Leon Wants To Avoid The "Shoebox"

[Uncle Buck]

That is superb, sums it up.

Well done, you are a credit, to what I do not know.

 

[looney]

Bhaexpress is losing it.

 

[Tony Meolas Loan Spell]

I think UB does have a point actually.

If Mr Boothroyd is be believed there are no cliques at Watford for instance. Clearly there was at the Albion.

Also at Watford there would have been no room for a Mr Knight. Magoo did right in shipping him out but maybe he (or the coaching staff as I know Magoo can do no wrong) has to take some blame in allowing it to get that bad?

Many different people have commented on the apparant lack of team spirit on more than one occasion.

 

[bhaexpress]

Bhaexpress is losing it.

When I do you can show me where to go can't you

 

[Biscuit]

wouldn't it be a shame if he broke his legs..

 

[Dick Knights Mumm]

Uncle Buck - I was told by a friend who had been chatting to a esteemed former player working for the Club - not longer after Leon arrived that Leon's attitude stank - and people will put up with it whilst he is banging inthe goals - but when they dry up - there is no well of goodwill to draw on.

It was always going to happen, regardless of manager. And as Tooting pointed out - it will happen again at Swansea.

I thought he was a class act. When you saw him in warm-ups he hits theball so hard and so accurately. I believe he can do it at a Chamionship level given the right service - and maybe higher. But he is held back by his attitude. He does need to grow up.

 

[Deleted member 2719]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Leon Wants To Avoid The "Shoebox"

You must be joking. This is the guy who "couldn't describe" how happy he was when we got relegated, and you don't think that might be slightly disrespectful to the fans?

Regardless of how he was treated by McGhee (or the truth of what went on) he couldn't be arsed to play for his teammates or the fans. I remember his last game at Wankdean, Millwall i think it was, when he couldn't even control the ball without it ending up halfway to the Sportsman car park.

Expressing your view is one thing but not giving 100% is unforgiveable. That's why the last game of the season was so much more damaging that McGhee wanted to make out.

He is not aiming this at the fans at all in my opinoin and i think we would be silly to think otherwise the fans didn't give him shit while he was on the pitch if he is honest i am sure it's directed all in one direction as was Trolleys SCR outburst.

Yes if Swansea don't go up and we end up playing them i don't think giving him any abuse will benefit our team if some of our team members don't like him they will be well up for this match.
Let's not motivate him to stick a couple past us by getting at him as some people are suggesting.

I agree not giving a 100% is unforgivable but we also need to be fair he was not alone at times last season.

 

[looney]

When I do you can show me where to go can't you

Well your the one working on a helpdesk at gone 10pm last night.

Exactly who are you supporting at that time on a sunday night?

 

[Uncle Buck]

Uncle Buck - I was told by a friend who had been chatting to a esteemed former player working for the Club - not longer after Leon arrived that Leon's attitude stank - and people will put up with it whilst he is banging inthe goals - but when they dry up - there is no well of goodwill to draw on.

It was always going to happen, regardless of manager. And as Tooting pointed out - it will happen again at Swansea.

I thought he was a class act. When you saw him in warm-ups he hits theball so hard and so accurately. I believe he can do it at a Chamionship level given the right service - and maybe higher. But he is held back by his attitude. He does need to grow up.

That sounds pretty similar to what I have heard from a couple of people now.

All in the past, but I think he is going to be one of those that splits opinion amongst fans, pretty much like he did in the dressing room.

 

[looney]

He'll be a journeyman footballer, like all the misfits.

 

[London Irish]

but some blame has to lie with the coaching staff for allowed such a problematic clique to appear in the first place.

I'm not 100 per cent sure which players you are referring to here, but I think I can make a reasonable guess for the purposes of this discussion.

What do you think the remedy by the management could have been? Ship the players out earlier? Not sign them in the first place? Do you think the management were too soft on them discipine-wise, which seems to counter what many McGhee critics say about him that he is too strong-willed and confrontational?

I'm not asking you to finger the players who you thought were a clique, but I would be interested to hear some reasonable solutions as to how such a situation a) could have been avoided and b) solved when it occured.

 

[London Irish]

Also at Watford there would have been no room for a Mr Knight. Magoo did right in shipping him out but maybe he (or the coaching staff as I know Magoo can do no wrong) has to take some blame in allowing it to get that bad?

Well, maybe that's the case. But you have to accept that you McGhee critics appear to be divided on this, some of you say he was too valuable a player to lose and should have been persisted with, you seem to be saying he had to be dealt with and possibly offloaded earlier.

I think your division highlights the difficult dilemma McGhee had and how neither alternative (selling him earlier, or persisting with attempts to turn him round) were that attractive.

 

[Uncle Buck]

I'm not 100 per cent sure which players you are referring to here, but I think I can make a reasonable guess for the purposes of this discussion.

What do you think the remedy by the management could have been? Ship the players out earlier? Not sign them in the first place? Do you think the management were too soft on them discipine-wise, which seems to counter what many McGhee critics say about him that he is too strong-willed and confrontational?

I'm not asking you to finger the players who you thought were a clique, but I would be interested to hear some reasonable solutions as to how such a situation a) could have been avoided and b) solved when it occured.

