[Albion] The Amex: where winless runs go to die

[Eric Youngs Contact Lens]

Hi Barbs. We all know you're for this dulled down, gentrified football experience, and it's working so well at your other teams home too.

Weird..

 

[Mellotron]

We aren't bad at home generally overall, but we DO seem to have a specific weird issue with shit teams who come to the Amex on very, very low confidence.

I would bet our record against bottom 6 sides is at least slightly worse than the average for a side in our league position, over the last few years.

Leicester, Southampton and Ipswich are a VERY poor bottom 3 this season. We didn't beat any of them.

Saturday's result wasn't a shock to any of us at all.

 

[Simster]

But we're more consistent than 10/11 other clubs including Everton, Spurs, United, Wolves, and West Ham.

@Bozza alluded to this earlier on, but it's not really what I'm getting at. There is a difference between consistency and ability, surely?

We've been as capable of dropping points from crap teams as picking up points from better teams. It would be interesting to see a stat where points earned are multiplied by a factor linked to the position of your opponents. I bet we'd be about 5th or 6th in such a table, as we've dropped so many points against poor teams and yet taken points off the better ones. (I suspect all teams can point to individual results that highlight this themselves, but I bet we're much higher than the average)

 

[Milano]

Amex is an anti-fortress.

Too many plastics. Too many negative fans. Not good enough support. Easy away day.

Our home form will always be mediocre/shite until this changes. I've given up with the issue - hoping it will change as we grow more die-hard fans over time.

But that, in a nutshell, is why it is easy for teams to get a result here, even when they're up against it.

That's just bollocks. The team sucked the life out of the support AGAIN on Saturday. After an OK first 10 minutes we started with the sloooooow build up shite. We play like the away team who are trying to quiten the crowd. This group of players need to be reminded that a minute in football is the same in minute 1 or minute 90. It's like they have all the time in the world and then suddenly at about 70 mins think oh shit we'd better get a move on. This is where we most miss Rutter, Mitoma and CM Baleba. The apathy of Adingra, Ayari and (on Saturday) the entire back 5 is infuriating (yes I include Bart in that).

 

[Milano]

Our away fans are amazing. Always have been. They're inspirational in our great away results.

Whether you buy into it or not - it's a well established fact that the 'home advantage' of a supportive home fanbase can affect results. It's blindingly obvious that the players want it - they actively try to encourage it. Just as it's obvious that players respond to it - on the rare occasions that the Amex is buzzing, the players respond and we get some fantastic results (Potter's return at Chelsea is a great example of this, but there are many).

But you can't have that every game or it wouldn't stand out. I watched the Chelsea Ipswich game yesterday, the home fans atmosphere was awful - because their team were. It's the same everywhere, always has been. The Palace uber fans were no where to be seen under the final Hodgson season or even before November this year.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

That's just bollocks. The team sucked the life out of the support AGAIN on Saturday. After an OK first 10 minutes we started with the sloooooow build up shite. We play like the away team who are trying to quiten the crowd. This group of players need to be reminded that a minute in football is the same in minute 1 or minute 90. It's like they have all the time in the world and then suddenly at about 70 mins think oh shit we'd better get a move on. This is where we most miss Rutter, Mitoma and CM Baleba. The apathy of Adingra, Ayari and (on Saturday) the entire back 5 is infuriating (yes I include Bart in that).

This. On the back of 7 straight losses and 0 goals, Leicester team and fans must have come to the Amex with their confidence shot to shit. Then suddenly there's not a lot of pressure on their defence, and there are breaks available in attack. You could see them visibly growing in stature in the face of our powderpuff press. Rinse, repeat at the Amex against every lower table team all season. Not saying we Should Be Beating Teams Like... but we should certainly be harrying them a lot more than we are

 

[Justice]

You can ask the club to change the layout of the ground as much as you want, unless a group come up with a variety of new and catchy songs, the atmosphere will always be shite

True this, the super Rob DeZerbi song was the last loads joined in with.

 

[chaileyjem]

Hi Barbs. We all know you're for this dulled down, gentrified football experience, and it's working so well at your other teams home too.

