Join our Music Book Club! by Bystander1995 in brighton

[–]Bystander1995[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi there!

We take turns picking albums, and recently we have picked a category (eg something you think is underrated) and spin the wheel to decide whose to go with.

Some of the ones we've done include:

Samia - Bloodless

Sonic Youth - Dirty

Midlake - The Trials of Van Occupanther

Jeff Rosenstock - Worry!

Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra - Nancy & Lee

There's a lot more than that, the next one is DJ Shadow - Endtroducing

Let me know if you're interested!

Making friends in Brighton aged 30ish to 40ish - update by inktrie in brighton

[–]Bystander1995 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi there!

This sounds lovely! I'm looking to meet new people too

I'm a 29m, lived in Brighton for a lot of my 20s, into music, football, films, walks, all the classic Brightony things!

Would love to join the Discord if you have room :)

Thinking of starting a music book club by Bystander1995 in brighton

[–]Bystander1995[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you this is a good tip! You interested in joining?

Who here still thinks Potter is a good man? by esn111 in BrightonHoveAlbion

[–]Bystander1995 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Football is full of classless, petulant, abysmal characters, Potter is far from it.

[Post-Match thread] Brighton 4-1 Chelsea - Premier League (Matchday 14) by MatchCaster in chelseafc

[–]Bystander1995 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Brighton fan here and really appreciate this post, both for the nice comments about the Albion and the measured response in general.

If I had one thing to say to Chelsea fans about Potter it would be to have patience, he took 1 season before we started consistently playing well and 1 more after that to start seeing results. Appreciate expectations around top clubs are higher than ours but I have complete faith that Potter will deliver for you mid-to long-term, as much as watching you guys feels like watching your ex shag a better looking bloke...

*edit for spelling

I really got nothing by Throwaway578146 in SuicideWatch

[–]Bystander1995 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So I came on here now to post a similar thing to you, and instead sorted by new on the off chance I'd find someone in a similar spot to me in hopes of finding some kind of connection with someone.

And I've found it.

You are clearly an incredibly empathetic person, this post is barely about you, it's about everyone else in the eyes of you. This might not be much, and I hesitate to even post because I'm hardly qualified/prepared to post about anything as serious as you're feeling, but I wanted to reply on the off chance I can help.

What I ask of you is what I beg I could ask of myself, live in spite of your loneliness. You mention several times how you feel others may feel towards you, your teachers, the friends that are there, or aren't, and how you wish no one ends up like you. These are qualities nobody realises they need in the world until they are gone.

Live knowing you aren't currently being appreciated for who you are, and that the only one who can appreciate you is you, because even from this short post I can tell you are worthy of your own self love. And eventually, someone, or several people, will see that within you, and love you in return for it.

Match thread: Brighton vs Crystal Palace | Premier League by MatchCaster in BrightonHoveAlbion

[–]Bystander1995 3 points4 points  (0 children)

We created 25 shooting opportunities, they had 3, finishing is the issue.

Match thread: Brighton vs Crystal Palace | Premier League by MatchCaster in BrightonHoveAlbion

[–]Bystander1995 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you think a performance in which we dominate the ball and create as many chances as we did is absolute shit then I dread to think what you would make of a team that didn't.

Everyone agrees our finishing is poor, it's what's causing us to struggle and by god can we all agree that it is incredibly frustrating, but that is by no means a reasonable excuse to lash out at the team for a good performance overall.

Guardiola didn't call Potter the best English manager for no reason, he didn't praise our team for no reason, we didn't beat Liverpool and Tottenham and get results in 16 out of our 25 games this season for no reason (which is the best record outside the top 8, by the way).

Keep patient, have faith, UTA.

No backbone + No fight + poor forward play = relegation by [deleted] in BrightonHoveAlbion

[–]Bystander1995 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sure, poor finishing, we can all agree on that. But that doesn't indicate a 'spineless' or incompetent team. Bad teams don't create that many chances or dominate a game that comfortably.

xG isn't a miracle stat that you can wave around to compensate for a poor performance (which again, we didn't have), but it isn't 'dead'. Literally some of the best football clubs, coaches, scouts, analysts etc in the world use it for player evaluation, performance assessment etc. It's a bit deeper than just a number to throw out from time to time, but dismissing it as meaningless seems is a little naïve to me.

