Graeme smith to sign in the next few days

[Ninja Elephant]

Just one thought (which has been said on here a number of times before), your loyal, fantastic Michel demands a transfer and ends up on loan at Boston after a while. Henderson demands a transfer and ends up at Preston within a couple of weeks. That's how they are rated by managers. I like Kuipers (although I do think we need a new number one) but the actions of people who support him (which means attack anyone who dares to challenge him) really piss me off.

Where was Henderson playing at the end of last season? Michel had a loan spell at Hull aswell, don't leave that one out if you think it makes him look like a bad goalkeeper. Which, to me, it does the opposite because it shows how good he actually is.. he was loaned out to these God awful places and then came back and got back in the team, consistently.

With regards to Scott Flinders, I thought he was quite good when he was here. Admittedly I only saw him a few times, I don't pretend to have seen every game and very few people actually have. Every time I saw Flinders he was solid and reliable, two things Henderson never was. Perhaps Flinders himself isn't very good, but when you've had to put up with Henderson for a couple of years, he looked a whole lot better than perhaps he was! Also, Flinders was MAGNIFICENT away at Crewe in the 06/07 season, absolutely magnificent. Noone who was there can argue that point.

 

[Acker79]

Michel wont be on the bench for most of the season. If he's number two for more than a month, he'll throw his toys out of the pram again and want to leave... again.

Well, given MM fell out with Leon Knight (I know, he's a whiny little bitch, but he was kept in check well enough by Coppell), CKR, McGammon (sp?) etc. it seems that MM wasn't the greatest at man management.

DW has the same accusation charged at him, particularly with the players not in the first team.

These are the two that seemed to favour Henderson ahead of Kuipers (despite the team having a better win rate with kuipers) I'd hardly criticise Kuipers. It's one thing to be second choice when the other option is playing better, but when you are playing beter than them and the team is losing regularly and you still get dropped, I think Kuipers has a right to be a bit miffed.

When Henderson went away for international duty and came back and lost his place I can understand him being a bit miffed as well, but how would he feel if things were the other way, and he put in a great performance and helped us win our first game in a long run only to be dropped because kuipers came back, he'd be miffed too. Having an international keeper and a better understudy is always going to lead to awkwardness with first choices.

But I've gone off track.

The two managers under whom Kuipers is supposed to have requested transfers don't show signs of being great man managers. Russell slade has been described as a great man manager, someone who makes everyone feel included even if they're not playing.

Perhaps his skills in communication will lead to kuipers being happy to be part of the squad (are we still looking for a goalkeeping coach, perhaps he might want to segue into that roll)

 

[Mr Burns]

I just cant wait until we sign a keeper that pushes Kuipers out of the club, then all these stupid threads will stop.

Take it from someone who has trained keepers at a decent level, Henderson is a better keeper than Kuipers.

The reason Kuipers played 2nd fiddle to most other senior keepers we've had, is that surprise surpirse, he isn't actually that good. Brilliant shot stopper, but unfortuantely goalkeeping is about far more than just stopping shots.

The best Keepers don't make loads of saves each game. Sounds crazy, but those who have actually played the game, will know what that means.

Kuipers = Very good shot stopper
Very poor distribtuion
Very poor organisation
Poor at crosses
Poor attitude (when not number one)

In fact apart from his shot stopping, I see very little else he has as a keeper.

This is why every manager we have had, has tried to replace him.

This is why when he threw his toys out of the pram last time, no other league club, not one, was willing to sign him from us, despite him wanting to leave.

The bottom line is if Kuipers didn't have a contract for next season he'd be signing on down the dole office on Wednesday.

Hopefully he's played his last game for the club, and it seriously looks like his luck is going to run out under Slade... and about bloody time too.

 

[Finchley Seagull]

Where was Henderson playing at the end of last season? Michel had a loan spell at Hull aswell, don't leave that one out if you think it makes him look like a bad goalkeeper. Which, to me, it does the opposite because it shows how good he actually is.. he was loaned out to these God awful places and then came back and got back in the team, consistently.

