[Albion] Potter’s Greatest Flaw

[Silverhatch]

The issue is more technical than "can't win games we should win".

The problem is this:

Big teams who are confident against us = They come out and play, we have space to attack, we can play our game.

Lesser teams who are not so confident against us = 10/11 behind the ball, we have space to play infront of them, but we can't break through the crowd and struggle to score.

The challenge we have is to improve our work in very tight spaces in the forward areas. Give us space for a counter and we are deadly. But park the bus and we struggle find a way through it.

All ball playing sides have this problem, but they are usually able to solve it because they are usually very rich sides, they play this way because they have amazing players and they often find a way in key moments to break through.

The truth is we are probably playing a level / style of football which is a little on the bold side for the players we have. But they can work on it, they can improve. Over time the players we have will get better (most are young), Potter will try to help them, we will strengthen the squad over time etc. I'm not saying this squad can't play this way. Just that we are coming up against an inevitable problem when you do. If we manage to solve this problem permanently it will probably be after a combination of 1) our best players reaching their full potential, and b) further strengthening over coming windows.

Don't feel down hearted about that fact that mastery of our playing style and system will take time, because when we do solve this problem permanently , there won't be much else to solve. The difference between where we are now and solving this problem is the difference between being a quality PL side vs playing in Europe and challenging for silverware.

Against organised, deep lying, counter-attacking sides you have to play with an even greater intensity to disrupt their shape. Having intensity and concentration against the “big” PL clubs is a given. Really felt that we thought we could just turn up and smash Newcastle yesterday. They set up as they did against Chelsea. Quite a compliment to Potter, but we didn’t have two wing-back-wonder strikes to get a result.

 

[Seagull58]

After we scored we stopped doing the things we do when we are at our best. We started to slow down and take too many touches and the ball didn't go forward quickly enough. I don't know how often it has to happen before one or two of the players realise this. If Potter can't affect it from the technical area, then Dunk as captain has to issue a few on-field bollockings.

Dunk and Duffy were the main two slowing it all down. 10 passes to each other across the area and then a slow stroll forward.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Brilliant manager, coach and technician, the best we’ve ever had. So good at analysing top opposition who will play their own style to try and beat us.

Whenever we’re the underdog we seem to out perform expectation, always in performance and often with results. However, as soon as the onus is on us to dictate a game we should win we largely fail. He can’t instil a game plan that gets results.

He talks a lot about ‘personality’, but the next step in our evolution has to be to find a way to put sides we should be beating to the sword. We need our own ‘personality’. It’s his biggest failing and he’s not ready for a ‘big club’ until he can master it. Good news for us I guess.

With respect, you've just constructed an aftertiming bit of narrative there, based on the Norwich and Newcastle results. What about the Burnley, Watford and Brentford results? Seems to me that's five potential pratfalls in eleven games that we've avoided to a greater or lesser extent. Wouldn't have happened last season. Or the one before that etc

 

[Swansman]

You're dodging the issue. Potter doesn't have a strategy/tactic to beat teams who sit deep and park the bus or, if he does have one, the team doesn't execute it.

Dodging it? I mentioned it: while any result is in part down to Grahams tactics, the quality of the players is the main factor. Brighton doesnt have the quality to consistently win games in the Premier League. That is the main "issue".

 

[Hugo Rune]

You're dodging the issue. Potter doesn't have a strategy/tactic to beat teams who sit deep and park the bus or, if he does have one, the team doesn't execute it.

He has tactics and they normally work against Newcastle. Playing Welbeck and Maupay out wide as wingers with Groß & Moder as tucked in attacking midfielders/false wing backs was a stroke of genius in the previous Newcastle fixture.

What Potter does not have is world class attacking players to rely on so he has to find other ways, that’s how Klopp, Guardiloa and Tuchel normally cope with parked buses.

Sometimes, the players have to take some blame too. Cucurella got into some amazing positions to score, shame it was not Burnley’s new left wing back Cornet.

That said, it’s clear that Potter needs to come up with some new ideas for dealing with a flat back 5.

 

[Stat Brother]

That said, it’s clear that Potter needs to come up with some new ideas for dealing with a flat back 5.

Right now I'd accept an idea.

All this 'bad workman blaming his tools' nonsense I'm seeing this morning doesn't deal with the one constant factor in all of these games.

Mr Potter.

 

[Icy Gull]

It irritated me that if often took three passes to reach Lamptey when it should have taken one. It happened alot and because of it Newcastle normally ended up doubling up on Lamptey. No idea what the thinking was, why not release him quickly?

There were also a few occasions when players (particularly March) in the first half when a player was ready to make a run in behind Toon who were pressing high and instead of launching a long ball we went sideways or backwards.