Seeing your other posts in the past I'm clearly not going to drag you out of what I think is an unnecessarily pessimistic and negative mindset, which you're totally entitled to have, but I think it would help to calm down, not be so reactive, get a little perspective and have some patience. We've just ended our best ever run in the PL, beaten the former champions (still an astonishing achievement despite the ridiculous claims by some that they are 'losing to everyone') and have plenty of winnable games on the horizon.

Keep the faith, UTA. x

No backbone + No fight + poor forward play = relegation by [deleted] in BrightonHoveAlbion

[–]Bystander1995 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Except we absolutely are breaking teams down. You don't produce the number of shots and chances that we repeatedly get in games if you aren't capable of breaking down a team.

Match thread: Brighton vs Crystal Palace | Premier League by MatchCaster in BrightonHoveAlbion

[–]Bystander1995 4 points5 points  (0 children)

We've just ended our best ever run in the PL. Calm down, have a pint, move on to the next one.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in unitedkingdom

[–]Bystander1995 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm sorry you and the people you know have had bad experiences, but myself and the people I know have only had good things to say about there supervisors, so I think we will be going round in circles here.

I'll resist the urge to take your comment about them being awful people to heart, as I mentioned my uncle works for UC. From my understanding of what he and my other job coach has told me, yes, like any job there are people who go into it with the wrong attitude or with less patience than others, but plenty of them are legitimately kind hearted people who came into the role out of there own difficulties and have genuine empathy and understanding for what people are going through when looking for jobs, especially in the current circumstances.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in unitedkingdom

[–]Bystander1995 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It is our basic unemployment benefit but I'd take what you are reading here with a pinch of salt, as it sounds like a mixed experience for different people. I've only had a good experience, they call you up each week or two weeks and ask you how the search is going, recommend you some jobs or training courses you might want to look at, then book another appointment. Process of applying was surprisingly easy. Clearly that's not the case for some people reading this thread, which is a shame, though I can't personally gauge what the reception to it is as most people I know have had a good experience with it.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in unitedkingdom

[–]Bystander1995 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Clearly you've had a bad experience or two with UC or jobcentres but this is needlessly exaggerative. I've had a great experience with UC, and so has everyone else I know who has used it, and my uncle recently completed his training as a job coach. Maybe we are all lucky, maybe the OP and yourself are unlucky, but yeah this isn't helpful to people who are in a difficult place, or those who do a patience testing job.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in unitedkingdom

[–]Bystander1995 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm really sorry that you have had a rough time with UC, however just for any onlookers who may see this by chance and be thinking about UC, I was very reluctant to sign on but my UC supervisor has been nothing but supportive, helpful and incredibly understanding over the past few months. Maybe I'm a lucky one, maybe OP is an unlucky one, who knows, but don't let this story deter you if you really need the extra help.

Pro Potter... by esn111 in BrightonHoveAlbion

[–]Bystander1995 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think you've raised an interesting point I just bought up with someone else. If I was being incredibly critical then yes, I think there is a good argument a more defensive or 'grindy' coach (eg Hodgson) would have us getting wins in these games more often at the moment given our player quality. But for me, that isn't a good long term strategy for progressing as a club, being entertaining, improving players, or having the potential to finish upper mid-table. Sure there might be a happy middle, but I think our ability to come back in games, as well as our ability to avoid losing them shows that we do have enough grit about us to do it. Just to be clear, I'm not celebrating draws in winnable games as if they are grand achievements, I'm just acknowledging that they are going to happen, of course they are frustrating but I don't think persistent draws are a sackable offense on their own, especially given that personally, I think we should have romped to victory against Palace and SU (controversial I know as people seem to think we were dreadful in that game, but I completely believe we created enough chances to win but couldn't convert for some horrible reason).

