[Albion] Leicester City vs Brighton & Hove Albion *** Official Match Thread ***

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Swansman

Pro-peace
May 13, 2019
22,320
Sweden
Sorry, but he's regressed. There comes a point where it has to go beyond "promising", but I've been watching the bloke for over 2 years now and he is literally no better than he's been for the last two seasons. He got those 2 goals vs Spurs on his full debut on 5th October 2019 - and then didn't score again until the final day of that season (so 3 goals in 24). Then last season, he scored a grand total of 2 goals.

I've tried to be patient, but it has become abundantly clear that he is simply not up to it at Premier League level. He is, at best, a lower-end Championship striker. I would LOVE him to prove me wrong.

But he won't.

There comes a point and that point is not when you are 21 years old. In two years I think he will be a fine PL striker, at the moment he is a decent one. I could be wrong but I dont think so.
 




Milano

Well-known member
Aug 15, 2012
3,930
Sussex but not by the sea
I was replying to:

“Who cares? Rubbish trophy anyway.”

Winning the league cup would be the pinnacle so far for our club, so yes I do care a lot.

This.

I was also fuming when we threw the Championship title away as that would have been the the most prestigious trophy in our cabinet. There were fans then that ‘weren’t bothered’ though. I find that mentality baffling.

Re the EFL cup, it would be HUGE if we won it. With 15 points from 9 games it felt like our best chance to have a real go at it tonight. With a couple of exceptions we played really well, a real ‘if only’ moment.
 


Easy 10

Brain dead MUG SHEEP
Jul 5, 2003
62,424
Location Location
I actually think he would be quality at championship level. The Swansea game showed that. But the prem is a whole different kettle of fish and I just dont think he has what it takes.

He desperately needs a loan. And if bloom and potter don't trust him enough to loan him we should bin him now

Sent from my SM-G986B using Tapatalk

Bearing in mind that was a scratch Swansea side he was playing against, by no means their first team, so I very much doubt he'd tear it up at Championship level. But it'd be a chance for him to get some regular games under his belt and maybe find some confidence.

As it stands, he's under contract till June 2024. He needs a year or two at a lower level, we can't afford to carry a passenger. At the moment, he's a waste of a shirt.
 


Weststander

Well-known member
Aug 25, 2011
69,311
Withdean area
This.

I was also fuming when we threw the Championship title away as that would have been the the most prestigious trophy in our cabinet. There were fans then that ‘weren’t bothered’ though. I find that mentality baffling.

Re the EFL cup, it would be HUGE if we won it. With 15 points from 9 games it felt like our best chance to have a real go at it tonight. With a couple of exceptions we played really well, a real ‘if only’ moment.

Ditto. Would’ve loved that famous old trophy (a replica of) to have been added to our museum.
 


Easy 10

Brain dead MUG SHEEP
Jul 5, 2003
62,424
Location Location
There comes a point and that point is not when you are 21 years old. In two years I think he will be a fine PL striker, at the moment he is a decent one. I could be wrong but I dont think so.

He's not decent though - he's been terrible. Yes he's only 21, so I'm not expecting him to bang in 10 goals - but he does nothing to get me off my seat. He runs down blind alleys, falls over a lot, has absolutely no composure in front of goal, doesn't have a great touch, he can't beat a man, he's not good in the air, not very strong, doesn't put a good ball in, and our moves more often than not break down when the ball arrives at his feet. Yes he's quick, but with the rest of his game being so sub-par it doesn't come to anything.

I've seen precious little evidence so far to suggest that he will be a fine PL striker, and a club of our level cannot afford to rely on a player like Connolly to supply the goals we need to steer clear of danger. Nothing against the kid, but we are crying out for some quality up front and have been for ages. AC is not the answer.
 




Swansman

Pro-peace
May 13, 2019
22,320
Sweden
He's not decent though - he's been terrible. Yes he's only 21, so I'm not expecting him to bang in 10 goals - but he does nothing to get me off my seat. He runs down blind alleys, falls over a lot, has absolutely no composure in front of goal, doesn't have a great touch, he can't beat a man, he's not good in the air, not very strong, doesn't put a good ball in, and our moves more often than not break down when the ball arrives at his feet. Yes he's quick, but with the rest of his game being so sub-par it doesn't come to anything.

I've seen precious little evidence so far to suggest that he will be a fine PL striker, and a club of our level cannot afford to rely on a player like Connolly to supply the goals we need to steer clear of danger. Nothing against the kid, but we are crying out for some quality up front and have been for ages. AC is not the answer.

