Poyet: Stifling tactics show respect (From The Argus)

Perhaps this reality check was needed, if for no other reason than to bring the foam handers back down to earth. After just a few games some supporters on here were suggesting we are the best team in the championship with the best players. How can anyone know this and even if it turns out to be true (hopefully), know one can possibly know it at this stage.Some were even suggesting that a target man type player is not really needed and that the team can cope adequately without CMS. Wheres the evidence? Please show me.Now it's easy to have doubts once the team starts losing and to say ' I told you so', but in truth some of last seasons weaknesses remain, understandably, as Brighton very much remain an improving work in progress.For me, last night and Saturday were very poor performances and I thought in both cases we hardly deserved anything, against teams who had us sussed out early on, but isn't that what coaches get paid to do? Gus, who I admire greatly, says " teams are coming here with a plan that is clear, lets nick a goal somehow and then defend for whatever time is left". Sorry Gus I havn't actually seen that, and anyway, is that not called tactics. What exactly does one expect the opposition to do, especially when they will be very aware of Albion's exciting style of play. Do our players not realize this, have they not been coached to deal with it? I hope that's not the case and I'm sure it's not, but it is time to get real on occasion. I'm confident and happy that come next April, the Albion will be in the mix and at this stage in our evolution I for one will be very pleased if thats the case, whatever the final outcome. UTA

Our early season stats with chances created,shots on goal,defensive strength is going to make visiting clubs play conservatively. We need to have other options up front now, even with CMS back, we need some power with him. Orlandi was excellent last night, with Crofts back and hopefully Vicente returning our midfield options are strong and creative. Don't think we are that short of being a very good side.

Perhaps this reality check was needed, if for no other reason than to bring the foam handers back down to earth. After just a few games some supporters on here were suggesting we are the best team in the championship with the best players. How can anyone know this and even if it turns out to be true (hopefully), know one can possibly know it at this stage.Some were even suggesting that a target man type player is not really needed and that the team can cope adequately without CMS. Wheres the evidence? Please show me.Now it's easy to have doubts once the team starts losing and to say ' I told you so', but in truth some of last seasons weaknesses remain, understandably, as Brighton very much remain an improving work in progress.For me, last night and Saturday were very poor performances and I thought in both cases we hardly deserved anything, against teams who had us sussed out early on, but isn't that what coaches get paid to do? Gus, who I admire greatly, says " teams are coming here with a plan that is clear, lets nick a goal somehow and then defend for whatever time is left". Sorry Gus I havn't actually seen that, and anyway, is that not called tactics. What exactly does one expect the opposition to do, especially when they will be very aware of Albion's exciting style of play. Do our players not realize this, have they not been coached to deal with it? I hope that's not the case and I'm sure it's not, but it is time to get real on occasion. I'm confident and happy that come next April, the Albion will be in the mix and at this stage in our evolution I for one will be very pleased if thats the case, whatever the final outcome. UTA

Sorry, hadn't realized I'd pushed the button. It's an age thing.

Just don't go on any game shows Dave ;o)

Issue last night was BHA attacking threat was non existant from our strikers. Some fantastic individual performances (Orlandi, Bridge,Buckley) were not enough as no one to get on the end of chances (except for Buckley goal). Lua Lua was awful and kept getting in way of Bridge. His final ball shocking for a championship player. Hammond had a poor game. Dobbie may prove to be an excellent linking mid field player in time but is not the striker we need. Barnes is a joke as our main threat - weak on ball, temperament suspect and loses ball too often. Calderon more likely to score than him. Team is better than last year with great defense and midfield but woeful without CMS and even he needs a decent strike partner. Teams know if we go behind at home its almost certain we are stuffed. By the way Ipswich for there lowly position in league seemed to have plenty of threat up front - the question is why Gus finds getting and keeping strikers so hard.

Bish May Turn wrote:
Our early season stats with chances created,shots on goal,defensive strength is going to make visiting clubs play conservatively. We need to have other options up front now, even with CMS back, we need some power with him. Orlandi was excellent last night, with Crofts back and hopefully Vicente returning our midfield options are strong and creative. Don't think we are that short of being a very good side.

Agree totally. We are in fact, just a big tarket striker off a very good side. I have no idea why we cannot get someone who can give us that differant option up front. Other teams have signed that sort of player yet it seems we cannot. A strong centre forward, will help break up the defensive policy that Gus claims teams are adopting. The service will be there in much greater quality than many teams have and a decent striker will feed off the right delivery. Even with CMS back, it is folly to think he is enough to deal with what the Championship can and will throw at us.

