The difference between Southampton and Brighton...

[hypochondriac]

Absolute rubbish. They are about the same. Remember Wycombe away last season? Tranmere? Exeter? Brentford? Millwall? Gillingham? Swindon home and away? Huddersfield away? Oldham at home? Every game expect Bristol Rovers this season? There were plenty of times under Pardew where we were absolutely gash, just as there has been for Adkins. We played some great stuff under Pardew at times, especially against Huddersfield, Walsall, Bristol Rovers etc, but have done exactly the same this season under Adkins at Oldham and against Huddersfield and Exeter. We are at about the same level we were last season, no better no worse.

 

Football is all about opinions but to call it 'absolute rubbish' is pretty disrespectful. I have seen a lot from both managers and IN MY OPINION we played better football IN GENERAL under Pardew.

[Deppo]

straight from the horses mouth.

 

How did you know I'm nicknamed 'The Horse'? You must have seen my act?

[Deppo]

Football is all about opinions but to call it 'absolute rubbish' is pretty disrespectful. I have seen a lot from both managers and IN MY OPINION we played better football IN GENERAL under Pardew.

 

In my opinion, that is absolute rubbish.

[NickG]

think we have have seen bit more better football under Adkins.

[Scummer]

think we have have seen bit more better football under Adkins.

 

We've scored 4 in a match 6 times under him for a start. In fact I think he maybe suffers as a result of that, as people clearly have started to expect that sort of performance every week.

[hypochondriac]

We've scored 4 in a match 6 times under him for a start. In fact I think he maybe suffers as a result of that, as people clearly have started to expect that sort of performance every week.

 

Nope. IMO Pardew was the better manager.

[saint lard]

Nope. IMO Pardew was the better manager.

 

Most definately,imo.

Unfortunately however he is history.

 

The one galling thing is i believe Pardew would have served us well in the Championship also,whereas i believe Adkins is not upto the task in that league let alone this one.

 

I had reservations from day one,have voiced them and been pilloried for it.

We are underperforming under him,the displays have been below par,especially of late.

 

There is a huge gulf between managing SFC and Scunny.

I am not convinced he will be able to entice the calibre of player during a transfer window either.

Many signings under Pardew stated it was he that sold the club to them,i believe Adkins does not have that capability or that he himself is a draw to work under as a player.

 

Adkins walked in with a pretty much excellent side for this league,Pardew did the ground work.

Adkins is not fulfilling his remit,especially the much vaunted style of play many on here were promoting that he would adopt,even before a ball was kicked in anger.

Edited 23 February, 2011 by saint lard

[Window Cleaner]

Nope. IMO Pardew was the better manager.

 

without a doubt but we'll still have to make do with what we've got,at least for the rest of this season.

[notnowcato]

without a doubt but we'll still have to make do with what we've got,at least for the rest of this season.

 

.... when NC will get his man and install Roberto Di Matteo?

 

Even if we get promoted I can still see this happening.

[Window Cleaner]

.... when NC will get his man and install Roberto Di Matteo?

 

Even if we get promoted I can still see this happening.

 

An interesting idea.

[sotonjoe]

Most definately,imo.

Unfortunately however he is history.

 

The one galling thing is i believe Pardew would have served us well in the Championship also,whereas i believe Adkins is not upto the task in that league let alone this one.

 

I had reservations from day one,have voiced them and been pilloried for it.

We are underperforming under him,the displays have been below par,especially of late.

 

There is a huge gulf between managing SFC and Scunny.

I am not convinced he will be able to entice the calibre of player during a transfer window either.

Many signings under Pardew stated it was he that sold the club to them,i believe Adkins does not have that capability or that he himself is a draw to work under as a player.

 

Adkins walked in with a pretty much excellent side for this league,Pardew did the ground work.

Adkins is not fulfilling his remit,especially the much vaunted style of play many on here were promoting that he would adopt,even before a ball was kicked in anger.

