[Albion] 1 goal in 3 games

[um bongo molongo]

Sounds odd to say given his position, but I think the loss of Bissouma has unbalanced us. We tried sticking with the same formation (3-4-3) and Gross and Lallana got completely overrun. We then (rightly) added Moder to the middle of the park to sure us up, but that has meant sacrificing an out and out attacker. Biss is that good, that we need two to replace him (and for the mid term need to hope that Caicedo / Mwepu can do the same all-action job when he inevitably moves on to bigger things)

 

[Sheebo]

Over the course of the first few games, where there was much "Brighton have sorted out their goalscoring problem" and "what have Brighton changed this season?" type stuff in the media, I was thinking "Oh no we haven't" and "nothing".

We had a bit of good fortune over the first few games but, frankly, we were due a bit.

We remain what we have been for a while: a very good footballing side lacking a clinical edge.

Obtaining that clinical edge is difficult, costly and there are no guarantees that any attempted solution will work.

Fortunately our miserly defence helps mitigate what we lack at the other end of the pitch.

Agreed with all this but would also suggest it’s very hard to have both - ie be a great defensive unit but also be scoring a lot etc. But yes, as [MENTION=19]Icy Gull[/MENTION] says l, it’s unlikely to get better than this so enjoy it - we could be on for our best ever season. 1 defeat in 8 in the prem is superb.

 

[PeterOut]

It's actually quite bizarre how often we manage to achieve that rarified skill of lifting the ball over the bar from just about point blank range. Who's taking the coaching sessions? The Krankies?

Maybe Lukaku is sending us tips on finishing? After all, that is what you would expect from a man who just cost almost £100m, isn't it?

 

[doogie004]

With Gross and Lallana playing together we lack pace , power and energy in midfield, thus reducing our chances of scoring

[emoji106]


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[Harry Wilson's tackle]

We need a clinical finisher.. If Muzza had been on the end of the chance that Maupay miraculously managed to lift over the bar yesterday he would have scored it 11 times out of 10.

But with Muzza in the side the move wouldn't have happened - why attack quickly when the centre forward is still outside the box? When we relied on Muzza the build up had to be slower, and consequently the attacks were fewer. The massive difference that Potter has brought is a faster attacking style. If we crossed a bit more consistently and had a better FAST finisher we would be, er Liverpool!

 

[jimhigham]

Would definitely like to see Mac Allister used more. He has an eye for those clever little passes that unlock defences (like vs Brentford).

 

[HP Seagull]

A bad gross delivery is still better than march

The same March who set up our best two chances yesterday? His delivery is consistently good and he’s become one of the most effective players at the club, who is very unlucky not to be in the starting 11 at the moment.

 

[maltaseagull]

It's actually quite bizarre how often we manage to achieve that rarified skill of lifting the ball over the bar from just about point blank range. Who's taking the coaching sessions? The Krankies?

Have you considered offering your expert knowledge to GP?
I am sure he would really appreciate your positive input.

 

[Gazwag]

You look at some of yesterday's goals and what strikes me is the amount of deflections put the ball in the net, most notably Wolves fluky winner. We never get that sort of luck.

 

[Seagull58]

But with Muzza in the side the move wouldn't have happened - why attack quickly when the centre forward is still outside the box? When we relied on Muzza the build up had to be slower, and consequently the attacks were fewer. The massive difference that Potter has brought is a faster attacking style. If we crossed a bit more consistently and had a better FAST finisher we would be, er Liverpool!

But we don't generally attack that fast and Muzza was quick enough to get on the end of over 200 chances and turn them into goals. He was plenty quick enough to bamboozle De Gea.

 

[Seagull58]

Baffling how gross gets 90mins no matter what . Poorest player we have on current form


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Wash your mouth out with soap. Even on one leg Gross would create more chances than anyone else in the club.

 

[Stat Brother]

This thread's gonna look mightily silly when we get into double figures, over the next 2 games.

 

[Swansman]

But we don't generally attack that fast and Muzza was quick enough to get on the end of over 200 chances and turn them into goals. He was plenty quick enough to bamboozle De Gea.

He also missed chances.

People saying that someone would score on Maupays chance "11 times out of 10" are plainy wrong and have a selective memory. Watch old Brighton highlights and you'll find Murray missing great chances. Same goes for literally every striker who ever played football. Some more than others obviously, but there is no such thing as a striker who scored every time he had a great opportunity. Not even Glenn.

 

[Seagull58]

I think the main struggle is that there is no one to carry the ball past their first line of defense. Webster and Bissouma are the ones usually doing this. Instead of just carrying the ball past their forwards and midfielders, the team now needs to pass and combine through it, which is more difficult and results in slower buildup and more mistakes.

I only saw second half against Arsenal but against both CP and Norwich the team didnt create enough chances to score more than one goal, really. So yeah maybe a bit more Ali Mac (maybe, not entirely sure he is that type of player) as neither Gross or Lallana are going to start sprinting past opponents any time soon. Hopefully Webster and Bissouma will be back soon.

I have to object against the "very mediocre teams" thing though (and I'm also sure all of their fans were saying the same about Brighton). There is no such thing in the Premier League. No one won a lottery to get to the currently best league in the world and no one won a lottery to stay up. I dont think there has ever been a season where a team ending up in the bottom 3 didnt beat a team ending up in the top 3. When people use those "predict all results" websites, the bottom teams usually end up with 20 or so points with three or four getting close to 100, which is never happening in reality. Its a tough sport. To say that there are no easy games is no exaggeration. This applies to a lot of sports but football in particular because in a low scoring game the much scorned concept of "luck" plays a significant part.

I agree with your first point. Webster and Bissouma are usually the ones carrying the ball into the other half and sliding passes through (or getting dispossessed in Webby's case).

 

[deslynhamsmoustache1]

Need to mix up our corners more. too many out swingers with the Brighton train waiting. You just Can't beat a vicious in swinger. (see West Ham's goal at Everton today),

 

[CheeseRolls]

GD +3

If you want to be negative it is the some way short of the top three and no better than eighth placed Brentford.

...I can't write this stuff without thinking, what is the point of being so utterly negative? We are still in fourth place!
Why do people insist they must have a cherry on the top?

 

[Dibdab]

A bad gross delivery is still better than march

The March that was in the running for player of the season before his injury last season.

 

[Machiavelli]

Over the course of the first few games, where there was much "Brighton have sorted out their goalscoring problem" and "what have Brighton changed this season?" type stuff in the media, I was thinking "Oh no we haven't" and "nothing".

We had a bit of good fortune over the first few games but, frankly, we were due a bit.

We remain what we have been for a while: a very good footballing side lacking a clinical edge.

Obtaining that clinical edge is difficult, costly and there are no guarantees that any attempted solution will work.

Fortunately our miserly defence helps mitigate what we lack at the other end of the pitch.

Yes, this, all the way. They said on MotD that in 2021 only City and Chelsea have kept more clean sheets than us. Sanchez's record is excellent but, as Potter frequently says, we defend as a team from front to back.

 

[tigertim68]

They are both used as pivots, not ball carriers - they don't need to be fast, just skillful. It's the others arpund them who need to do more running!

When was the last time they dominated midfield , the answer is never , because they don’t have pace and power , our other midfield players are too lightweight to do any extra running

 

[The Fits]

I agree with your first point. Webster and Bissouma are usually the ones carrying the ball into the other half and sliding passes through (or getting dispossessed in Webby's case).

We miss them both massively. Also White.
Which means we are doing incredibly well.