. Now he is turning it around he should be praised.

 

[Greg Bobkin]

Congrats GP, not since Mr Benn closed his shop has putting on a different coat caused such a transformation.

That is possibly the funniest sentence I'll read today

 

[Weststander]

The DA & GP project - completely turning around our playing style, shifting inadequate players, incrementally improving our squad on a lowish fees budget and great coaching, was never going to be overnight success.

These things take time, without the financial doping of Villa and Everton. Yet again The Lizard has been proven correct, with nerves of steel, seemingly always 100% behind GP.

For anyone here negatively referring to the Arsenal and Sheff Utd games, what about the late loss to Manure, the loss to Chelsea, away at Etihad, where we took on the most expensively assembled teams/squads on the planet and could have got results? NSC on the day, football writers and opposing managers were full of praise for us. (Not sure about Solskjaer, who seems to have morphed into an arrogant “WE ARE Man Utd” persona).

So with ups and downs since August 2019, we’ve played some lovely football in dozens of matches. The inevitable setbacks so often due to wasteful finishing by the bucketload, or one individual mistake in defence, or having a small goalie with a low save percentage.

It was clear imho that the GP project simply required tinkering with; a new goalie and striker, possibly a LB. Thankfully that goalie was discovered from within, our midfielders have now chipped in with a couple of vital goals and Maupay seems reinvigorated.

In the low times, I admired the positivity of [MENTION=38362]vagabond[/MENTION] and the others, they were proved correct.

 

[Kosh]

I too was reactionary at times, perhaps it was too much caffeine, perhaps it’s the general state of play for us all - OR perhaps I was guilty of being a bit of an ********. Irrespective of this, I kept saying to myself he needs some results and fast and ... well ... he got some results and ermmmm fast. The turn around against Wolves was, a marker, and a real dear diary moment. But moreover, I think the performance against Man City did something more to instill belief into our game and reaffirm our genuine quality. Pep too has played a part - his comments sometimes seem a bit patronising, but he went out of his way to keep talking us up and moreover GP... perhaps this helped refocus the players minds ... hmmmmm

All of that aside GP clearly saw, as we did, our gradual lack of incision and slow play - we’re back to faster transition, back to our best under GP - indeed, we’ve just surpassed it! The key is to look up now and keep getting results.

I did question GP as a coach - pointing to a lack of growth and progression during the dark days of 2020, but he’s made some big and tough calls - Ryan being the obvious one and (all evidence suggests) got them spot on. The growth I sought has been seen plainly in the last two fixtures - Fulham too, we could have won at a cantor - yes we weren’t brilliant, but we deserved the win nonetheless.

Ultimately GP deserves huge credit for continuing to work hard and believe... and although we’re still lacking lots of goals defensively we look reborn.

Well done GP - keep it up!

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

A few of us have kept the faith for a long time. At one point in December NSC was a lonely place for those of us who believed in Graham Potter. Match day threads were abusive. One guy stalked me accusing me of being ‘Swansman’ because there were so few Potter defenders (!)

Some of us always kept the faith. The long term trend improvements were always there in my eyes. Style of play, tactical finesse, eye for a player, good coaching. And a real swagger about the way we played football. Every game umpteen chances. Dominating possession. Incredible to see the way we transformed. We just weren’t getting the breaks.
Others just looked at short term results.

I think the Potter in crowd has been the majority since then.

To the Outters. Come on. Let’s stand down. You can admit you got it wrong... Tonight I extend a hand of friendship. We’re all fans of the club, let’s unite as a fan base again and move forward together.

I moved from In to Out during the pre Christmas slump. You quoted one of my out posts out of context the other day on another thread but conveniently ignored the next phase in my thinking which came after the financial results were released ie the manager should stay and we have to live within our means. Of course I am happy with the upturn in results and just as importantly in performances. However the flat, slow predictability pre Christmas has not necessarily gone for good after four matches. What seems to have been eradicated for the moment is the individual defensive errors. All in all you are welcome to your no strings cheerleading for the manager. For me he has to deliver otherwise he should be replaced. No different from any other manager. By the way, this thread is weird. You seem to have your own self esteem entwined with that of the manager. Not healthy.

 

[Peteinblack]

A few of us have kept the faith for a long time. At one point in December NSC was a lonely place for those of us who believed in Graham Potter. Match day threads were abusive. One guy stalked me accusing me of being ‘Swansman’ because there were so few Potter defenders (!)