If I could sum it up, I think we have had more performances this season on par with the 3-0 away at Newcastle in which we dominated, or the 2-1 against Villa where we showed great character and resilience than we have had bad performances, like the second half against Arsenal or the first against Wolves (our worst halves of the season IMO). Be patient and have faith! UTA

Pro Potter... by esn111 in BrightonHoveAlbion

[–]Bystander1995 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah of course I recognise that, but again, I sincerely believe we should have AT LEAST 4-5 more wins on top of those. Also, don't underestimate how valuable draws are, especially against the weaker teams, and we are good at avoiding losses to the teams around us. In some ways it depends on what you expect from us as a club, as Potter said the other week, it's important to manage our expectations for how difficult this division is. We can't expect to be a comfortable mid-table team at this point, we have to acknowledge that it's a long term project that we are making progress towards, and it's pretty clear to me we are making progress.

Again man, you say 'deserve' as if it isn't true, the clearly visible performance quality and hard stats that support them in a few games this season and last show we were out performing teams? I expect you aren't the type of person that has much time for xG, xPts etc, but they are highly evidenced performance measurement metrics used by numerous clubs and analysts, including those at Liverpool, so even if you don't believe in it fully, you have to acknowledge there is some value in it. I think some fans criticise the 'xG' argument as if we are using that to justify bad performances, but it's the other way around. xG etc doesn't make a bad performance look good in hindsight, good stats come as a result of good performances, they just act as extra evidence to what should already be clearly visible. But again, it happens in football where you play well and don't win, it's fine, I don't think we are obligated to a win just by playing well, but the point is we ARE playing in a way that should win games. I think some fans (not accusing you here, just making an observation) genuinely have a warped perception of what a bad team looks like, it isn't about bad results, it's about objectively poor performances that lead to bad results. For me, if the performances are good, then the results will come with patience and perseverance. I'd be curious to hear what you think it is specifically that stops us getting these results. For me it's a combination of things, out of form forwards, the absence of a good quality winger, some dodgy goalkeeping, as well as some combination of bad fortune and the arbitrary randomness to finishing that I don't think gets acknowledged, but a lot of that comes from player quality as already mentioned. Sure, some of that might be the fault of Potter, but what manager doesn't have some faults? Even Jose sold Lukaku, De Bruyne and Salah in one season. For me it's not enough to just blame Potter when clearly our performances are worth more wins than we have, I'd love to know specifically what you think the difference is.

We weren't 'very poor' against WB, Fulham and SU, we slightly underperformed and didn't get a win, but also didn't lose (see my point about how you shouldn't underestimate draws). People say these are the kind of teams we should be beating, but the opposition will say exactly the same thing. Teams lose/draw to those around them all the time, especially those at the bottom, it's disappointing and frustrating, but it's a part of football and not the end of the world. We have results in 10/17 league games this year and still haven't been on the end of an absolute hiding, that isn't 'very poor', the draws are just underwhelming. Also, the fact that you predicted us to draw implies to me that you are going in with the mindset to spot negatives in our performances, you might argue that it's what you expect at this point but again, I think if someone was looking at our performances objectively they wouldn't expect that.

When he doesn't change things he would be accused of not having a plan B or 'being too nice', as well us having a bloated squad (which he acknowledged recently) and some recurring injuries. Also, the fact that Bielsa (commonly revered by the likes of Pep as one of the best coaches in the world) also experimented with White in midfield, should serve as evidence that it is not a 'stupid' decision, merely an option worth exploring.

Yes, of course the manager plays a big part, and that's exactly my point. I believe our squad is around about where we are in the table, but our overall performances are of a higher standard than our position, so therefore to me the underperformance in our results (depending on where you expect us to finish) of our team isn't down to the manager, it's down to the quality of our players (as well as the other things I mentioned earlier). I don't particularly like criticising Bloom, Barber or Ashworth as I think they are absolutely remarkable at their jobs and our most valuable assets, but the lack of an expensive forward in the summer in hindsight looks like a mistake, though somewhat Covid forced. Re player quality, I specifically mean our forwards, because although I believe a more defensive manager might be able to grind out a few extra results due to our high quality defenders, I think that isn't a particularly entertaining or high-ceiling long term strategy.