Dont agree that he has been terrible. Not particularly good either for the most part, but not terrible.

He has no ubertrait, which is one of the reasons people cant see him being a skilled player. People thought Walcott was a fantastic megatalent due to his blistering pace which was 9/10 and ignored, until it was no longer ignorable, that he was a 2/10 in many other ways. Connolly is a player that is 4 or 5/10 in most areas. Some of these turn into well-rounded, very good PL strikers who are 7 or 8/10 in every area, some will make a living in the Championship. Where Connolly ends up is just too early to tell. People have accused him of poor attitude but if he didnt put in real effort and desire to become a better player Potter would have shipped him or frozen him out from the pitch (not the group).
 


jcdenton08

Offended Liver Sausage
NSC Patron
Oct 17, 2008
14,542
I really had such hopes for Connolly. I hope he comes good, but realistically he has no business being in a PL squad at the moment. Drop down a division, bang loads in and prove yourself a goalscorer in professional league football (not reserves or youth level), sort out the personal life, stop diving and just focus on being a good professional.

I just can't any of it happening.
 


Mackenzie

Old Brightonian
Nov 7, 2003
34,017
East Wales
Just got home. I thought we did well especially in the second half, Sarmiento is a really exciting prospect. Disappointing to lose but we gave them a good game.
 




jimhigham

Je Suis Rhino
Apr 25, 2009
8,042
Woking
This.

I was also fuming when we threw the Championship title away as that would have been the the most prestigious trophy in our cabinet. There were fans then that ‘weren’t bothered’ though. I find that mentality baffling.

Re the EFL cup, it would be HUGE if we won it. With 15 points from 9 games it felt like our best chance to have a real go at it tonight. With a couple of exceptions we played really well, a real ‘if only’ moment.

Agreed. I’m a bit worried that the momentum is shifting after our good start. The wins have dried up and draws are now beginning to turn into defeats (which is understandable given the run of fixtures). Assuming we lose again at the weekend, the real acid test will be how we kick on afterwards in a game we should be looking to win. If we can turn the corner on this scratchy little run, we could press on and have the heavy lifting done on staying up by Christmas. Then I’d really like to see us have a full throated go at the FA Cup.
 


Stato

Well-known member
Dec 21, 2011
7,374
Connolly is still 21. He's going to be learning his trade at that age. He believes that he can do this best by getting what game time he can in a Premier League squad. Some may disagree, but he is decent enough to have convinced Potter that he is worthy of the chance to do this. Since the explosion of his first league start against Spurs, he has just followed the career path of most of his peer group. Very, very few strikers of his age start many games in the Premier League, even fewer score many goals.

If you look at the records of most strikers ever to have played for this club, you will struggle to find many who had played as many minutes or scored as many goals in the top division as Connolly has by the age of 21*. This doesn't mean he will go on to have a great career at the top level. That will be down to his attitude, his ability to learn and improve and to good fortune. Many players have fallen by the wayside after showing great early promise. However, we can't let fan frustration that he hasn't set the world alight since those first two goals allow him to be labelled at this early stage of his career as someone who won't make it.

*- Danny Welbeck was one I found to have played for three seasons in the top tier by the time he was Connolly's age. He had played in 34 games and scored 7 goals for Man Utd and Sunderland, two top ten teams. Connolly has played 43 and scored 5 for a team that finished in the bottom six. If, a decade on from now, Connolly has had a career that's still comparable with, but not quite as good as Welbeck's, I reckon he'd have done rather well.
 


Napper

Well-known member
Jul 9, 2003
24,452
Sussex
After a pretty crap first 15 that was a decent performance .

Think extra time would of been a winner the way the game had gone .

Considering we were effectively playing with 9 men with locadia and Connolly on then a lot of that was very impressive .

Steele made some decent saves but I wouldn’t be happy with him first choice .

Striker situation continues to be a full on joke .

Penalties frustrating but I would of taken them at the start of the night and what can you say .

Hope we see lamptey and biss start Saturday .
 




BN41Albion

Well-known member
Oct 1, 2017
6,828
This.

I was also fuming when we threw the Championship title away as that would have been the the most prestigious trophy in our cabinet. There were fans then that ‘weren’t bothered’ though. I find that mentality baffling.

