Will the Potter-effect keep Brighton up?
Brighton fans everywhere are still riding the wave of that 3-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur, but those three points were much-needed after two draws and two losses in the Premier League.
Just nine points from the first eight games is enough to see the Albion sitting in 14th position, but the points gap is tight in the bottom half of the league. Will Graham Potter be able to keep us in the Premier League?
Despite that emphatic win over Spurs, William Hill still have the Seagulls as sixth favourites (see the odds here: http://sports.williamhill.com/bet/en-ca/betting) to go down. If pure survival is the aim then these odds won’t worry many Albion fans, but after such a display against Spurs it looks like the Albion might just be turning good performances into results.
The season started on the right foot with a 3-0 victory over Watford, but things have been patchy results wise since then. Many would argue, however, that we’ve been the victim of some misfortune.
If you were looking to pick it apart, there have been instances of ‘what if’ – Burnley equalised in the 91st minute of that fixture with a Jeff Hendrick strike which was their only shot of the game and then when you consider the VAR incident against West Ham United, that alone is four points missed.
It’s clear Potter is a great manager and has all the tools to take Brighton forward. But in this era of managers being given very little time to implement their ways of working, lack of results is a concern. That’s why a three-goal win over a team such as Spurs is so important.
Recently, young Manchester United winger Daniel James told Sky Sports that Potter saved his career at Swansea, when he said:
“I wanted to go back on loan but the gaffer who was there at the time – he’s at Brighton now – said to me ‘I feel like you’ve got a big chance to play here’. Coming out of that meeting, obviously I was delighted but was he just saying that to be nice? He really put the confidence back into me to play.”
Potter’s man-management skills helped James flourish at Swansea and James has drawn a lot of positive attention since his switch to the Manchester United ranks. It’s these skills that will get the best out of the talent on the books at Brighton.
Off the back of a confidence-boosting win, Albion’s upcoming fixtures will feel like a bank of very winnable games. Despite the 3-1 Carabao Cup loss to Aston Villa back in September, Villa are a place below in the table with one point less.
If we’re looking to advance up the Premier League, this game and the following two against Everton and Norwich City are key matches to target.
We all saw the Canaries beat Man City then not pick up a point since. While we’re coming off the back of a high, the Potter-effect needs to roll forward into this vital period of fixtures.
