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

[Wardy's twin]

Or maybe he is frustrated by Barber saying he has nothing to spend when he knows we are so close to winning enough games to be safe by a margin

So he is showing B&B why he needs a wedge because the cutting edge is not there.



SIR.

but spending money on a striker is a big gamble. Maupay did alright against WHU and scored , maybe got his mojo back and then he's dropped... not clever management IMO.

 

[rogersix]

For-those of you talking about poor second half performances like this one it’s simple- play 5 players that haven’t played much this season and they will not be match fit and tire badly, which is exactly what happened with Ali j, Mac, propper, Bernardo and veltman

biss was match fit and HE HAS GOT AN ENGINE, but he was out on his feet, we would've been over run with half a team like that

 

[pasty]

Indeed.

I actually believe we have the ingredients within the squad to put a decent XI out on the pitch that can see us climbing away from danger. Unfortunately, Potter appears to be one of those clever sous chefs who believes he can create an award-winning soufflé by mixing egg whites and goats cheese in with cabbage and mince. It'll all be beautifully presented of course, but take one spoonful and you'll be retching into the nearest wine cooler, then end up going home disappointed, pissed off, and hungry.

Spot on. I started referring to Potter as "Heston" a few weeks ago.

 

[SEWDONIM]

So is it recruitment or the manager? Genuine question.

Are you capable of having a discussion without being abusive.

Abusive for pointing out your complete inability to stop and think?

The fact you are creating a false dichotomy between recruitment and manager only emphasises my point further.

Recruitment is an issue that has prolonged Potter. A manager’s responsibility is find the winning formula, what we have seen from Potter is that he is not willing to give up on the possession based football and formations.

Prime example is tonight. Arteta set his team up 4-2-3-1, common narrow formation. Congests the midfield.

We played 3-4-3 and had no natural width. So we tried to persistently play through the middle. We ran into Arsenal players far too often and lacked real creativity and finishing capability to cut them open. In the second half, Arsenal in the 2nd half opted to use the width more to exposure Burn and Veltman didn’t really have a good game either. Their goals came from exploiting that width, which is what we should have done.

They were there for the taking. Recruitment has always been an issue at Brighton, let’s be honest. But my issue with Potter is his complete inability to adapt during a game. I personally can’t remember the last sub where I thought, game changing.

However, I could swallow my pride and back Potter if he showed the tactical nous to adapt as per our opponent, we will certainly be a few points better off.

Burnley, West Brom and Sheffield all at home and all drawn. That’s quite frankly not good enough.

However, his ability to drop Ryan should be praised - Sanchez has done superb and whilst I love Ryan as a character. He was a big weak link.

 

[Mellotron]

Anyone else feel like they’re mostly watching out of a grim sense of duty at the moment?

 

[andys320]

I want to applaud but it makes me sad. So true.

How have we become like this? We were such a united fan base? It felt like under Hughton if we went down we’d go down together. Not so now.

There’s a horrible entitled section to our fanbase that’s been cultivated somehow. Maybe it’s just another effect of 2020.

Really!

What do we want to see, for me an attempt to score goals, but do we really look like this is what we are trying to do?

We play possession football in our own half, great for stats but useless if we want to win games.

All to often players are sacrificed to our system, a system to retain possesion but with little chance of breaking down any defence. We are terribly slow, play across the pitch rather than forward. Occasionally a team needs to break and outnumber the opposition defence, when do we do that?

Tippy tappy football is great, but like reproduction, without penetration, largely pointless!

 

[A1X]

Anyone else feel like they’re mostly watching out of a grim sense of duty at the moment?

Absolutely. Which is weird considering some people claim we're playing such amazing football.

 

[rogersix]

Maupay got 10 last season. That's as good as any midtable striker.

you're right, a nippy murray, i mean

 

[HalfaSeatOn]

Reaping the rewards of the last transfer window which was rubbish. Easy to start going backwards in this investment demanding Premier League.

 

[Normandy seagull]

Really!

What do we want to see, for me an attempt to score goals, but do we really look like this is what we are trying to do?

We play possession football in our own half, great for stats but useless if we want to win games.

All to often players are sacrificed to our system, a system to retain possesion but with little chance of breaking down any defence. We are terribly slow, play across the pitch rather than forward. Occasionally a team needs to break and outnumber the opposition defence, when do we do that?

Tippy tappy football is great, but like reproduction, without penetration, largely pointless!

Totally agree it’s like Ray ‘sideways’ Wilkins is in charge at times- ask Millwall fans

 

[portslade seagull]

I think the club needs to recognise that the Potter gamble has failed, and I would expect Bloom above all to recognise this. We are better than 2 years ago in one aspect of the game - we play more passes. However we are only comfortable passing the ball like this under minimal pressure.

Our defending is worse. We lack the same desperation to avoid conceding. We are not hard to break down. We are not unpleasant to play against physically. We do not counter attack well. We do not know how to unlock opponents who sit back.

In every aspect of the game which can win you matches, we are severely lacking. We do not have any personality or style. We turn up, go through the motions, and lose or draw.

