Leon Knight

[the full harris]

So bad he has played most there games......

Well I can't speak for any of Leeds' games other than the one I have seen but, in that, he looked just as poor as I remember him.

 

[Giraffe]

Surely the whole point is that players moaning doesn't look good. Countless players have been dropped and knuckled down and worked hard.

Leon just strops off and sulks and then moans indirectly about the manager. Not the actions of a team player.

He is a good player, but he's not bigger than the club or the manager. In fact he's not bigger than my seven year old son

 

[London Irish]

reoprted on SCR this morning. Leon says he is dissapointed he hasn't been selected for the last game, but understands the need to make changes to the side. He's not happy with the teams position in the league, and furthermore, he is frustrated with the direct football they are playing at the moment, he prefers the passing game.

I have to say I agree, he's excellent when he has a chance to play with the ball at his feet, we've all said it time and again. I hope MM takes this on board, especially with a few of the injured players coming back into the side. Lets try passing a bit more again.

If Leon really is going to the press now and criticising the manager's decisions in the public (I say if, because I'd want to hear the context of what he said), then that's a sad day for his career at the Albion. He will only get back in the team by working hard in training, which he patently has not been according to McGhee, rather than working his mouth hard to the press.

The notion that we have been playing long ball stuff this season is utter garbage. In many ways, we have been too ball-playing and attacking, always playing Leon paired with two passing wingers, for our own good, because frequently it has compromised the defensive shape of the team. The sad thing is if Leon can't perform consistently enough when we are playing this style of football, then the excuses have well and truly run out for him.

He was playing well (although not perhaps to the limit of his potential) up to the Ipswich game about 6 weeks ago. Since then, his contribution and workrate have been poor, and he has deservedly been dropped. CKR is now playing in his position, and CKR can do all the stuff that Leon can do but also cope with the greater physicality of this level of football. At the same time, we need a striker who will work the channels and pressure the defence from the back, which Leon sadly feels is above him - Harty or Jake can do that at the moment best, maybe Big Mac too if he keeps up his improvement.

I am saddened by Leon's comments because it just puts off the day when he will be back in the team.

 

[the full harris]

Re: Re: Leon Knight

If Leon really is going to the press now and criticising the manager's decisions in the public (I say if, because I'd want to hear the context of what he said), then that's a sad day for his career at the Albion. He will only get back in the team by working hard in training, which he patently has not been according to McGhee, rather than working his mouth hard to the press.

The notion that we have been playing long ball stuff this season is utter garbage. In many ways, we have been too ball-playing and attacking, always playing Leon paired with two passing wingers, for our own good, because frequently it has compromised the defensive shape of the team. The sad thing is if Leon can't perform consistently enough when we are playing this style of football, then the excuses have well and truly run out for him.

He was playing well (although not perhaps to the limit of his potential) up to the Ipswich game about 6 weeks ago. Since then, his contribution and workrate have been poor, and he has deservedly been dropped. CKR is now playing in his position, and CKR can do all the stuff that Leon can do but also cope with the greater physicality of this level of football. At the same time, we need a striker who will work the channels and pressure the defence from the back, which Leon sadly feels is above him - Harty or Jake can do that at the moment best, maybe Big Mac too if he keeps up his improvement.

I am saddened by Leon's comments because it just puts off the day when he will be back in the team.

f*** me!

I completely AGREE with everything you've just said, must be a first.

 

[London Irish]

Not really its still hoof football

I guess most Premiership fans would think it was - but you'd hope someone who has been paying attention to Brighton for the past 3 years would notice the difference between what McGhee was doing when he first arrived and what he's doing now

 

[Gritt23]

I actually agree with there London Irish.

The ball players in the side are there for the benefit of the likes of Leon, and STILL his goals ratio is poor, and many a game, he never even gets a sniff of a chance.

You can't blame that entirely on the service, what do you want, a midfield that lays chances on a plate? He doesn't make the runs he should, take up the positions he should, and therefore doesn't get the chances.

We are not playing well at the moment, Leon included. If he wants to start telling the manager how we should be playing, to the media, then we can only guess the sort of things he comes up with to MM's face. No wonder they don't get on. If he was scoring bundles, and playing his socks off then perhaps he is in a stronger position to criticise, but do it when you've got so few goals, and so many inept performances under your belt, then ...

 

[Gritt23]

Re: Re: Re: Leon Knight

f*** me!

I completely AGREE with everything you've just said, must be a first.

That was pretty much my reaction to that post.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

He has not TOLD mcghee what to do at all

 

[Grendel]

Who signed John Spicer for 50k from bmuff. thats 100k less than el turi.