 

 

this

[itchen]

Brighton have consistently done well since the start of the season. We had a poor start, have sometimes played brilliantly since and have sometimes been extremely average and, occasionally, poor. At the moment, it's Brighton who are in the driving seat and if they keep up the form they've had all season they will win the championship. But there are 17 games to go and injuries or a run of poor form could see them stutter. I don't know who's the best manager. But we have the one we have and he's doing pretty well. Changing our manager again will certainly mean we don't go up so why not just wait and see how it turns out instead of carping?

 

Poyet has been there a while and had more chance to shape the team than Adkins has. I didn't particularly enjoy their style of play against us last year - very niggly.

 

But they are doing well. I'm reasonably confident we will also do well in most of the rest of our games. We'll see who has the stronger finish come May. Personally, I don't mind us finishing second.

[thegaffer]

The reason Brighton are doing better than us is that they have a team full of players that will scrap for you on the pitch but they will struggle in the championship. We have just one or two scrappers. We will do much better in the championship because we have players who can pass the ball where the pitches will be better,bigger crowds and better atmospheres where we seem to do much better.

[Raven on the wing]

Have our friends from Brighton forgiven us for "the conspiracy with Spurs" - us drawing 0-0 @ home v Spurs in the last game of the 1977/8 season and Spurs and us & not Brighton going up to the top div on goal diff ? PS Who have Brighton got in the last game this season ??

[saint lard]

Brighton have consistently done well since the start of the season. We had a poor start, have sometimes played brilliantly since and have sometimes been extremely average and, occasionally, poor. At the moment, it's Brighton who are in the driving seat and if they keep up the form they've had all season they will win the championship. But there are 17 games to go and injuries or a run of poor form could see them stutter. I don't know who's the best manager. But we have the one we have and he's doing pretty well. Changing our manager again will certainly mean we don't go up so why not just wait and see how it turns out instead of carping?

 

Poyet has been there a while and had more chance to shape the team than Adkins has. I didn't particularly enjoy their style of play against us last year - very niggly.

 

But they are doing well. I'm reasonably confident we will also do well in most of the rest of our games. We'll see who has the stronger finish come May. Personally, I don't mind us finishing second.

 

I certainly would not advocate a change in manager,but i will critisize when i see fit.

And at this moment in time our performances, that have been served up, are well below par with what we have at our disposal.

Adkins is not getting the best out of the squad.

[itchen]

Most definately,imo.

Unfortunately however he is history.

 

The one galling thing is i believe Pardew would have served us well in the Championship also,whereas i believe Adkins is not upto the task in that league let alone this one.

 

I had reservations from day one,have voiced them and been pilloried for it.

We are underperforming under him,the displays have been below par,especially of late.

 

There is a huge gulf between managing SFC and Scunny.

I am not convinced he will be able to entice the calibre of player during a transfer window either.

Many signings under Pardew stated it was he that sold the club to them,i believe Adkins does not have that capability or that he himself is a draw to work under as a player.

 

Adkins walked in with a pretty much excellent side for this league,Pardew did the ground work.

Adkins is not fulfilling his remit,especially the much vaunted style of play many on here were promoting that he would adopt,even before a ball was kicked in anger.

 

Well thankfully you rarely mention those reservations.

 

You know, I was doubtful when Pardew was sacked. I thought Cortese was wrong. But when Pardew left we were 14th with 4 points from 3 games (1.33 points per game). We're now 5th and have 45 points from 23 games under Adkins (1.96 points per game). Last season we had 83 points from 46 (1.8 points per game). So there's not much to choose between them but Adkins just shades it.

[Appy]

Was going to say hopefully they are already up when we go there, but there is no way they will take it easy against us.

[St Marco]

Another difference between us and Brighton is that we have actually failed to score in 11 games. Which means 37.9% of our games we have not scored a goal. Where as Brighton have failed to score in only 5 games, which is 17% of their games without scoring.

 

To put that into some context there is only one team with a worse fail to score % then us.... Hartlepool.....

