Brighton vs WHUFC February 3rd, 2018

Well here we go (okay, in a few hours) with another game... the frustrating transfer window has slammed shut on us and we're all left wondering of the wisdom of...

selling two strikers... loaning out three younger players and buying... erm... well... let's just say... it's as baffling as hiring Moyes as our manager...

so with all that to contend with... let's take a look at the hypotheticals (till 5pm saturday anyway) in how the rest of the games could affect us...

Burnley vs Man City
somehow in the weird old world we live in... Burnley are actually above us. They're actually 8 points above us so even a WHUFC win can't get us anywhere... so this game really means nothing to us unless they lose a bunch of games and we win a bunch...either is as likely or unlikely as the other...

Bournemouth vs Stoke
erm... Bournemouth are actually above us as well... life is weird these days... only by 1 point... so they should lose, we should win and we'll leapfrog them with a nice 2 point cushion... But then for them to lose, Stoke has to win.. which would put Stoke level with us on our current points level... so if Stoke win and we lose... it'll all be down to goal difference.

Brighton vs West Ham
well this is the game we care about... Brighton are three points below us... so a loss to them is kinda unthinkable as it would level us up - although our slightly better goal difference might keep us ahead of them.

Leicester vs Swansea
Swansea were the dead cert for relegation most of the winter... but if they do the unthinkable and win again - as they have due against some decent opposition recently... they'll only be a point below where we currently are. so we need Swansea to lose.. which would put Leicester at least 7 points ahead of us and meaning we're unlikely to finish as high as 8th unless a lot of things change substantially.

Man Utd vs Huddersfield
Huddersfield are the current team in free fall... which makes it all the weirder that they are only 3 points below us. Gotta get the right results tomoz... i.e. Huddersfield losing and us winning.

West Brom vs Southampton
finally, two teams that actually can't go ahead of us even if they win and we lose... that scenario would put Soton only a point behind us and mean we'd only be 4 points off the bottom of the table if the Brummies managed what they rarely do.

Arsenal vs Everton
this is a tough game to call... could go either way with the way Arsenal are playing... but we do kinda need a victory for the Gunners because Everton are realistically the lowest team we're likely to catch by the end of the season... yes, I'm calling it now... 9th is likely to be the highest we can expect to get this time out...

Anyway... them is my thoughts...

gotta start thinking about hitting the hay... up at 6:45am on a saturday... COYI

apparently we're the 10,000th Premier league game cos we kicked off before any of the others... seems like a lot of games...

Antonio, Reid and Hugill are on the bench... Chicharito is up front, we'll see how isolated.



the game starts with a lengthy delay as Byram clatters a Brighton player

and we're a goal down after 7 minutes...

sliced apart by some good passing... our backline kinda stands still as they expect a Cresswell foul to stop play... but the Ref plays advantage and the ball is played through all four defenders to the player running on who goes one on one with Adrian and slots it past him into the net

we're kinda under the cosh... by BRIGHTON!

Collina went down and limped away from a challenge... but he's still playing... hopefully okay.

there's no real excuse for this... people will point to injuries, etc... but this is Brighton... and we're not even at the races...

ooh... was reading all the swears on Facebook and missed Byram having a free header 6 yards out from a Cresswell cross... but he jumps and heads it straight into the ground and Brighton easily clear....

another quick Brghton attack... appeals for a penalty - but they don't get it.


6 months ago, everyone was slating Vilic for performances like this...

Today all anyone does is cut & paster 'sack the board'

what is it that everyone sees in Moyes that makes then think his shit don't stink?

well fupp me... Chicharito slams the ball into the top corner...

it was all his own work... ran the ball out of defense (out of the Brighton defenses) played it to a team mate (I know... weird) ran back int and received a through ball into the box, picked his moment and unleashed into the top corner.

Like to comms just said "totally undeserved"

but what can you do... funny old game this football thing.

oh good grief... almost went behind again... noble cockcs up in defense then conspires with Ogbonna to fail to clear... fortunately the Brighton player can't get the free ball from under his feet and he shoots wide...

good free kick from us at the end of the first half... drops nicely at the far post

the resulting corner is pants...

then Byrm gives it away and Brighton break

fortunately Collins, although slipping, gets a toes on it to put it out of play...


the comma are all "would be totally unfair' if West Ham get a second goal', etc...

3 mins of injury time...

first half ends 1-1

we've been totally shit apart form maybe three moments... one of which was Chicharito's goal.

and all the other results are not going our way...

2nd half - no changes...

Jesus... it's like the entire defense just stands around watching in the hope that someone else is going to step up and save them...

We have Psycho as one of our coaches... we had Dicksy as a specific defensive coach but yet we can be so defensively naive it's embarrassing at times...

Jonathan Pearce
BBC Match of the Day commentator at AMEX Stadium
He's been outstanding has Glenn Murray. No way should a 34-year-old be getting the better of three central defenders regularly.




about sums it up...

oh jesus...

been sitting here thinking to myself... it just gets boring... we're so poor, under the hammer... there used to be a time when it was actually fun to watch West Ham... to watch us play together, string passes... do something other than just defend poorly...

and as I'm debating whether to type it out...

Brighton score an absolute peach of a goal...

ooh... antonio is coming on to replace Declan Rice

we should have used the January window to buy some better excuses... I can already hear the same tired bollox being trotted out...

we were unlucky
the players tried hard
the spirit is good
decisions went against us
etc
etc
etc

okay... so as it all stands... we're still 12th

but we're one of 4 teams on 27 points and that puts us only three points out of the relegation zone - in fact 3 places from 19th

and there you go... three goals...

almost a fourth



hugely is coming on now... which will achieve...

we're more points away from Bournemouth in 9th than we are from Huddersfield in 19th

jesus... how did Brighton miss that?

we're lucky this isn't double figures....

jesus, that was piss poor...

anyway...

onwards and upwards..

good chat!

There not much to say really.
If your players are poorer then the other team then you lose.
Still onward and downwards.