John Simkin
New member
- Aug 8, 2011
- 5
In a television interview earlier on this year, Gus Poyet admitted that when he first arrived at Brighton it took him sometime to convince his squad to play his way. This was a particular problem for the defenders in his team. They had been brought up to get the ball into the opposing half as quickly as possible. Poyet said it took him several months to persuade them that they had the level of skill necessary to pass the ball around at the back. In the words of John Maynard Keynes once: "The difficulty lies not in the new ideas, but in escaping from the old ones." Poyet pointed out in the interview that success only comes when the players have confidence in the manager’s philosophy of how to play the game.
There is no doubt that last season the Brighton team had been won over by Poyet belief in playing the passing game. As one player recently commented: "The philosophy is to play the ball on the floor and keep it local." Brighton had showed they could do it at that level, but would the system work in the championship.
From the beginning of the opening game at the American Express Community Stadium, Brighton attempted to carry on where they left off last season. Doncaster, aware of what they would be facing, worked incredibly hard at closing down the Brighton players when they were on the ball. In the 39th minute, Dicker exchanged passes with LuaLua in the middle of the park. There was a pass available to Barnes in space on the wing, but he hesitated while he looked quickly for a more productive opening. Last season he might have been given the time needed to make the killer pass. Instead he was closed down by two Doncaster players. Dicker managed to keep if from the first tackler, but Ryan Mason, coming in on his blind side, was able to take the ball from him. The Tottenham youngster, currently on loan to Doncaster, quickly headed for goal and he was able to get off a shot before a Brighton defender could get in a tackle. Greer managed to get a block on the ball but the spinning ball found its way to Billy Sharp, whose mishit shot hit Ankergren before trickling in off the post.
For much of the game it seemed that this one mistake was going to be costly for Brighton. Craig Mackail-Smith said before the game that the main reason he chose Brighton over Norwich and QPR was because of the way they played football: “We (Peterborough) played Brighton twice last season and they were fantastic on both occasions. The team play expansive football, create lots of chances and as a striker that’s all you can ask for.”
His colleagues did not let him down and he was provided with a series of chances during the game. Unfortunately most of them came in the air and were in truth only half-chances. Mackail-Smith was not the worst offender. Just before Doncaster scored, Ashley Barnes found himself with only the goalkeeper to beat. His scuffed shot hit Gary Wood and as it bounced towards the net, George Friend was able to run behind his goalkeeper to clear off the line. Barnes also missed another good chance in the second-half. The worst miss of the game was in the 59th minute when a lovely cushioned back-header from Barnes found Craig Noone in space behind the Doncaster defenders. He casually brought the ball under control before surprisingly putting it wide of the post.
Despite this lack of quality in front of goal, Noone was having a growing influence on the game since replacing LuaLua at half-time. He was getting through an amazing amount of work as he attacked Doncaster on both flanks. His job was made easier with the introduction of new signing Will Buckley in the 75th minute. Poyet had surprisingly left Buckley out of the starting line-up. He told the player: “Go on and show me I’ve made a mistake”.
With two wide players, Brighton could now take full advantage of the playing surface at the Amex. At 115 yards by 75, the pitch has exactly the same dimensions as the one at the national stadium and suits the kind of passing game that Poyet advocates. Within four minutes of coming on, Buckley made a strong run on the wing and was able cut the ball back to Mackail-Smith, whose shot was blocked by the keeper.
The relentless pressure finally brought its reward. A long ball into the Doncaster area was only half-cleared to the feet of Buckley. His finely struck low drive went through the legs of two defenders before curving just inside the post. It was finishing of the highest quality.
The game was well into added time when Noone began a mazy run just inside the Doncaster half. He ended his run with a beautiful through-ball with the outside of his left foot. It was the kind of ball that Mackail-Smith had been asking for all game. However, it was the fast-running Buckley who got to it first and he coolly slotted it past the fully exposed Wood. After the game Buckley pointed out: "Noone's absolutely brilliant. He's put the ball on a plate for me and I've had time to set myself, then I've opened my body and put it in the corner”.
Gus Poyet admitted that he feared the pre-match party atmosphere could deflect his players' attentions from the task at hand. "There were too many celebrations, too many happy people, too many flags." It could be argued that the Brighton players had tried too hard during the first-half to take the passion out of the occasion by their slow build-up play. Doncaster, much faster into the tackle, appeared to be the home team.
Brighton also did not get very much help from the referee, Eddie Ilderton. His decision to book LuaLua for a dive in the 39th minute was appalling. A penalty would have been a harsh decision but James Hayter’s did unintentionally bring him down. It was not only LuaLua who was incensed by the unwarranted yellow-card. Poyet’s remonstrations resulted in him being sent to the stands.