It's a good job CMS stayed with us and did not go to Nowich.or we would not be third now.We need to change our home game and stop this messing around at the back far to much dithering on the ball and we are being caught out.Last night Greer and AI-Abd where slow and they need to quicken up.Bridcutt was only 80% of his normal game also Hammond.There is no doute we need a nother stricker and he needs to be big.Our home form 1 win 2 draws 1 loss 7 points dropped not top spot stuff.We can only hope Guss changes the way we play at home or we will not see many wins.

Oh dear. Not a good night. Burnt my mouth on a chicken pie too. I feel the need to vent. Sorry. I do however believe that we will deliver...

Two banks of four with two players on our wide men at all times. That is what both Brum and the farm hands employed reasonably successfully against us. Our 4-3-3/4-5-1 approach, however more flexible this season, did not work with the personnel available. So we either need to employ a different system, which won't happen (because we are Brighton and we play one way), or improve the personnel and tactics to counter the opposition.
Regarding the system. PLEASE!!! We are not going to play two strikers in the traditional sense all the while Gus is manager, so give it up.. Unless of course you want Gus out, then just say it and be done with it. When everyone is fit and on song, our movement is superb and we can overcome the negative tactics. Once we score (as the Sheff W game), it all opens up and we can do our thang. But there will be more teams who have got us 'sussed' and when we are not on song we need to address this, especially if the other team scores first...
So the personnel. Dobbie is a fine player who is not a centre forward. Barnes was the 'hold up player' last night, with Dobbie and Lua Lua/Orlandi playing off them. Dobbie had some nice touches but got frustrated and looked tired after the hour mark and started giving the ball away.
There were people around me who were surprised at Orlandi being given MOM. Why? He had a good game (comparatively) and his dead ball delivery was excellent. The Ipswich defenders were just stronger and quicker to the ball, which in most case was there to be attacked. The other MOM candidate, Bridge, did nothing wrong and looks passionate about his game, this endears the fans but he did not create much last night as he was quickly closed down. Bridcutt was once again assured and saved the day on several occasions. Lua Lua is, as we suspected, an impact player for the last 20 minutes. To be fair, he was ganged up on but only dropped deeper and did not have the nouse to react or go long for balls over the top. In short his positioning was awful. Buckley was obviously better suited when he came on. Barnes looked out of his depth and was largely ineffective. Hammond was not at the races for the second game running. This does not make him a bad player but does offer Crofts an immediate opportunity, when fit.
The defence looks unbalanced without Bruno. Greer looked shaky (for once) with some very dodgy misplaced passes and Calderon is not Bruno or anywhere near him. I feel sorry for him but he should just stick to what he is good at and not try too hard. TK 'saved' the day and Adam had an ok game and 'took one for the team'.
As to the tactics and also linked to personnel, we need another forward. I really don't think CMS would have had too much joy last night either but may have at least provided some movement in what was a static front three. There was too often no one on for the short pass or any movement to create space. So if you can't go though it, go over it and go long. It was like watching a re run of some of the less inspiring games from last season (or indeed a carbon copy of Saturday). We have no one who can play the centre forward role effectively against the sort of tactics employed in the last two games. We need one. And Barker and Toby are not those type of players either, for the 'give them a chance' brigade. Yes football is about scoring goals but it is also about creating the chances in order to do so. We need a centre forward who can hold play up and mix it up a bit, either through movement or physical presence (pref both). This was the case last season and still is. Hopefully, unlike last season, we can find someone who is of the required quality.
We have better options and quality this season. And judgements passed on players such as Dobbie at this stage are at best misguided and a little unfair. But we must be able to break down the teams that don't attack us and come to frustrate us. And frustrate me. A lot.

We were very lucky to walk away with wins against Watford and Millwall and the relatively poor form and/or lack of tactical nouse continued in to the last 2 games. Strategically we have short comings and the opposition is quickly catching on. As I said in last night's thread our defence is rock solid and there are 2 stalwarts in midfield in the shape of Bridcutt and Crofts. Putting the 2 strikers from the DS is not going to lose games but may provide the firepower necessary for 2 others - maybe Buckers and Dobbie or Barnes in the absence of Hoskins - to win games. Given the current situation it has to be worth a try.

Last night, by our high standards, we played poorly. But lets put this into some context. We did not loose the game. We had Bruno Saltor, Andrew Crofts, Vicente, Will Hoskins, Craig Makail Smith all unavailable and Will Buckley, playing hurt. Had all these players been fit, in my opinion we would have had a better chance of winning the game. Now some people will point out that if you have a strong squad you should be able to manage. To an extent I would agree, but look at the players we were missing, four of them (Not including Buckley) are probably nailed on starters, if you took four or five first team starters out of any team in the country, it would have a significant impact. When these guys are back, fit, match sharp, from what I have seen of the Championship there is not a team in this division we need to fear. We are strong right across the squad, but what continues to be evident and what I am sure GP and Chairman Bloom are still looking to address is that big strong Centre forward, who can also play. While our brand of football is fantastic to watch, we have a tendency to try and pass the ball into the net; which is absolutely the right way to play, however when teams play with 11 men behind the ball and Buckley, Orlandi, Vicente are putting beautiful balls into the box we must have someone in the squad who is able to put those away. Sometimes you need a plan A, B and C. Surly the best news of the year is however, confirmation that we have received planning permission for our world class £30m first team training ground and youth academy. The futures bright the future is Brighton and Hove Albion.