 

[Hugo Rune]

It irritated me that if often took three passes to reach Lamptey when it should have taken one. It happened alot and because of it Newcastle normally ended up doubling up on Lamptey. No idea what the thinking was, why not release him quickly?

I saw exactly what you mean yesterday too.

However, I’m not sure their flat back 5 would have had any issues with Lamptey getting an early ball into the box no matter how good the delivery. Him and Veltman put some great balls into the box in the 1st half, but there was no one to meet them.

 

[Swansman]

Right now I'd accept an idea.

All this 'bad workman blaming his tools' nonsense I'm seeing this morning doesn't deal with the one constant factor in all of these games.

Mr Potter.

Also Lewis Dunk, so the problem why Brighton cant stroll into a top 4 position by beating every team on the bottom half must be down to those guys.

Get rid and watch this 1-1 turn into easy 5-0 wins, just like in the past.

 

[Seagull58]

The negative tenor of this thread is bizzare. Unless I am mistaken we are currently 6th in the premier League a position we could only have dreamed of last season. Football is a game of incidents, accidents and mistakes and we've seen them all this season. No team wins all the matches it is "supposed to" otherwise city would have beaten Palace and Liverpool would have beaten us. It's a the unpredictability of the game that makes it good to watch.

Of course we can always be better, the game was poor but for goodness sake if we are going to beat all the"teams we should" and a lot of better teams we shouldn't we would be top of the league. I don't think many of us expect that.

That's not the point. Potter has tactics that work against teams that come out and play but he doesn't have tactics that work against teams that sit deep and rely on an occasional counterattack or set piece.

 

[Icy Gull]

That's not the point. Potter has tactics that work against teams that come out and play but he doesn't have tactics that work against teams that sit deep and rely on an occasional counterattack or set piece.

We know from when Hughton was here that defending in depth frustrates all but the best teams, we are not one of them

Newcastle have much better forwards than us so were a real threat on the break, let’s give their manager some credit for the set up

 

[Stat Brother]

That's not the point. Potter has tactics that work against teams that come out and play but he doesn't have tactics that work against teams that sit deep and rely on an occasional counterattack or set piece.

And if he's half the coach some would have us believe, you would of thought, by now, he could of worked something out.

It's not like this is a new problem.

 

[Guinness Boy]

And if he's half the coach some would have us believe, you would of thought, by now, he could of worked something out.

It's not like this is a new problem.

Exactly. Last night was an exact repetition of so many of last season's games.

 

[Seagull58]

And if he's half the coach some would have us believe, you would of thought, by now, he could of worked something out.

It's not like this is a new problem.

I would have thought. Agree with your point though.

 

[Pavilionaire]

In the Premier League you are never safe with a 1-0 lead, so when you are 1-0 up and coasting you should press for a second. Lallana embodies this - he should be the player taking us to a 2-0 lead but I thought he eased off in that 2nd half.

However, March, MacAllister, Maupay were also largely anonymous too, and when we took Lamptey off we had no X Factor.

 

[Swansman]

And if he's half the coach some would have us believe, you would of thought, by now, he could of worked something out.

It's not like this is a new problem.

Most of those who think he is a great coach is also those who are realistic humans (unlike you and others who cant handle a disappointing result without pulling the pitch forks), knowing that Brighton wont always win and that there is a lot of reasons for that - the main one being the quality of footballers. This season Newcastle lost against West Ham, Aston Villa, Wolves, Tottenham and Chelsea. What these teams have in common - maybe with the exception of Wolves & Villa - is that they have better footballers than Brighton. This season Newcastle drew against Southampton, Leeds, Watford, Crystal Palace and Brighton. What these have in common is a similar level of players.

Football is played on the football pitch, not on the tactical board.

 

[Nitram]

I think the main reason these games are more difficult is that we need to take initiative and not having a top striker/s makes that difficult so when teams sit back we can’t break them down. Potter can only work with what he’s got, the lack of top forwards is really exposed in these type of games.

 

[Stat Brother]

I'm now wondering how all his draws at Swansea manifested themselves?

It's hard not to think this is GPotts achilles heel, we've seen it so many times how far can it be traced back?

 

[Stat Brother]

At least the fixture list has been kind to GPott.

For one reason or another I reckon we've now got a month away from GPott getting completely out coached.
We ought to just bookmark all the threads and dust them off again in the wake of the Wolves game.

 

[Right Back]

Until we have a big strong centre forward who could score in the air we will struggle against the poor teams who park the bus when they go away. That is what the squad is missing. More of an issue at home as even the poor teams will attack more when they are the home side.