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[Albion] Does anyone else think we have good players?







Bold Seagull

strong and stable with me, or...
Mar 18, 2010
30,465
Hove
Strikes me that a big proportion of our problems are not keeping hold of the ball and giving it away cheaply. Not enough nouse in playing quick moving triangles and quick feet, and players not supporting the player on the ball etc. Partly a coaching issue and mostly quality. You only have to look at the top sides and mid table sides like Bournemouth and compare them to us.
Better quality players and modern thinking coaches please.

2 teams around us where the quality rather than coaching really made the difference. Newcastle, who were struggling first half of the season signed Almiron for £21.6m who pretty much transformed the way they play. Forget tactics, coaching, that quality changed them. Similarly Bournemouth signed Lerma for £25m and his presence in midfield has ensured their attacking players can attack, but their runs of poor form this season have matched our own, they just made a bit more hay when the sun was shining. So do agree with you.
 


Arkwright

Arkwright
Oct 26, 2010
2,833
Caterham, Surrey
We have a squad full of good players but no real quality. We need to change the pay cap in order to attract really outstanding players. We don't need to sign quantity we need to sign quality.
 


Guinness Boy

Tofu eating wokerati
Helpful Moderator
NSC Patron
Jul 23, 2003
37,358
Up and Coming Sunny Portslade
Ⓩ-Ⓐ-Ⓜ-Ⓞ-Ⓡ-Ⓐ;8911559 said:
I find it kind of baffling how dismissive people are of the quality of our squad!

We have a lot of good players! My personal belief is that they just lacked good enough coaching to develop them into a cohesive team with a tactical plan. Additionally at an individual level I don't think we've seen enough improvement in movement, decision making and technique. Good coaching should improve players individually, and as a team we should aim to be functioning as more than the sum of our parts.

I'm sick and tired of hearing how the players weren't / aren't good enough. Good enough for what? To play a rigid 4-5-1 with 10 men in our own half? Try giving them some decent coaching and an actual tactical plan and see what happens.

I'd go back to my article of this morning. I think we sent CH in to battle with the equivalent of a spud gun when his opponents are all toting AK47s.

We have some great potential in Bissouma and Bernardo, two highly regarded centre backs and a great keeper (mostly). We have an evergreen centre forward in his late 30s who keeps on banging in the goals but wouldn't lead the line in any other team in the division. We have a RB in Montoya who can't defend and gets caught out of position at least five times a match. No wonder Barca got rid. I think Andone could be very good but he needs support. On his own with the rest of the team in our own box is no good to anyone. Ali J will just not cut it. Nothing to do with Hughton, he's just too slow and too weak. A moneyball signing gone wrong. Propper does not have enough pace, Stephens has stagnated. and the less said of Locadia......

That does not mean I am coming out against Bloom. The time was right for CH to go. We have NOT developed players enough. March has stood still. The Under 23s are not trusted to move up. Bissouma will get better with games but was on the bench far too much. I think we've given an uber cautious manager (at this level) Moneyball players that he doesn't trust and it has created a huge mess. It's time to break the circle.
 


Nobby

Well-known member
Sep 29, 2007
2,893
We have good players at Championship level but not good players in the Premier League. That is why they are amongst the most poorly paid in the League. Very few would be starters for other teams. CH did extremely well to keep us up for two seasons but the wheels came off when there were issues (whatever they were) in the second half of the season. The teams had to be playing well to be even competitive. They were not playing well so lost game after game without scoring.

Totally correct.

How many of our players are in demand with mid table Premier League teams?
 




Nobby

Well-known member
Sep 29, 2007
2,893
Ⓩ-Ⓐ-[emoji713 said:
-Ⓞ-Ⓡ-Ⓐ;8911597]What about someone like Martin Montoya? He's played Champions League football with Lionel Messi for Barcelona, yet at only 28 years old he's looked utterly lost/shite playing for us. Now do you think that's because he's only a Championship player or a player who's form has suffered due to lack of any coherent game plan/tactics/coaching?

Martin Montoya can’t cross a ball and doesn’t track back.
 


Nobby

Well-known member
Sep 29, 2007
2,893
I'm not sure they're all sub standard.

But I have wondered at times which of our players would be in demand if the club made it clear they were all for sale.

Looking at other clubs around us, Bournemouth would have clubs chasing Wilson, Brooks, Ake, Fraser, whilst they'd sell Josh King easily enough. Watford would have plenty of takers for Capoue, Doucoure and others. Palace could flog Wan-Bissaka and Zaha at least. Saints would have interest in Redmond, Ward-Prowse and others. We don't really have the sort of gems that other clubs are envious of. Sure, a couple of good defenders as things stand. But unless Arsenal's manager finally realises his centre halves are as bad as everybody else can see, neither Dunk nor Duffy are going anywhere.

THIS
 


Nobby

Well-known member
Sep 29, 2007
2,893
We do have good players. Bernardo, Ryan, Dunk, Gross, Propper and Duffy are all good enough for a mid-table side.

Our problem is that we don’t have a single winger or striker up to PL football, hence we find it so hard to score. A couple of quality additions in those positions and the new manager should be looking upwards next season.

So six out of a squad of 25


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TSB

Captain Hindsight
Jul 7, 2003
17,666
Lansdowne Place, Hove
Ⓩ-Ⓐ-Ⓜ-Ⓞ-Ⓡ-Ⓐ;8911559 said:
I find it kind of baffling how dismissive people are of the quality of our squad!

We have a lot of good players! My personal belief is that they just lacked good enough coaching to develop them into a cohesive team with a tactical plan. Additionally at an individual level I don't think we've seen enough improvement in movement, decision making and technique. Good coaching should improve players individually, and as a team we should aim to be functioning as more than the sum of our parts.