 

Team Pld FTS %FTS

1 Peterborough United 31 3 9.6%

2 Charlton Athletic 29 3 10.3%

3 Milton Keynes Dons 33 5 15.1%

4 Brighton & Hove Albion 29 5 17.2%

5 Leyton Orient 29 5 17.2%

6 Rochdale 29 5 17.2%

7 AFC Bournemouth 32 6 18.7%

8 Exeter City 31 7 22.5%

9 Brentford 30 7 23.3%

10 Carlisle United 30 7 23.3%

11 Oldham Athletic 32 8 25.0%

12 Bristol Rovers 31 8 25.8%

13 Tranmere Rovers 30 8 26.6%

14 Swindon Town 32 9 28.1%

15 Walsall 32 9 28.1%

16 Huddersfield Town 31 9 29.0%

17 Colchester United 31 10 32.2%

18 Notts County 27 9 33.3%

19 Sheffield Wednesday 30 10 33.3%

20 Dagenham & Redbridge 29 10 34.4%

21 Yeovil Town 30 11 36.6%

22 Plymouth Argyle 32 12 37.5%

23 Southampton 29 11 37.9%

24 Hartlepool United 31 13 41.9%

 

As some sexist **** once said "you can't win if you don't score"!

[St Marco]

Well thankfully you rarely mention those reservations.

 

You know, I was doubtful when Pardew was sacked. I thought Cortese was wrong. But when Pardew left we were 14th with 4 points from 3 games (1.33 points per game). We're now 5th and have 45 points from 23 games under Adkins (1.96 points per game). Last season we had 83 points from 46 (1.8 points per game). So there's not much to choose between them but Adkins just shades it.

 

The problem here is that it isn't quite right. Is it really fair to compare when Pardew started here to how Adkins started here? When Pardew started the club wasn't really a club, more of a shell of a club. **** players, no backroom staff, no nothing pretty much. As time went by he gradually built a team and the coaching staff. Adkins didn't have to start with nothing. He took over a team that would of made the playoffs had they not had a points deduction, and a cup winning team. The league last year was a lot harder then this one. Imagine having Norwich,Leeds and Millwall in the table this year, as'well as Swindon and Bristol actually still being any good. There were a lot of teams with the potential to go up last year.

Personally i think a better way to compare the two is taking Adkins 24 league games and Pardews last 24 league games as they both had the same squad (one which Pardew put together) and your see that Adkins has 45 points and Pardew has 47 points. Meaning we haven't actually improved under Adkins in points terms.

[Thimble]

The reason Brighton are doing better than us is that they have a team full of players that will scrap for you on the pitch but they will struggle in the championship. We have just one or two scrappers. We will do much better in the championship because we have players who can pass the ball where the pitches will be better,bigger crowds and better atmospheres where we seem to do much better.

 

I think you might be thinking of the wrong team!...Whilst the Albion have plenty of spirit it is not so much a "scrapping team" as Mickey Adams has long since departed. We are the best passing team in this division and despite what you say we should hold our own quite comfortably in the Championship...I mean, Norwich & Swansea are both doing fine and they are teams who played good football. We have played 2 Championship teams in the FA Cup this season and passed them both off the park.

 

As for the pitch size then the bigger the better! With the new stadium nearing completion Poyet has been consulted on the pitch and from his instruction the playing area will be one of the biggest in the country so it will measure up as the same size as Wembley. Poyet has said that with the way we move the ball about a larger surface will tire out the opposition quicker as they chase down our shadows!

 

I think the best thing I have read about the difference in ourselves has come from a Tranmere fan who has posted on a comments section following the latest Steve Claridge Video Nonsene that goes on the BBC website weekly and can be found here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/steveclaridge/2011/02/claridge_kicks_off_15.html

 

Anyway, the quote is here:

 

As a Tranmere fan, I hardly expected my team to get any mention. However, as someone who regularly travels throughout the UK, I have managed to see some of the better teams in this league throughout the season.

 

Firstly, let me say how I totally disagree with Steve's description of either Brighton or Southampton.

 

Having seen the Saints play five or six matches, I can honestly say that they play in the same way, game in, game out. Because of this, then most sides are able to counter their style and nullify the threat from their undoubtedly talented strike force. My own team were able to make them look very ordinary, and certainly nowhere near automatic promotion candidates.

 

Brighton on the other hand, and completely the opposite of Steve's summing up on them, play football, not only on a skill level way above this league, but they are able to play and adapt their formation and style during a match, according to that played by the opposition. This is something that has never been witnessed in the lower league levels before, and they will be able to adapt the style in the Championship to gain further success. You have to credit the way that the club is run now.