Some of us always kept the faith. The long term trend improvements were always there in my eyes. Style of play, tactical finesse, eye for a player, good coaching. And a real swagger about the way we played football. Every game umpteen chances. Dominating possession. Incredible to see the way we transformed. We just weren’t getting the breaks.
Others just looked at short term results.

I think the Potter in crowd has been the majority since then.

To the Outters. Come on. Let’s stand down. You can admit you got it wrong... Tonight I extend a hand of friendship. We’re all fans of the club, let’s unite as a fan base again and move forward together.

Before Christmas, I was increasingly 'Potter out' due to repeated failure to convert possession into points, failing to defeat the teams below us, our attacks fizzling out on the edge of the opponent's penalty area due to playing one pass or touch too many, our defensive frailties, and Potter giving the impression in post-match interviews that he had no ideas or Plan B, other than 'taking the positives, and learning the lessons going forward'.

Happy to confess that I have changed my mind after recent games; not just because of the results (vital though these are), but because we are attacking more, and look dangerous going forward; last night, we often had 4-5 players in the Liverpool penalty area waiting for the ball to come in. We've tightened-up defensively too, so that our all-round performance and quality have massively improved, as have several players.

It also seems that Maupay and Trossard are getting some confidence back. Meanwhile, some of our defenders and mid-fielders are contributing goals, which further indicates that the team are really starting to gel and becoming a mean machine. Excited about the prospect of seeing Lamptey fit again in the next few weeks, tearing down the wing and terrorising opposing defenders, and we also have Zeqiri and Caicedo to blend into the squad; both of whom are exciting prospects.

 

[nickjhs]

That is rubbish. He is ticking all the boxes for sure, but the most important box to tick is winning enough not to loose what you have (in other words staying in the Premier League).. In 2020 that didn't happen. It needs to be about 10 games a season. Based on 2020 that would have been 6 games.

It was a long enough period of time to question if he could turn it around or not. Now he is turning it around he should be praised.

Bollocks you just don't appear to have the ability to look past the points tally. Funny how a great many of us are not surprised that our fortune is improving and non of us feel the need to use the phrase "turn things around" turning things around was the last thing on our minds.

 

[Sheebo]

Not sure what 'landed a transformed player in Ali Mac' means?

Scouts did their job highlighting a young technically gifted player at Boca, Tony funded the not insignificant transfer fee, the club had to work the red tape and use diplomacy to get him over, we settled him in during a bizarrely difficult time, potter then eased him in to the squad and coached him into his current role. Or maybe he went into Mr benn's favourite shop and put on a magic football shirt? It really is time everyone at the club got more plaudits for the great work they have been doing.

Don’t worry - he lives in a constant need to criticise and gain attention to take away from a clearly very sad life. Best thing I did was stick that **** on ignore - now they’ve been made to look very silly they keep going with the attempts at baiting when all they’re doing is biting. Prize A Bellend who looks very very very stupid now more than ever.

I believe that’s the first time in my life someone’s accused me of even having an ‘ego’ but clearly he knows best in the Internet forum as he uses later on in the argument. Constantly quoting me to when I don’t with him / her - didn’t mention them and actually said a very positive post about ignoring the hate and posted an awful lot about we’re all BHA fans etc etc and an awful lot on the win last night - just picks out whatever to suit her / his narrative. Absolutely obsessed with trying to argue, yet bottled it when was confronted as per...

If only Daniel / Daniella’s grasp of the game of football was as tactical as her / his posts. ‘Post a load of negative shite that gets proved wrong - try and deflect away from being called out for posting the shit by attacking those that are to take the attention off the facts’ - pathetic.

Let’s hope we stumble upon another good player soon to help Potter out

 

[Simster]

Bollocks you just don't appear to have the ability to look past the points tally. Funny how a great many of us are not surprised that our fortune is improving and non of us feel the need to use the phrase "turn things around" turning things around was the last thing on our minds.

This is as pompous as anything I've read on this crap thread. Ability? That's like saying you didn't have the "ability" to understand that one home win in 12 calendar months isn't very good or the "ability" to understand that we might expect more than 4th from bottom given Bloom's investment.

I've been IN all this time, but I'm getting more pìssed off reading this sort of self righteous drivel than by people reacting angrily at a long string of crap results. Just wind your neck in.