Brighton vs Brizzle

[BCFC Jordan]

Watched the game today as I was up north Friday/the weekend, no way would I say Forest dominated, we were all over them at the start, and even later on created the better goal scoring opportunities.

Yeah, I know. Don't listen to me, not talking much sense tonight.

What I will say is it feels like we need an early two-goal advantage to get any form of result at the moment.

 

[Costello]

F*cking beautiful.

Proper game of football in fairness, City more than played their part. I know it's little consolation right now, but you were the best side I've seen at the Amex this season, made us work really hard for it. Kodjia and Freeman a threat throughout, struggled to contain them. Ref was new levels of terrible (for both sides), seemed we had a let off with the penalty call, Stockdale also saved us on a couple of occasions. Think we probably did just about enough to deserve the win overall though.

For a team 4 points clear and 12 unbeaten we're certainly not sweeping teams aside, but we do seem to have the knack of grinding out victories through whatever means. You don't fluke that sort of form over a quarter of the season.

 

[hodge]

F*cking beautiful.

Proper game of football in fairness, City more than played their part. I know it's little consolation right now, but you were the best side I've seen at the Amex this season, made us work really hard for it. Kodjia and Freeman a threat throughout, struggled to contain them. Ref was new levels of terrible (for both sides), seemed we had a let off with the penalty call, Stockdale also saved us on a couple of occasions. Think we probably did just about enough to deserve the win overall though.

For a team 4 points clear and 12 unbeaten we're certainly not sweeping teams aside, but we do seem to have the knack of grinding out victories through whatever means. You don't fluke that sort of form over a quarter of the season.

So yeah top of the league and apparently we gave them a good fight for it, plenty to be optimistic about.

 

[Turkey]

En route to Brighton, feeling pretty confident. Nothing much expected, going against a team on a long unbeaten run: just feels like the type of game we tend to nick a win in. Reminds me of Southampton, or Orient away a couple of years ago.

While Brighton have made a fine start a lot of their games appear to have been tight affairs, won by the odd goal. Everyone seems to be assuming they'll fall away at some point but who knows in the Championship. Having seen Reading, Boro and Burnley this season, be interesting to see how they compare.

And we're not as poor a side as the league table might suggest, got plenty of goals in us and seem to be finding that balance defensively in the last few games.

0-1 City, that man Kodjia again

How did we compare out of interest? I'm not expecting highly as doubt we're as good as those sides but somehow we keep nicking results!

 

[JJH]

So yeah top of the league and apparently we gave them a good fight for it, plenty to be optimistic about.

No, because we've done that every single game.

Every time we come away and the opposition come on here or on their message boards going 'fuck me, that wasn't as easy as expected' etc etc, but they still come away with the goods.

It's a recurring theme, until we can start turning performances against decent sides into results we're in the same situation, and will be all season.

We lack the clinical edge, and the defensive awareness. Teams come away with good words with about us because our football is very easy on the eye, and we don't roll over easily, but teams are better than us in both boxes, and that's what counts at the end of the day.

 

[hodge]

Yeah, and so would I in May, until we started chucking about £8m and £9m offers here and there in the summer, and Keith Burt giving us false hope after we failed to sign McGuire by saying 'this is the calibre of player we're going to be after' and they gave some real false optimism to our fanbase, which is partly why everyone feels so deflated.

This division is of a high standard, don't get me wrong, but most of it is money orientated, and we have the financial power to be right up there, whereas some of the clubs we're currently competing with like Rotherham, MK Dons etc, with the greatests respects don't have a pot to piss in.


I feel the same, it's shit. I miss L1.

Lansdown has said the club will operate within its means, if you really think we're in a position to make a £9m signing and then some... Really?! With Reduced attendances and no players being sold in the summer like Baldock last season, there's no way we could afford multiple big money signings. I expect Lansdown may have just about sanctioned one as a marquee signing but after last time we wouldn't be forking out multiple times. The Gayle situation would have seen us use the Bolasie sell on, hence why it was viable, Gray, by that time we had just gotten desperate.

 

[JJH]

Lansdown has said the club will operate within its means, if you really think we're in a position to make a £9m signing and then some... Really?! With Reduced attendances and no players being sold in the summer like Baldock last season, there's no way we could afford multiple big money signings. I expect Lansdown may have just about sanctioned one as a marquee signing but after last time we wouldn't be forking out multiple times. The Gayle situation would have seen us use the Bolasie sell on, hence why it was viable, Gray, by that time we had just gotten desperate.

But clearly we have the money in the bank - so instead of spunking the whole budget on one un-needed striker, let's sign 3 or 4 good players for £2-3m that are going to strengthen our team in the areas most vulnerable, and help the players who haven't played in this division yet adjust to life up here, and have some quality, experienced heads around them.

 

[hodge]

No, because we've done that every single game.

Every time we come away and the opposition come on here or on their message boards going 'fuck me, that wasn't as easy as expected' etc etc, but they still come away with the goods.

It's a recurring theme, until we can start turning performances against decent sides into results we're in the same situation, and will be all season.