Bexhill Dave,You could not have said it better.Last 2 matches,both teams had very tight marking on us,it was man on marking to the extreme,they were faster to the ball,some of our passes were terrible,passing to players under too much pressure,some in midfield had brain freezes or rain in the brain,frustration seemed to set in.Hopefully the team will not take too long to learn how to play against teams such as Birmingham and Ipswich with positive results.Crying because certain players are injured being the reason for the lack of form in the team is off.We have a good squad.Heads up bums down,show us all at Derby what you can do to keep us supporters happy

We need that big target man in our weaponry so we can adjust to a defensive setup, so teams won’t be able to rely on setting up to play us this way.

We need to have some big guy up front who can get on the end of crosses and then teams will have to think harder about and adjust their tactics.

Wow! Some long posts on here. Mine is short - we need Vicente!

He's the player who has the ability to unlock the teams such as Ipswich and Birmingham who sit deep and look to soak up pressure. I didn't agree when one or two posters suggested we perform better as a team without him and the last two games convinced me that we need him available asap.

Lots of sensible posts coming in today. Another poor performance highlighting our lack of strength in depth and our lack of a dominant centre forward. Lots of possession and effort but no punch and guile. In truth Ipswich could have scored 3 and Daryl Murphy was a constant threat. Lua Lua was dreadful and Barnes was let down again by his first touch. But my main gripe is why we have the like of Painter, Dunk and Harley on the bench for these "must win" home matches. Surely with our current lack of punch up front, we could have included Barker or Agdestein as a more positive option. I'm not pinning our hopes on DS players, but I seem to remember a certain Jake Caskey-Forster getting a run to good effect last season and the same just might be true if these lads are giving a go. Cant see them being any less effective that Barnes and Dobbie at the moment. The facts are, last Saturday Birmingham came here having shipped 5 goals at home to Barnsley and last night Ipswich came with the worst GD record in the division, -10. We struggled to create chances against both these teams and were lucky to scrape 1 point from the 6, which does not suggest a rosy future.

Now I'm not someone who spends time slating individual Brighton players, can't see the point in being so negative about our own. That said, over the last season and a bit I've spent some time moaning about Ashley, albeit under my breath, only for him, on occasion, to step up and score a stunning goal. However, watching the game Saturday and last night, I'm beginning to think it would be no bad thing for him to get that fifth booking and force the selection hand, but there again, without CMS, who is there to fill in. I don't think I've seen young Barker play and the few times Toby has been on the pitch, he's been pushed wide and doesn't seem to have much physical presence, although I may be wrong about that. It's been mentioned before, but the rest of October should be very interesting, not only because of the supposedly stronger opposition, but because after a dozen games or so, a much clearer picture appears about strengths and weaknesses in the league.

