Harper update...

[Meade's Ball]

I remain hopeful he'll get into the spirit of how we play, and even get to enjoy motoring around and being only sometimes FLAIR. He should have the potential, that is now both our job and his to take to the next level. Euphoria may be a misguided emotion, but I'd rather be in it every now and again than not at all.

 

[TWOCHOICEStom]

Oh he exists all right and the Manager knows he exists

I always ask about him and was told ''he plays in a position where it is really hard to find good players just in front of the forwards. He came with an injury so he has took a while to get up to speed but there is obvious talent there; however you can tell he has come from a league where the build up is much slower and the pace of the game is much slower and he still plays in that style, so he is still adapting to a different type of game''

I took that to mean. Not yet shown enough to suggest he is good enough but there definitely is a good player in there and it's up to the lad himself to bring it out. He sits just a few rows in front of me when I go to home matches and I have often been tempted to speak to him but the Youth team are all together and they are often all talking amongst themselves before and after the match.

I can actually see him getting a squad number this year if he has a good pre-season.

Are you a second account of HB&B?

 

[albionite]

He came to us without a pre season under his belt, how about we give the lad a chance and see how he gets on up to Xmas before we start slating him and calling him lazy!

This, we had fans writing off jiri after only 2 games.

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

Are you a second account of HB&B?

No.

He can construct sentences properly.

 

[brighton_girl87]

Oh he exists all right and the Manager knows he exists

I always ask about him and was told ''he plays in a position where it is really hard to find good players just in front of the forwards. He came with an injury so he has took a while to get up to speed but there is obvious talent there; however you can tell he has come from a league where the build up is much slower and the pace of the game is much slower and he still plays in that style, so he is still adapting to a different type of game''

I took that to mean. Not yet shown enough to suggest he is good enough but there definitely is a good player in there and it's up to the lad himself to bring it out. He sits just a few rows in front of me when I go to home matches and I have often been tempted to speak to him but the Youth team are all together and they are often all talking amongst themselves before and after the match.

I can actually see him getting a squad number this year if he has a good pre-season.

This has probably been asked a dozen times before, so I apologise, but what is your connection to Hughton? How do you regularly have conversations with him?

 

[TottonSeagull]

FFS, the kid has been injured most of the season and some on here are already writing him off on 'what they have seen sop far'. he may or may not be good enough but I think he deserves a chance before the usual suspects put the knife in!!

 

[Black Rod]

I couldn't believe the outright euphoria on here when he signed.

Really?

A lot of Brighton fans have a well known tendency to go into overdrive anytime we sign a new player based on absolutely nothing. Harper certainly fitted in that category, Elvis got people very excited but arguably the best was Diego Arismendi who turned out to be utter dog shit

 

[Easy 10]

Really?

A lot of Brighton fans have a well known tendency to go into overdrive anytime we sign a new player based on absolutely nothing. Harper certainly fitted in that category, Elvis got people very excited but arguably the best was Diego Arismendi who turned out to be utter dog shit

I think some were dazzled by the fact we'd signed him from Real Madrid, and maybe didn't appreciate the caveat that it was Real Madrid's 3rd team, that plays in a semi-professional noddy league, and was team that was in the process of being disbanded anyway. Despite all that, and the fact he'd made 0 first team appearances anywhere in his career, some (and it was only some) were going into raptures, which was absolutely baffling.

Harper is a cheap punt, one that will hopefully pay off in time. But given our dismal track record when it comes to bringing forwards through the DS to the 1st team, I'm not holding my breath.

 

[GT49er]

Really?

A lot of Brighton fans have a well known tendency to go into overdrive anytime we sign a new player based on absolutely nothing. Harper certainly fitted in that category, Elvis got people very excited but arguably the best was Diego Arismendi who turned out to be utter dog shit

I'm sure there was something from CH at the time about possibly being in or near the first team squad early in 2016; that seemed quite exciting at the time - I know injuries put a stop to that, but we weren't to know the extent of the injuries at the time. Also, there was a lot of excitement about JH as a a real prospect - from Scotland, where he was/is apparently regarded as the next great thing, so naturally that was picked up by Albion fans too.
So, not just Albion fans getting over-excited for no reason then. There were reasons at the time - plus the fact that he came from Real Madrid, of course. Whether he ever lives up to those expectations, or whether he turns out to be another disappointment to be farmed out to spend his playing days in lower leagues, only time will tell.

 

[Indurain's Lungs]

I have a friend who goes to every Scotland International and has an almost encyclopaedic knowledge of Scottish footballers - he still maintains Harper is the Scottish Messi!!!

He feels is previous omissions from the Scotland U21 team was a sign of a backwards coach stuck with that old-school mistrust of flair players.

 

[AZ Gull]

Didn't realise he'd scored 8 goals in 15 games for the Dev Squad.

That is because he didn't. He actually scored 6 goals in 20 appearances (15 starts and 5 sub appearances).

 

[NooBHA]

This has probably been asked a dozen times before, so I apologise, but what is your connection to Hughton? How do you regularly have conversations with him?

No my conversations are not regular. They are occasional. I know him through work and we have been friends for years.

 

[NooBHA]

Are you a second account of HB&B?

Haven't a clue who HB & B is

 

[Lady Whistledown]

I have a friend who goes to every Scotland International and has an almost encyclopaedic knowledge of Scottish footballers - he still maintains Harper is the Scottish Messi!!!

Shakin' Stevens was the Welsh Elvis*, as I recall...






*Presley, not Manu

 

[NooBHA]

I can well remember DiP absolutely ASSURING everyone he'd been bought for the first team



Interesting to read that. Chatting after the REMF game last night Teixeira's name came up again (nothing substantiated other than that his agent is looking for a club and the Fiorentina transfer doesn't seem to have happened). I repeated my opinion that he doesn't really fit our style of play and, from the above, it would seem we'd have to go more 4-4-1-1 (or some sort of 4-3-3) to fit Harper in. Definitely don't need two in that position. If we keep our spine and land a couple of decent strikers I can't even see Harper getting near the first team.

You could well be right but is sounds like that's up to lad himself to progress enough to prove you wrong. As things stand you are on course to be 100% correct but apparently he is NOT an out and out striker

 

[Indurain's Lungs]

Shakin' Stevens was the Welsh Elvis*, as I recall...






*Presley, not Manu

Indeed. It may say more about the Scottish football fan's frame of reference!