Im going to be the first to say it....

[Hunting 784561]

I am starting to like London Irish, because he clearly knows even less about football than he does about politics.

 

[London Irish]

Oatway and Virgo is not a championship midfield its barley a lg 1 midfield

I would say you would struggle to find someone to disagree with that,, but that doesnt normally matter to you

I see. So you believe every Brighton fan agrees with you on this then?

Why don't you cap this all off by accusing me of being arrogant and we can all go and watch the Chelsea game knowing that we've strained irony to the very limits.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

on this i think most will

 

[Gordon the Gopher]

Have to say that this thread has been very enlightening. I tend to agree that Mcghee should have kept to 5-3-2 as that did work well and got the best out of Reid for instance. However, this quote for me says it all and comes from the Whisky man himself


He revealed: "I said to the boys in the dressing room that, given the resources of the club and the fact we have lost four players through retirement, two we have had to sell and two recently through injury, they have done absolutely magnificently to get themselves in a position where we still have a chance of staying in this division with five games to go.

Say no more...give him another contract!

 

[London Irish]

I am starting to like London Irish, because he clearly knows even less about football than he does about politics.

I know you find discussing me fascinating, but the thread's about whether Mark McGhee should go because of the footballing decisions he's made. Cheers.

 

[London Irish]

on this i think most will

Why?

Edit: Sorry - I wasn't asking why Kinky doesn't rate Charlie's abilities in midfield, or Virgs in midfield in the 20 minutes he may or may not have seen, I was asking why he thinks most Albion fans agree with him.

 

[Brighton Breezy]

I do not think that Oatway and Virgo would be a very good pair in midfield.

They may graft and win the ball but Virgo lacks the positional play of a natural midfield player and the game would pass them by. It would also lack creativity which is sort of what we are missing at the moment.

They would run about a lot and make the odd crunching tackle though which would convince half of Withdean that they were as good as Bryan Robson.

Also, why play Virgo there when he is our main threat upfront at the moment and also a strong solid defender.

It would seem to be that the most sensible option would be to play a natural midfielder in there. It is hard enough to match the likes of Wigan et al's midfield let alone when you are not used to playing in that position. The effort and the ability may be there but the player would always be having to think about what to do instead of doing it instinctively.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

Why?

what richie said

 

[Safeway]

Yep, Virgs is a much better player than those guys.

Opinion or fact?

 

[itszamora]

I do not think that Oatway and Virgo would be a very good pair in midfield.

They may graft and win the ball but Virgo lacks the positional play of a natural midfield player and the game would pass them by. It would also lack creativity which is sort of what we are missing at the moment.

They would run about a lot and make the odd crunching tackle though which would convince half of Withdean that they were as good as Bryan Robson.

Also, why play Virgo there when he is our main threat upfront at the moment and also a strong solid defender.

It would seem to be that the most sensible option would be to play a natural midfielder in there. It is hard enough to match the likes of Wigan et al's midfield let alone when you are not used to playing in that position. The effort and the ability may be there but the player would always be having to think about what to do instead of doing it instinctively.

I agree. When you've played your whole life in one position its very difficult to suddenly adapt to another even if you have the skills to perform in that position as it's about much more than just tackling or passing or whatever, positional play is absolutely crucial and Virgo's natural instinct is NOT that of a midfielder. Whereas Hammond and Nicolas are both excellent midfielders and were left on the bench.

Nevertheless, Virgo playing 20 minutes in midfield was not the reason we lost that game as LI says. But it does show that MM can make rather baffling selections at times, and I also agree with Uncle Buck that having a set system where the players know their roles and also those of the players around them will produce more than chopping and changing every game/half. Which is not a recent phenomenon, MM has been doing it all season but it's only now where we are playing against settled opposition that it's become apparent.

 

[London Irish]

Opinion or fact?

Animal, vegetable or mineral?

What do you THINK

 

[London Irish]

Why?

Edit: Sorry - I wasn't asking why Kinky doesn't rate Charlie's abilities in midfield, or Virgs in midfield in the 20 minutes he may or may not have seen, I was asking why he thinks most Albion fans agree with him.

Kinky, sorry I wasn't clear in my question. Why do you think most Albion fans agree with you and disagree with McGhee?

 

[Brighton Breezy]

I think only an idiot would claim we lost a game purely because of one player playing 20 minutes out of position.

Tinkering is all fair and well when you have international standard footballers who can adapt to different situations well but at this level, with survival at stake I think we should get a team and a formation and stick with it.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

Kinky, sorry I wasn't clear in my question. Why do you think most Albion fans agree with you and disagree with McGhee?