 

Southampton have their work cut out to make second spot, and because they are reluctant to change their system, then I feel either Bournemouth or Charlton will be gaining the runners-up position. Whoever does finish second, they will be a long way behind Brighton.

[benjii]

I would question whether a Tranmere fan has seen both sides play several times (seems a bit weird) but we were carp when we played Tranmere away so it's probably not suprising he says that. It's not true to say we play the same way week in week out and indeed we have been changing our system fairly regularly recently. We did, however, utterly take the **** out of them at St Mary's and the man from the Beeb was cooing about how much we were in a different league from them and were playing lovely stuff.

 

There's no doubt Brighton play a style which is unusual. Having said that, I have only seen them play once this year which was when we played at St Mary's and the style was very easy to contain indeed and we completely outdid them tactically. We should have won the match fairly comfortably and the only time Brighton looked dangerous was when they stuck a bigger player upfront towards the end of the match and lobbed it long. That's hardly a tactical revelation; it is what teams have always done when they want a goal towards the end of the match. Having said that, judging from the wild celebrations at the final whistle they were clearly pleased with a draw. Their centre backs looked like a very good pair.

 

The return match will be very interesting because we have demonstrated that we can outdo Brighton if they try to play their usual way so it will be a bit of a game of bluff from the managers.

[Singeon Sears]

I'd say we have two main problems

 

One, Adkins doesn't seem to know his best defence, it’s not been settled at all, and it has to be to bring consistency

 

Two, in Adkins defence he can't put the ball in the net for the players I've been amazed how many good chances we miss, it’s appalling. Lallana whom I rate highly and am amazed by his ability is as guilty as anyone for missed chances.

 

In addition some of our players / squad are nowhere near as good as people on here bang on about - when I see the likes of Mackell-Smith on TV it confirms that

[NickG]

likes of cms - who else?

 

Not seen many players since we have been in league 1 I would put into our starting 11.

[benjii]

I'd say we have two main problems

 

One, Adkins doesn't seem to know his best defence, it’s not been settled at all, and it has to be to bring consistency

 

Two, in Adkins defence he can't put the ball in the net for the players I've been amazed how many good chances we miss, it’s appalling. Lallana whom I rate highly and am amazed by his ability is as guilty as anyone for missed chances.

In addition some of our players / squad are nowhere near as good as people on here bang on about - when I see the likes of Mackell-Smith on TV it confirms that

 

If I could identify one thing that has been the bane of our season so far, this would be it. Leyton Orient at home, Brighton at home, Notts County at home... a few that spring to mind where we missed glorious chances which would probably have secured the three points.

[latter day saint]

" Pardew is a better manager than Adkins,who is under achieving with the team at his disposal." (a general view from some)

if this is true, why are people who believe this complaining about results & performances, as surely this is the outcome they would expect?

[saints-cris]

They don't have the better side. We have the best side in the league. They just play better as a team, are more consistant and have a top home record.

[The9]

think we have have seen bit more better football under Adkins.

 

I don't think there's been much difference in the football under Pardew and the football under Adkins to be honest. Anyone who thought we planned to hoof it under Pardew was insane, and same goes for the team now - we still do it occasionally but mostly we try to play it wide and get the ball into the box fairly quickly.

[The9]

" Pardew is a better manager than Adkins,who is under achieving with the team at his disposal." (a general view from some)

if this is true, why are people who believe this complaining about results & performances, as surely this is the outcome they would expect?

 

They might expect it, but that doesn't mean they have to like it...

[Legod Third Coming]

I think what we can say is that Poyet is better than either Adkins or Pardew, who, for my money, are as good as each other.

On the other hand what Poyet has done with not a great deal of cash and an appalling stadium is outstanding.

 

If there is any consolation it is that I tipped and backed them at 9/1 - check back the posts!

 

This will help offset the massive bet I had on Saints - albeit at 4/1 each way I will get my money back when we come second.

[sotonist]

HOw can you judge them after playing twenty minutes and 140 minutes of football for us?

 

The fact noone has played around 400 minutes for a better team, probably.