With regards to Scott Flinders, I thought he was quite good when he was here. Admittedly I only saw him a few times, I don't pretend to have seen every game and very few people actually have. Every time I saw Flinders he was solid and reliable, two things Henderson never was. Perhaps Flinders himself isn't very good, but when you've had to put up with Henderson for a couple of years, he looked a whole lot better than perhaps he was! Also, Flinders was MAGNIFICENT away at Crewe in the 06/07 season, absolutely magnificent. Noone who was there can argue that point.

How does throwing your toys out of the pram and demanding a transfer but only ending up on loan in the division below show how good you are. We are not going to agree on Henderson. I thought he was a decent young keeper whose confidence was affected by the fact people like you jumped at the chance to have a go at him everytime he got anything slightly wrong. We could have had a real prospect on our hands but he was forced out by the minority of fans and their reaction to him (that day at Bournemouth sickened me and made me almost ashamed to support Brighton).

Sadly, judging by one or two comments, I can see the same thing happen with Graeme Smith (or anyone else) if he signs. Until Kuipers goes this will continue to happen so for that reason I won't be as gutted as some when Kuipers actually goes.

By the way, I notice you avoided my comment about Roberts being nicknamed Coco the Clown. Care to comment on how that supported him.

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

Where was Henderson playing at the end of last season?

He was so desperate to regain fitness that he was on loan at Grimsby Town who only just escaped relegation angry. Chef does pull off some remarkable saves on occasion but what we need is a goalie who does it all the time.

 

[Icy Gull]

Oh for crying out loud, what is wrong with people?!

Didn't you ever see Blayney play? Or Henderson? If Michel had been in goal for the 05/06 season, I doubt we would have been as hopeless as we were! We somehow managed to get £150,000 for him and that was mindblowingly good business, no arguments there. But McGhee didn't have any part of that deal, for one thing!

and the rewriting of Albion history goes on, f*** me I'm suprised McGhee ever got another job he was so totally clueless racist and clownish,, what a bunch of c unts Motherwell and Aberdeen must be, if you were to belief the quite incredible bollocks written on this site aout McGhee.

 

[Ninja Elephant]

How does throwing your toys out of the pram and demanding a transfer but only ending up on loan in the division below show how good you are. We are not going to agree on Henderson. I thought he was a decent young keeper whose confidence was affected by the fact people like you jumped at the chance to have a go at him everytime he got anything slightly wrong. We could have had a real prospect on our hands but he was forced out by the minority of fans and their reaction to him (that day at Bournemouth sickened me and made me almost ashamed to support Brighton).

Sadly, judging by one or two comments, I can see the same thing happen with Graeme Smith (or anyone else) if he signs. Until Kuipers goes this will continue to happen so for that reason I won't be as gutted as some when Kuipers actually goes.

By the way, I notice you avoided my comment about Roberts being nicknamed Coco the Clown. Care to comment on how that supported him.

Because he played at that level, he got on with it and proved how good he is before coming back to the Albion and then regaining #1, every single time he's been out of the team, he has come back. Which is why he's still here. There is a reason all these managers who other people have claimed were "trying to replace him" kept giving him new contracts, he's not here by accident. Managers have offered him a contract, and he's signed it. Simple as that.

You really shouldn't have said that, because it's unfair and unkind. For your information, I've always though Henderson was rubbish right from the start, and obviously I wasn't impressed by his moment at Bournemouth. But why do you just assume I jumped at the chance to criticise him? Why would you just assume that? Michel Kuipers is the better keeper, which is why I prefer him to Henderson, but it doesn't mean that I was just looking for an opportunity to have a go at him. Not at all, I don't want anyone to fail when playing for Brighton, unsuprisingly. But some do.. and when they do, should we just ignore it? Did you boo Hawkins off the pitch after his disaster against Hartlepool? Be honest.

Honestly, the comment about Coco the clown is a new one on me, I wasn't anywhere near NSC during 2003/2004 when I was 16. I honestly couldn't care less though, if I'm honest. It doesn't matter, Roberts was a better goalkeeper pound for pound and that's the reason he was first choice. Facts speak for themselves, and facts suggest Michel is better than the rest we've had.

As for Graeme Smith, I don't think there is a single person who wants to see him fail. Not a single person will want him to do badly, if he does indeed sign. Any keeper who signs will be supported by the majority, including Michel fans like myself. Everyone wants to see Brighton doing well, obviously. I would rather Michel were in goal, because he's a quality goalkeeper, but if we have a keeper who is even better, then great.

