Humbling defeat

Nano

Well-known member
Brighton really showed the huge gulf in quality between the PL and the championship. That was our strongest team today and even though I thought we played quite well in the 1st half they just blew us away in the 2nd. They were just faster and more incisive than us in every area of the pitch. Hopefully the team can put it behind them quickly and don't let it dent their confidence too much.

That other thread earlier asking how we would do if we got promoted has been well and truly answered. It would require a lot of improvements to be able to compete in the PL.
 
Embarrasing more like,
no fight to match their skill, no effort to match their pace .
Showing the side to us which has seen us yo yo up and down the league under 4 different managers
 
Brighton really showed the huge gulf in quality between the PL and the championship. That was our strongest team today and even though I thought we played quite well in the 1st half they just blew us away in the 2nd. They were just faster and more incisive than us in every area of the pitch. Hopefully the team can put it behind them quickly and don't let it dent their confidence too much.

That other thread earlier asking how we would do if we got promoted has been well and truly answered. It would require a lot of improvements to be able to compete in the PL.
They did , but we got the pressing and team selection entirely wrong today, you can't stand off possesion based teams

Fair play to Brighton, they are similiar to how Bournemouth played under howe

Just shows what a small club can do with the right infrastructure and managment, and luck in having a number of good players in a particular cycle

But thats football, its cycles, wouldn't suprise me if they are relegated in 2 years and were up
 
after 2 mins I predicted 3-0 ... the gulf was huge... pace and fitness and obvious passing skills. Good to watch (not from a Boro point) How we can leave a world cup winner free in the box twice is poor
 
When you play a better team .. you can't try and play them at their own game. They're better than you at it. They play teams week in week out that are better than us in playing the way we tried to play against them. You have to do something different. Something they aren't used to. Knock them off their game. To harken back to the good old days - you have to get in their faces, kick them, rough them up, compete against them. Standing off them and trying to play little passy-passy triangles around them is pointless. They're better than you at that and they can defend better against it. It's fine against Hull .. Blackpool .. and most of the Champo - it's not going to work against a team that does it much better than you.
 
When you play a better team .. you can't try and play them at their own game. They're better than you at it. They play teams week in week out that are better than us in playing the way we tried to play against them. You have to do something different. Something they aren't used to. Knock them off their game. To harken back to the good old days - you have to get in their faces, kick them, rough them up, compete against them. Standing off them and trying to play little passy-passy triangles around them is pointless. They're better than you at that and they can defend better against it. It's fine against Hull .. Blackpool .. and most of the Champo - it's not going to work against a team that does it much better than you.

But you also have to have the players to do that, players that can get nasty and in your face.

We don't and doing so wouldn't of made today end differently, perhaps with a few suspensions.
 
They did , but we got the pressing and team selection entirely wrong today, you can't stand off possesion based teams

Fair play to Brighton, they are similiar to how Bournemouth played under howe

Just shows what a small club can do with the right infrastructure and managment, and luck in having a number of good players in a particular cycle

But thats football, its cycles, wouldn't suprise me if they are relegated in 2 years and were up
I’m interested to know what team he should have picked and how that would have made a difference?
 
When you play a better team .. you can't try and play them at their own game. They're better than you at it. They play teams week in week out that are better than us in playing the way we tried to play against them. You have to do something different. Something they aren't used to. Knock them off their game. To harken back to the good old days - you have to get in their faces, kick them, rough them up, compete against them. Standing off them and trying to play little passy-passy triangles around them is pointless. They're better than you at that and they can defend better against it. It's fine against Hull .. Blackpool .. and most of the Champo - it's not going to work against a team that does it much better than you.
Agree we have knocked out top premier teams or at least given them a tough time with championship Boro teams. You don't play out from the back against such a superior team you have to be pragmatic and play longer and scrap for everything. I thought they looked average at the back but we couldn't lay a glove on them.
 
But you also have to have the players to do that, players that can get nasty and in your face.

We don't and doing so wouldn't of made today end differently, perhaps with a few suspensions.
How do you know it wouldnt have ended differently. In cup competitions lesser skilled teams outfight their more skillfull oponents. Its happened to us numerous times as well .
 
But you also have to have the players to do that, players that can get nasty and in your face.

We don't and doing so wouldn't of made today end differently, perhaps with a few suspensions.
I'm not saying go all Crazy Gang Wimbledon on them .. I'm talking about the way you approach the game .. Get the ball forward quickly, get the ball in the box, don't let them settle on the ball .. we just sat back and said "go on then" .. and then they did .. and then when we got the ball we tried to do what they were doing to us .. and we could barely get out our own half in the second 45 ..
 
A timely reminder to our players of what is required at the top table. Hopefully will inspire them to do better. Might just be good timing as we move through the second half of the season.
 
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