[vince]

Premiership gates of 13,000 under Branfoot anyone?

 

I can put up with the friendly banter, but if you use that name again, it'll be pistols at Bucklands on the A25 at dawn, mate!! That's made my Old Speckled Hen taste sour, that has. And Mods, how did that slip past the swear word filter thingy, ffs!!!

 

Having read all this thread in one go, it's refreshing that it hasn't degenerated and fair play to the B&HA contributers for that. You can't argue with the league table, and I've no grips with them being top on merit. Personally, I couldn't care less if we don't win the league, so long as we go up second, although my Palace ST holding work mates aren't too happy about it. Seagulls points were all valid and football, as we know, is a team game, so while we probably do have the better individuals, it counts for nothing if the team can't perform together.

 

As a genuine question to the B&HA posters, how long do you think Poyet will stay? I do rate him and it'll be interesting if a job in the Prem comes up that he fancies.

[hypochondriac]

likes of cms - who else?

 

Not seen many players since we have been in league 1 I would put into our starting 11.

 

Even worse then that we play so poorly at times

[BHA]

They don't have the better side. We have the best side in the league. They just play better as a team, are more consistant and have a top home record.

 

You have the best side in the league, you are so arrogant so wheres the evidence you are the best side in the league? because from where i am sitting i havent seen any evidence of that yet.

[hypochondriac]

You have the best side in the league, you are so arrogant so wheres the evidence you are the best side in the league? because from where i am sitting i havent seen any evidence of that yet.

 

We have the best individual players you have the best team clearly. Hth

[Capel Saint]

I can put up with the friendly banter, but if you use that name again, it'll be pistols at Bucklands on the A25 at dawn, mate!! That's made my Old Speckled Hen taste sour, that has. And Mods, how did that slip past the swear word filter thingy, ffs!!!

 

Having read all this thread in one go, it's refreshing that it hasn't degenerated and fair play to the B&HA contributers for that. You can't argue with the league table, and I've no grips with them being top on merit. Personally, I couldn't care less if we don't win the league, so long as we go up second, although my Palace ST holding work mates aren't too happy about it. Seagulls points were all valid and football, as we know, is a team game, so while we probably do have the better individuals, it counts for nothing if the team can't perform together.

 

As a genuine question to the B&HA posters, how long do you think Poyet will stay? I do rate him and it'll be interesting if a job in the Prem comes up that he fancies.

 

Quite agree. Makes a refreshing change to have some honest. fair-minded banter with other clubs fans. Lets hope Brighton and Saints (and Bournemouth throught the playoffs) get promoted as it can only be good for south coast football!

[sambosa75]

I think it is more to do with the fact that every club in this division including Brighton see playing Southampton either home or away as their Cup final. The way the Carlisle manager recently spoke in such awe about the club and how well they were treated when visiting SMS on a scouting mission says it all. Is it any wonder sides manage to raise themselves so often against us? Brighton are a good side, with a good manager who play good football and fair play to them. I am pretty confident in saying though that players from other sides will find it much easier to motivate themselves for a game against us that they would against little old Brighton in their sh*thole stadium. They better pray they win promotion this season because the minute they move in to their shiny stadium, all that will change.

[saints-cris]

You have the best side in the league, you are so arrogant so wheres the evidence you are the best side in the league? because from where i am sitting i havent seen any evidence of that yet.

 

Player for player and squad depth we do. As a team, you play better, hence why your top. I dont think many other people would disagree..

[south]

Worth a read:

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1356355/Gus-Poyet-says-English-football-blend-tradition-passing-game--play-Brighton-way.html

[West End Saint]

I cant see us catching Brighton I think they are as good as champions fair play to them they have been consistent winning week in week out we havent.

 

There will be questions asked if we dont get promotion & rightly so NA will not be our Manager unless we go up but we are still right in the mix & have a very good chance of going up the last 2 games we have been ****e but we are more than capable of going on a run & that is what we have to do starting Saturday.

 

Just as 2 or 3 great performances dont make us world beaters 2 or 3 bad performances dont make us a poor side IF we get promoted the season has been a success if we dont it is failure everyone at the club knows this & I think we will go up

[NickG]

Don't think NC will automatically sack NA if we don't go up. Infact, unless we miss by miles think its more likely he will stay.

