The most talented squad we’ve ever had.

[MC RISK77]

1 hour ago, Fordy62 said:

I mean pay what it takes to get Hughton. 

We are 7th in the table  no chairman would sack their manager and pay over the odds to get hughton at this stage...no one...get realistic

[Dullmoan Tone]

24 minutes ago, harvey54 said:

Not fit to lace the boots of the 76/77 promotion side. Rock solid defence, midfield full of running, tackling and goals and a top quality striker 

But the opposition quality was so different then you could get away with wanting to win and giving everything today it needs guile and skill that the 77 squad just would not possess.

I don't want to tread on any memories but it's a different game - it needs technical athleticism all over the pitch from keeper forwards.

[glen humphries]

9 minutes ago, steveybadger said:

No I don't bother watching any games, I just guess and come on here to annoy people. Streuth.

Guess what, in some games we're crap and sometimes we're average and sometimes we're good. The last 2 we were poor and the 2 before that we were very good. And the table says we're the  7th best team in the division so far.

Do you believe we’re the 7th best team?

[RedRock]

Been saying it for years. Ever since LJ was appointed. 

To break out of the Championship you need ‘power players’ and a ‘power team’. Easiest way is to bring in plus 6 footers, who are physical specimens, real athletes with good skill sets and who are mentally prepared to get stuck in, impose themselves and win their battles across the pitch. 

My fear with LJ is that he falls into the typical managers trap. He’s modelled the midfield on himself. He’s bought in way too many lightweights, small in stature, weak mentally. The ‘busy achieving nothing’ /‘ impact 1 game in 5’ sorts. 

Occasionally, all the lightweights will click and perform to the top of their game and we look world-beaters. There is a reason why we are so inconsistent as the lightweights frequently go missing, get out battled by more powerful opponents. We may occasionally go on a run looking world-beaters but the next slump is always just around the corner.

 

It’s salvageable. You look at Joe and Bobby. They went over a summer break on their own fitness regime and bulked up. Both left quickly to better things (at the time).

If I were LJ, I’d be saying to the likes of CoD, Bakinson, Walsh, Morrell, Brownie, Nagy and Hano get off to the fitness trainer that Joe/Bobby worked with 3 days a week and bulk up and get some extra power and bulk. Maybe the rugby coaches could help! Not a great deal you can do about height  - just need to buy in some larger specimens to supplement what we have.

My fear is LJ is just too stubborn to accept he’s wrong.

 

 

[pongo88]

Great post @Fordy62  If LJ can’t get a team playing well with this group of players he never will. Other teams we play against have an obvious shape and plan. We seem to stumble from match to match. Sometimes good and sometimes awful. One of the many things I find surprising is, with such a good squad of players we are concerning approx 1.5 goals per game. 

[AshtonGreat]

52 minutes ago, JonDolman said:

Definitely got it wrong this week. Got it so right against Fulham and Huddersfield though. Hope LJ learns from this. Doing well overall so far this season though.

I think what frustrates most people is that we could be doing so much better. Yes we're still very much in the hunt, but then so are about a dozen teams. If we'd pulled our finger out in the games we lost - and the teams we lost to were very much there for the taking - we'd be way clear of the chasing pack by now. 

[Son of Fred]

56 minutes ago, steveybadger said:

I just try to keep an even keel whether we win or lose, and use the table as a guide to how well we are doing overall. Which is quite well. 

 

Well,,your definitely not watching it!

Lucky you.

Bottem line??....

Lee will never take us out of this league,,not in the direction of upwards that is.

Too much bluster,,not enough substance.

[steveybadger]

40 minutes ago, glen humphries said:

Do you believe we’re the 7th best team?

There are lots of stats and metrics to show how poor / great we are, but I don’t Believe it, I know it based on the table so far.
Look, we’re a functional team that probably works best away from home, and the struggle to break teams down at home has been an issue for a while. But points (and how good we are relative to others) aren’t just decided by how pretty we are to watch, but how effective we are at picking up points home and away. I remember not too long ago we were poor defensively and easily bullied, especially away, but that no longer seems the case on the whole. That may have been at the expense of a bit of flair, but it shows we have developed a bit under LJ. Taking that last step and combining solidity with The ability to carve teams open at will is arguably the most difficult bit, especially given the differences in finances with ex Prem teams in particular. However, we are still one of the top scoring teams this year which suggests we are getting there.

31 minutes ago, Robert the bruce said:

Well,,your definitely not watching it!

Lucky you.

Bottem line??....

Lee will never take us out of this league,,not in the direction of upwards that is.

Too much bluster,,not enough substance.

See reply above

[glen humphries]

2 minutes ago, steveybadger said:

There are lots of stats and metrics to show how poor / great we are, but I don’t Believe it, I know it based on the table so far.
Look, we’re a functional team that probably works best away from home, and the struggle to break teams down at home has been an issue for a while. But points (and how good we are relative to others) aren’t just decided by how pretty we are to watch, but how effective we are at picking up points home and away. I remember not too long ago we were poor defensively and easily bullied, especially away, but that no longer seems the case on the whole. That may have been at the expense of a bit of flair, but it shows we have developed a bit under LJ. Taking that last step and combining solidity with The ability to carve teams open at will is arguably the most difficult bit, especially given the differences in finances with ex Prem teams in particular. However, we are still one of the top scoring teams this year which suggests we are getting there.

