Sam Baldock made the difference

[BHA Haywards Heath]

I actually think Baldock wasn't as good as he can be last night. His running and off the ball work which stretches the opposition defence in a way that Wilson never does. Watching Wilson off the ball he barely gets above a stroll, though I'm not denying his quality on it, which definitely outstrips Baldock's. But having an effect on the game is not just about whether he assists or scores a goal. Though I did think Baldock's touch and control were a little off last night, maybe a result of being out of the team for a couple of weeks.

As regards CMS, I think had he been in this team we might be saying similar things to those we are saying about Baldock, though Baldock is better technically. CMS was always a strange fit for the style we wanted to play, but now we play far higher pace football that may have suited his headless chicken approach better.

 

[Ninja Elephant]

What you are missing is that his runs do not mean he is always going to get the ball, but it does mean that he pulls the opposition defence all over the place. Wilson is OK at doing this, but his lethargy means he doesn't do it as often and as effectively as Baldock does. Skalak and Knockaert have been excellent, yes, but you need to create space for your top players to use. If they don't have space they also become ineffective. Baldock helped create that space last night, and if you can't see that then, I'm sorry, but you are incredibly blinkered.

That's very generous praise because you're assuming that his runs were to draw defenders away, rather than running into positions where he couldn't get the ball. It's a bit like LuaLua hiding inside a defender when our left back has it, is he opening up space for the full back to bomb on? Is he tucking into a position where he can't have an impact on the game? Etc. It's all about interpretation and personally, I didn't see anything from him last night which was anything other than the bare basic minimum you would expect from a striker, whatever your expectation of what they should offer the team. Maybe my expectations are unrealistic and maybe I've given up on Baldock, but if they are and I have, it's because of his "performances" over the last two years.

It's unfortunate that the only home game I missed last season was the one game he played well in, against Ipswich.

 

[Loftslaces]

I thought his defensive play was fantastic - just when we needed it he got us the ball back - very underrated player

 

[JCL666]

Wilson is a talented player who can conjure something out of nothing. He's 20 and will clearly develop into a very very good player. I hope (forlornly) that we can somehow keep hold of him.

Baldock is part of this #together team thing. He works hard in all areas and his partnership with Hemed is the best one since Murray/Barnes.

I'm not sure he's a Premier League player, but Hughton gets the best out of him. I just wish (as others do) that he would score a few more.

 

[Brighton Mod]

I arrived much earlier than normal last night and ,whilst sitting in WSU at around 7 O'clock,the team was read out. When Baldock's name was read out someone to my left and slightly lower down shouted W*NKER really loudly. If that was you and you read this and post on here you really need to take a long hard look at yourself. As an aside. It was Baldock who won the corner leading to the third goal.

Baldock is good at winning corners, he should have started the game and we could have had more corners, without him where would we get our corners from.

 

[Springal]

That's very generous praise because you're assuming that his runs were to draw defenders away, rather than running into positions where he couldn't get the ball. It's a bit like LuaLua hiding inside a defender when our left back has it, is he opening up space for the full back to bomb on? Is he tucking into a position where he can't have an impact on the game? Etc. It's all about interpretation and personally, I didn't see anything from him last night which was anything other than the bare basic minimum you would expect from a striker, whatever your expectation of what they should offer the team. Maybe my expectations are unrealistic and maybe I've given up on Baldock, but if they are and I have, it's because of his "performances" over the last two years.

It's unfortunate that the only home game I missed last season was the one game he played well in, against Ipswich.

You are being a bit of a dick here and appear to be conveniently forgetting his performances in the lead up to the end of 2015 and how it matched our performances being part of the unbeaten run

 

[ThePompousPaladin]

Baldock is good at winning corners, he should have started the game and we could have had more corners, without him where would we get our corners from.

Also good at winning free kicks.

So i have been a supporter of Wilson, but the lad is starting to irk me, when we first got him he was sharp and quick, now he looks like he has the turning circle of the QE2.

It's been 4? months since his injury spell.

 

[ThePompousPaladin]

... I didn't see anything from him last night which was anything other than the bare basic minimum you would expect from a striker, whatever your expectation of what they should offer the team.

I don't really see him as a 'striker', he doesn't really play that role.