I'm still yet to see anything, other than on NSC, that suggests we paid 150k for Turienzo.

 

[London Irish]

Look at our goals against Hull, both balls worked patiently from our midfield and flanks around the opposition box until the shooting chance comes. That is passing football at its best - all achieved without a certain prima donna.

 

[Uncle Buck]

Look at our goals against Hull, both balls worked patiently from our midfield and flanks around the opposition box until the shooting chance comes. That is passing football at its best - all achieved without a certain prima donna.

Or players in the right place and 2 lucky strikes. Depends how you look at it Herr Smith.

 

[Gritt23]

He has not TOLD mcghee what to do at all

"he is frustrated with the direct football they are playing at the moment,"


That was the original post. I don't think it's unreasonable to read that as LK saying that he believes we are playing the wrong sort of football. he believes he would be playing better in a side who play more passing football. TELLING Mcghee to play more passing football, is perhaps taking that quote too far, but the implication in those words is quite clear.

Sorry Leon, but how about working hard at your game, rather than looking for excuses as to why you are not performing. he is looking to blame the system, rather than himself.

 

[Seagull73]

they also got gareth o'connor and wade elliot from bmuff for a ridiculously low sum in pre-season

Yes and you have just hit the nail on the head. Other clubs were after these players, and with the future more certain for other clubs than ours in the summer, they were always going to opt for a club like Burnley over ours.

It surprises me that people don't realise what the score has been here. Players like Ian Evatt, Jeff Whitley, Stefan Moore, all players that we went in for, but weren't able to get because of our situation.

As for Knight, he is a petulant little git who is going to end up playing League Two football if he isn't careful because nobody will take him and his hissy fits, and that's all they are. And he isn't the be-all-and-end-all of our side at all, Friday night proved that.

 

[Simon Morgan]

Look at our goals against Hull, both balls worked patiently from our midfield and flanks around the opposition box until the shooting chance comes. That is passing football at its best - all achieved without a certain prima donna.

in games this year, that certain "prima donna" has played out of his skin! recently he hasnt been doing well, but u cant say we won because he wasnt playing!

 

[London Irish]

We must ask Race, if she can answer, has he disrupted the dressing room and put every other player against him.

BG, for heaven's sake, act your age, to ask anyone to betray dressing room confidences is idiotic. Of course the players are not going to comment on the Leon situation, it is not their place to do so - that's the province of the management.

 

[Seagull73]

in games this year, that certain "prima donna" has played out of his skin! recently he hasnt been doing well, but u cant say we won because he wasnt playing!

I don't reckon anybody is saying we won because Leon wasn't playing, it just proves that we can win without him.

And you can count on one hand then number of times he has played out of his skin. That would mean he dominates a game, and I've not seen him play like that since Coppell left.

He's far too hit and miss to be that important. Nobody questions his talent, but it's not good having talent if you are only going to use it sporadically.

 

[London Irish]

Alternatively, you need to get Knight on the last defenders shoulder and dink the ball over the top for him to run on to, such as Sheffield Wednesday a couple of seasons ago.

You are having a laugh, aren't you? What have you seen in Knight's game that would give you any confidence that he can outpace Championship level defending? One of the problems with Leon is that he has no pace over 5 or 10 yards. Perhaps that's why he refuses to work the channels and chase balls, who knows.

This is why a combination of CKR and Leon would be hopeless for us, because they are both players who don't make enough runs off defenders. But at least CKR is showing some willingness to work on this fault, Leon appears to be deluding himself with excuses that its all his team-mates' fault that they don't pass right to his feet.

Leon will not get back into the team up front until he displaces CKR.

 

[London Irish]

Or players in the right place and 2 lucky strikes. Depends how you look at it Herr Smith.

Yeah, it was all "luck"

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

I don't reckon anybody is saying we won because Leon wasn't playing, it just proves that we can win without him.

And you can count on one hand then number of times he has played out of his skin. That would mean he dominates a game, and I've not seen him play like that since Coppell left.

He's far too hit and miss to be that important. Nobody questions his talent, but it's not good having talent if you are only going to use it sporadically.

Thats because they were still trying to find fault

 

[Schrödinger's Toad]

Leon has had service though and still looked lazy, rolled around on the ground and missed chances , he is not a championship striker.

Of course he is - he's played very well on the whole this year, something his detractors choose to ignore when they make their arguments. With the highest number of goals and assists this season, his value to the team is pretty clear - and then there's all the other things he's done so well that can't be measured. His attitude may be up for question, but I can't see that anyone can seriously claim his ability and performances this season are.

The last month he has slipped a bit, granted, but it can't be much co-incidence that this has occured whilst there's been little consistency about his selection in the team.