I think some of this was allowed to happen as some of the stronger personalities from the previous regimes are no longer here, a void if you like appears and sadly Leon stepped into it. I get the impression that things got to a point where people were treading on egg shells as approaching the main offenders carried the risk that the race card was played. The other problem was certain people seem to have been led into this and in the past this would not have happened.

Ideally this sort of thing needed to be nipped in the bud by McGhee and Booker as it seems it was allowed to carry on to a point where the only solution was to ship the worst offenders out. Although doing this removed the problem the damage had already been done.

 

[Uncle Buck]

Well, maybe that's the case. But you have to accept that you McGhee critics appear to be divided on this, some of you say he was too valuable a player to lose and should have been persisted with, you seem to be saying he had to be dealt with and possibly offloaded earlier.

I think your division highlights the difficult dilemma McGhee had and how neither alternative (selling him earlier, or persisting with attempts to turn him round) were that attractive.

I have tried to answer this in my reply to your other point. McGhee in my view is not blameless as things got to a point where somebody had to go.

 

[London Irish]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Leon Wants To Avoid The "Shoebox"

He is not aiming this at the fans at all in my opinoin and i think we would be silly to think otherwise the fans didn't give him shit while he was on the pitch if he is honest i am sure it's directed all in one direction as was Trolleys SCR outburst.

Except Mark McCammon went on record as saying he was sorry that Brighton were relegated. He made clear his differences were with McGhee (and I suspect Dick Knight too) only. Leon Knight has just flamed the entire club becuase he's an immature idiot.

 

[Tony Meolas Loan Spell]

Well, maybe that's the case. But you have to accept that you McGhee critics appear to be divided on this, some of you say he was too valuable a player to lose and should have been persisted with, you seem to be saying he had to be dealt with and possibly offloaded earlier.

I think your division highlights the difficult dilemma McGhee had and how neither alternative (selling him earlier, or persisting with attempts to turn him round) were that attractive.

What I am saying is that MM was right to ship him out but he had to because the damage had already been done. He was undoubtedly the most skilful player at the club but obviously a little shit as well.

This probably wouldnt have happened under Cullip?

And whilst I am no fan of MM, I feel he was right to get rid of Leon. I have never used that stick to beat him with.

 

[Deleted member 2719]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Leon Wants To Avoid The "Shoebox"

Except Mark McCammon went on record as saying he was sorry that Brighton were relegated. He made clear his differences were with McGhee (and I suspect Dick Knight too) only. Leon Knight has just flamed the entire club becuase he's an immature idiot.

I don't deny that Leon is immature i don't like the word Idiot as it does not acheive anything by using it.

Shouldn't our fans be mature enough not to rise to an immature comment like that when we know it isn't having ago at us directly, we know if we really think about it don't we?

After all how many times was Leon Knight
knight knight...............Chanted at him while he played for us?

Why would he want ago at us?

 

[The Large One]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Leon Wants To Avoid The "Shoebox"

He is not aiming this at the fans at all in my opinoin and i think we would be silly to think otherwise the fans didn't give him shit while he was on the pitch if he is honest i am sure it's directed all in one direction as was Trolleys SCR outburst.

Yes if Swansea don't go up and we end up playing them i don't think giving him any abuse will benefit our team if some of our team members don't like him they will be well up for this match.
Let's not motivate him to stick a couple past us by getting at him as some people are suggesting.

I agree not giving a 100% is unforgivable but we also need to be fair he was not alone at times last season.

You're right, it was not specifically aimed at the fans. It was aimed at everyone associated with the club, and all that he believes it represents. That just happens to include the fans, and yes, you as well.

There is a massive difference between 'not giving 100%' (which is just about THE understatement of the season) and the kind of attitude and disruption he decided to lump on us.

 

[The Large One]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Leon Wants To Avoid The "Shoebox"

I don't deny that Leon is immature i don't like the word Idiot as it does not acheive anything by using it.

Shouldn't our fans be mature enough not to rise to an immature comment like that when we know it isn't having ago at us directly, we know if we really think about it don't we?

After all how many times was Leon Knight
knight knight...............Chanted at him while he played for us?

Why would he want ago at us?

Don't be so bloody naive. He was aiming it at you, me, everyone.

 

[London Irish]

Ideally this sort of thing needed to be nipped in the bud by McGhee and Booker as it seems it was allowed to carry on to a point where the only solution was to ship the worst offenders out. Although doing this removed the problem the damage had already been done.

So what in essence you are saying is that McGhee was too soft on Knight's pissing around? If the scenario you paint is correct, I sympathise strongly with what you are saying that McGhee should have been tougher.

But you see I think that runs counter to the propaganda that Toad and Kinky put on here that the problem was McGhee's lack of tolerance for Knight's erratic behaviour.

But what I think you also have to accept is that, if McGhee had "nipped it in the bud" as you suggest, the end could have provoked with Knight far earlier than it eventually came with the Wolves substitution and subsequent disciplinary crackdown.

We might just have lost Leon Knight much, much earlier with McGhee cracking the whip far harder. Yes?

For me, it would have been very interesting to have seen if you would have supported McGhee going for that harder line approach much earlier. You will allow me some scepticism that your acknowledged dislike of McGhee would probably have led you to criticise him in that scenario too.