fairweathersupporter wrote:
Oh dear. Not a good night. Burnt my mouth on a chicken pie too. I feel the need to vent. Sorry. I do however believe that we will deliver... Two banks of four with two players on our wide men at all times. That is what both Brum and the farm hands employed reasonably successfully against us. Our 4-3-3/4-5-1 approach, however more flexible this season, did not work with the personnel available. So we either need to employ a different system, which won't happen (because we are Brighton and we play one way), or improve the personnel and tactics to counter the opposition. Regarding the system. PLEASE!!! We are not going to play two strikers in the traditional sense all the while Gus is manager, so give it up.. Unless of course you want Gus out, then just say it and be done with it. When everyone is fit and on song, our movement is superb and we can overcome the negative tactics. Once we score (as the Sheff W game), it all opens up and we can do our thang. But there will be more teams who have got us 'sussed' and when we are not on song we need to address this, especially if the other team scores first... So the personnel. Dobbie is a fine player who is not a centre forward. Barnes was the 'hold up player' last night, with Dobbie and Lua Lua/Orlandi playing off them. Dobbie had some nice touches but got frustrated and looked tired after the hour mark and started giving the ball away. There were people around me who were surprised at Orlandi being given MOM. Why? He had a good game (comparatively) and his dead ball delivery was excellent. The Ipswich defenders were just stronger and quicker to the ball, which in most case was there to be attacked. The other MOM candidate, Bridge, did nothing wrong and looks passionate about his game, this endears the fans but he did not create much last night as he was quickly closed down. Bridcutt was once again assured and saved the day on several occasions. Lua Lua is, as we suspected, an impact player for the last 20 minutes. To be fair, he was ganged up on but only dropped deeper and did not have the nouse to react or go long for balls over the top. In short his positioning was awful. Buckley was obviously better suited when he came on. Barnes looked out of his depth and was largely ineffective. Hammond was not at the races for the second game running. This does not make him a bad player but does offer Crofts an immediate opportunity, when fit. The defence looks unbalanced without Bruno. Greer looked shaky (for once) with some very dodgy misplaced passes and Calderon is not Bruno or anywhere near him. I feel sorry for him but he should just stick to what he is good at and not try too hard. TK 'saved' the day and Adam had an ok game and 'took one for the team'. As to the tactics and also linked to personnel, we need another forward. I really don't think CMS would have had too much joy last night either but may have at least provided some movement in what was a static front three. There was too often no one on for the short pass or any movement to create space. So if you can't go though it, go over it and go long. It was like watching a re run of some of the less inspiring games from last season (or indeed a carbon copy of Saturday). We have no one who can play the centre forward role effectively against the sort of tactics employed in the last two games. We need one. And Barker and Toby are not those type of players either, for the 'give them a chance' brigade. Yes football is about scoring goals but it is also about creating the chances in order to do so. We need a centre forward who can hold play up and mix it up a bit, either through movement or physical presence (pref both). This was the case last season and still is. Hopefully, unlike last season, we can find someone who is of the required quality. We have better options and quality this season. And judgements passed on players such as Dobbie at this stage are at best misguided and a little unfair. But we must be able to break down the teams that don't attack us and come to frustrate us. And frustrate me. A lot.

What an excellent post. A perfect summary of last night and very well written. I left last night feeling thoroughly fed up – 5 wins on the spin had me caught up in the belief that we really might be too good for the Championship this year and enjoy a season of steamrollering all-comers. Cue reality check. The last two games have shown we don’t have the strength in depth I thought we did when the transfer window closed in that exciting last half hour. Our best 11 is undoubtedly very good but we need more than 11 and without CMS, Bruno and Crofts we have come up short. So, rather than continue to be fed up I have decided to look at my glass half full. We are playing good football in magnificent surroundings and can hold our own with outfits that in the past few years have been in the premiership. I don’t see any way we will have to worry about relegation so I for one intend to stop obsessing about promotion and just turn up every fortnight, have a good sing and enjoy the game in front of me. In order to keep the glass looking half full it’s also probably worth mentioning a conversation we were having last night that promotion would potentially see season ticket prices rise by up to £200.00. Maybe an extended run in the Championship winning more than we lose at home wouldn’t be a bad thing at all.

It's not all doom and gloom, playing poorly happens, I do feel however we still play plan A and have no ability to change, teams can sit deep on the 18 yard line knowing we won't win the ball if it's hit long and high, so flick ons are not going to affect them.. We need a player who can flick it, or hold it up. Who is also a team playing goal scorer! So Gus has work to find one.
Overall a good start to season, just questions over quality and depth in one or two areas .

We are not even 10 games in yet, we are third in the Championship, 2 points behind the leaders. We have just dropped 5 points at home in 2 games but we are still only 2 points behind the leaders. We have players out at the moment who will soon be ready to return. We have over 20,000 people coming to watch us at home on a regular basis. Teams are coming to the Amex like they would go to the Nou Camp, defend, defend, steal, defend.
We have been outsanding in games and average in others. Our players are only human and play in the Championship not the Champions League. I have been an Albion supporter for 36 years and I am absolutely delighted with the way things are going at the moment.
There are some of us who were standing at the Goldstone in the freezing cold and pouring rain when the announcer would tell us the gate was 4000 and we would cheer as we watched the Albion fight to keep their league status.
We are Brighton, super Brighton, from the south!

Im sorry to say this yet again and i know that the vast majority on here agree but our season of success really is going to be determined by if we are able to get the big target man / link up player that we want. Some think that we need the big guy for winning balls in the air and generally bullying defenders, thruth is though that although that will be part of the job he will be asked to do what is equally as important if not more so is the ability to link up play, hold the ball up and bring others around him in to the game. Its no surprise to me that since a certain Mr GM has returned from injury for Palace, they have had a terrific run against some of the fancied teams in the division. Uta

We need Greer to pass to Calderon occasionally. Two passes in total over the course of these two games, both in the Birmingham game.

Never passing to Calderon allowed Birmingham and Ipswich to not stretch out as much because the ball was never going to go that far to the right when we were in our own half, making us easier to defend against because they can pack the other areas of the pitch.

Orlandi speaking on the BBC website is quite a fair assesment of where we are.

http://www.bbc.co.uk
/sport/0/football/19
813959

And as I was sort of thinking, our home games may be the hardest.

