[Albion] A Watershed Result

[Brighton Mod]

We can't defend and we can't score. Clearly what we have been doing thus far has not worked. Some players are tired others are just not performing, is Ch just going to follow the same tactics and same players week after week. I don't subscribe that he is using the best players every time, his rotation is non existent and our game plan is predictable and just too simple for other teams to work out. Our trajectory has been downwards for two months and still we see the same every time. Moyes and Roy have leap frogged us in just two months. Its not a new striker we need, its game plan that actually produces opportunities.

 

[stss30]

Hughton needs to release the handbrake and play 4-4-2, which is what got us promoted in the first place! 4-5-1 just leaves forward players horrendously isolated.

 

[Seagulls1984]

Not good enough at this level I'm afraid .

 

[Icy Gull]

The pundits predictions that we would fade and end up getting relegated look a real possibility now.

 

[GJN1]

Much as though I admire and respect the man, it was the same when he was at Norwich. All too one-dimensional...

 

[Icy Gull]

Much as though I admire and respect the man, it was the same when he was at Norwich. All too one-dimensional...

Unfortunately both Norwich (when they were there) and Brighton are teams that are Premier League relegation scrappers, Did Norwich benefit from sacking Hughton? Have they got a better manager now? Have they achieved anything better since he was sacked? At least he had kept them up for a season and may have done again when they sacked him whilst still not in the bottom three.

Team spirit is all you can rely on when you don’t have the quality and he appears to be able to bring that to teams.

 

[biddles911]

Hughton needs to release the handbrake and play 4-4-2, which is what got us promoted in the first place! 4-5-1 just leaves forward players horrendously isolated.

Unless we can find that elusive, pacy striker pdq I think you’re right. With our current squad I simply can’t see that we’ll survive this season without a change in tactics that brings more goals.

Part of the problem is our defence isn’t good enough to release our wingers to get up the field. AK has had a lot of criticism but he’s spending far too much time trying to defend (which he’s crap at anyway!). Ditto March and Izquierdo.

Not Baldock’s greatest fan but I’d certainly give him an extended runout in current circumstances and hope he lasts the pace without getting injured again.

I’d also give Kayal more games as he’s both tenacious and positive and would give our forwards far better support.

Plus even our best players are looking pretty knackered now......


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[Barry M]

I'm not sure chopping and changing the full backs is working , could be the issue with set pieces as it's always change.

 

[Brighton Mod]

Unless we can find that elusive, pacy striker pdq I think you’re right. With our current squad I simply can’t see that we’ll survive this season without a change in tactics that brings more goals.

Part of the problem is our defence isn’t good enough to release our wingers to get up the field. AK has had a lot of criticism but he’s spending far too much time trying to defend (which he’s crap at anyway!). Ditto March and Izquierdo.

Not Baldock’s greatest fan but I’d certainly give him an extended runout in current circumstances and hope he lasts the pace without getting injured again.

I’d also give Kayal more games as he’s both tenacious and positive and would give our forwards far better support.

Plus even our best players are looking pretty knackered now......


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The best we saw of Kayal is better than both Propper and Stephens, I always thought that Stephens shone in Kayals reflected glory. Get Kayal to start, he's fit now and ready, he is tenacious, aggresive and has an eye for a through ball, not really seen that from either Stephens or Propper,but in their defence with CHs negative view of things they are our fifth and sixth defenders so hardly a chance to look forward.

 

[Sussex Nomad]

I think this must be Groundhog Day. I could swear I've read the same thread about 6 times, just with different titles, tonight.

 

[LlcoolJ]

What's needed is a few more threads on exactly the same subject.

 

[djentist]

The pundits predictions that we would fade and end up getting relegated look a real possibility now.

Maybe Garth Crooks wasn't wrong after all

 

[Sarisbury Seagull]

We’ve just got a very average squad of players in premier league terms. The only hope we’ve got of staying up and the reason why we have the points we do is down to Hughton’s management.

I’ve got every faith in him, he just needs more support in terms of recruitment and defenders (yes Duffy, that’s you) who actually do the job their asked to.

 

[ManOfSussex]

What we need is Mr Tony Bloom saying what is for........................

 

[army ali]

Something I posted after the Bournemouth game but have been saying it for the past few months:

I may get slated here but I think CH is missing a trick in our formation, which in my opinion has lost us 4 points from the last 3 games. Here goes with my reasoning with how we could improve:

At the back - Goldson (who Has Maldiniesque tendencies) is a better footballer than Duffy; Duffy is hard and enjoys the ugly side of the game, getting stuck in when needed; Dunk is a mixture of both but needs to rely on someone to tidy up when needed. Equation - play all three together.