See reply above

Um our defence is one of the poorest in the league 

[steveybadger]

13 minutes ago, glen humphries said:

Um our defence is one of the poorest in the league 

17th best, 5th best attack. As I said, combining both is the most difficult bit but where we are in the league at this time suggests we're doing pretty well.

[glen humphries]

1 minute ago, steveybadger said:

17th best, 5th best attack. As I said, combining both is the most difficult bit but where we are in the league at this time suggests we're doing pretty well.

Yeah like I said our defence is 1 of the poorest in the league, despite lj spending well over 10 million on it

[Son of Fred]

2 hours ago, Dullmoan Tone said:

Webster (Williams)

...your having a giraffe.

[Brooko]

2 hours ago, Fordy62 said:

I think it’s hard to disagree with the above. But time after time after time they’re not putting performances in and you’ve got to start questioning why. 
 

Johnson is obviously struggling to make us play anything resembling good football. Even a good percentage of this seasons wins have been woeful to watch and whereas there is the 1 in 5 games where everything seems to click into place, we’re just not good to watch. 
 

We’ve got more highly paid players than we’ve ever had. I dare say there are a couple nearing 30k. 
 

surely the time has come to splash the cash in the most important place?

Who says it's the most talented squad we've had?

[steveybadger]

6 minutes ago, glen humphries said:

Yeah like I said our defence is 1 of the poorest in the league, despite lj spending well over 10 million on it

Harsh definition of poorest but certainly room for improvement. Obviously losing a £20m centre back and having first choice left back out for the whole season, plus best defender out for large parts hasn't helped.

[glen humphries]

1 minute ago, steveybadger said:

Harsh definition of poorest but certainly room for improvement. Obviously losing a £20m centre back and having first choice left back out for the whole season, plus best defender out for large parts hasn't helped.

Definition of poorest is we’ve let 30 goals in, that’s really poor, do you think having jay Dasilva in the side would of stopped us conceding so many goals because I don’t 

[steveybadger]

2 minutes ago, glen humphries said:

Definition of poorest is we’ve let 30 goals in, that’s really poor, do you think having jay Dasilva in the side would of stopped us conceding so many goals because I don’t 

Certainly not as much as other 2 factors for sure, but it would help. And help going forward without being critical of Rowe who has done ok in a secondary position. As I said, room for improvement but it's good to have room for improvement when you're already sat on the edge of the play offs.

[Wrongagain]

2 hours ago, JonDolman said:

Definitely got it wrong this week. Got it so right against Fulham and Huddersfield though. Hope LJ learns from this. Doing well overall so far this season though.

Agree but who has his ear? He is surrounded by yes men, the experienced back room that could have told him where he is going wrong are gone!

Cant see him changing at all - if he missed the bowl and wet his shoes he would find someone else to blame!
He will never change or manage a premiership team! if he was good enough he would have been headhunted long ago!

[Silvio Dante]

Right.

Lets get this straight:

If you take our first choice side -

Bentley

Hunt

Rowe

Kalas

Williams

Nagy

Massengo

Brownhill

Eliasson

Diedhou

Weimann

How many of those per position (GK/FB/CB/CM/WM/CF) do you consider to be in the top 6 (gk) or top 12 (any other category) in their respective categories in their position.

If your answer is over 50% of the above players, then you are on safe ground on this thread. If not, then you argument is undermined- so which is it?

[allyolly]

3 hours ago, Fordy62 said:

I mean pay what it takes to get Hughton. 

City season ticket holder livening in Brighton. Guess you’ve not done your research on what style of football Hughton made BHA play. Fans could not wait to get rid of him and dreaded going to the Amex to watch dull, defensive and uninspiring football. .

Also guessing you weren’t at Fulham last week? Great performance and tactics etc as has been widely reported. 

Agree we’ve had two horrendous back to  back home performances but be careful what you wish for. 

[mozo]

1 hour ago, JonDolman said:

Lower half would be poor imo. Top half ok. 7th and 3 points off 3rd good.

I think we have the players in most positions to be doing a lot better than these last 2 games. No doubt LJ has made bad decisions in the last 2 that needs to change.

See I think a lot of fans have got expectations of a solid top 6 challenge, hence the vitriol.

Personally, I don't necessarily think we should be top 6 at this point, but that is the objective for the season, and anything less is failure.

I say this because we have sold players for tens of millions, bought prospects from Chelsea, given a manager time to instill his philosophy etc etc. Progress is compulsory. 

[Top Robin]

21 minutes ago, allyolly said:

City season ticket holder livening in Brighton. Guess you’ve not done your research on what style of football Hughton made BHA play. Fans could not wait to get rid of him and dreaded going to the Amex to watch dull, defensive and uninspiring football. .