Seagullsovergrimsby.... how many clean sheets did Michel keep for us last season? And the season before? How do you explain his stats? How does anyone explain his stats, he's just lucky is he?

 

[Acker79]

How does throwing your toys out of the pram and demanding a transfer but only ending up on loan in the division below show how good you are. We are not going to agree on Henderson. I thought he was a decent young keeper whose confidence was affected by the fact people like you jumped at the chance to have a go at him everytime he got anything slightly wrong. We could have had a real prospect on our hands but he was forced out by the minority of fans and their reaction to him (that day at Bournemouth sickened me and made me almost ashamed to support Brighton).

As a goal keeper every mistake you make is likely to be more costly than any other player on the pitch. If a striker misses a chance he'll likely get another shot, if not in this game, he could get a goal in another game against the run of play and earn us some unexpected points. If the midfield lose the ball the defence is there to back them up, if the defence lose the ball the opposition still have to beat the keeper.

If the keeper concedes because of an error he can't often make it up, no save he makes later in the game will remove the one he conceded. This means the goal keeper is under intense pressure.

That means one of the attributes a goal keeper has to have is an ability to deal with pressure, to bear being under the microscope.

If you can't handle the pressure then I don't care how well you kick.

Sadly, judging by one or two comments, I can see the same thing happen with Graeme Smith (or anyone else) if he signs. Until Kuipers goes this will continue to happen so for that reason I won't be as gutted as some when Kuipers actually goes.

The fans aren't unfair. The team struggled in the championship, henderson made mistakes, he made the same mistakes again and again. Maybe if the team was better, he would perform better, but when a keeper keeps repeating his mistakes in a losing team and a previously very good keeper who saw the team to promotion and play off success is cast aside there's going to be malcontent.

If this guy comes in and we play well and get some good performances/results, and he doesn't keep repeating the same mistakes costing us points, then the fans will take to him.

We get this attitude a lot. There were people who right to the bitter hand were supporting MA, and when Slade was announced there were those on here who predicted the MA fans would never give Slade a fair shake, but they did and he won them over.

People were writing of Gary Hart, he won them over. So many players were written off, but their success towards the end of the season won the fans over.

If this new guy comes in and performs well, the fans will warm to him.

 

[Ninja Elephant]

and the rewriting of Albion history goes on, f*** me I'm suprised McGhee ever got another job he was so totally clueless racist and clownish,, what a bunch of c unts Motherwell and Aberdeen must be, if you were to belief the quite incredible bollocks written on this site aout McGhee.

Good manager, everything he did here went wrong. It happens.... Being a good manager doesn't mean he'd done a good job with us, he didn't. Not when you really look at it, he couldn't get things right here, but he wasn't the only person to blame for that in my opinion. Maybe if he'd been backed properly, he would have done well. But he wasn't, and he didn't. History is what it is.

 

[Icy Gull]

Why are we trying to sign a keeper signed by that clueless twat McGhee from Motherwell btw

 

[Icy Gull]

Good manager, everything he did here went wrong. It happens.....

I take it you spent the 1st two seasons McGhee was here watching Swindon if that's what you think..you are SO wrong I can't be arsed to expand on it

 

[Finchley Seagull]

As a goal keeper every mistake you make is likely to be more costly than any other player on the pitch. If a striker misses a chance he'll likely get another shot, if not in this game, he could get a goal in another game against the run of play and earn us some unexpected points. If the midfield lose the ball the defence is there to back them up, if the defence lose the ball the opposition still have to beat the keeper.

If the keeper concedes because of an error he can't often make it up, no save he makes later in the game will remove the one he conceded. This means the goal keeper is under intense pressure.

That means one of the attributes a goal keeper has to have is an ability to deal with pressure, to bear being under the microscope.

If you can't handle the pressure then I don't care how well you kick.

That's fair enough but I honestly don't believe that some Kuipers fans on here ever admit to him making a mistake. He is not judged by that standard and that annoys me.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

Where was Henderson playing at the end of last season? Michel had a loan spell at Hull aswell, don't leave that one out if you think it makes him look like a bad goalkeeper. Which, to me, it does the opposite because it shows how good he actually is.. he was loaned out to these God awful places and then came back and got back in the team, consistently.