Out of the next 4 games, 3 of them will be away so this will be interesting because teams cannot just sit back at home.

Good post Mr Punch. Couldn't agree more Seagulls fly but they have to rest sometimes then fly again Seagulls Seagulls

Vicente? Very good player when he is fit and motivated. Unfortunately he is neither. Looks like a bad decision to enforce the extra year in his contract. An unhappy employee is rarely a very productive one.

Anyone think we need a big 'Target Man'? Bit surprised nobody has mentioned it. ;-)

Someone needs to explain to me why Barnes is still in the team?? Yes.. he does pop up with the odd goal now and then (but not enough) but he simply does not contribute enough in a game. He seems to want to 'fall over' for a foul everytime a defender comes near him. He has no ability to beat a player at all... he frustrates me so much and I believe that Barnes is one of Gus's weakness. He seems to love him.. and i can't see why. I know i'm going to get the usual responses of 'he does so much off the ball' ..but does he really???? I watched him closely last night and he was utter S**T with or without the ball. He just seems to be a 'yes boss' type of player and i think this is why he always manages to get out the team. Can we get him out please????

Someone needs to explain to me why Barnes is still in the team?? Yes.. he does pop up with the odd goal now and then (but not enough) but he simply does not contribute enough in a game. He seems to want to 'fall over' for a foul everytime a defender comes near him. He has no ability to beat a player at all... he frustrates me so much and I believe that Barnes is one of Gus's weakness. He seems to love him.. and i can't see why. I know i'm going to get the usual responses of 'he does so much off the ball' ..but does he really???? I watched him closely last night and he was utter S**T with or without the ball. He just seems to be a 'yes boss' type of player and i think this is why he always manages to get in the team. Can we get him out please????

dave from bexill wrote:
Perhaps this reality check was needed, if for no other reason than to bring the foam handers back down to earth. After just a few games some supporters on here were suggesting we are the best team in the championship with the best players. How can anyone know this and even if it turns out to be true (hopefully), know one can possibly know it at this stage.Some were even suggesting that a target man type player is not really needed and that the team can cope adequately without CMS. Wheres the evidence? Please show me.Now it's easy to have doubts once the team starts losing and to say ' I told you so', but in truth some of last seasons weaknesses remain, understandably, as Brighton very much remain an improving work in progress.For me, last night and Saturday were very poor performances and I thought in both cases we hardly deserved anything, against teams who had us sussed out early on, but isn't that what coaches get paid to do? Gus, who I admire greatly, says " teams are coming here with a plan that is clear, lets nick a goal somehow and then defend for whatever time is left". Sorry Gus I havn't actually seen that, and anyway, is that not called tactics. What exactly does one expect the opposition to do, especially when they will be very aware of Albion's exciting style of play. Do our players not realize this, have they not been coached to deal with it? I hope that's not the case and I'm sure it's not, but it is time to get real on occasion. I'm confident and happy that come next April, the Albion will be in the mix and at this stage in our evolution I for one will be very pleased if thats the case, whatever the final outcome. UTA

So very well said and where as i am a Gus fan feel that at times he makes changes to late ,ie buckley & dicker last evening and then to move buckley on the left to clutter up what could have been match winning runs by bridge i find OFF.
I do hope that come april next we are in the mix as you say but not UP as dont want to see a side getting battered buy the BIG Money clubs

Vegas, are you still lost in the Nevada desert or worse, you've taken your ball home.Hope you're well.(awaits brickbat from fellow posters)

Teams have learned that we are good and are playing a game that is designed to stifle us, Ok Gus I can accept that so what are we going to do about it.
The call for a target man is loud so are we going to get one? The call came from Gus a long time ago so why haven't we acted?
Last night we had enough shots to win the game, and we had a lot of corners, the target man can help convert corners but he has nothing much to do with wayward shots or shots that a keeper can deal with, is CMS the only one who can shoot straight.
I am of the opinion that we do have a squad capable of taking us all the way but my squad is not 25 players, it's 22. It seems to me that we have a vacancy for a target man and a back up to the target man and we also need another CMS type of player.
This year, just as last year we seem to have an abundance of midfield players and a shortage of out and out strikers. CMS goes down and nodody is there to replace him. Neither Barnes or Dobbie can fill that spot. Perhaps we have to lose Barnes in order to bring in another CMS. Dobbie's game is not about being on the front, we all know he is better just behind as his playing history tells us so but I am certain he is going to be good for us.
Lopez is still an unknown quantity, Vicente is still not available and Dobbie has not had a chance to work with CMS. Today I want to see Vicente play but maybe he is another who has to go to make room for someone else to come in. I only say this because like Lua Lua it looks he is going to become an impact sub. If not Vicente to go then Lua Lua should and maybe the latter should be the one. So Barnes and Lua Lua leave that means one more to go. For me I would think about letting Dicker go, I like him but as I said earlier we have plenty of midfield players. That's three players out making room for three new to arrive, two target men and one all out striker.
. . .

