[Albion] If we go down

[Driver8]

At least we won’t have our squad decimated by poachers if we go down. Other than Dunk I can’t think of another player who would interest other PL teams.

 

[Weststander]

At least we won’t have our squad decimated by poachers if we go down. Other than Dunk I can’t think of another player who would interest other PL teams.

Dunk, Duffy and Stephens would be of interest to promoted Norwich, Leeds and Villa, possibly to Stains, CP, Bmuff and Burnley too.

Other than that, who would add PL class and pace elsewhere?

 

[The Clown of Pevensey Bay]

Ryan wouldn’t stay, surely? And other clubs would come in for Gross and Bernardo.

 

[Ernest]

At least we won’t have our squad decimated by poachers if we go down. Other than Dunk I can’t think of another player who would interest other PL teams.

Dunk is being exposed now at top level , can’t defend for a toffee now

 

[Tooting Gull]

Staying until the end and walking straight onto the platform for a Brighton train....bring on Lincoln at home.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Our Chairman has pumped circa £200 million into the Club.......He is not an Arab Sheik or a Russian Oligarch with unlimited funds........You call £200m "on the cheap".

Yesterday the team were pants...But the on the cheap remark is OTT.

And there I was, thinking of unblocking the soppy old trollweasel. Bollocks, then.

 

[jamie the seagull]

Nothing wrong with Squad, Recruitment. All down to tactics and that is down to one person.
CH will not change his tactics/formation so we need to get rid at the end of season so the Club and progress.
Football decisions now controlled by Ashworth and he has not left the FA to be associated with failure.

 

[worthingseagull123]

If we go down, it’ll be tough to bounce back.

 

[Weststander]

Nothing wrong with Squad, Recruitment. All down to tactics and that is down to one person.
CH will not change his tactics/formation so we need to get rid at the end of season so the Club and progress.
Football decisions now controlled by Ashworth and he has not left the FA to be associated with failure.

Loads wrong with first team. Every other PL team bar Hudd and Cardiff, have a dynamic CM three, with pace and creativity.

Our attacking CM’ers lack all the key attributes to achieve that. They’ve found their ceiling.

Whoever’s the manager come August, players would have moved on.

 

[southstandandy]

It does seem we have a problem getting decent players to come to the club in the Premier League.

This season's finish is not going to help recruitment in the summer.

This though is always going to be our problem now. We certainly can't compete with the the top 6 in the transfer market, and realistically can't with the next best in terms of Everton, Leicester, Wolves etc in terms of general spending power year on year. Trying to get bargains from lesser European leagues is very understandable but is inherently risky as the players we go for might be cheaper but don't have the experience or often muscle to compete in the Premier League.

That leaves us as an alternative of looking down to the Championship for players but not trying to get taken for a ride from clubs not wanting to part with their best players unless they sting us for silly money. In a perfect world it would be great to bring a few more in through the club ranks like Dunk and March but again can we afford to blood too many yongsters at once?

From a recruitment perspective we are largely caught between a rock and a hard place and the club understandibly are trying to get what they consider value from abroad which sadly has largely backfired over the last two years (baring 1 or 2 exceptions). The hope I had with the 15 or so new faces signed since we were promoted was that 2 or 3 of them would really adapt fast and be real assets (both playing and financially) to the club whereby if we had to lose one due to an offer we couldn't afford to turn down, at least some profit could be generated and put into future squad strengthening.

At this moment in time, of all the new players signed since promotion, I don't think we could make a profit on any of them. The only ones that might happen with were already with us in the Championship (Dunk / Duffy). I know some people think the players we have signed are good enough and our failures are largely down to tactics and formation due to the manager, and even though I think this is partly true in my view most are simply not good enough for this level full stop.

 

[Behind Enemy Lines]

At least we won’t have our squad decimated by poachers if we go down. Other than Dunk I can’t think of another player who would interest other PL teams.

Likely that Ryan, Duffy, Dunk, Stephens, Propper and Gross would go. There might be others. There’s then the psychological impact of having to do it all over again. The core of the side would break up. And whilst relegation wouldn’t be a total disaster, it risk putting the “project” back years. Very few sides come straight back up at the first attempt. Let’s hope it won’t come to that.

