[Albion] How’s Everyone’s Mood Today?

[pasty]

Having watched Liverpool THRASH West Ham yesterday, I confess I am feeling a bit nervous for our plucky wee Club in the Season ahead

More than nervous for our match up there on 25th. Fortunately I go on holiday for two weeks the day after so won't be on here to witness the inevitable meltdown

 

[zefarelly]

Not going to Eastbourne this year then

More than nervous for our match up there on 25th. Fortunately I go on holiday for two weeks the day after so won't be on here to witness the inevitable meltdown

 

[Normal Rob]

I'm well upbeat. Lost the opening game of the season 2-0, just like last year. It's a sign.

 

[highflyer]

It really was awful. Having watched most of the match on a (good quality) stream I'd say the MOTD highlights, and comments, actually flattered us.

BUT we always seem to have 2 or 3 real stinkers in a season and I'm hoping that a) we've got one of those out of the way now b) It's given an early opportunity for CH to lose his rag and put a rocket up a few arses and c) provides an incentive to be less cautious and get some of the new players involved sooner rather than later.

First point of the season on Sunday I reckon (but we WILL get battered at Anfield)

 

[Is it PotG?]

I'm well upbeat. Lost the opening game of the season 2-0, just like last year. It's a sign.

Indeed. No difference between Citeh and Watford.

 

[Tony Meolas Loan Spell]

Hmm.......because doing the same thing over and over again but expecting a different result usually works well.

Buying pacey players and then not playing them..........

My pre-season mojo was very high but it has rapidly slipped down following that lethargic, shambolic display.

Yep and it was shambolic.

 

[Surf's Up]

and yet astonishingly Hughton thought pre-season had gone well, that the players were super fit as a result of the extra training they'd been subjected to in order that they could implement gengenpresseing for 90 minutes against all comers.........and then this........to f ucking Watford. To say that I really am not looking forward to the next few games, let alone the whole season, would be an understatement.

 

[dazzer6666]

CH is saying the right things this morning in the Argus, so hopeful the message is loud and clear to the players who have the shirt at the moment. No doubt they'll get a chance to redeem themselves on Sunday, so it'll be interesting to see how they get on.

One other thing I noticed (whilst watching a brilliant (HD) stream which only buffered once or twice) was that when AJ came on he was very direct which was great to see, however our midfield aren't on the same wavelength yet.

If you look at his highlight reels from AZ you'll notice that he passes to midfield and then he is off like a rocket down the wing when invariably the midfielder he passed to would find him with a pass and he was in on goal or set up a chance.

On Saturday when he passed to Stephens (I think), he shot down the wing but Stephens had turned to his left and passed out to the other wing leaving AJ a frustrated figure, especially when he was in acres of space so would have had time to get into the box.

We need to be mindful of the runs that AJ makes as the season progresses.

Our midfield are used to March, who passes it inside and then stands still, looking lost.

 

[el punal]

As has already been said...not OTT at all. The only positives were AJ and Bissoumi coming on. That was it. I hope Barber gave the coaching staff a rocket up their backsides this morning! Ultimately, they are responsible for how the team is set up. Do they do set piece and shooting training at Lancing? Genuine question because it hasn't looked like it for a while now.

It was the players on the pitch who need a rocket up their backsides. How the team is set up, what tactics are applied, and what coaching and training programme is implemented is all irrelevant if the team on the day don’t compete. It is not Barber who should be lighting the rockets but Chris Hughton, of whom I am sure will be doing just that.

 

[Me and my Monkey]

CH on SSN this morning:

SSN: “so, have you been able to determine what went wrong on Saturday?”

CH: “yes, we have.”

SSN: “so, what went wrong?”

CH: “it was a poor performance.”

Hmmm...

 

[Beanstalk]

CH on SSN this morning:

SSN: “so, have you been able to determine what went wrong on Saturday?”

CH: “yes, we have.”

SSN: “so, what went wrong?”

CH: “it was a poor performance.”

Hmmm...

But this is essentially it wasn't it.

Neither team were good, Watford had two players who played very well in Doucouré and Pereyra, we didn't have any.

From what I saw stood behind the goal, it was all about the basics. CH could've gone for a completely different formation and the players still wouldn't have been able to beat their man or pass it to feet consistently. At times, despite it being all but one of the same starting XI as last year, the team looked like they had never played together. This is what was frustrating not the way we set up (nobody seemed to have an issue when it meant beating United).

 

[Bwian]

At 5pm yesterday Chris might just have thought, **** it, that REALLY isn't going to work anymore. He sounded pretty pissed off in the after match stuff.

Do you honestly think he would have thought that? It has been his over-cautious approach for years. He is not going to change no matter how pissed off he was at 5pm Saturday.

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[el punal]

Do you honestly think he would have thought that? It has been his over-cautious approach for years. He is not going to change no matter how pissed off he was at 5pm Saturday.

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He was probably pissed off because the players didn’t do what they were supposed to do. Nothing to do with being over cautious at all. If that had been the case and the players had competed accordingly the final score would have been 0-0. Then everyone would have gone home thinking how negative we were rather than how crap we were.

 

[Not Andy Naylor]

and yet astonishingly Hughton thought pre-season had gone well, that the players were super fit as a result of the extra training they'd been subjected to in order that they could implement gengenpresseing for 90 minutes against all comers.........and then this........to f ucking Watford. To say that I really am not looking forward to the next few games, let alone the whole season, would be an understatement.

I can only assume that he was talking about the pre-season training we didn’t see, because the friendly games were uniformly unpromising and, with hindsight, should have warned us what was coming. I went to AFC Wimbledon and Nantes and watched Birmingham on Seagulls Player, and I saw a lot of players going through the motions. I assumed when there were actual league points at stake that they’d probably be right at it, but it seems that was wishful thinking.