Despite the fact that Poyet responded in such an emotional way to this bad decision, his team remained patient, and refused to change the agreed strategy. However, it was only after Poyet’s decision to make full use of this vast pitch by playing two wide men up front that the goals finally came and Brighton was off to a winning start.
There is no doubt that last season the Brighton team had been won over by Poyet belief in playing the passing game. As one player recently commented: "The philosophy is to play the ball on the floor and keep it local." Brighton had showed they could do it at that level, but would the system work in the championship.
From the beginning of the opening game at the American Express Community Stadium, Brighton attempted to carry on where they left off last season. Doncaster, aware of what they would be facing, worked incredibly hard at closing down the Brighton players when they were on the ball. In the 39th minute, Dicker exchanged passes with LuaLua in the middle of the park. There was a pass available to Barnes in space on the wing, but he hesitated while he looked quickly for a more productive opening. Last season he might have been given the time needed to make the killer pass. Instead he was closed down by two Doncaster players. Dicker managed to keep if from the first tackler, but Ryan Mason, coming in on his blind side, was able to take the ball from him. The Tottenham youngster, currently on loan to Doncaster, quickly headed for goal and he was able to get off a shot before a Brighton defender could get in a tackle. Greer managed to get a block on the ball but the spinning ball found its way to Billy Sharp, whose mishit shot hit Ankergren before trickling in off the post.
For much of the game it seemed that this one mistake was going to be costly for Brighton. Craig Mackail-Smith said before the game that the main reason he chose Brighton over Norwich and QPR was because of the way they played football: “We (Peterborough) played Brighton twice last season and they were fantastic on both occasions. The team play expansive football, create lots of chances and as a striker that’s all you can ask for.”
His colleagues did not let him down and he was provided with a series of chances during the game. Unfortunately most of them came in the air and were in truth only half-chances. Mackail-Smith was not the worst offender. Just before Doncaster scored, Ashley Barnes found himself with only the goalkeeper to beat. His scuffed shot hit Gary Wood and as it bounced towards the net, George Friend was able to run behind his goalkeeper to clear off the line. Barnes also missed another good chance in the second-half. The worst miss of the game was in the 59th minute when a lovely cushioned back-header from Barnes found Craig Noone in space behind the Doncaster defenders. He casually brought the ball under control before surprisingly putting it wide of the post.
Despite this lack of quality in front of goal, Noone was having a growing influence on the game since replacing LuaLua at half-time. He was getting through an amazing amount of work as he attacked Doncaster on both flanks. His job was made easier with the introduction of new signing Will Buckley in the 75th minute. Poyet had surprisingly left Buckley out of the starting line-up. He told the player: “Go on and show me I’ve made a mistake”.
With two wide players, Brighton could now take full advantage of the playing surface at the Amex. At 115 yards by 75, the pitch has exactly the same dimensions as the one at the national stadium and suits the kind of passing game that Poyet advocates. Within four minutes of coming on, Buckley made a strong run on the wing and was able cut the ball back to Mackail-Smith, whose shot was blocked by the keeper.
The relentless pressure finally brought its reward. A long ball into the Doncaster area was only half-cleared to the feet of Buckley. His finely struck low drive went through the legs of two defenders before curving just inside the post. It was finishing of the highest quality.
The game was well into added time when Noone began a mazy run just inside the Doncaster half. He ended his run with a beautiful through-ball with the outside of his left foot. It was the kind of ball that Mackail-Smith had been asking for all game. However, it was the fast-running Buckley who got to it first and he coolly slotted it past the fully exposed Wood. After the game Buckley pointed out: "Noone's absolutely brilliant. He's put the ball on a plate for me and I've had time to set myself, then I've opened my body and put it in the corner”.
Gus Poyet admitted that he feared the pre-match party atmosphere could deflect his players' attentions from the task at hand. "There were too many celebrations, too many happy people, too many flags." It could be argued that the Brighton players had tried too hard during the first-half to take the passion out of the occasion by their slow build-up play. Doncaster, much faster into the tackle, appeared to be the home team.
Brighton also did not get very much help from the referee, Eddie Ilderton. His decision to book LuaLua for a dive in the 39th minute was appalling. A penalty would have been a harsh decision but James Hayter’s did unintentionally bring him down. It was not only LuaLua who was incensed by the unwarranted yellow-card. Poyet’s remonstrations resulted in him being sent to the stands.
Despite the fact that Poyet responded in such an emotional way to this bad decision, his team remained patient, and refused to change the agreed strategy. However, it was only after Poyet’s decision to make full use of this vast pitch by playing two wide men up front that the goals finally came and Brighton was off to a winning start.
