When coppell left we were top of the table, one point clear. When McGhee took over we were in second place. Dropping out of the play offs was McGhee's doing (after inheriting a team in the automatic spot). I think perhaps that is what Ninja elephant was referring to with his first year. Or perhaps Knight going from a free scoring striker to a whiny sulky bitch on McGhee's watch...
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- Thread starter NF9
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When coppell left we were top of the table, one point clear. When McGhee took over we were in second place. Dropping out of the play offs was McGhee's doing (after inheriting a team in the automatic spot). I think perhaps that is what Ninja elephant was referring to with his first year. Or perhaps Knight going from a free scoring striker to a whiny sulky bitch on McGhee's watch...
Icy Gull
Back on the rollercoaster
- Jul 5, 2003
- 72,015
and the other 160 odd games we've played since he left, I reckon we'd have lost most of them to those shitty Scottish teams?
Quite
Virgo would have got that clear if Kuipers hadnt come running out, Didnt Henderson do something quite similar against Millwall and get blamed?
In fairness to those people, they may not have been pro-kuipers, as there was a strong anti-virgo feeling for most of last season, rumours of him having a "must play" clause in his contract, being Adams' favourite, etc.
Ninja Elephant
Doctor Elephant
- Feb 16, 2009
- 18,855
If you look at it on paper, then yeah, he did a good job. As I said, he's a good manager. I don't argue that, I just thought he was rubbish here. We were rubbish when we stayed up (dare I say thank God for Michel Kuipers and Adam Virgo?!), we were rubbish the season after aswell. For me, the team was playing awful football and scoring a real lack of goals. I was thoroughly bored watching the Albion whilst he was here, I was delighted when he got the sack. I won't pretend!
No, I disagree. If you had been at the Withdean for the Hartlepool, you would have booed. Even the old dear who sits next to me and who applauds the players off the pitch no matter what has happened, she booed him coming off! It was just one of those things! Funnily enough, before that day, I'd always defended Hawkins, he was magnificent at Crewe and Southend! And then Scunthorpe happened...
One other thing, people have been talking about people like me not acknowledging Michel mistakes. Erm... let's face it, Luton was a joint f*** up with Virgo, they're both to blame. And obviously he was rubbish against Swindon at the Withdean (which still hurts), but for every crap game, you have 10 cracking performances. Millwall away, for example. Just one example, that!
Icy Gull
Back on the rollercoaster
- Jul 5, 2003
- 72,015
Coppell relegated us...but that fact doesn't tell the true story and neither does what you say above. Dropping out of the automatic promotion places was Booker's doing if my memory serves me right. I would have no argument about Coppell being a better manager than McGhee but that doesn't make McGhee a bad manager.
Finchley Seagull
New member
We were not second when McGhee came. We had just lost 3 in a row (Bournemouth away, Brentford away and Stockport home) and were dropping through the play offs.
As for Leon Knight. Defenders worked him out. He was always whiny and sulky but got away with it by scoring a lot. Defences worked out how to play him and he was less effective (as did referees so he won less free kicks).
and the other 160 odd games we've played since he left, I reckon we'd have lost most of them to those shitty Scottish teams?
Perhaps, but that doesn't prove MM is a better manager (and really, given he is being compared to a guy who was in his first year of the job, and MA) it's hardly a great achievement to be better. I would argue the team under slade towards the end of the season, once it had settled down and got some momentum would challenge most of the lower SPL.
McGhee joined us 28.10.03 The table after our game on 25.10.03 is thus:
Brighton and Hove Albion | Match | Table
We were second.
(this is the table after the last game with coppell officially in charge: Brighton and Hove Albion | Match | Table).
No, it doesn't tell the whole story, but it is true, we were in an automatic promotion spot we McGhee took over a team that was capable of easily topping the table, and the team slipped through and out of the play offs (before climbing back in and being comfortable settled in them by the end of the season).
Super Steve Earle
Well-known member
You sound like a teacher-'Take it from me....
Personally I'd sooner take it from Ninja Elephant (so to speak). Mr Burns clearly wouldn't know Homer Simpson from a goalkeeper, and he tries to coach them, presumably to be like Calamity Wayne!!
Mr Burns
New member
No its not as simple as that, and that comment proves you haven't got a f***ing clue what you are on about, and are indeed talking total bollocks.
He's kept getting new contrats due to a clause old Uncle Dick kept putting in contracts in the past. Play X amounts of games, and you'll get a new one. So the manager who were TRYING TO REPLACE HIM couldn't off load him, because a) no other team wanted him, and b) he was under contract.
Dean Wilkins even went as far as taking the number one shirt off him. He didn't want him here, but had no choice in the matter. We never had the budget to sign experienced keepers, all the time we had one, Knight wouldn't allow it, which is why all of Kuipers competetion were youngsters.
Hopefully this is going to change now, as we HAVE to sign a new keeper, and hopefully one that will spell the end of Kuipers time at the club, if for no other reason, then to stop people, who no idea what they are talking about, posting shit on here!
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Mr Burns
New member
Where's he come from
Who the f*** are you?
If your going to add to the debate, do so, but that post is, well pointless
Ben Roberts wasn't a youngster though.
I'm a national award winning journalist. Doesn't mean my opinion of a newspaper article is the only right one, it doesn't mean my opinion should be taken as the standard, and it doesn't mean people who have never won a journalism award can't have an opinion on an article or that their opinion is less valid than mine.
Professional football managers and coaches will often disagree on a player, which is better than another. Sometimes it is a matter of which fits best in a team, which fits best in a system, etc.
You may have trained goalkeepers at a decent level, but it doesn't mean that because you rate Henderson more than Kuipers a) people are wrong to disagree, b) that people who disagree don't know what they're talking about.
Absolutely right, apart from promotion in his first season, keeping us in the Champinship in his second, and a transfer surplus of over £2.5million whilst our manager he did very little. But that's history backed by facts, as opposed to opinion.
Barrel of Fun
Abort, retry, fail
He won me over when he tried to tee up the ball on a stray polystyrene cup. Still not sure how we lost to Walsall on his debut (I assume that was his debut). We must have hit the woodwork at least 4^15 times. It took a while to actually believe that we had Dave Beasant between the sticks. Dave Beasant!
Foolish to compare Henderson to Kuipers. Keepers tend to mature late. We were his first real gig and he showed signs of quality, but faults that will probably be ironed out. Kuipers is brilliant on his day and rubbish when it is not his day. We are the biggest club he will ever play for and I am sure that speaks volumes.
As for chastising Henderson for plying his trade (temporarily) in League Two. He had a career threatening back problem and needs games to get back into the swing of things. By all accounts, he was an integral part in saving Grimsby from the drop.
To summarise, I am not quite sure why we can't accept Kuipers for being a decent keeper and no more than that. Either he is Schmeichel in carnate or a valium addled Andy Petterson.
Much like my fact that he took over a team coppell left top of the division, and over saw them dropping through the play offs, and got us relegated bottom of the pile from the championship after selling our best players. These are also facts, are they not?
Yes, they are selective, but so are your facts.
So are yours. Bob Booker took over the manager's role for a few weeks until Mcghee moved in. The team dropped under his time in chage.