Also guessing you weren’t at Fulham last week? Great performance and tactics etc as has been widely reported. 

Agree we’ve had two horrendous back to  back home performances but be careful what you wish for. 

I thought Brighton played really exciting attacking football in their promotion season and probably the two seasons before that. More importantly, he created a rock solid defence which we definitely dont have.

[Chappers]

Not sure where this nonsense of quality of squad comes from. Midfielder covering left back, Nagy and Massengo new to English football, very inconsistent Swedish winger, too few options up front.

doing pretty well considering.

[mozo]

2 minutes ago, Chappers said:

Not sure where this nonsense of quality of squad comes from. Midfielder covering left back, Nagy and Massengo new to English football, very inconsistent Swedish winger, too few options up front.

doing pretty well considering.

Internationals, former Premier league players, bright prospects...

[ChippenhamRed]

41 minutes ago, allyolly said:

City season ticket holder livening in Brighton. Guess you’ve not done your research on what style of football Hughton made BHA play. Fans could not wait to get rid of him and dreaded going to the Amex to watch dull, defensive and uninspiring football. .

Also guessing you weren’t at Fulham last week? Great performance and tactics etc as has been widely reported. 

Agree we’ve had two horrendous back to  back home performances but be careful what you wish for. 

Yeah it must have been dreadful for those fans watching their team promoted to the Premier League for the first time, amassing 93 points along the way, before then establishing themselves in the top division and welcoming Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal, Spurs and Chelsea to their stadium on a regular basis.

Definitely wouldn’t wish for that.

[Cannybluff]

At the moment we are challenging... it's a miracle really considering we sold our best players last couple of years... and afobe could clearly have been a massive help... but being out injured means we are behind previous years in the squad. So that we are 7th is amazing... there are a lot of teams in the mix and with the chance of signing a potential game changer in January all is still to play for... seriously I could hack this if we were 17th

[stephenkibby.]

3 hours ago, Robert the bruce said:

Have you been watching this??

It's absolute dirge....weak,, out muscled,,lacking any shape,spirit/togetherness,,cohesion,,the man on the ball looking for someone to show but nobody showing so back again it goes...the players seem to be unable to deliver what's being asked of them.

You can only blame Lee - anybody thinking this is a bona fide play off/promotion chasing set up then you must be howling at the moon.

Spot on. The movement off the ball today was a joke. When Kalles or anyone else for that matter looked up was anybody moving into space?

No more likely were hiding away,don't pass it to me guv unless it's a nice square ball where no one can challenge and I can slip the ball right back to you mate.

Watching Sheff Utd play is the biggest eye opener, with a squad on paper so out of there depth they are a joy to behold.

[Angmering Red]

I live in West Sussex and know a fair few Brighton season ticket holders, they think Potter is a breath of fresh air in the style of football he plays after Hughton. They are also over the moon with Webster who has been absolute class even in a higher league and so good at playing out from the back, not something they are used to. 

[BS4 on Tour...]

8 hours ago, Fordy62 said:

I mean pay what it takes to get Hughton. 

I agree, I was waxing lyrical about going for Hughton on here back when he was transitioning from Newcastle to Brum, got shouted down quite a bit .... after that i’ve consistently highlighted Neil Warnock’s ability to promote teams from this division, and I’ve been roundly ridiculed, which is fine, everyone is entitled to an opinion. 

Meanwhile, between them, Hughton and Warnock have taken Newcastle, Brighton, QPR, Sheff Utd and Cardiff into the premier league from the championship. Impressive stuff .... now take a peek at LJ’s football management CV - yeh, nothing ...

[Son of Fred]

11 hours ago, RedRock said:

 

My fear with LJ is that he falls into the typical managers trap. He’s modelled the midfield on himself. He’s bought in way too many lightweights, small in stature, weak mentally. The ‘busy achieving nothing’ /‘ impact 1 game in 5’ sorts. 

 

11 hours ago, RedRock said:

the lightweights frequently go missing, get out battled by more powerful opponents. We may occasionally go on a run looking world-beaters but the next slump is always just around the corner.

 

 

11 hours ago, RedRock said:

My fear is LJ is just too stubborn to accept he’s wrong.

All of this allied to the constant chopping and changing of style of play/inconsistency of instruction that is clearly leaving the players hamstrung - so so clear....

Possibly Lee's big ego will ultimatly bring his downfall I'm very sad to say.

[CotswoldRed]

12 hours ago, Fordy62 said:

I think it’s hard to disagree with the above. But time after time after time they’re not putting performances in and you’ve got to start questioning why. 
 

Johnson is obviously struggling to make us play anything resembling good football. Even a good percentage of this seasons wins have been woeful to watch and whereas there is the 1 in 5 games where everything seems to click into place, we’re just not good to watch. 
 

We’ve got more highly paid players than we’ve ever had. I dare say there are a couple nearing 30k. 
 

surely the time has come to splash the cash in the most important place?

It is mind boggling sometimes how we'll splash the cash on a single player, but won't on a far more important cog in the machine.