“Be careful what you wish for Brighton fans” - How the football world owes us an apology

[Albion Dan]

I thought it was time for Chris to go but let’s be honest Pre lockdown we were utter toilet and looked like we couldn’t buy a win. I think post lockdown break and the extra sub rules have helped us massively and probably saved our season. Jury still massively out on Potter for me.

 

[pastafarian]

As I said earlier, Ian Wright was the one that got it. He saw it, he understood. You’re right about the rest though. Reference to his discussion of the sacking of Hughton https://www.northstandchat.com/showthread.php?372897-Ian-Wright-slams-Hughton-s-tactics

Happy to admit that over his career Ian Wright has gone from full time knobber in my book to utter legend.
The bloke not only oozes football he gets it from the perspective of the fan who has to sit in the stadium week in week out- the people that make the game a spectator sport.
I really hope he gets the MOTD gig when Lineker retires.

 

[Washie]

Happy to admit that over his career Ian Wright has gone from full time knobber in my book to utter legend.
The bloke not only oozes football he gets it from the perspective of the fan who has to sit in the stadium week in week out- the people that make the game a spectator sport.
I really hope he gets the MOTD gig when Lineker retires.

he's only three years younger. So they're probably both going to retire at the same time.

 

[pastafarian]

he's only three years younger. So they're probably both going to retire at the same time.

Yeah but Lineker is a prick. Wright isnt.
Fact!

 

[SeagullinExile]

Probably need another couple of points to justify this don’t we ?

I get what your saying, but I really can't see B'mouth getting any more than 5 pts, and that's being generous. Likewise Villa, lose to Liverpool and I can't see them getting any more than 7 or 8.

Plus, we are more than capable of picking up points in our last 3 matches.

Relax a little!

 

[Mr Banana]

I'm sure the board wouldn't agree but even if it had meant relegation this season, we couldn't have carried on as we were under CH, demigod though he is. Felt like we'd lose every away game 2-0, horrendous end to last season when he failed to change anything during games etc etc.

The journalists who said we shouldn't have sacked him just demonstrated the difference between fans who watch matches and people who are paid to sit in offices and write without really having time to analyse games and work out what's happening "on the ground". No-one's to blame for that really, although I doubt there would have been much griping about his sacking from the people writing the opinion pieces if they had been paying £100 a time to follow us on the road. The underlying message of "be careful what you wish for" came across as "don't wish for anything better".

Praising Potter too much feels precarious given that our only wins this season against teams who weren't all at sea have come against Bournemouth, Norwich and Arsenal at home. And Arteta was clearly struggling with Arsenal's transition when we beat them last month. That said, you could recount similar circumstances for a lot of our wins under Hoo.

Bloom's misguided gamble was the six-year contract without any substantial justification, but we've played some amazing stuff (Newcastle and scum away spring to mind.) It's just that there have been several occasions when we seemed hopeless and doomed. We looked beyond repair at Bournemouth away - Stephens remonstrating with the bench while the ball rolled past him and all that.

Even if we go down next year, the style change was obviously the point, and it hasn't grievously backfired yet. There's something slightly luxurious about not enduring bad football and feeling the need to sack your manager even though you're not winning. I also can't separate any assessment of Potter from what he's gone through personally this year - total class. Still can't believe he turned up to work for West Ham away, much less that he had to potentially contend with idiots like me berating him for apparently baffling substitutions that turned out to help earn us a retrospectively entertaining point.

 

[OzMike]

CH had got as far as he could with us and being labelled with playing anti football was humiliating.
He will always be remembered for getting us to the promised land and keeping us there.
If he was allowed another season we would have been relegated. TB also realised this and took steps to prevent this, whilst also keeping CH's integrity intact. A Premeir League relegation stat does not look impressive on a resume.
I know we are probably safe now, but jury still out on GP for me, a few good games, but plenty of crap ones as well. No consistency in the style of play and results and dare I say it, some of the good results were probably fluked.
A 'lucky dip' like form of team selection and players out of position, all smacks of pre season experimentation. Will be interesting to see how we go next season, though I am well happy with my , not getting relagated bet winnings, though the odds will be a bit shorter next season.