Will he still be on the "hate list" if he scores a hat trick on Saturday?

Will he still be on the "hate list" if he scores a hat trick on Saturday?

Think you are probably right MacGull. We seem to have quite a few similar players. I'd rather have a smaller squad of better players and take a chance on some injuries. Ideally have two top players for each position? But choose who they are and give them a fair run out. No point having Lopez if he doesn't play. If he does and doesn't cut it (after how long?, half a season? move him on). Croft or Hammond, Buckley or Lua Lua, Vicente or Orlandi?

mark5 wrote:

Bish May Turn wrote:
Our early season stats with chances created,shots on goal,defensive strength is going to make visiting clubs play conservatively. We need to have other options up front now, even with CMS back, we need some power with him. Orlandi was excellent last night, with Crofts back and hopefully Vicente returning our midfield options are strong and creative. Don't think we are that short of being a very good side.

Agree totally. We are in fact, just a big tarket striker off a very good side. I have no idea why we cannot get someone who can give us that differant option up front. Other teams have signed that sort of player yet it seems we cannot. A strong centre forward, will help break up the defensive policy that Gus claims teams are adopting. The service will be there in much greater quality than many teams have and a decent striker will feed off the right delivery. Even with CMS back, it is folly to think he is enough to deal with what the Championship can and will throw at us.

I agree with both these posts and with Fairweathersupporter
's.
About a week ago one of the regular posters on here predicted that Birmingham and Ipswich would come and pack their defences. He was proved absolutely right.
As Mark 5, Bish May Turn and Fairweathersupporter all point out Poyet really must sign a target man who has physical presence.
The saga of not finding a suitable forward to fulfill this need has been dragging on and on now for about 14 months.
With the International break coming up Poyet, Burke and Co have the opportunity to get someone in who could be integrated into the squad by the time the Middlesborough match is played. In an ideal world they would sign someone on loan for 3 months (until the January window) with an option to buy but i appreciate that might not be feasible.
This 'signing' is the priority for the club. Being without CMS and Hosko has demonstrated how short of options we are 'up front'.

1st team + cover/subs?

Kuschak + Ankergren

Bruno + Calderon
Greer + Dunk
El Abd + Dunk again
Bridge + Calderon again

Bridcutt + Hammond
Croft + Forster Caskey
Vicente + Orlandi
Buckley + Lopez

MaccaSmith + Agdestein
Dobbie + Barnes

+ perennial supersub Lua Lua

dave from bexill wrote:
Vegas, are you still lost in the Nevada desert or worse, you've taken your ball home.Hope you're well.(awaits brickbat from fellow posters)

Hi Vegas,I will be in your neck of the woods 5th to the 20th October.Meet me at the front bar at the Ballagio Hotel on the strip where I am staying on Wed 10th . 9pm.I will be wearing an Albion shirt so you will know me.Thats if you are really there.Me thinks you will not make it,but its worth a go,perhaps we could play a bit of Omaha Poker and down a few beers..You up for it.

I'm a big believer in history repeating itself, and patterns etc. Look at the first 2 games of the season (Lost, Draw) and then 5 wins. Look at the last two games (Lost, Draw). 5 wins in a row are now almost certain!

The fact is we haven't got a big target man and we have to play our passing game on the ground. Why have we not enough speed to get behind defences ? LuaLua is supposed to be grease lightning why was he so scared to take the defenders on ? I think Gus will have to send his squad to Michael Johnsons academy....

Howie2 wrote:
The fact is we haven't got a big target man and we have to play our passing game on the ground. Why have we not enough speed to get behind defences ? LuaLua is supposed to be grease lightning why was he so scared to take the defenders on ? I think Gus will have to send his squad to Michael Johnsons academy....

Michael Johnson.. What an incredible athlete he was, I have never seen a human being make running at speed look so effortless, with the exception of Boult possibly. What id give to see these 2 guys race one another whilst at the very top of their games.

Uta by the way :)

It did not make for good entertainment. Good players playing negatively on behalf of Ipswich.

