[Albion] Arsenal vs Brighton & Hove Albion *** Official Match Thread ***

[Thunder Bolt]

Certainly puts a lot of effort into it though!

I have decided he’s a CH fan and a CH fan only, so he supports CH rather than the team he manages. I expect him to disappear once CH has a new club.

I think he once said he was a ROI fan as opposed to having a club.

 

[Greg Bobkin]

A lucky win - despite being probably the better team - but this is a big win the context of the season.

How does that even make sense?

 

[Springal]

JRG missed out the bit about Potter making us a decent team away at the big teams. That is the big improvement for me, scoring away goals to start with and now some wins

 

[Greg Bobkin]

Agree - absolutely - and look at my posts throughout the game - many posters on here were crying that Brighton were a shambles and it was going tits up - at one point I actually said that Arsenal were fragile and it was still all to play for. if Arsenal got the lead goal at 1-1 I think they would probably have kicked on with a bit of confidence and it would have been difficult for Brighton to come back. The opposite happened and deservedly so.

Ok then, let's start with this one:

"There is a feeling of inevitability about this - if Brighton get a point at this point it will be a steal."

 

[portslade seagull]

I'd like to watch it again to appreciate how well we played

 

[clapham_gull]

Oi...I was sitting there as well...

Was that you ?

 

[Thunder Bolt]

I'd like to watch it again to appreciate how well we played

I've done just that. It gets better every time.


This made me chuckle, on Twitter.

[tweet]1202885514921234432[/tweet]

 

[Is it PotG?]

A thing of beauty

 

[highflyer]

Enjoy.

Rewatching the goals, three things struck me:

1. as someone else has said, for the second goal, not only were there two Brighton players waiting to finish had Maupay not scored, but others were in all the right places, pulling Arsenal defenders in every direction. Burn has acres of space. Lovely to see that, especially so late in an away game.

2. the first goal looked scrappy in real time, but actually it was very nicely set up and Connolly did everything right until he snatched at the shot and Webster saved his blushes by finishing. Connolly didn't get that chance by accident, with just a tiny bit more composure he'll be putting those away.

3. By golly, Luiz is just AWFUL at defending. Arsenal either need to drop him or put him up front.

 

[pasty]

Rewatching the goals, three things struck me:

1. as someone else has said, for the second goal, not only were there two Brighton players waiting to finish had Maupay not scored, but others were in all the right places, pulling Arsenal defenders in every direction. Burn has acres of space. Lovely to see that, especially so late in an away game.

2. the first goal looked scrappy in real time, but actually it was very nicely set up and Connolly did everything right until he snatched at the shot and Webster saved his blushes by finishing. Connolly didn't get that chance by accident, with just a tiny bit more composure he'll be putting those away.

3. By golly, Luiz is just AWFUL at defending. Arsenal either need to drop him or put him up front.

Hadn't spotted it before but on the second goal, it was very nice of Torreira (I think it is) to run away from Maupay to give him a clear view of the cross coming in

 

[Springal]

Seeing that angle on the first goal is mad.

The lad next to me in the ground didn't celebrate as he was convinced we were offside. Imagine not celebrating a goal at the Emirates !

 

[Jolly Red Giant]

You are on a brighton messageboard. The clue is in the word Brighton. Whilst it is not compulsory to support the Albion it is nothing, if not good manners to say who you support, if it is not the Albion. This is especially the case if you are going to be confrontational. You are either a wind up merchant or just lacking in manners.
BTW, It’s not bullying and to claim that is is very cheap.

Let's be clear - I am not being confrontational - among other things I have posed a counter argument to the narrative among some posters that Hughton was a disaster and everything he did should effectively be dismissed. I have never once posted anything on here that is anti-Brighton or anti-Potter. I have repeatedly stated that, while I didn't agree with the decision to sack Hughton, I understood why it happened and I accepted that the club were entitled to make any decision they wanted. I was not the only poster on here who held that view. I have also repeatedly stated that I want Brighton to progress and Potter to succeed as manager at Brighton. But no matter what I post now is seen as fair game - irrespective of the content

I don't have any problem expressing who I support and don't support - and you say it would be good manners to make this clear. I am going to turn that on its head and point out that it would have been good manners for others on here not to have jumped straight down my throat as soon as I expressed an opinion on here that they didn't agree with - and did so for the simple reason that I had the word 'Red' in my username. I have never insulted anyone on this forum - but have been subject to constant name-calling and insults. You may not regard that as a form of bullying - but I do.

The reality is that the comments that I post are actually quite measured (and wait for the abuse to start over that comment) - but for some reason people automatically hit out because I am the person posting the comments.I watched the game last night and posted my thoughts during the game - I did no different than anyone else on the thread. After the game people expressed opinions about the game and, understandably, most people were as high as a kite after it. I posted than Brighton deserved to win, that they were the better team - but I thought they were a bit lucky to have got through a very patchy period in the second half, particularly after Arsenal scored. I posted 20 comments during the game - largely praising what the players were doing - one comment gets plucked out of context (when Arsenal were on the front foot) to have a go at me - yet there were a dozen similar comments by other posters, including a couple almost exactly the same as mine.

