When will Brighton lose

[SimonBHA]

As a Brighton fan who lurks on these forums occasionally my 2p.

I've seen a lot of supporters of other clubs say we don't have any top players, we're just a good 'team'. I understand why people say that and there's probably some truth to it, but also some lack of knowledge. Beram Kayal in midfield is a fantastic player and Dale Stephens who you guys tried to sign very good too. We've got a good starting XI and decent squad depth too. The biggest misconception I suspect is the 'if we avoid injuries' comments. We've been without LuaLua for the last few games with injury and Murphy has been suspended after his red card at Wolves so we've had our third choice winger playing - England U21 international Solly March. He's done really well and also chipped in with a goal at Leeds.

We've also got a very experienced group of players, a lot of leaders. A lot of our players were captains at the previous clubs. We're well organised, work hard for each other and are playing at a good tempo (total transformation from the slow build up under Poyet and Garcia). Not sure about those possession stats though, think we tend to have more possession and more shots than our opponents. We're certainly not brushing teams aside though, we don't look like a side who will trounce someone by 3 or 4. No doubt we will come unstuck, even if we keep up our current performance levels there comes a time when you don't get the rub of the green.

No idea if we can push for automatic promotion, as others have pointed out, some telling tests await us in the run up to Christmas. All seems a bit surreal at the moment, no one really expected us to start like this so just enjoying every minute of it. I think most people would say you guys, Middlesbrough, Reading etc have better players than us but who knows, maybe that's an advantage, maybe teams are more defensive against you guys and make it harder for you to break them down. Certainly expect to get caught, just hope we don't collapse and miss out on the top 6.

 

[B4ev6is]

Well if you lose bobby your ****** and everybody knows it.

[RamNut]

Brighton are a bit of a surprise. 

they made the play off semis two years ago only to fade last year.

their recruitment is excellent. They seem to have a lot of ex-derby staff

 paul winstanley was a performance analyst for us, and went there as head of recruitment.

jamie johnson - one of the four scouts appointed by chris evans - has gone there.

darren wrack has also gone there as a scout.

i like the ground - it looks like the best designed stadium outside the prem.

good manager who has done well at many clubs.

Its early days yet, but if they are still top by xmas then they will almost certainly go up.

[TheDeadlySaul]

Well if you lose bobby your ****** and everybody knows it.

You aren't very welcoming to new members on this forum B4

[G STAR RAM]

Well if you lose bobby your ****** and everybody knows it.

I didn't know that to be fair. He doesn't even start for them does he?

One thing is for sure, with all of these people being able to predict the top 6 so easily, the bookies must be in for a spanking!

[Day]

He did start one game, would be a huge loss to Brighton, relegation candidates without Zamora

[Alph]

The league is so tight most teams can add/lose just a couple of quality players or get in the right fit manager and suddenly their at the opposite end of the table to where they expect. 

I'm not worried about the gap. Still shouldn't be looking at the league table. I mean I bet there's a team that's won about half their games and a team that's lost half their games and there's only 6 or 7 points between them?

So few games played that gaps are all easily closed. 

But I don't know enough about Brighton to predict how good they are. But the way they are collecting points then they could get into a position where they only need stumble along to end up in the top 6.

Saw them against Forest and that's it. They were both poor. The next day I went to Bolton and we were poor. You can't draw conclusions at the start of a story. 

Basically Brighton are nothing to worry about yet. At this stage everyone should be focused on settling their teams and smoothing the edges. Going into Christmas with momentum is massive. Coming into the new year in form is also huge as pressure starts to hit those that aren't high on confidence and then desperate teams start to either fight or fold. 

Even then you might get a team that's,  I dunno, say 5pts clear at the end of Feb, suddenly crumble when they look nailed on. 

All Brighton are doing now is building a cushion. We're not quite in a promotion battle yet. 

Marathon not a sprint. 

They could smash the league though. I forgot to add that.  Small tweaks make big differences in a tight league. I doubt anyone has seen them enough to really know much about them? 