 

[jonnyrovers]

You're not wrong, depth is important but i disagree with it being a championship side or players not being good enough. I think we could do better but definitely have players we should dump before the start of next season. Should we be in the prem

You make a good point but, honestly, do we have squad players ready to play PL football in every position as a start or bench option?

 

[Nixonator]

At least we won’t have our squad decimated by poachers if we go down. Other than Dunk I can’t think of another player who would interest other PL teams.

Stephens would move to Burnley/Cardiff or one of the promoted sides.

Bissouma would actually benefit greatly from a year in the Championship, but I think highly unlikely to stay.

Propper already wearing an Ajax shirt.

So there goes the midfield everybody is complaining about.

Dunk would move and who would begrudge him.

Murray will struggle I feel as will Bruno.

So that's Dunk, Bruno, Stephens and Murray likely to not feature. The spine of the team for 4 years gone. We could get 10-15 games out of Kayal before his inevitable injury, and we can hope Knockaert finds his form again and rips up the league. Not many other positives.

 

[Sarisbury Seagull]

Disagree, can’t see how Bloom, Barber and the board are to blame? If like a lot of fans you’re looking to find excuses for Hughton out of loyalty and you don’t think we’ve signed good enough players then surely it’s the recruitment department you should be blaming? They’ve been given a fortune to spend by B and B.

The same recruitment department we couldn’t praise enough last season.

Maybe, just maybe the players we’ve signed are actually quite good but the manager and coaches are not getting the most out of them. When you consider that nearly every existing player seems to have also regressed this season, that seems the most likely explanation.

Either way, can’t see why Bloom and Barber deserve blame? They just seem like excellent, supportive bosses to me.

 

[Megazone]

Bissouma would actually benefit greatly from a year in the Championship, but I think highly unlikely to stay.
.

agreed. Even if we stay up, I'd like him loaned out for next season. He needs to play for a team who get more of the ball if he's ever going to learn to compose himself when in possession. One season in the Champ for Bissouma could be the making of him.

 

[Stumpy Tim]

Marginal improvement for squad but first 11 no better and that’s what really matters - shambolic recruitment that if Burke was still at the helm would be rightly crucified

Shambolic is very harsh. Bissouma, Bernardo, Montoya, and Andone are all improvements on the squad. Burn and Balogun have given us depth. Jury is out on AliJ. That's hardly shambolic

 

[Steve in Japan]

It doesn't seem unreasonable to try to compete with the likes of Bournemouth, Southampton or Burnley in recruitment.

But if you asked which of our players would represent an upgrade on theirs, in any position, I am struggling. Dunk, Duffy and Propper maybe but that's based on last season's performances, not this. This season, can't think of one.

 

[neilbard]

Couldn't disagree more. He didn't send them out yesterday with an instruction to play like that. Most of the squad simply are not good enough. Our championship wingers can't punch past PL full backs. Our bargain midfielders can't retain possession and complete passes when proper PL opponents put the squeeze on them. Don't get me started on strikers.

The statistics pre January beg to differ..

But the season is over 38 games, and we are making a pigs ear of it at the moment, a bit like when we blew the Championship title.

 

[Simster]

Dunk is being exposed now at top level , can’t defend for a toffee now

He's certainly looking less effective with every passing game. I hope he doesn't turn into another Ryan Shawcross - lauded by Stoke fans on his way up, courted by big clubs, picked by England, slowly turned quite ordinary, now back in the Championship.

 

[Sarisbury Seagull]

Shambolic is very harsh. Bissouma, Bernardo, Montoya, and Andone are all improvements on the squad. Burn and Balogun have given us depth. Jury is out on AliJ. That's hardly shambolic

This. I really don’t understand the now constant criticism of the new signings from Hughton apologists, that the recruitment is the main reason for our current predicament. At one point or another this season, all of the new signings bar Ali J have had threads praising them and all are good premier league players with potential.

I can’t understand how the recruitment department and last summers signings can be blamed for the decline in performance this season of the likes of Ryan, Dunk, Stephens, Gross, Izquierdo and lack of progression of Propper or March.

It all points to the management and coaching, or lack of.