Now - it doesn't particularly bother me what people say about me - I have a pretty thick skin and have been subject to far worse in other areas of life - but there are a few posters who really should try and get a bit of a grip and not fly off the handle at the first opportunity.

 

[Jolly Red Giant]

I am gobsmacked that you think it’s unreasonable,

I am gobsmacked that you think I should cave into people attempting to bully me into answering a question

when you are so vociferous in your opinions about BHA

Along with being vociferous in my opinions - how about commenting on how vociferous I have been in my (measured) praise of Brighton this season.

Ithat you aren’t willing to answer the question as to who you support. We now know it’s definitely not Brighton so why the shyness?

You actually know nothing about me - you, like others just jump to conclusions because I choose to express a measured opinion and provide evidence to back up that opinion.

IIt’s frankly bizarre that you consider it attempted bullying that you keep being asked and refuse to answer.

The bullying is not related to the question - it is related to the name-calling and abuse that has been hurled in my direction - and I do not cave in to bullying.

 

[SIMMO SAYS]

Let's be clear - I am not being confrontational - among other things I have posed a counter argument to the narrative among some posters that Hughton was a disaster and everything he did should effectively be dismissed. I have never once posted anything on here that is anti-Brighton or anti-Potter. I have repeatedly stated that, while I didn't agree with the decision to sack Hughton, I understood why it happened and I accepted that the club were entitled to make any decision they wanted. I was not the only poster on here who held that view. I have also repeatedly stated that I want Brighton to progress and Potter to succeed as manager at Brighton. But no matter what I post now is seen as fair game - irrespective of the content

I don't have any problem expressing who I support and don't support - and you say it would be good manners to make this clear. I am going to turn that on its head and point out that it would have been good manners for others on here not to have jumped straight down my throat as soon as I expressed an opinion on here that they didn't agree with - and did so for the simple reason that I had the word 'Red' in my username. I have never insulted anyone on this forum - but have been subject to constant name-calling and insults. You may not regard that as a form of bullying - but I do.

The reality is that the comments that I post are actually quite measured (and wait for the abuse to start over that comment) - but for some reason people automatically hit out because I am the person posting the comments.I watched the game last night and posted my thoughts during the game - I did no different than anyone else on the thread. After the game people expressed opinions about the game and, understandably, most people were as high as a kite after it. I posted than Brighton deserved to win, that they were the better team - but I thought they were a bit lucky to have got through a very patchy period in the second half, particularly after Arsenal scored. I posted 20 comments during the game - largely praising what the players were doing - one comment gets plucked out of context (when Arsenal were on the front foot) to have a go at me - yet there were a dozen similar comments by other posters, including a couple almost exactly the same as mine.

Now - it doesn't particularly bother me what people say about me - I have a pretty thick skin and have been subject to far worse in other areas of life - but there are a few posters who really should try and get a bit of a grip and not fly off the handle at the first opportunity.

Are you going to cry in a minute

 

[Icy Gull]

Let's be clear - I am not being confrontational - among other things I have posed a counter argument to the narrative among some posters that Hughton was a disaster and everything he did should effectively be dismissed. I have never once posted anything on here that is anti-Brighton or anti-Potter. I have repeatedly stated that, while I didn't agree with the decision to sack Hughton, I understood why it happened and I accepted that the club were entitled to make any decision they wanted. I was not the only poster on here who held that view. I have also repeatedly stated that I want Brighton to progress and Potter to succeed as manager at Brighton. But no matter what I post now is seen as fair game - irrespective of the content

I don't have any problem expressing who I support and don't support - and you say it would be good manners to make this clear. I am going to turn that on its head and point out that it would have been good manners for others on here not to have jumped straight down my throat as soon as I expressed an opinion on here that they didn't agree with - and did so for the simple reason that I had the word 'Red' in my username. I have never insulted anyone on this forum - but have been subject to constant name-calling and insults. You may not regard that as a form of bullying - but I do.

The reality is that the comments that I post are actually quite measured (and wait for the abuse to start over that comment) - but for some reason people automatically hit out because I am the person posting the comments.I watched the game last night and posted my thoughts during the game - I did no different than anyone else on the thread. After the game people expressed opinions about the game and, understandably, most people were as high as a kite after it. I posted than Brighton deserved to win, that they were the better team - but I thought they were a bit lucky to have got through a very patchy period in the second half, particularly after Arsenal scored. I posted 20 comments during the game - largely praising what the players were doing - one comment gets plucked out of context (when Arsenal were on the front foot) to have a go at me - yet there were a dozen similar comments by other posters, including a couple almost exactly the same as mine.

Now - it doesn't particularly bother me what people say about me - I have a pretty thick skin and have been subject to far worse in other areas of life - but there are a few posters who really should try and get a bit of a grip and not fly off the handle at the first opportunity.

Firstly I apologise for being uncharacteristically rude to you in one post last night, your “lucky” comment really wound me up at the time.