 

[oldboyroy]

We're not quite safe yet. Let's get it mathematical 1st. However I do agree with OP as we have played far better football this season. At times it has been breathtaking(for a team in bottom half). To change the playing style in 1 season with virtually the same players takes some doing. Yes, at times we have been poor but those times are relatively few and far between compared to at times last season being camped in our own half defending for our lives. Potter won't get everything right and is still learning but we've only been hammered what, 3 times out of 33 games.

 

[Justice]

We're not quite safe yet. Let's get it mathematical 1st. However I do agree with OP as we have played far better football this season. At times it has been breathtaking(for a team in bottom half). To change the playing style in 1 season with virtually the same players takes some doing. Yes, at times we have been poor but those times are relatively few and far between compared to at times last season being camped in our own half defending for our lives. Potter won't get everything right and is still learning but we've only been hammered what, 3 times out of 33 games.

You really think Villa/Bmuff are going to win 4 and hope we don’t pick up points No chance

 

[Justice]

CH had got as far as he could with us and being labelled with playing anti football was humiliating.
He will always be remembered for getting us to the promised land and keeping us there.
If he was allowed another season we would have been relegated. TB also realised this and took steps to prevent this, whilst also keeping CH's integrity intact. A Premeir League relegation stat does not look impressive on a resume.
I know we are probably safe now, but jury still out on GP for me, a few good games, but plenty of crap ones as well. No consistency in the style of play and results and dare I say it, some of the good results were probably fluked.
A 'lucky dip' like form of team selection and players out of position, all smacks of pre season experimentation. Will be interesting to see how we go next season, though I am well happy with my , not getting relagated bet winnings, though the odds will be a bit shorter next season.

What games do think we fluked? I get your anti GP but come on the team worked hard for all the points this season.

 

[OzMike]

What part of ' the jury is out' says that I am anti GP ?
In fact I am not anti him at all, just waiting to be convinced. A neutral you could say.

 

[The Fits]

That’s all we heard when our Tony Bloom made the choice to replace Chris Hughton.

“Be careful what you wish for”
“Arrogant Brighton”
“What do they expect to achieve?”

I won’t bring in the abhorrent accusations of racism that was seriously raised by some (yes, really..a reminder: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/f...-Townsend-slams-Brighton-sacking-Hughton.html)

And why was the football world so anti Brighton after sacking Hughton?

Because we, or specifically Uncle Tony, dared to look up. Dared to attempt to be more ambitious than backs to the wall defending and finishing one place outside relegation every year.

Chris Hughton will always be a legend to Brighton fans. But it was the right move, and Graham Potter has now vindicated Tony Blooms faith. The improvements to our club, tactically, the attractive progressive football we’re now capable of playing, all whilst achieving safety and even blooding youngsters.

Suddenly we’ve turned from being a Huddersfield or a Cardiff into a club that has legitimate aims of becoming mid table. We’re a club on the up.

All these experts, who arrogantly slated us as fans, slated Tony Bloom and our club in general, if they had any decency should make a retraction, even an apology, but of course they won’t.

As a reminder. Here’s a taster. This is what John Barnes was saying (“I don’t know what Brighton fans expect”):



Danny Mills told us, “you can’t play that way at Brighton”:




[tweet]1127992526445719553[/tweet]

We can praise Graham Potter later at the end of the season (and we surely will, he’s been a superb appointment and a breath of fresh air).

But tonight I raise a drink to Tony Bloom, Dan Ashworth and Paul Barber. They stuck their necks on the line making a hard decision for the betterment of Brighton and Hove Albion. They dared to show ambition and believed there was a better way to progress. They refused to settle for our lot in life.

They were way ahead of the curve, and certainly ahead of the so called football experts, journalists and pundits.

“Be careful what you wish for Brighton fans”. If the pundits who wrote such disparaging comments at the time had any decency, they’d write an apology today.

Kinda. This is very clumsy. We've hardly won the league and nobody knows how we'd have done with CH in charge.
I reckon most Albion fans, if they're honest, would say this season has been a slight disappointment.