"Stifling tactics show respect," isn't that called, 'playing for a draw away from home,' in english.
Surely this tactic has been used for a hundred years or more, this revelation can't be a surprise, can it? Judging by our last two performances it looks like this is the one scenario that we have not worked on, how to break down teams that put eleven behind the ball and play the offside trap.
We can't have Gus telling us the obvious, 'some teams are going to come to the Amex and defend for 90 minutes,' that was always going to happen after our great start to the season. I get the feeling that the ovious sounds more like an excuse for players not delivering. Is not the question, why was only one goal scored in a match where we had double figures in the number of shots taken. If we can earn a dozen or so corners why coudn't one of them been converted to a goal. Yes Ipswich came to spoil but we got through them enough times to score goals and we didn't. Forget the target man, that's just another excuse for another poor performance, deal with the facts as they stand. A target man might well help in future encounters but right now I am just looking at the last two matches.
The comment from Gus would carry more weight if we only earned three corners, only had a total of four shots on or off target, but that is not the case.
I have to think that had CMS been available for both games he would have finished off at least one of the numerous chances we created in both matches, he is clinical and composed. Our problem hasn't been about creating chances it's been about finishing some of them off. Yes get a target man but before we do, get a second CMS no matter what it costs as the target man will only help create yet more chances, more chances that have been going begging.

consultsmithy wrote:
Vicente? Very good player when he is fit and motivated. Unfortunately he is neither. Looks like a bad decision to enforce the extra year in his contract. An unhappy employee is rarely a very productive one.

I hope you're wrong! Do you have any inside knowledge? Last I heard he was returning to training but needed to build match fitness, so i anticipate him being involved for Middlesboro onwards.

He looked very sharp in pre season and in hindsight the decision to subject him to 90 mins at Swindon, where he got hacked several times, was a poor one.

Looks like I might start developing into a broken record, but he'll make a big difference - especially when he links up with Bruno.

Stifling tactics, That also seems to apply to the seagulls player, says pay for extended highlights and got a whole three minutes + seconds.

So we spend a fortune on this phantom big striker and then condemn the lads in the DS to further ignomy... without even giving them the chance to prove what they can do. Give me a break - we don't have this enigma so make do with what we've got. You never know, they may surprise everyone and in particular GP who doesn't think it necessary to have an out-and-out striker either on the pitch or on the bench... If neither (GB and TA) are included in the squad on Saturday I wouldn't be surprised to see them banging on GP's door on Monday morning.

I was not happy that Gus did not change our pattern of play on Saturday and even more so when he contnued it last night, our style is now plain and clubs will be coming here to stifle us.
Despite his goals Barnes is not Championship quality,he has the ability to be in the right place but not the control to make it pay.
I have been waiting for Lua Lua to be given a starting place but so disappointed on his performance last night however there were others having a poor match so hope he will be given another opportunity for a full match.

Thread of these posts has one thing in common. Gus has to find the answers and as in any business whilst spending money can be the easy solution. Money not always available . ( and no always the cure)Personally gus has to be able to change his tactics especially at hm and stop blaming the opposition for his inability to adjust the team.

Kucszak
Bruno
Greer
El Abd
Bridge
Bridcutt
Vicente
Lopez
Orlandi
Buckley
CMS

that's the team I'd like to see.

Gd shout if they are all " match fit".

Ringmer Rich wrote:
Kucszak
Bruno
Greer
El Abd
Bridge
Bridcutt
Vicente
Lopez
Orlandi
Buckley
CMS

that's the team I'd like to see.

Loads of flair, too much for me, Crofts/Hammond for Lopez, then perfect.

Alan G Skinner wrote:
Last night, by our high standards, we played poorly. But lets put this into some context. We did not loose the game. We had Bruno Saltor, Andrew Crofts, Vicente, Will Hoskins, Craig Makail Smith all unavailable and Will Buckley, playing hurt. Had all these players been fit, in my opinion we would have had a better chance of winning the game. Now some people will point out that if you have a strong squad you should be able to manage. To an extent I would agree, but look at the players we were missing, four of them (Not including Buckley) are probably nailed on starters, if you took four or five first team starters out of any team in the country, it would have a significant impact. When these guys are back, fit, match sharp, from what I have seen of the Championship there is not a team in this division we need to fear. We are strong right across the squad, but what continues to be evident and what I am sure GP and Chairman Bloom are still looking to address is that big strong Centre forward, who can also play. While our brand of football is fantastic to watch, we have a tendency to try and pass the ball into the net; which is absolutely the right way to play, however when teams play with 11 men behind the ball and Buckley, Orlandi, Vicente are putting beautiful balls into the box we must have someone in the squad who is able to put those away. Sometimes you need a plan A, B and C. Surly the best news of the year is however, confirmation that we have received planning permission for our world class £30m first team training ground and youth academy. The futures bright the future is Brighton and Hove Albion.

Excellent post, Alan. Couldn't make it down last night, glad I didn't in a way, lol. Frustrating listening to Seagull Player tho, as it kept cutting out, probably my super slow, oo arr, oo ay Devizes slow-band me thinks. Ah well, onwards and upwards. UTA......

Alfie T wrote:

Ringmer Rich wrote:
Kucszak
Bruno
Greer
El Abd
Bridge
Bridcutt
Vicente
Lopez
Orlandi
Buckley
CMS

that's the team I'd like to see.