[valleyram]

they wont be in top 6 , getting a lot of breaks just now and played off the park last night again , the only team that can beat derby this season is derby

e I e I e I o

[JuanFloEvraTheCocu'sNesta]

The league is about momentum at the right time, look at Norwich last season! I think burning out is a big factor for a team like Brighton. They are clearly a good side but a smaller squad than the teams around them will definitely tell later in the season.

[Day]

It's almost word for word this thread about Bournemouth and Burnley. Wasn't that long ago we saw Blackpool showing promotion isn't won on paper.

Grinding out results with a poor performance is a sign of a good team and you can only beat what's in front of you.

They don't have to beat any top 6 side to go up automatically if you keep beating those outside it. 

And for those saying one or two injuries and that's it, in 2 months the transfer window opens. 

Brighton going up in the automatics would not surprise me one bit. Been watching the Championship for far too long to realise it's not he who spends the most goes up.

[JAT]

It's almost word for word this thread about Bournemouth and Burnley. Wasn't that long ago we saw Blackpool showing promotion isn't won on paper.

Grinding out results with a poor performance is a sign of a good team and you can only beat what's in front of you.

They don't have to beat any top 6 side to go up automatically if you keep beating those outside it. 

And for those saying one or two injuries and that's it, in 2 months the transfer window opens. 

Brighton going up in the automatics would not surprise me one bit. Been watching the Championship for far too long to realise it's not he who spends the most goes up.

Yeah I was one to say Bournemouth wouldn't make it last year! Good job I like humble pie!!

I think they'll be battling it out for top two but I think a couple of other teams might just be too strong, hopefully one of those being Derby!

[Animal is a Ram]

As with any early season contender, give them til Christmas.

But they have added well, and as yet, not suffered many major injuries.

Don't mind Brighton. Shame they have Z*mora though. Odds on him scoring when we play. 

[Srg]

As with any early season contender, give them til Christmas.

But they have added well, and as yet, not suffered many major injuries.

Don't mind Brighton. Shame they have Z*mora though. Odds on him scoring when we play. 

Be a good game for Bucko to come back for a 5 minute cameo to chop him down with a neck high challenge.

[Animal is a Ram]

Be a good game for Bucko to come back for a 5 minute cameo to chop him down with a neck high challenge.

Would be worth the admission price (and the subsequent Bucko ban) alone.

Or maybe clean him out like he did with that Forest player in the 5-0 win. Genius.

[Tombo]

Makes us sound like children. We've spent so much money so some people bemoan Brighton's success on a lower budget out of jealousy. They've done really well, leave em alone.

[Animal is a Ram]

@SimonBHA - out of interest, how did your pitch fare with the two RWC games, in a short space of time?

[SimonBHA]

The pitch was fine after the rugby, no signs of wear and tear.

Dont want to drone on about injuries but as a few more comments about injuries. The Championships 'Player of the Month' for August, Kazenga LuaLua, has been out injured. His replacement, our 1.5m signing from Sheff Utd, Jamie Murphy got sent off and has been banned for the last 3 games. We've still taken 7 points from 9 with our third choice winger playing. We do not have a small squad.  I'm not saying that means we won't **** it up and fall away, but to say we have no depth is wrong. 

[Animal is a Ram]

The pitch was fine after the rugby, no signs of wear and tear.

Dont want to drone on about injuries but as a few more comments about injuries. The Championships 'Player of the Month' for August, Kazenga LuaLua, has been out injured. His replacement, our 1.5m signing from Sheff Utd, Jamie Murphy got sent off and has been banned for the last 3 games. We've still taken 7 points from 9 with our third choice winger playing. We do not have a small squad.  I'm not saying that means we won't **** it up and fall away, but to say we have no depth is wrong. 

Good to hear. Fair play to your groundsmen.

 

[Ovis aries]

If we lose at Blackburn tonight will it be Zamora's fault ?

[MuespachRam]

Well if you lose bobby your ****** and everybody knows it.

yeah that's right...!

 

i like the references to how similar they are to our Billy Davies team...you know, the one that went up!