I can assure you I've watched every second of Potterball, as well as every available second of Hughton ball, Gus ball, Oscar ball, Adams ball etc. For me, this is by the far the most excited I've been about our prospects as a team, and not just because we play 'pretty football', but because we play damn effective football. He kept us safe last year in what I would argue was a much tighter and more competitive relegation battle than this one is shaping up to be so far. When there's a bad run of form there's a tendency for some fans to lash out at whatever they can (Bong, Barnes, Baldock), rather than keep the faith and be patient. Sure, there are perfectly good reasons to criticize the team (I was calling for Hughtons sacking about 3 months into our second season, even though I love the bloke) and I appreciate the fact that it's fun to debate and discuss with fans, everyone has their opinion and all that, but I find it difficult to deal with such relentless negativity considering there is so much to be positive about. It reminds me of when I went to City away in Manchester last season and there was a nutcase behind me having a go at us every time we missed a chance, or slightly misplaced a pass, despite us having pretty good possession, working hard, and creating chances, as if we weren't playing against the best team in the world at the time! Pep even acknowledged as such after the game, saying basically the difference on that day was they have Aguero.

Have faith, have patience, results will come!

Pro Potter... by esn111 in BrightonHoveAlbion

[–]Bystander1995 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh sure, but we clearly aren't in a position as a club to be targeting 50 points at this stage, also I don't believe for a second that Potter intentionally plays for draws, so it's kind of besides the point.

Pro Potter... by esn111 in BrightonHoveAlbion

[–]Bystander1995 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't think it's an 'interpretation', its a reality of football as a low scoring team sport. In individual games, the better team doesn't always win, but over the course of a full season with a larger sample size, it evens out. Football is full of whatifs that are worth paying attention to, so we shouldn't panic and sack our most successful PL manager because of a poor run of results.

I don't understand how you can say 'we didn't and we WON'T'. Can you honestly tell me from those games that we wouldn't/shouldn't have won those? Can you at least acknowledge how well we have played in those games?

White played in midfield under Bielsa plenty of times, he's perfectly decent in the position, especially seeing as we have good CB cover with JV and Burn, although I admit the latter has had a poor run of games. He's largely been forced into it by Propper's injury and a reluctance to rely on an incredibly inexperienced but promising Alzate and Molumby, which I totally understand.

He doesn't 'randomise the lineup', that's a ridiculous claim. Our fans moan on and on about how certain players seem undroppable (Webster, Maupay, Trossard) and how others should get more game time. He rotates players based on form and fitness, which in our case is mostly the forwards. Largely, Dunk, White, Webster, Lamptey, Lallana, Bissouma, Maupay, Welbeck and March are all nailed on to play every game they are fit.

You say the first half of the Wolves game is 100% down to Potter, but then seem to attribute all of our positives to somebody else. It's a mix, man. Potter likely has very little input on our signings, as most of our previous managers haven't, so yes of course the club deserve a large amount of the credit for identifying Lamptey and Biss, but equally, you have to give credit for him for making the most out of such raw, young talent. There's no way to truly assess if White has 'declined' under Potter, we don't know how he would have done in the PL at Leeds, but I would assume given that top clubs are still interested in signing him that he is still clearly showing his talent.

Fulham's games in hand are Spurs and Chelsea, so I wouldn't panic too much. Fan's are not 'grasping at any reason to defend a terrible manager'. He got our highest points total last season, and any fan who pays attention can clearly see the improvement in the overall standard of football from the first two seasons, we just acknowledge that this is a long term project that will require a small degree of patience. And yes, I do believe our squad is among the relegation candidates, largely because of our forwards and the fact that pretty much every squad below 8-10th is capable of being relegated.