 

[El Presidente]

Going back to the OP.

Do pundits owe the club an apology?

Calling [MENTION=34942]Dr. No[/MENTION]


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[neilbard]

I’d rather settle for “the dire shite” dished up this season than the awful displays (especially away) we put up with last season. Houghton did a great job, and will go down as a legend but it was the right time to move on.


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Can anything this season compare with the utter ineptitude of Bournemouth or Cardiff at home? Fulham away? I think not

I agree with both of you, Hughton was sacked because of the dire performances at the back end of last season it was the right time for him to go, but prior to that debacle we had beaten Man Utd, West Ham, Wolves, Palace and Everton all at home last season.

This season we have lost at home to Southampton, Leicester, Sheffield United (VAR saved us from a 0-3 thrashing), Palace and Man Utd with Man City and Liverpool to come.

Yes, the football has been more pleasing on the eye this season especially away from home having said that we have only managed three wins the same as last year, remember Fulham last season played attractive football but got relegated.

2019/20 36 pts thus far.
2018/19 36 pts
2017/18 40 pts

We have been relying on teams being worse than us rather than our own endeavours, Norwich, Villa, Bournemouth and Watford all poor.

I fully expect Potter to push on next season, the football world doesn't owe us feck all, which is what this thread is about.

Potter was a gamble that appears to be working, but it could so easily have gone sour very quickly, Potter still doesn't know his best team, I'm hoping next season will see us comfortably sitting in mid-table.

P.S. Lamptey is the buy of the decade £3m

 

[neilbard]

Because we, or specifically Uncle Tony, dared to look up. Dared to attempt to be more ambitious than backs to the wall defending and finishing one place outside relegation every year.

I think you will find we actually finished in 15th place 2017/18, the football world owes us feck all.

 

[Uh_huh_him]

I don't know. That is the point, none of us do.



No he doesn't. He took a gamble based on the information he had at hand at the time, that doesn't include absolute factual knowledge of what happens if he doesn't make the change.


All we can say is that the change doesn't appear to have cost us our place in the premier league this year.

In fairness, Tony's gambles are much closer to factual knowledge, than most people's guaranteed certainties.

 

[neilbard]

This bullshit gets trotted out on here every year and it is utter utter bullshit of the highest order.
EVERY team finishing above 20th relies on other teams being worse than them. Liverpool only won the league because everyone was worse. That is how a league works!

There you go, missing the point of my entire comment, this thread is about how the football world world owes us an apology, now that's utter bullshit!

 

[Perfidious Albion]

Liverpool won because everyone else is worse , o k or you can just say that Liverpool were better.
Last year Cardiff , Huddersfield etc were worse than us, but we were better ....and have proved this year a justified place in the Premiership.
Now I don’t want an annual relegation fight, I want to be mid table ... If Palace , Leics etc can be higher than so can we. I think it is too early to judge Potter and his revolution. A mid table finish next year would go a long way to justify the praise.

 

[Dancin Ninja BHA]

Kinda. This is very clumsy. We've hardly won the league and nobody knows how we'd have done with CH in charge.
I reckon most Albion fans, if they're honest, would say this season has been a slight disappointment.

What?!!! You are joking, surely?

Yes, there have been disappointments at home (Palace and Saints spring to mind, although for the majority of the game I thought watching the Saints game we were the better team, despite the man down)

But the football has been an improvement on the second half of last season......which was, in the main, damn AWFUL.

Not sure how high your expectation levels were in your thought this season has been a slight disappointment

 

[DavidinSouthampton]

In fairness, Tony's gambles are much closer to factual knowledge, than most people's guaranteed certainties.

Absolutely. We are a well managed club and everything around the change of manager will have been very well considered.
The timing for a start which looked brutal but, in the interests of the football club gave GP the maximum time possible to prepare for the following season.
And TB, DA and PB would have been as sure as they could be that GP would cut it. I can remember at the time reading a great deal about GP, what he had done and achieved elsewhere, his background and philosophy, and being very impressed - much less of a gamble than many others have taken in the past.
I was a fan of CH. I am also a fan of GP.