Are you really saying that Horrible pies , crap seats, and bad views is the answer to Adingra and Minteh missing a few sitters v Leicester ?

 

[portlock seagull]

This. On the back of 7 straight losses and 0 goals, Leicester team and fans must have come to the Amex with their confidence shot to shit. Then suddenly there's not a lot of pressure on their defence, and there are breaks available in attack. You could see them visibly growing in stature in the face of our powderpuff press. Rinse, repeat at the Amex against every lower table team all season. Not saying we Should Be Beating Teams Like... but we should certainly be harrying them a lot more than we are

You’re more generous than I. We definitely should be beating teams like them. Just sick of season after season we can’t and yet able to score victories against top sides. It’s so frustrating.

 

[Justice]

Are you really saying that Horrible pies , crap seats, and bad views is the answer to Adingra and Minteh missing a few sitters v Leicester ?

Our pies are getting worse by the season, what used to be a dark rich gravy steak and ale pie is now a shit coloured pie loaded with onions to pad it out. Oh and it’s more expensive now for an inferior product.

 

[sussex_guy2k2]

Same acoustics in the north and south stands, it’s a myth

As someone who’s sat in the North and the West, it definitely isn’t a myth.

I almost never hear the North stand from the West, but having sat there I know that plenty of singing happens…

Saying that, not much singing happens in the West

 

[BadFish]

So it's the crowds fault now?

What are we going to blame next?

 

[chaileyjem]

Our pies are getting worse by the season, what used to be a dark rich gravy steak and ale pie is now a shit coloured pie loaded with onions to pad it out. Oh and it’s more expensive now for an inferior product.

On that pie index basis then we should be qualified for Europe already.

 

[portlock seagull]

Our pies are getting worse by the season, what used to be a dark rich gravy steak and ale pie is now a shit coloured pie loaded with onions to pad it out. Oh and it’s more expensive now for an inferior product.

I think our tastebuds change as has the USP and mentally because of this we now think it’s not as good. Piglets have perhaps become just another mass manufacturer selling nationally, a wonderful local success story but like a cool up and coming band, they’re now Coldplay basically and the cool kids won’t / can’t enjoy for that very reason! But yes, the price - like everything - has gone up and perhaps they’ve changed ingredients to offset some of that. Who knows? I think they’re still as good myself but I don’t eat them more than once or twice a season whereas used to have each game when Amex first opened.

 

[portlock seagull]

So it's the crowds fault now?

What are we going to blame next?

What were YOU doing between 3 and 5pm last Saturday….?

 

[Justice]

I think our tastebuds change as has the USP and mentally because of this we now think it’s not as good. Piglets have perhaps become just another mass manufacturer selling nationally, a wonderful local success story but like a cool up and coming band, they’re now Coldplay basically and the cool kids won’t / can’t enjoy for that very reason! But yes, the price - like everything - has gone up and perhaps they’ve changed ingredients to offset some of that. Who knows? I think they’re still as good myself but I don’t eat them more than once or twice a season whereas used to have each game when Amex first opened.

Not really in my case I just like a good pie it used to be a cracking pie. If we lost at least the pie was good

 

[BadFish]

What were YOU doing between 3 and 5pm last Saturday….?

Quite right, it was my fault

I'll add me to the list.

 

[Justice]

So it's the crowds fault now?

What are we going to blame next?

Anyone but the guy paid a couple of million to get results in your case. He’s now getting inspiration from Southgate god help us.

 

[Mellotron]

This. On the back of 7 straight losses and 0 goals, Leicester team and fans must have come to the Amex with their confidence shot to shit.

Yep. This is the frustration - it was the same under Potter. No acknowledgement and adjustment based on the opposition side.

We are MUCH better than them, and they are expecting to get given a pasting. Get the game done in the first half.

This isn't really a moan, as I'm also aware we frequently outperform against really good sides.

 

[BadFish]

Anyone but the guy paid a couple of million to get results in your case. He’s now getting inspiration from Southgate god help us.

Well at least the football might get better.