[Albion] AFC Bournemouth vs Brighton & Hove Albion *** Official Match Thread ***

[birthofanorange]

I am afraid the injuries thing has masked some really poor decision making from RDZ. His inability to be pragmatic in game and with the players at is disposal is a major flaw in this skills set. Bloom won't sack him, we are stuck with him.

Good.

 

[raymondo]

What's the point? He's off for good in a couple of weeks, so let's give some of our own a bit of game time. In fact, we might as well pop him on a plane home now.

I was joking......but I don't really know why he's even on the bench then . Better put an academy player on the bench instead, I reckon.

 

[trueblue]

Fair point, but I think we'll be fine next season.

On balance, so do I… but I think Bloom & Barber should assess whether he’s in it for the long(ish) term.

 

[Seagull58]

If de Zerbi doesn't walk he should be given next season with a full, fit squad (to start with).

 

[NorthStandSeagull]

I'm sorry but that's bollocks.
They have a huge stadium. An England regular who has scored what 20 goals this season?! Paqueta walks into any team in world football. They're historically one of this biggest clubs in England.
It's deranged to think we are more appealing.

Talk about talking bollocks! Read your reply back.
Since when was football won on being a “big” club a few years back? To think paqueta walks into any team is deranged and worrying. Bowens been the only player really carry the scoring burden for them and he’s hardly an England regular! And for the stadium it’s the withdean on steroids, soulless bowl with a running track and fans being miles away from the pitch.

 

[Albion my Albion]

At the end of the season with CH we were the worst.

You denegrate the great Hughton?

YCKMLWGA arse!!!!!

 

[Zeus]

I personally feel RDZ has talked us into our current form just as much as his words took us to the heights last season. Then it was all about belief and how we could beat anyone, this season right from the start has been need to rotate, the mythical 3 games a week, tiredness, lack of signings. Psychology and words create reality.

 

[Albion my Albion]

Say what you like against CH, but we always looked solid at the back and rarely got completely smashed. We lost a lot of games by a goal or two, but rarely by more than that.

And we looked dangerous from set pieces.

Was it exciting? Not so much. But it did get the fundamentals mostly right.

A thousand likes!!!!!

 

[Krafty]

Credit to Bournemouth and their manager, Areola for what he has done at that club. They are doing very well at the moment!

 

[BevBHA]

If de Zerbi doesn't walk he should be given next season with a full, fit squad (to start with).

No chance. You learn most about people in the hardest times. He hasn’t got the balls he suggests he has.

 

[birthofanorange]

Football fans, eh? We start the season magnificently, results-wise...have our European tour for the fist time ever and RDZ/TB are the new Messiahs.
Long-term injuries to key players and we started to struggle, but still held our own - for far longer than I thought possible.
Fati didn't work - he may as well been smoking one, but it was a gamble that didn't pay off.
Of course RDZ is frustrated, as are the players and we, the fans, but we have no God-given right to light-up the PL season after season.
Yes, I'm disappointed with how this one is ending, but jeez....I'm nowhere near despondent, and nor should any of you be.
I'm happy to admit that if next season starts the way this one is finishing, I'm prepared to think again, but let's not jump to conclusions already.
Keep the faith.

 

[Eric the meek]

Comment on the BBC Have Your Say:

'Well done Bournemouth.
As for Brighton, that was abject. Yes there are injuries, but the team still has some great players. Seems RDZ has plan A, but no plan B or C. Now it seems everyone has worked out "RDZ ball". Life was too easy for Bournemouth today.'

If - if - all the above is true, couple it with the cold hard evidence of our long term decline in form, then RDZ has a shelf life, and the implication for next season is not good.

 

[Goberpiles]

Not hard to see how we are struggling 1 goal in 8 games scored by us, 2 were own goals against awful sides, if we didn’t have a good start we would be in serious trouble right now.