Re the EFL cup, it would be HUGE if we won it. With 15 points from 9 games it felt like our best chance to have a real go at it tonight. With a couple of exceptions we played really well, a real ‘if only’ moment.

Yep. Other than Liverpool (in all likelihood), we would have had every chance against all the others left in it.

Very frustrating to have lost despite all the lovely football in the second half especially. Our inability to put the ball in the net when on top is becoming very frustrating now (yes I know how good-a start we've had, etc). As the for the defensive mistakes, we've been pretty solid for quite a while now so hopefully the gifted goals of late will turn out to be a blip.
 


The Optimist

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Apr 6, 2008
2,773
Lewisham
Agreed. I’m a bit worried that the momentum is shifting after our good start. The wins have dried up and draws are now beginning to turn into defeats (which is understandable given the run of fixtures). Assuming we lose again at the weekend, the real acid test will be how we kick on afterwards in a game we should be looking to win. If we can turn the corner on this scratchy little run, we could press on and have the heavy lifting done on staying up by Christmas. Then I’d really like to see us have a full throated go at the FA Cup.

The wins dried up when we lost Bissouma. If him coming on tonight means he’s back then hopefully the wins will return.
 


DarrenFreemansPerm

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sep 28, 2010
17,446
Shoreham
There comes a point and that point is not when you are 21 years old. In two years I think he will be a fine PL striker, at the moment he is a decent one. I could be wrong but I dont think so.

No he isn’t, he’s nowhere near to being a decent Premier League striker, at the moment he’s just someone that runs around a bit and occasionally looks like he might have some pace. Someone like Chris Wood, Josh King, Christian Benteke would be a decent striker at this standard, Connolly, at the moment, is just horribly out of his depth. Obviously he still has plenty of time to develop but right now he really should not be our 2nd choice striker.
 




R. Slicker

Well-known member
Jan 1, 2009
4,490
He's not decent though - he's been terrible. Yes he's only 21, so I'm not expecting him to bang in 10 goals - but he does nothing to get me off my seat. He runs down blind alleys, falls over a lot, has absolutely no composure in front of goal, doesn't have a great touch, he can't beat a man, he's not good in the air, not very strong, doesn't put a good ball in, and our moves more often than not break down when the ball arrives at his feet. Yes he's quick, but with the rest of his game being so sub-par it doesn't come to anything.

I've seen precious little evidence so far to suggest that he will be a fine PL striker, and a club of our level cannot afford to rely on a player like Connolly to supply the goals we need to steer clear of danger. Nothing against the kid, but we are crying out for some quality up front and have been for ages. AC is not the answer.

That's depressing when you consider the other striker last night was slightly worse than that.
 


Rugrat

Well-known member
Mar 13, 2011
10,224
Seaford
No he isn’t, he’s nowhere near to being a decent Premier League striker, at the moment he’s just someone that runs around a bit and occasionally looks like he might have some pace. Someone like Chris Wood, Josh King, Christian Benteke would be a decent striker at this standard, Connolly, at the moment, is just horribly out of his depth. Obviously he still has plenty of time to develop but right now he really should not be our 2nd choice striker.

I missed the Tottenham game of 201?? but every time I've seen him he's been cack. The effort last night (when put through) was dreadful in every respect (decision making, execution).

He needs to go out on loan pronto imo. I dunno who'll take him but I suspect he might be looking at L1 and not Championship. I also fear he might then disappear off the face of the earth rather than bang in double figures for half a season. Who knows but it seems like he's on a fence right now, not good enough to get anywhere near our first team yet not getting any competitive time to prove (and develop) his skills
 


Stat Brother

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 11, 2003
73,888
West west west Sussex
Connolly needs to go out on loan asap.
We all need a break, a fresh start, to move on...












...and start boooooing Sarmiento.
 






Napper

Well-known member
Jul 9, 2003
24,452
Sussex
why on loan? Just get shot of, get a small fee and on you trot Aaron whatever your name is.
He's just not upto it, not even championship

very likely to be true . Guess the crazy striker situation has meant we have no choice but to keep hoping there is something in there.

If we had addressed all this in the summer then we'd probably be in the quarter finals now.
 


Stat Brother

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 11, 2003
73,888
West west west Sussex
very likely to be true . Guess the crazy striker situation has meant we have no choice but to keep hoping there is something in there.

If we had addressed all this in the summer then we'd probably be in the quarter finals now.

and with 4 extra points from Arsenal & Norwich.
 


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