[sammysaint]

i was fully behind alan he was going to get us promotion this season but he was sacked and hes now history.

 

Nigel took over alans squad and brought in 2/3 back up players as lets be honest its hard to bring in anyone better without spending high on fees and wages and if we failed to go up would leave the club in a bad shape, i think pards spent all the league one budget and there was any left for nigel and because of the poor results straight after pards left ment we were falling behind brighton before nigel even took over, i am more focused on saints taking 2nd.

[fire&skill]

As a genuine question to the B&HA posters, how long do you think Poyet will stay? I do rate him and it'll be interesting if a job in the Prem comes up that he fancies.

 

He'll be gone, Vince - no mistake. He's quoted as saying it would have to be 'very special' but money talks etc etc. The only hope for us is that the Chairman brings in somebody who has the same ethos and the same influence on the players. A lot of them are quite open about the fact that he was a major influence on them joining; that they used to watch him on MoTD when they were kids. It'll be interesting to see how many want to stay when he does go.

 

For what it's worth, as somebody who had a signed Mick Channon poster on his wall in the 70s, I hope we both go up.

[um pahars]

He'll be gone, Vince - no mistake. He's quoted as saying it would have to be 'very special' but money talks etc etc. The only hope for us is that the Chairman brings in somebody who has the same ethos and the same influence on the players. A lot of them are quite open about the fact that he was a major influence on them joining; that they used to watch him on MoTD when they were kids. It'll be interesting to see how many want to stay when he does go.

 

For what it's worth, as somebody who had a signed Mick Channon poster on his wall in the 70s, I hope we both go up.

 

An approach from Chelski could be interesting, although I think he would need to go somewhere in between Brighton and Chelski. As with players, you (meaning all lower league teams, ourselves included) very rarely manage to keep anyone decent nowadays for long enough.

 

I also hope Brighton go up (and us accompanying them), not least in order that I think their long suffering fans deserve some payback after being hideously ripped off and taken for a ride for so long. I think it will be a rather emotional day when they manage to call somewhere their home again and I'm sure that many may have thought they would never see such a day when they were unceremoniously turfed out of the Goldstone. Fair play to them, after all the s*** thrown at them, I think they deserve their day (and longer) in the sun.

[eelpie]

Manager and squad. BHA signing Craig Noone showed more ambition than Saints' signing Forte and taking N'Guessen on loan. Result was BHA are stronger after the window while Saints are same old same old.

Adkins going back to his old club for Forte smacked too much of Burley and his tendency to sign players he'd managed before.

 

+ 1 for the first bit.

But NA might have had no choice about signing F & N if there was no additional money, and we needed that off-the-bench pace.

 

NA has had no real money to sign players since he arrived. He did however persuade Adam and Ox to sign invaluable extensions.

 

I agree our weakness compared to Brighton (and others) is that we did not significantly add to our striker strength, with a Noone-like signing. And that may be our downfall.

[Thimble]

I would question whether a Tranmere fan has seen both sides play several times (seems a bit weird) but we were carp when we played Tranmere away so it's probably not suprising he says that. It's not true to say we play the same way week in week out and indeed we have been changing our system fairly regularly recently. We did, however, utterly take the **** out of them at St Mary's and the man from the Beeb was cooing about how much we were in a different league from them and were playing lovely stuff.

 

There's no doubt Brighton play a style which is unusual. Having said that, I have only seen them play once this year which was when we played at St Mary's and the style was very easy to contain indeed and we completely outdid them tactically. We should have won the match fairly comfortably and the only time Brighton looked dangerous was when they stuck a bigger player upfront towards the end of the match and lobbed it long. That's hardly a tactical revelation; it is what teams have always done when they want a goal towards the end of the match. Having said that, judging from the wild celebrations at the final whistle they were clearly pleased with a draw. Their centre backs looked like a very good pair.

 

The return match will be very interesting because we have demonstrated that we can outdo Brighton if they try to play their usual way so it will be a bit of a game of bluff from the managers.