 

[BevBHA]

Football fans, eh? We start the season magnificently, results-wise...have out European tour for the fist time ever and RDZ/TB are the new Messiahs.
Long-term injuries to key players and we started to struggle, but sill held our own - for far longer than I thought possible.
Fati didn't work - he may as well been smoking one, but it was a gamble that didn't pay off.
Of course RDZ is frustrated, as are the players and we, the fans, but we have no God-given right to light-up the PL season after season.
Yes, I'm disappointed with how this one is ending, but jeez....I'm nowhere near despondent, and nor should any of you be.
I'm happy to admit that if next season starts the way this one is finishing, I'm prepared to think again, but let's not jump to conclusions already.
Keep the faith.

Credit your positivity but your post reads as if we’ve had a few bad weeks and fans are over reacting.

But the reality is we’ve been dire for ages. Even in Europe, other than the Marseille and Ajax home games where we played well, the other 4 group games the performance levels were poor, despite good results. Roma away we were shocking. Roma at home we beat a team who knew they barely had to try as they were already through. We limped out the FA cup at Wolves with nothing more than a whimper.

This is not a recent issue, we are in a massive rut and have been for 6 months or more now.

 

[Garry Nelson's Left Foot]

But the manager is the one who should be getting that from them. Motivation is the first major thing you need in any management job, even in a shop.

I disagree. I think they are the absolute fundametals that every player regardless of level should bring to the table.

Lack of cohesion, tactics etc absolutely put at the door of the manager. Can't be arsed to run or get knocked off the ball by a slight breeze, lazy passing, poor decision making are all on the player.

I'm not on the anti RDZ band wagon but I was beginning to wonder when for an hour we looked so bereft of any cohesion or ideas. Then we upped our game(a bit) and started to look like a bit like our old selves just low on confidence. If mid game they can switch like that then that to me is nothing to do with the manager but all to do with the players.

They've checked out of the season. Why they've done that I'll leave to all the RDZ haters to go over. The truth of their claims will come out in the wash.

 

[Zeberdi]

We are so so so poor.

They look like a bunch of people who have never played together before.

Actually some of them haven’t apart from exercises in training - I suspect the many changes we’ve made this season due to injuries and bringing in so many young players to fill gaps and constantly using players out of position has completely undermined the coherency of the squad which has spilled out onto the pitch at times.

Unlike many others, I think this is a season specific, temporary problem - offloading some squad bloaters in the summer, buying another decent winger, defensive Midfielder and another FB (that can play right and left ideally) and doing so early on in the window so they have summer training to settle in, will go a long way IMO to building us up again for 24/25.

The key will also be not selling important players but giving them decent incentives to stay.

As Paul Barber said last week, the Club is well run with everyone aligned as to ambition and targets but when things aren’t going so well, it’s that alignment that helps you recover.

 

[Washie]

Talk about talking bollocks! Read your reply back.
Since when was football won on being a “big” club a few years back? To think paqueta walks into any team is deranged and worrying. Bowens been the only player really carry the scoring burden for them and he’s hardly an England regular! And for the stadium it’s the withdean on steroids, soulless bowl with a running track and fans being miles away from the pitch.

Managers don't care on a stadium being soulless, only fans do. They will also finish much higher than us, so that better squad can be disputed. Last season they also won a Trophy. They also spend more on wages.

 

[Krafty]

So who's creating the Hereford/Priestfield thread?

 

[BLOCK F]

Who knows what will be said behind the Albion closed doors, between manager and players or between manager and directors. However, I would love to know what TB and PB are really thinking after this game that has come at the end of a truly awful run of form. I really don’t think de Zerbi helps himself or the team by his histrionics on the touch line and I wonder whether his tactical stubbornness and ‘passion’ is seen by his employers as a weakness or a strength.
I fell into the ‘I never loved him’ minority and my gut feeling is that he is a busted flush. I may be entirely wrong about that, but I just cannot see a long term relationship developing between the Albion and de Zerbi.
Who knows? We shall find out before too long.

 

[US Seagull]

If de Zerbi doesn't walk he should be given next season with a full, fit squad (to start with).

If De Zerbi doesn't walk, I think they'll be more than a few here willing to drive him today.