Knight off?

[Schrödinger's Toad]

Tell me I haven't just been transported into a parallel universe where it's more socially acceptable to spout bullshit than the facts.

Leon has been a complete no-mark in this division - Bobby got goals, despite injuries. Is this the under-18 vote for Leon?

Strange - you advocate facts in your first sentence, then come out with a subjective assessment (in your own words, "bullshit") in your second.

I can only assume you either don't attend the games or have an odd idea of what defines a "no-mark" - Leon has arguably been our player of the last month.

 

[Tooting Gull]

Leon is 'a goalscorer', that is how he is judged. He has two goals this season, one a penalty. I sincerely hope he gets his act together and scores 20 in the last 20-odd games. I just can't see it happening, unfortunately.

And given that, and notwithstanding the 'sale of the century' headlines it would provoke, would we not be better off getting rid for decent cash if there were takers?

 

[Wardy]

I agree that Leon in the last month is a much improved player. However he talks about not been offered a new contract and others being in the same situation. That we know is incorrect. Cullip is quoted as saying that DM and MM went out of their way to keep him, while the cash offered for Currie was to good to turn down. Prehaps the reason the Leon as not been offered a new contract is (rightly or wrongly) he is not rated by MM.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

Leon is 'a goalscorer', that is how he is judged. He has two goals this season, one a penalty. I sincerely hope he gets his act together and scores 20 in the last 20-odd games. I just can't see it happening, unfortunately.

And given that, and notwithstanding the 'sale of the century' headlines it would provoke, would we not be better off getting rid for decent cash if there were takers?

but you see virgo as a striker yet he doent score

 

[Yorkie]

I agree that Leon in the last month is a much improved player. However he talks about not been offered a new contract and others being in the same situation. That we know is incorrect. Cullip is quoted as saying that DM and MM went out of their way to keep him, while the cash offered for Currie was to good to turn down. Prehaps the reason the Leon as not been offered a new contract is (rightly or wrongly) he is not rated by MM.

The manager has said that all players out of contract at the end of the season will have talks before Jan 1st.
Cullip was offered a contract last week because he had an offer come in.

I suspect this is Leon's agent touting his name around the press to see if there is any interest before Leon looks at what the club is offering.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

the club wont offer him what he deserves we will lose him and will score lots of goals somewhere else in this league

 

[Schrödinger's Toad]

I agree that Leon in the last month is a much improved player. However he talks about not been offered a new contract and others being in the same situation. That we know is incorrect. Cullip is quoted as saying that DM and MM went out of their way to keep him, while the cash offered for Currie was to good to turn down. Prehaps the reason the Leon as not been offered a new contract is (rightly or wrongly) he is not rated by MM.

The two cases you cite there occured when bids were made for the players - that isn't the case where Leon is concerned. As far as I'm aware, no other players have been offered new deals.

 

[Yorkie]

The two cases you cite there occured when bids were made for the players - that isn't the case where Leon is concerned. As far as I'm aware, no other players have been offered new deals.

See above where I have quoted from the official site. All players who are out of contract by the end of the season will have a talk with the manager before Jan 1st.

 

[mrhairy]

MM was talking to L Knight after Cardiff and LK was happy to sign a new contract then. So why did the dialogue stop? The longer they sign for the greater the value even if they do leave.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

the club acted far to late about cullip
which allowed a bigger club to come in and who can blame him for leaving.

 

[NMH]

Knight is astonishingly talented, and will probably only achieve recognition once he's signed for another club. I cannot fathom why there are Brighton fans who dislike him. Zamora has proven to be something of a failure since leaving us, so how is he still better than LK and deserving of continued reverence?

Leon is one of the best ball-players I have seen in the stripes, but has not got the luxury of service, players or tactics to benefit or enhance his scoring chances.

I hate to say it, but unless MM brings in a couple of useful players, he's wasted at Brighton.

 

[Zebedee]

Knight is astonishingly talented, and will probably only achieve recognition once he's signed for another club. I cannot fathom why there are Brighton fans who dislike him. Zamora has proven to be something of a failure since leaving us, so how is he still better than LK and deserving of continued reverence?

Leon is one of the best ball-players I have seen in the stripes, but has not got the luxury of service, players or tactics to benefit or enhance his scoring chances.

I hate to say it, but unless MM brings in a couple of useful players, he's wasted at Brighton.

I agree entirely with these sentiments. We can ill afford to lose players of Knight's calibre. Let's hope that McGhee realises that before it's too late.