 

In the same way you seemed to have had a bad day at Tranmere the same could be said of the ALBION down at St Mary's. As I posted on here after the game we were pretty average in the first half. I say average becase without the ball we were excellent as we defended very well, making tackles and getting in blocks. Alas, on the flip side of that when we had the ball it was one of the worst passing perfomances we have put in all season. This was in no small part down to yourselves as you worked extremely hard in closing us down and forcing us into making basic errors...You really came at us but for all that rarely caused problems as I can only recall one dangerous shot and that was from a free-kick at the end of the half.

 

But all your efforts took it's toll on your team. As early 5 minutes into the second half the sheer amount of work Saints put in with trying to stop us playing and coming forward themselves saw them visibly begin to tire...Gaps started to appear and we brought on Murray upfront and Smith who is a pacey winger we started to pass it round with a lot more ease. Southampton were clearly tiring and we really should have gone on and won the game without too much trouble but we just missed some decent chances. Squandering the penalty was criminal and you definitely had a look of a team that had just got out of jail following that incident and were happy to take a draw there and then!

 

The return game could be an interesting fixture and I just hope we perform better this time round...

 

I can put up with the friendly banter, but if you use that name again, it'll be pistols at Bucklands on the A25 at dawn, mate!! That's made my Old Speckled Hen taste sour, that has. And Mods, how did that slip past the swear word filter thingy, ffs!!!

 

Having read all this thread in one go, it's refreshing that it hasn't degenerated and fair play to the B&HA contributers for that. You can't argue with the league table, and I've no grips with them being top on merit. Personally, I couldn't care less if we don't win the league, so long as we go up second, although my Palace ST holding work mates aren't too happy about it. Seagulls points were all valid and football, as we know, is a team game, so while we probably do have the better individuals, it counts for nothing if the team can't perform together.

 

As a genuine question to the B&HA posters, how long do you think Poyet will stay? I do rate him and it'll be interesting if a job in the Prem comes up that he fancies.

 

Personally I believe Poyet will be around for quite a while and he would be mental to jump ship too soon.

 

Next season we will be moving into one of the top 2 stadiums in the country and have plans to build a complex with mutiple pitches where the first team can train and will also have academy status for the youth teams. Poyet has said he wants to be a part of this and seems to seriously want to create some sort of empire! He has met with all the coaches right down to the youngest age group and has instructed them that even youth teams have to play the total football or the 'Brighton Style' as Poyet has dubbed it. Poyet genuinely wants to turn us into some sort of institution or a fun-size Barcelona if you like...Now, I know that sounds mad it is the way he comes across.

 

Obviously he will not be around forever, no ALBION fan honestly expects that but he will be but he will move on when he can take us no further...Or gets an offer at a very big club...Like, say, Chelsea which would only be viable if he had sustained success with us. He would never leave us for a Championship club or even an average Premier League team such as Bolton or Blackburn he knows deep down he can take the ALBION to that level himself...So why jump when you can obtain success and grow with your current club?

 

So in summary here is going to be at the ALBION for the long-haul unless something special comes his way...But for that to happen he needs to achieve something special first!

 

Oh and for living among Palace fans you have my deepest, deepest sympathies...

[saintfully]

In the same way you seemed to have had a bad day at Tranmere the same could be said of the ALBION down at St Mary's. As I posted on here after the game we were pretty average in the first half. I say average becase without the ball we were excellent as we defended very well, making tackles and getting in blocks. Alas, on the flip side of that when we had the ball it was one of the worst passing perfomances we have put in all season. This was in no small part down to yourselves as you worked extremely hard in closing us down and forcing us into making basic errors...You really came at us but for all that rarely caused problems as I can only recall one dangerous shot and that was from a free-kick at the end of the half.

 

But all your efforts took it's toll on your team. As early 5 minutes into the second half the sheer amount of work Saints put in with trying to stop us playing and coming forward themselves saw them visibly begin to tire...Gaps started to appear and we brought on Murray upfront and Smith who is a pacey winger we started to pass it round with a lot more ease. Southampton were clearly tiring and we really should have gone on and won the game without too much trouble but we just missed some decent chances. Squandering the penalty was criminal and you definitely had a look of a team that had just got out of jail following that incident and were happy to take a draw there and then!