With regards to Scott Flinders, I thought he was quite good when he was here. Admittedly I only saw him a few times, I don't pretend to have seen every game and very few people actually have. Every time I saw Flinders he was solid and reliable, two things Henderson never was. Perhaps Flinders himself isn't very good, but when you've had to put up with Henderson for a couple of years, he looked a whole lot better than perhaps he was! Also, Flinders was MAGNIFICENT away at Crewe in the 06/07 season, absolutely magnificent. Noone who was there can argue that point.

Hull were in League 2 at the time were they not?

also i found this


Taylor also confirmed that whoever he signs will be playing second fiddle to his number 1 Boaz Myhill, and suggested that Kuipers would not be interested in such a role.

 

[Ninja Elephant]

I take it you spend the 1st two seasons he was here watching Swindon if that's what you think..it's so wrong I can't be arsed to expand on it

Har har?
I only met my Swindon friend AFTER we robbed them so mercilessly.

 

[Acker79]

and the rewriting of Albion history goes on, f*** me I'm suprised McGhee ever got another job he was so totally clueless racist and clownish,, what a bunch of c unts Motherwell and Aberdeen must be, if you were to belief the quite incredible bollocks written on this site aout McGhee.

Because scottish football is so great and these are big, massive teams he has signed with...

And, of course, managers only ever get hired on their last job performance (ha! if only then we wouldn't have had last season's mess).

Most people tend to agree Celtic and Rangers would struggle in the premiership, and they are miles ahead of the rest of the SPL, which would put the rest of the SPL somewhere in the mid/low championship - mid/high league one. Hardly a fantastic progression.

Factor in that anyone who manages bha is doing so with no money as far as everyone else is concerned, and suddenly failure at brigton isn't exactly going to bar you getting a job at aberdeen or motherwell if you have a decent CV.

 

[Icy Gull]

Because scottish football is so great and these are big, massive teams he has signed with...

QUOTE]

They'd both piss all over the Brighton teams we've had since he left though, so I suggest it is quite a big step up for a man who (according to so many) failed here so badly.

 

[Acker79]

That's fair enough but I honestly don't believe that some Kuipers fans on here ever admit to him making a mistake.

Those people clearly didn't see the JPT area final this year...

For the record, I don't argue my position from a fandom of kuipers, it's more an anti-fandom of henderson/flinders.

 

[Finchley Seagull]

Good manager, everything he did here went wrong. It happens.... Being a good manager doesn't mean he'd done a good job with us, he didn't. Not when you really look at it, he couldn't get things right here, but he wasn't the only person to blame for that in my opinion. Maybe if he'd been backed properly, he would have done well. But he wasn't, and he didn't. History is what it is.

As Icy Gull says, what are you on about. He took us up after we lost Coppell and dropped out of the play offs having lost our best player to injury (Simon Rodger) and arguably Knight's best strike partner (Darius Henderson). He kept us up against the odds the next season and we were competing the year after when the Falmer decision was brought back to a public inquiry (which in my view was a major factor in our relegation). In his final year he was given no time to change things. Were you at West Ham, Palace, Leeds (home and away), Forest, Leciester, Sunderland home etc. So many great days over the two seasons. I know it is popular to criticise McGhee but I still think we would be better off now if he was still manager (waits to get flamed).

I wasn't at Hartlepool but wouldn't have booed Hawkins if I was. I have never booed a player at a match and never will as they are probably well aware they have made a mistake and booing them only makes it more likely they will make more.

 

[Acker79]

They'd both piss all over the Brighton teams we've had since he left though, so I suggest it is quite a big step up for a man who (according to so many) failed here so badly.

I wouldn't be so sure. Yeah, they'd turnover the team that lost to nine man walsall, but not the one that beat man city.

 

[Finchley Seagull]

Those people clearly didn't see the JPT area final this year...

For the record, I don't argue my position from a fandom of kuipers, it's more an anti-fandom of henderson/flinders.

Did you not see the number of people on here blaming Virgo for that cock up after the game? That is a great illustration of my point, thanks.