 

[Halftime Oranges]

Leon Knight Knight Knight

 

[Easy 10]

the club acted far to late about cullip
which allowed a bigger club to come in and who can blame him for leaving.

I'm not sure what else the club could have done to have kept Cullip - he seemed pretty honest and up-front about his reasons for leaving, and it was a deal which suited both parties. We got a decent fee for him, with more money to come if Sheff U are successful.

Can't ask for much more than that, even if DC had been offered a new 5 year deal in the summer by us.

 

[itszamora]

See above where I have quoted from the official site. All players who are out of contract by the end of the season will have a talk with the manager before Jan 1st.

The lack of information from the club particularly re. the black hole (like we are only told NOW that the Currie and Cullip sales plus the Spurs game will keep us going till the end of the season - well thank f**k for that draw and us signing Currie in the summer then!) makes me for the first time unwilling to blindly believe everything the official site says. Sad but true.

I also agree with kinkygerbil and others that Knight is a very good player, who MM doesn't seem to rate or be willing to play to his strengths. He will not be in a Brighton shirt beyond this season I feel and a great shame that is too as he will go on to perform well at another team who do not consider putting a centre-half up front and then hoofing the ball towards him good tactics.

Yes Virgo did a job at first up front, but he has now been sussed out as very one-dimensional in that position, yet MM persists with him up front despite us selling our best centre half and getting in McCammon who is both a target man and most importantly a STRIKER. I feel McGhee definitely has something personal against Leon, which sadly now is working to the detriment of the team as he refuses to play Virgo anywhere other than up front. He also won't drop McCammon, so its bye bye Leon sadly.

 

[JP20]

what bollocks
he is a better player than bobby was he scored almost as many goals as he did when in div 2 with a lot less service than bobby got.

he has been treated lik shit by mcghee the supporters are always on his back no matter what he does - i wonder why he doesnt want to staY

Finally someone who thinks the same as me!!

Everyone has temporary blips.

CLASS IS PERMANENT

 

[NMH]

It's really overdue for there to be a Leon Knight critical backlash, because he's f**king mustard and the boo-boys have their heads up their own arses.

Leon to stay please, and it's about bloody time that he got some SUPPORT from Albion 'supporters' instead of the dullards calling him lazy from the stands.

 

[Pavilionaire]

Mark McGhee clearly doesn't rate Leon that highly, having dropped him in favour of Claridge only recently.

It appears to me as though McGhee is trying to "gee" Leon up into giving better performances, and I think it is beginning to work. Unfortunately for Leon, his main supply line has just been shipped out to Ipswich, so it's one step forward, one step back.

Bobby was clearly a better player in this division than Leon has proved to be this far - the fact that Spurs bought him and he banged in more goals is testament to that.

Personally, I rate Knight highly but he's got some baggage he needs to learn how to deal with, i.e. getting on with the manager and staying on his feet, and won't progress until he's got them sorted.

 

[London Irish]

I feel McGhee definitely has something personal against Leon, which sadly now is working to the detriment of the team as he refuses to play Virgo anywhere other than up front. He also won't drop McCammon, so its bye bye Leon sadly.

...or perhaps he could just play all three. Which is what McGhee did last game

You know that game, the one where Leon screwed up a header from 2 yards out, to go with the header in Derby where he screwed up from 5 yards out, the two shots against Rotherham where he couldn't even hit the target from less than 10 yards, etc, etc.

You're in denial if you think there is nothing wrong with Leon's game at the moment, his workrate and support play is fine, but his ability to finish has nosedived. Even his only goal against Cardiff was a scuff that barely crawled over the line.

Leon is in the same boat as Harding, both hugely talented young guys who should be automatic first choice at the moment, but who hopefully will get through their spell of inconsistent form with support from the manager and with the minimum of help from outsiders hyping up stuff about personality clashes.

 

[twickers]

I meant to add 'discuss' when I started this thread to provoke some conversation.

Seriously though, it's revealed that actually there is a split between 'he's clearly talented, but it's the challenge of the Championship is too much for him' or 'the challenge of poor support and feed that's meant he hasn't shined of late'.

Comparing him to Bobby doesn't get us far either because when Bobby played all we needed was somebody who could put the ball in the net, the rest of our game was ok, but look at Bobby now and I still think he's a very talented player.

Watching Currie and Sidwell in their last games has been a little painful, would Leon be putting them in the net with those two serving him or actually would it be Sidewell and Currie putting it in the net?