 

The return game could be an interesting fixture and I just hope we perform better this time round...

 

 

 

Personally I believe Poyet will be around for quite a while and he would be mental to jump ship too soon.

 

Next season we will be moving into one of the top 2 stadiums in the country and have plans to build a complex with mutiple pitches where the first team can train and will also have academy status for the youth teams. Poyet has said he wants to be a part of this and seems to seriously want to create some sort of empire! He has met with all the coaches right down to the youngest age group and has instructed them that even youth teams have to play the total football or the 'Brighton Style' as Poyet has dubbed it. Poyet genuinely wants to turn us into some sort of institution or a fun-size Barcelona if you like...Now, I know that sounds mad it is the way he comes across.

 

Obviously he will not be around forever, no ALBION fan honestly expects that but he will be but he will move on when he can take us no further...Or gets an offer at a very big club...Like, say, Chelsea which would only be viable if he had sustained success with us. He would never leave us for a Championship club or even an average Premier League team such as Bolton or Blackburn he knows deep down he can take the ALBION to that level himself...So why jump when you can obtain success and grow with your current club?

 

So in summary here is going to be at the ALBION for the long-haul unless something special comes his way...But for that to happen he needs to achieve something special first!

 

Oh and for living among Palace fans you have my deepest, deepest sympathies...

 

Thanks for that - I've just spilt coffee all over myself laughing.

 

I live near Brighton and drive past the new stadium regularly. If you think that its in the top 2 in the country its because you've spent the last few years slumming it at the Withdean.

 

Your problem= 22,000 capacity.

[Simster]

Have our friends from Brighton forgiven us for "the conspiracy with Spurs" - us drawing 0-0 @ home v Spurs in the last game of the 1977/8 season and Spurs and us & not Brighton going up to the top div on goal diff ? PS Who have Brighton got in the last game this season ??

No, many of us haven't.

 

And it is for this very reason that so many of us are looking forward to welcoming HUDDERSFIELD TOWN as our final visitors to Withdean. It really would be a pity if we were already promoted by then and Gus played a second string for this one, especially after having played a first team against Southampton the week before (and beat them) in an attempt to "keep up with Southampton" (© Adkins) at the top of the table.

 

*s*******

[saints-cris]

Next season we will be moving into one of the top 2 stadiums in the country

 

LOL. You really cannot be serious..

[Simster]

Thanks for that - I've just spilt coffee all over myself laughing.

 

I live near Brighton and drive past the new stadium regularly. If you think that its in the top 2 in the country its because you've spent the last few years slumming it at the Withdean.

 

Your problem= 22,000 capacity.

It's not big enough, sure. The fact that we've sold 10,400 season tickets already, and have 4,000 presentations lined up in March (all of whom can buy up to 4 tix) are testament to that fact. They were targeting 17,000 season tickets, but it looks like they might sell all 19,000 seats to season ticket holders. Good job it's been built to house 30,000 really, with the seats missing from the corners and the stadium configured so that a tier can be added to another stand with ease. We're simply waiting on planning permission.

 

When he says one of the best stadiums in the country, I'm not sure it's top 2 because of the concept that many hold that it is a relatively small small ground capacity, but in terms of the spec and quality of build, it is certainly one of the very best. We have a bloke on our site who is worker on the site and has said as much (he's a Swansea fan calling himself natterjack). He says it pìsses on pretty much every other provincial stadium. It certainly is a thing of beauty when you're up close.

[Papa Shango]

I'm not so sure our squad is better than Brighton's. We have two players (Lallana and Chamberlain) who are head and shoulders above anyone else in the league, but take them out and we are probably pretty close to Brighton. Lallana has been injured and Chamberlain slightly off form recently, hence why we've not been playing quite as well. A lot of the rest of the squad isn't nearly as good as some people on here think. Brighton have been pretty darn impressive this season and it can't just be down to having a supposedly better manager. Poyet can only do so much, and they must have some pretty impressive players to have done as well as they have done. It's a bit arrogant to suggest we definitely have a much better squad than them. How many times have you watched Brighton this season? How do you know their players aren't as good?