Virgil van Dijk - move back on? (Not presently)

[GingerBeerMan]

If we do sign Virgil, then I really hope our final signing (if there is one) is Liam Trotter.

Don't think we need Trotter. He'd be costly and with a unit at the back (Virgil) and a unit at the front (Ulloa) and Bridcutt weighing in too, we can leave the rest of the players to be creative (Lopez, Orlandi, Buckley, Vicente etc).

 

[Albumen]

Has Gus mentioned him yet?

 

[Bladders]

Is it confirmed anywhere that our bid has been accepted and he is free to talk to us?

 

[GingerBeerMan]

Is it confirmed anywhere that our bid has been accepted and he is free to talk to us?

Don't be silly, this is NSC, we deal in rumours and hearsay.

 

[Papa Lazarou]

El-Abd cannot pass forward, and also takes an absolute age in moving the ball quickly.

The reason he has twice as many passes as Greer is because teams are happy for El-Abd to have the ball as they know he cannot use it anywhere near as well as Greer.

We look a much better side with Dunk and Greer at home in my opinion, El-Abd definately comes into his own on away fixtures however.

Greer hasnt had a great couple of games recently, but lets be honest he has been superb for us in general since we signed him.

This saves me from typing my reply. Exactly. At times (not all the time) Adam looks petrified to pass forwards, probably in fear of losing it. He's a great combative defender, but he's just not comfortable on the ball.

Greer is better, but by no means best. He is more comfortable on the ball, and at times can ping some great passes, but can get a little too creative, and sometimes scares the life out of me with some of his passes.

 

[pishhead]

Has Gus mentioned him yet?

Manager Gus Poyet refused to rule out the possibility after The Argus revealed on Friday the Seagulls had an undisclosed bid rejected by Groningen for their Dutch under-21 international centre-half.

Everton, Newcastle and Sunderland have all been linked with the 6ft 4ins van Dijk.

Poyet, quizzed by The Argus about the possibility of a fresh bid, said: “I don’t know. We will think about it. There are too many rumours, too many things, we'll see.”

 

[stss30]

This saves me from typing my reply. Exactly. At times (not all the time) Adam looks petrified to pass forwards, probably in fear of losing it. He's a great combative defender, but he's just not comfortable on the ball.

Greer is better, but by no means best. He is more comfortable on the ball, and at times can ping some great passes, but can get a little too creative, and sometimes scares the life out of me with some of his passes.

This. In my view Greer and El-Abd are not good enough for the Premiership. Greer isn't good enough in the air and can play some sloppy passes at times, El-Abd, although a decent defender, can barely pass the ball.

 

[stss30]

The FC Gronigen fans do not seem happy at all, he is currently leading their player of the season vote comfortably. I really hope we have a chance but I'll believe it when I see it.

 

[JBizzle]

El-Abd cannot pass forward, and also takes an absolute age in moving the ball quickly.

The reason he has twice as many passes as Greer is because teams are happy for El-Abd to have the ball as they know he cannot use it anywhere near as well as Greer.

We look a much better side with Dunk and Greer at home in my opinion, El-Abd definately comes into his own on away fixtures however.

Greer hasnt had a great couple of games recently, but lets be honest he has been superb for us in general since we signed him.

In our area its become a bit of a running joke around Greer that a) he never passes to Calderon and b) he never passes forwards and c) is utterly terrified when the ball goes near him in the opposition box. As its a running joke it gets more emphasis than it probably merits but there are truths there.

Personally, I feel safer with E-lAbd because, as I said before, he's a "stop the shot at all costs" defender which is something we lack when Greer and Dunk play together.

 

[upthealbion1970]

on the basis that bruno/greer/bridge are 30+ and the fact that Greer is either good or turd with nothing in between, I can see VvD and El-Abd as the first choice for the forseeable with Bridders taking the captaincy. AEA has his faults, but is invaluable at the back - the only one of our current cb with that nasty streak that ALL teams need at least one of. Hopefully Dunky will be able to focus 100% on his football in a few weeks and start to fulfill his potential.

 

[Bladders]

Don't be silly, this is NSC, we deal in rumours and hearsay.

So, back to puns to pass the time then.........

 

[upthealbion1970]

So, back to puns to pass the time then.........

I'm sure the puns will PICK-UP soon........

 

[GingerBeerMan]

Too many puns, I can't jeep up with them all.

 

[Icy Gull]

Is the Come over the Dyke fanzine still going?

 

[Ninja Elephant]

Why haven't we got a MOLE in place at Groningen? It's time to replace our SIDEWINDER El-Abd at the back. When/if Virgil makes his debut, will Richie Reynolds sign off after announcing the teams by saying, "BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION ARE GO!"?

 

[goldstone]

Can't be bothered to read through all the posts on this thread to see whether this question has already been asked, but why sell Hall for a million quid and then buy a dutch CB for a million? Why not keep the talent we have? Not sure if my figures are accurate, but hope you get the gist of my question.

 

[Betfair Bozo]

Can't be bothered to read through all the posts on this thread to see whether this question has already been asked, but why sell Hall for a million quid and then buy a dutch CB for a million? Why not keep the talent we have? Not sure if my figures are accurate, but hope you get the gist of my question.

We didn't sell Hall. He refused a new contract.

 

[Icy Gull]

Can't be bothered to read through all the posts on this thread to see whether this question has already been asked, but why sell Hall for a million quid and then buy a dutch CB for a million? Why not keep the talent we have? Not sure if my figures are accurate, but hope you get the gist of my question.

Depends if he's better than Hall, my gut feeling is that he is..

 

[JBenno]

I'm bored of this "our defence is strong because we don't concede many goals" argument.

Our Centrebacks have been the weakest link in our defence all season I'm afraid and this is proven by the fact that we concede so many late goals, many of which are in areas which should be picked by by the central defenders.

The reason why we don't concede that many goals during is because many opposition attacks are broken down in midfield by Bridcutt and recently Hammond before they get the chance to put the ball into the area. When teams DO get the ball in the air around the penalty spot, they often score. Saturday was proof of this and so was Palace, Derby, Millwall & Bolton...On Saturday, two unchallenged headers where a decent centre back would have been (Forget about Kusczak's mistake, Vigic had a clean header on goal).

Both Greer and El-Abd are great players for us for 70 minutes in a game and I would always have the latter in my squad, but overall if we want to get promotion, then we need to look for better defenders as neither of these are not good enough for a top end of the Championship/bottom of the Premier League team. Dunk, hopefully will be one day once he hasn't got anything hanging over his head I'm convinced of it.

This guy is spot on!

We simply do not defend crosses/corners well enough game in game out.

The player who seems to defend best with his head, is funnily enough Ashley Barnes.

 

[Bakero]

Can't be bothered to read through all the posts on this thread to see whether this question has already been asked, but why sell Hall for a million quid and then buy a dutch CB for a million? Why not keep the talent we have? Not sure if my figures are accurate, but hope you get the gist of my question.

I don't think we decided to sell Hall. He was down the pecking order with us and was offered a contract with a top prem team. I guess he'd rather play for their development squad, on higher wages no doubt, than ours.

VvD is not a replacement for Hall. Sounds like a top prospect who'd most likely go straight into the first 11.