Loads of flair, too much for me, Crofts/Hammond for Lopez, then perfect.

Absolutely right in my opinion, with Dobbie, David, Barnes, Dunk, Lua Lua, Brezovan and Hammond off the bench.

Being a Sheffield Wednesday Supporter (no rude comments please); I have to say the Albion have let in one or two soft goals. I have lived in Brighton over 20 years and have 3 young boys who love going and supporting the Albion being born and bred Brightonians..

I have taken my kids to quite a few games last season and to a couple of the games this season apart from the Sheff Weds match. The last game we all saw being Saturday against Birmingham. They def came with a plan - 11 behind the ball at all times but Albion played well, knocked the ball around great and had a large amount of possession. The issue I had is that when the ball was crossed in there was no quality in some of the passes with exception of the corners and Wayne Bridge. Lua Lua scuffed about 3 crosses where it went straight to the Goal Keeper. Do agree with most of the posts where a target man is needed but in the absence of the much needed big centre forward there needs to be more runs from the back. Abd did this and passed with quality most of the time and so did Bridge. Got to say I have enjoyed going to the Brighton games and there is some real quality with the players, teams such as Swansea pass the ball around and still manage to stick it in the net so I do think the Albiom are on course for better days when they have a fully fit squad. The Ipswich game I thought Brighton had some good spells but Ipswich did keep a lot of people behind the ball and the Albion did lack in some of the crosses, again Lua Lua seem to get in the way a little. You can see the team is working hard and now just need to be a bit more tactical in the last third of the pitch.

The only negative thing I have to say is that the price is pretty high for a family of 4 (might be my tight Northern routes); my kids would love to go every home game (except Sheff Weds of course) and so would I; the Albion have been a pleasure to watch.

bbb1969 wrote:
Being a Sheffield Wednesday Supporter (no rude comments please); I have to say the Albion have let in one or two soft goals. I have lived in Brighton over 20 years and have 3 young boys who love going and supporting the Albion being born and bred Brightonians.. I have taken my kids to quite a few games last season and to a couple of the games this season apart from the Sheff Weds match. The last game we all saw being Saturday against Birmingham. They def came with a plan - 11 behind the ball at all times but Albion played well, knocked the ball around great and had a large amount of possession. The issue I had is that when the ball was crossed in there was no quality in some of the passes with exception of the corners and Wayne Bridge. Lua Lua scuffed about 3 crosses where it went straight to the Goal Keeper. Do agree with most of the posts where a target man is needed but in the absence of the much needed big centre forward there needs to be more runs from the back. Abd did this and passed with quality most of the time and so did Bridge. Got to say I have enjoyed going to the Brighton games and there is some real quality with the players, teams such as Swansea pass the ball around and still manage to stick it in the net so I do think the Albiom are on course for better days when they have a fully fit squad. The Ipswich game I thought Brighton had some good spells but Ipswich did keep a lot of people behind the ball and the Albion did lack in some of the crosses, again Lua Lua seem to get in the way a little. You can see the team is working hard and now just need to be a bit more tactical in the last third of the pitch. The only negative thing I have to say is that the price is pretty high for a family of 4 (might be my tight Northern routes); my kids would love to go every home game (except Sheff Weds of course) and so would I; the Albion have been a pleasure to watch.

yes I know I spelt roots wrong

That's a fair assessment bbb1969

I would endorse an earlier comment suggesting an extended run in the Championship, rather than early promotion. The reality is that very few of the current squad would hack it in the Premiership, Kucszak, Bridge, Bruno, Vicente (if ever fit) look the part, Bridcutt may step, but thats about it, Crofts,Dobbie, Hammond, Orlandi, LuaLua all released by Prem clubs suggests they are not up to it. I know its all about opinions and some managers can improve players, eg ElAbd, but to survive we would need a massive investment in the squad. I'm enjoying the Championship football from the East Upper at the moment and happy to see us doing well at this level. When the time is right I'm sure the Board will make finance available. Until then enjoy. UTA

pauldanno wrote:
I would endorse an earlier comment suggesting an extended run in the Championship, rather than early promotion. The reality is that very few of the current squad would hack it in the Premiership, Kucszak, Bridge, Bruno, Vicente (if ever fit) look the part, Bridcutt may step, but thats about it, Crofts,Dobbie, Hammond, Orlandi, LuaLua all released by Prem clubs suggests they are not up to it. I know its all about opinions and some managers can improve players, eg ElAbd, but to survive we would need a massive investment in the squad. I'm enjoying the Championship football from the East Upper at the moment and happy to see us doing well at this level. When the time is right I'm sure the Board will make finance available. Until then enjoy. UTA

Very True and l would say we need to invest befor any prommotion.