We lack the clinical edge, and the defensive awareness. Teams come away with good words with about us because our football is very easy on the eye, and we don't roll over easily, but teams are better than us in both boxes, and that's what counts at the end of the day.

Positions of teams we've played so far:

Sheffield Wednesday - 9th
Brentford - 20th
Leeds - 19th
Middlesbrough - 6th
Burnley - 5th
Birmingham - 2nd
Preston - 17th
Reading - 3rd
Ipswich - 11th
MK Dons - 18th
Forest - 15th
Brighton - 1st

So we've played 5 of the teams who currently occupy the top 6 and 5 who are currently in the bottom half, realistically how many points do we expect to take off the teams around the play offs?

 

[hodge]

But clearly we have the money in the bank - so instead of spunking the whole budget on one un-needed striker, let's sign 3 or 4 good players for £2-3m that are going to strengthen our team in the areas most vulnerable, and help the players who haven't played in this division yet adjust to life up here, and have some quality, experienced heads around them.

How do you know we weren't bidding for defenders? Just because those talks (if they existed) weren't leaked to the press doesn't mean they didn't happen. Gray and Gayle got leaked because their agents wanted to try and find better options for their players.

 

[JJH]

Positions of teams we've played so far:

Sheffield Wednesday - 9th
Brentford - 20th
Leeds - 19th
Middlesbrough - 6th
Burnley - 5th
Birmingham - 2nd
Preston - 17th
Reading - 3rd
Ipswich - 11th
MK Dons - 18th
Forest - 15th
Brighton - 1st

So we've played 5 of the teams who currently occupy the top 6 and 5 who are currently in the bottom half, realistically how many points do we expect to take off the teams around the play offs?

Well then if we don't take points off the top half, we have to do it from the teams around us, and we haven't taken enough. We've taken 6 points from 5 games from the teams we've played that are in similar positions to us so far, you can't seriously be under the illusion that it's good enough, when we're not pulling off many shock results against the top end of the table teams.

How do you know we weren't bidding for defenders? Just because those talks (if they existed) weren't leaked to the press doesn't mean they didn't happen. Gray and Gayle got leaked because their agents wanted to try and find better options for their players.

As for this - that wasn't really my point. What I'm trying to get across is that if we've got that sort of money in the bank, we should be investing it into more areas rather than just blowing it all on one bloke. £9m may be nowt to Lansdown, but with FFP that's not the sort of money us as a club can fuck about with. It needs to be spent efficiently in January, especially with the number of loans expiring, or we're in deep, deep shit.

 

[hodge]

Well then if we don't take points off the top half, we have to do it from the teams around us, and we haven't taken enough. We've taken 6 points from 5 games from the teams we've played that are in similar positions to us so far, you can't seriously be under the illusion that it's good enough, when we're not pulling off many shock results against the top end of the table teams.

It's not good enough at present no, but there have been signs that we can more than compete at this level, yet the way some people are reacting to losing to Brighton, Reading etc teams around the play offs, is that we're already doomed.

 

[City169]

I get more depressed/frustrated reading JJH and BCFC Jordans posts than I did after seeing us sit back on a 1 goal lead for 80 minutes to concede at the end against MK. The results have been poor this season, but in most games the performances havent. there are at least 3 teams worse than us in the division and thats the most important thing, as this year was always about consolidation.

 

[JJH]

I get more depressed/frustrated reading JJH and BCFC Jordans posts than I did after seeing us sit back on a 1 goal lead for 80 minutes to concede at the end against MK. The results have been poor this season, but in most games the performances havent. there are at least 3 teams worse than us in the division and thats the most important thing, as this year was always about consolidation.

People are far too easily pleased if a good performance and some recignition cuts the mustard for them, it doesn't for me.

It's a recurring theme, play well, don't win, lack clinicality and make shit individual errors at the back too often. We conceded another 2 last night, that's 22 in 12, won't be long before it averages out 2 a game again. It's incredibly frustrating at the moment.

 

[City169]

People are far too easily pleased if a good performance and some recignition cuts the mustard for them, it doesn't for me.

It's a recurring theme, play well, don't win, lack clinicality and make shit individual errors at the back too often. We conceded another 2 last night, that's 22 in 12, won't be long before it averages out 2 a game again. It's incredibly frustrating at the moment.

not a case of being easily pleased, I can come away from a game not being pleased but still being able to look at positives instead of focusing on anything and everything negative. Our defence has been very poor this season, and the 22 conceded in 12 highlights that, however in contrast it is 8 conceded in our last 6 which shows a big improvement from the opening 6 games, to say it won't be long before it averages out at 2 per game again would mean we concede 14 over the next 6 games (using the same size block) which I do not see happening.

 

[Ciderup]

You there tonight Tim? Stuck in wonderful Glasgow me!!

In Germany bud, again!

 

[JJH]

http://jjhuk.blogspot.co.uk/ - My views, not just on't game, but on the season to date.

Feedback welcome, as always.

 

[BCFC Jordan]

Just imagine Kodjia and Gayle/Gray/JET together.

 

[JJH]

Just imagine Kodjia and Gayle/Gray/JET together.

Scrap that, imagine Kodjia feeding off Savage in a pairing