Can you point me to the threads/posts where anyone on here has said that CH was a disaster. The vast majority are grateful for what he did for us but it reached a point where we were going backwards and were the most mind numbingly dull and negative team for the last few months of last season. Yes, I wanted change and am delighted with the improvement in the style we have been playing this year. We are not safe and we might still go down I accept that but I believe that you are over reacting to criticism of our football last season. I can’t think of repeated posts by any NSC regulars that actually run CH down and suggest he was a disaster.

Over to you.

 

[Justice]

Are you going to cry in a minute

Or shite himself in the away dressing room

 

[Jolly Red Giant]

An ardent CH fan who, even if he doesn’t agree, can actually take on board plenty of the non vitriolic comments. He knows that we are all grateful for what CH did and doesn’t feel the need to keep banging on about what CH might or might not have done if he’d stayed, whatever he actually feels.

I agree with you - and isn't it nice that he is not subjected to vitriolic comments - maybe the same courtesy could be applied to me.

As for banging on about what CH might or might not have done on here - well maybe if others didn't bang on about what CH should have done last season (or what Potter could have done last season) then it mightn't be necessary to bring a bit of balance to the conversation.

CH is gone - I wish him the best of luck and look forward to when he gets another crack at being a manager - but there is absolutely no need to constantly gripe about what happened at the tail end of last season - its over - the club are still in the PL - let it go and enjoy what is happening now - and hopefully long may it last.

 

[Jolly Red Giant]

Firstly I apologise for being uncharacteristically rude to you in one post last night, your “lucky” comment really wound me up at the time.

Apology accepted and I appreciate it - and my comment was meant as a reasonable summary of the game - Brighton dominated - deserved the win - but there was a dodgy period early in the second half where if Arsenal had scored (and they should have) the result might, unfortunately, have been different.

Can you point me to the threads/posts where anyone on here has said that CH was a disaster. The vast majority are grateful for what he did for us but it reached a point where we were going backwards and were the most mind numbingly dull and negative team for the last few months of last season. Yes, I wanted change and am delighted with the improvement in the style we have been playing this year. We are not safe and we might still go down I accept that but I believe that you are over reacting to criticism of our football last season. I can’t think of repeated posts by any NSC regulars that actually run CH down and suggest he was a disaster.

Over to you.

I was paraphrasing about the 'disaster' bit - but in my view there has been a lot of inappropriate comments about CH - over the past few months - comments that were not deserved. Was the team negative for the last half of last season - yes - was the football 'mind numbingly dull' - absolutely - did it it drive everyone nuts - you betcha - and I never argued otherwise. Now I would argue that there were reasons why it happened - and that CH was doing his best to keep the club in the PL when the team fell off a cliff in terms of performance. He had been through the same process before with Norwich and from his perspective he knew what was needed. To be honest - he was caught between a rock and a hard place - get relegated and get sacked (although I do remember people on here saying he shouldn't be sacked if Brighton were relegated) - keep the club up with mind numbingly dull football and get sacked anyway. I seriously believe that if Hughton didn't take the approach he did then the club would have been relegated. Furthermore, I am sure that it drove him nuts that he was having to do this all over again - and was looking forward to changing things up. Hughton is not a negative coach - he proved that when Brighton were in the Championship and in patches in the PL - and he proved it with Newcastle in the PL - he was trying his best to keep things going with the resources he had. Keeping a small (and don't criticise me for saying it) club like Brighton in the PL after promotion is a daunting task - and he laid the foundations for what Potter is able to do now (and most commentators recognise this).

Now - that is enough about CH - he is gone - wish him well and show him respect.

Potter has made a big impression on everyone - is it deserved - absolutely - that game last night was terrific to watch - it was end to end with lots of heart-stopping moments - and it was a lot of fun. Does Potter have a lot to do yet - yes he does - part of the reason why it was so exciting was because Brighton (and Arsenal) were very shaky at the back. In my opinion people need to keep a little bit of a level head - the team is set up to win games like last night - but there are very likely to be games where someone could put 4 or 5 past that defence. Also needed is more consistent goalscoring. There will be sticky patches where the team will struggle a bit - most teams do - and there will be a constant looking over the shoulder for the rest of the season. There is reason to be confident for the rest of the season and, with the expectation that things will go well for the rest of the season, there will be another opportunity to consolidate further next season. Keep in mind however, that any club below the top six could face a relegation battle any season - because of the money involved - and people should just enjoy the ride.

 

[Joey Jo Jo Jr. Shabadoo]

2. the first goal looked scrappy in real time, but actually it was very nicely set up and Connolly did everything right until he snatched at the shot and Webster saved his blushes by finishing. Connolly didn't get that chance by accident, with just a tiny bit more composure he'll be putting those away.

I don't think Connolly does snatch at the shot, I think there is a slight touch by the Arsenal defender (Sokratis). That touch makes it look like a airshot from Aaron when in fact its a great touch by the defender, until it falls to Webster.

 

[Triggaaar]

I've got highlight on My Albion tv, but have there been any on (actual) TV? There are some on Sky, next Thursday