As most people have said so on the board at one point or another

 

[London Irish]

I do not think that Oatway and Virgo would be a very good pair in midfield.

They may graft and win the ball but Virgo lacks the positional play of a natural midfield player and the game would pass them by. It would also lack creativity which is sort of what we are missing at the moment.

They would run about a lot and make the odd crunching tackle though which would convince half of Withdean that they were as good as Bryan Robson.

Also, why play Virgo there when he is our main threat upfront at the moment and also a strong solid defender.

It would seem to be that the most sensible option would be to play a natural midfielder in there. It is hard enough to match the likes of Wigan et al's midfield let alone when you are not used to playing in that position. The effort and the ability may be there but the player would always be having to think about what to do instead of doing it instinctively.

This 20 mins Virgs played in midfield against Reading, not Wigan, is assuming bizarre importance in many people's eyes, particularly as nothing bad happened to us during that time, but there was logic to it and I will give it a go trying to explain what I think motivated it.

The problem was obviously created by Chippy's absence. But there was another more serious thing that would have occupied McGhee's mind, Reading's potent attack down the right. Back in August, Glen Little has been their most effective player. That meant Leon could not be risked on our left flank, Harding was needed on that flank to protect Mayo.

So that left Leon without a position. McGhee decided to play him up front, which meant one of Big Mac and Virgs shifting.

McGhee decided on a solution that not only solved the Chippy absence but involved keeping Virgs as close to our forwards as possible. Chippy's goal threat is replicated by Virgs' shooting power.

The midfield 4 was defensively strong, and yes, did cope far better with Little than we did at the Madjeski. The irony was the mistake came when Virgs was back IN HIS NATURAL POSITION OF CENTRE-BACK. Please someone, appreciate that irony when we have so many people complaining about McGhee playing players out of position.

Did Virgs in midfield fail? How on earth can anyone say that in the 20 mins they watched?

Why didn't McGhee play Virgs in midfield at Cov? Because I guess he didn't perceive the threat down the right as that severe to stop us attacking with Leon down our left flank.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

This 20 mins Virgs played in midfield against Reading, not Wigan, is assuming bizarre importance in many people's eyes, particularly as nothing bad happened to us during that time, but there was logic to it and I will give it a go trying to explain what I think motivated it.

The problem was obviously created by Chippy's absence. But there was another more serious thing that would have occupied McGhee's mind, Reading's potent attack down the right. Back in August, Glen Little has been their most effective player. That meant Leon could not be risked on our left flank, Harding was needed on that flank to protect Mayo.

So that left Leon without a position. McGhee decided to play him up front, which meant one of Big Mac and Virgs shifting.

McGhee decided on a solution that not only solved the Chippy absence but involved keeping Virgs as close to our forwards as possible. Chippy's goal threat is replicated by Virgs' shooting power.

The midfield 4 was defensively strong, and yes, did cope far better with Little than we did at the Madjeski. The irony was the mistake came when Virgs was back IN HIS NATURAL POSITION OF CENTRE-BACK. Please someone, appreciate that irony when we have so many people complaining about McGhee playing players out of position.

Did Virgs in midfield fail? How on earth can anyone say that in the 20 mins they watched?

Why didn't McGhee play Virgs in midfield at Cov? Because I guess he didn't perceive the threat down the right as that severe to stop us attacking with Leon down our left flank.

Nothing good happened in that 20 either

in fact they could have scored

 

[London Irish]

As most people have said so on the board at one point or another

No. A tiny proportion of active users on NSC have said it, although yes they've often repeated the point 10 or 20 times so it seems like much more, and all active users on NSC themselves represent a tiny proportion of Albion fans.

Schoolboy error, Kinky. Don't overestimate the influence of NSC and pretend it speaks for Albion fans.

 

[London Irish]

I think we should get a team and a formation and stick with it.

This mantra has been repeated over and over again by about 6 people in this thread now, although of course it completely fails to address the points about the different tactical challenges different opponents pose for us. One-size-fits-all is simple, and simplistic.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

Ok it must be just my hearing things that hears a huge groin eveytime oatway misplaces a pass, gets caught on the ball or misses a tackle

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

This mantra has been repeated over and over again by about 6 people in this thread now, although of course it completely fails to address the points about the different tactical challenges different opponents pose for us. One-size-fits-all is simple, and simplistic.

Im sure chelsea are 12 points clear of the prem by sticking to the same formation?