I'm sick and tired of hearing how the players weren't / aren't good enough. Good enough for what? To play a rigid 4-5-1 with 10 men in our own half? Try giving them some decent coaching and an actual tactical plan and see what happens.

There is precisely NIL leadership in that team. You can have all the quality in the world (look at United) but if everyone in the team hides then you won't win anything.
That's been obvious this season. **** all to do with quality, tactics or coaching.
The club got it wrong.
 


Baldseagull

Well-known member
Jan 26, 2012
11,839
Crawley
I'd go back to my article of this morning. I think we sent CH in to battle with the equivalent of a spud gun when his opponents are all toting AK47s.

We have some great potential in Bissouma and Bernardo, two highly regarded centre backs and a great keeper (mostly). We have an evergreen centre forward in his late 30s who keeps on banging in the goals but wouldn't lead the line in any other team in the division. We have a RB in Montoya who can't defend and gets caught out of position at least five times a match. No wonder Barca got rid. I think Andone could be very good but he needs support. On his own with the rest of the team in our own box is no good to anyone. Ali J will just not cut it. Nothing to do with Hughton, he's just too slow and too weak. A moneyball signing gone wrong. Propper does not have enough pace, Stephens has stagnated. and the less said of Locadia......

That does not mean I am coming out against Bloom. The time was right for CH to go. We have NOT developed players enough. March has stood still. The Under 23s are not trusted to move up. Bissouma will get better with games but was on the bench far too much. I think we've given an uber cautious manager (at this level) Moneyball players that he doesn't trust and it has created a huge mess. It's time to break the circle.

You have Ali J wrong in my opinion, he has clearly struggled with the physical nature and pressing of the opposition, but has also showed signs that he is learning to cope with that better. I am fairly confident his talent will become more apparent next season.
 


Bwian

Kiss my (_!_)
Jul 14, 2003
15,898
Ⓩ-Ⓐ-[emoji713 said:
-Ⓞ-Ⓡ-Ⓐ;8911603]The answer is that there wasn't good enough coaching. There's plenty of pace in the team - just hasn't been utilised.
This has been my belief for a long time, especially this season. I have regularly questioned what coaching was taking place at Lancing.

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HastingsSeagull

Well-known member
Jan 13, 2010
9,433
BGC Manila
A lot of good solid players but no great ones at all. Need a couple of great ones in and a bit of a juggle around with the system and we'll be fine.
 


Juan Albion

Chicken Sniffer 3rd Class
I look at Locadia's goal at Millwall and think that there is a centre forward with strength, skill and a great shot. He just needs to be used correctly and given decent service in a time that attacks on a regular basis. Stop using him as a darned winger.
 


Stat Brother

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 11, 2003
73,888
West west west Sussex
To be fair, with the exception of City and Liverpool, every squad in the division has plenty of mediocre players filling it out.

Six decent players is a good place to start for the new manager of a bottom half side. Get a couple of attacking signings right and we’ll be in business.

Getting the current attacking players right would be even better.
 


heathgate

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Apr 13, 2015
3,868
I think that CH believes that we have better players than their performances suggest. The question is why they underperformed. There is clearly a lack of pace in some positions, which isn’t something that the new manager can address, other than by shrewd signings this Summer.
It boils down to lack of pace, and next to zero attacking intent from the central midfield personnel..... without these traits, a team is starved of threatening possession, centrally and out wide, this has been our Achilles Heel in my view. CH has stifled March, AJ and Propper in particular at key moments in the season, and not used Bissouma effectively enough.

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Bakero

Languidly clinical
Oct 9, 2010
14,908
Almería
We still have a top Championship squad - but not quite good enough for this league.

Hughton could only do so much with the talent available, and as such had to be conservative. If we ship goals playing defensively, just think how many more we could let in while trying to attack.

It could be argued that we wouldn't have to defend so much if we attacked a bit more. Sitting back d inviting pressure meant we spent long spells under siege.
 


Guinness Boy

Tofu eating wokerati
Helpful Moderator
NSC Patron
Jul 23, 2003
37,358
Up and Coming Sunny Portslade
You have Ali J wrong in my opinion, he has clearly struggled with the physical nature and pressing of the opposition, but has also showed signs that he is learning to cope with that better. I am fairly confident his talent will become more apparent next season.

He was regularly outpaced by a centre back on Sunday. A very quick centre back I will grant you but that's unacceptable for a winger.
 




Seasider78

Well-known member
Nov 14, 2004
6,011
We have proved in spells we can compete at this level with the squad but if we want to go to the next level we need to add proven quality in the starting 11 and players who don’t take a summer and a season to settle in.
 


GT49er

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Feb 1, 2009
49,188
Gloucester
A lot of good solid players but no great ones at all. Need a couple of great ones in and a bit of a juggle around with the system and we'll be fine.
Yes, that was pretty much my take on what was needed in the summer; primarily midfield, to control matches more, and to make things tick for the players around them. TBH, I was envisioning that with CH in charge too.

I look at Locadia's goal at Millwall and think that there is a centre forward with strength, skill and a great shot. He just needs to be used correctly and given decent service in a time that attacks on a regular basis. Stop using him as a darned winger.
Both Locadia (just about) and Andone have shown that they can score goals - but they'll only score a percentage of the chances they'll get (same as all strikers - it's just that the best have a higher percentage). With better supply and support from midfield I thought maybe they could do a job - at least until 2020-21, when with another £100M coming in we might be able to spend a big chunk of that on a better striker.

Still, that's all history now - I've no idea where we're going next season now. It's all up in the air. I'm hoping Bloom's decision is for the good, but.................
 


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