Midfield - We have a severe lack of bite in the centre which served us so well over the last 2 seasons. Propper and Stephens too alike and cancel each other out. Either play Stephens/Propper and Kayal. My opinion, Stephens and Kayal with Propper in the hole in an attacking free roaming type position (funnily enough, the one he does very well with The Netherlands). Ok, that leaves a problem with Groß but I will come back to him in a minute. Wide you can set up to either hold and defend with Schelotto/Bruno or Suttner/Bong (left and right) or attack with Izquierdo and Knocky (again left and right respectively). Opponent dependent.

Up Front - Murray/Hemed and Baldock. Playing 1 up front has severely restricted our goal scoring opportunities, because quite frankly, there is no one in the box because the lone striker is out of position with link up play. 2 up front obviously means that leaves one for link up and feeding with one in the box to receive.

The mathematicians, statisticians and tactitians amongst you will recognise this as a 3-5-2 formation which can be interchanged to either a defensive or attack minded formation dependent on home/away/opposition.

Now the elephant in the room - Groß. He runs his socks off every game giving everything. For me, he is simply outstanding but I think he is being asked too much of to either support midfield (most of the time) and support the attack. However, he is so effective in that ‘hole’. So, does he replace Propper in that position as THE attacking midfielder with Propper replacing Stephens? Either way, Groß must always start but I do not feel the same way with Propper or Stephens. However, we need ‘bite’ in that central midfield and that is Kayal. This will also help our front pair and (in my opinion) could really scare some (most) of the opposition outside of the top 6.

Anyway, that’s it. In a nutshell, something has to change to convert draws into wins. I do not understand comments of ‘we are learning’ or ‘a point will do’, that’s way too negative. We have a squad of players that can thrive instead of survive. We can definitely be brave and we do look like we belong.

I am not saying we can beat everyone or that we can easily be in the top 10. What I am saying is that we can thrive. That is good for our future.

Just a few thoughts.

 

[dazzer6666]

Something I posted after the Bournemouth game but have been saying it for the past few months:

I may get slated here but I think CH is missing a trick in our formation, which in my opinion has lost us 4 points from the last 3 games. Here goes with my reasoning with how we could improve:

At the back - Goldson (who Has Maldiniesque tendencies) is a better footballer than Duffy; Duffy is hard and enjoys the ugly side of the game, getting stuck in when needed; Dunk is a mixture of both but needs to rely on someone to tidy up when needed. Equation - play all three together.

Midfield - We have a severe lack of bite in the centre which served us so well over the last 2 seasons. Propper and Stephens too alike and cancel each other out. Either play Stephens/Propper and Kayal. My opinion, Stephens and Kayal with Propper in the hole in an attacking free roaming type position (funnily enough, the one he does very well with The Netherlands). Ok, that leaves a problem with Groß but I will come back to him in a minute. Wide you can set up to either hold and defend with Schelotto/Bruno or Suttner/Bong (left and right) or attack with Izquierdo and Knocky (again left and right respectively). Opponent dependent.

Up Front - Murray/Hemed and Baldock. Playing 1 up front has severely restricted our goal scoring opportunities, because quite frankly, there is no one in the box because the lone striker is out of position with link up play. 2 up front obviously means that leaves one for link up and feeding with one in the box to receive.

The mathematicians, statisticians and tactitians amongst you will recognise this as a 3-5-2 formation which can be interchanged to either a defensive or attack minded formation dependent on home/away/opposition.

Now the elephant in the room - Groß. He runs his socks off every game giving everything. For me, he is simply outstanding but I think he is being asked too much of to either support midfield (most of the time) and support the attack. However, he is so effective in that ‘hole’. So, does he replace Propper in that position as THE attacking midfielder with Propper replacing Stephens? Either way, Groß must always start but I do not feel the same way with Propper or Stephens. However, we need ‘bite’ in that central midfield and that is Kayal. This will also help our front pair and (in my opinion) could really scare some (most) of the opposition outside of the top 6.

Anyway, that’s it. In a nutshell, something has to change to convert draws into wins. I do not understand comments of ‘we are learning’ or ‘a point will do’, that’s way too negative. We have a squad of players that can thrive instead of survive. We can definitely be brave and we do look like we belong.

I am not saying we can beat everyone or that we can easily be in the top 10. What I am saying is that we can thrive. That is good for our future.

Just a few thoughts.

Great post, been discussing almost all the same points.