I accept that the playing squad is thin on ability but it is capable of surviving in the PL. The blame has to lie with the coach. His aim was supposedly to move us away from a defence-first, counter-attacking style, into a possession team. We do have higher possession - this is actually quite a simple thing to achieve as an end in itself. If you want to have higher possession and score goals, win games, the players have to be coached to move and pass effectively, often using preset patterns. Potter has not done this. We pass well from the edge of our box until just over the halfway line. Then, under pressure, we revert to hoofing it in the channels or down the line. We run out of ideas under pressure. Some of this is down to lacking players who can eliminate opponents with skill. However it is more down to poor coaching. In achieving this, we have sacrificed defensive solidity.

Unfortunately, Potter is becoming our Brexit for some supporters. Having said they would be happy to be relegated playing better football, we are now in the process of getting relegated with a higher percentage of possession. Some Potter fans will dig their heels in and say they miss the Championship and this is what they wanted. Some are already up in arms that we are so bad, and haven't realised that the fantasy of playing like Brazil 70 with mediocre players in the PL is just that.

We need to change as soon as possible. Those who are peddling the line thay we can go and dominate the Championship need to realise that our better players will leave and we will be in a dogfight from day one. Potter is not an inspiring manager. He is a thoroughly decent man but has achieved nothing in the game and is not a figure players are giving their best for. He is not a coach that aspiring players are going to be queuing up to play for.

We need a new manager and a couple of new players and January is the time to do it. The 'long term plan' is a myth and there's is no evidence that we are moving forward.

For the fans who believe that if we get relegated we will walk the championship need to wake up. It would be the same struggle but a division lower

 

[*Gullsworth*]

I am not sure what to think about Potter after this game. Weird selection few agreed with which was a huge gamble if we lost.....and we did. Is he so desperate he has to resort to Ali, Mac, Bernado, Propper for the majority of the game? these players have not been involved in enough game time to see that many minutes in a game. What was wrong in using these players as subs if things were not going our way? Having said that we played the first half ok ish and should have led at half time. Sure it would change second half, our ' new players' were out on their feet and it gave Arsenal the initiative. Too late to bring on our strikers to make an impact. Arteta was proactive in bringing on Lacazette why didnt Potter bring on a couple of strikers to relieve our tiring forward line earlier. All easy to say in hindsight of course but most could see which way the game was swinging.

Shame cos i like Potters leftfield approach but it doesnt guarantee you points just because something different has been tried. I am afraid this game has lost him a lot of support, not mine but he is a very frustrating manager to get behind.

Move on to the next game.

 

[London Irish]

Yep, and it nearly worked. You need to let go of your angst at Hughton’s sacking. We are so much better than we were. OK the results aren’t happening but at least we aren’t stinking the division out. We were on the same page when McGhee was here but we’re reading different books now.

Lol you are the dictionary definition of projection. You keep misrepresenting my views which is why I know you are on such weak ground. I did think Hughton was unlucky but understood why he had to go to reunite the club. We need to take those steps again but you are welcome to champion your double standards

Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

Potter thought the performance was ok! That all good then!

He is like some old git watching his local village team, dog at his side, about to go home for crumpets. Clueless.

 

[Driver8]

For the fans who believe that if we get relegated we will walk the championship need to wake up. It would be the same struggle but a division lower

We would lose our best players if we went down. No way would the likes of White, Lamptey, and Bissouma hang around.

 

[zefarelly]

Oh come on. There's been a lot of games recently and Arsenal thought they could win the game by only trying for the second half.

They were right.

Their lack of effort in the first was nothing to do with us.

I was trying to be positive, not negative.

If you can't take advantage of a team not trying however, remains to be a problem.

 

[One Teddy Maybank]

I recall NSC being fraught and angry in those awful final 4 months of turd under CH. Anecdotally, a couple of mods admitted to not attending home games for no reason other than being disillusioned. Anyone saying that was attacked as being a bad fan.

Though it seems everyone has got tired of GP a lot more quickly than they did Hughton.

 

[clapham_gull]

Watching that I was wondering what Mark Mcghee would have been thinking if he saw that.

One manager forced to play Virgo as a centre forward and the other deciding to do something similar with a myriad of options on the bench.

 

[Deleted member 2719]

SIR! Sorry m’lord, I mean SIR!

20 odd more post and you can let rip, go for the big boys on 50,000 post though.

but spending money on a striker is a big gamble. Maupay did alright against WHU and scored , maybe got his mojo back and then he's dropped... not clever management IMO.

I agree it is a risk, but also an investment to if he is the right age.

Maybe saving him as Potter wants to play a higher press against Wolves? He shouldn't have deflated by then!

 

[razer]

I want to applaud but it makes me sad. So true.

How have we become like this? We were such a united fan base? It felt like under Hughton if we went down we’d go down together. Not so now.

There’s a horrible entitled section to our fanbase that’s been cultivated somehow. Maybe it’s just another effect of 2020.

It is pure frustration, not entitlement.

To start a Premier League game, any Premier League game, without a recognised striker, not just once but twice this season, is beyond belief. We were playing Arsenal, a team that have been as shit as we have for most of this season and we gave them respect by fielding a second team. WTF? They were beatable FFS and we send out a team that is less likely to score than usual. Frankly, it is nothing short of odd and made no sense whatsoever.

12 shots and only two on target. Frustrating.

Subs too late and shit as usual. Frustrating.

Too many misplaced passes, especially where it matters. Frustrating.

I could go on and on with more and they are all as frustrating.

We can beat any team in this league when our good football (and we really do play some great stuff at times) is converted into goals but that just isn't happening. It's enormously frustating.

Rant over.