[Albion] Matt O Riley [26/08/24 - sings on a 5-year deal]

[Napper]

That's a lot of very specific assessment from one blurry picture where it doesn't even look like a scissor tackle.

it seems every subject in life has numerous "experts" , spouting their theories on social media these days

 

[Couldn't Be Hyypia]

I completely understand the reaction on here. The tackle aside, most of us must be hugely frustrated/disappointed that what looks like a key piece of the puzzle - who we took weeks and weeks to land - could have been crocked 6 minutes into his debut in an unimportant game, against an irrelevant side.

This isn't a fringe player (if all goes to plan). This is a guy who will be playing in a pivotal position that we know is critical to FH style and where we haven't had top talent since we sold Moises Caicedo.

This potential time out on top of our other essential deep lying midfield purchase being out injured already. And after a season where injuries decemated what could have been the best year of any of us supporters of the Albion. It's hardly surprising that we are as sensitive as a tulip under a Crawley captain's boot.

An over reaction? Maybe. But it's entirely understandable.

 

[Deadly Danson]

Nightmare start to his Brighton career.

You could see how gutted he was when Webster (I think) was chatting to him.

Blimey - what on earth was Webster saying?!

 

[BN41Albion]

FFS it was a bad tackle. It happens. This sort of rhetoric looks really noddy. Its like Man City saying they would never play Utd again after Keane did Haaland snr.

Exactly, and it's disrespectful to lower league clubs - of which we have been one for the majority of our entire existence - to tar them all with the same brush. Massive overreaction on here from some in that sense. I don't remember our players trying to kick top division players off the park back in the days we played them in the cups when further down the pyramid; most lower league clubs wouldn't intentionally do that now either, I'm sure.

 

[Triggaaar]

If

FFS it was a bad tackle. It happens.

The reason people are annoyed is because it wasn't just a bad tackle, Williams set out to injure him and took the piss afterwards

 

[Bodian]

Jesus. He didn’t kill him

Yes - but wouldn't you be a bit pissed off if you spent three months working towards something, you achieve it - and next day it all goes wrong? That's what the poster was expressing / talking about really.

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

Blimey - what on earth was Webster saying?!

Told him the bench with the nice view in the treatment room was his.

 

[SeagullinExile]

Yes - but wouldn't you be a bit pissed off if you spent three months working towards something, you achieve it - and next day it all goes wrong? That's what the poster was expressing / talking about really.

Don’t exaggerate. He clearly said a couple of months.

 

[sparkie]

It’s not uncommon for me to take a stroll past the Amex on a summer evening. It always reminds me how hard the back room staff work. The lights in the offices next to Dicks are mostly on until gone 9pm or in some cases, much, much later. Everyday of the window until we have got our business done.

The recruitment staff at the club work extraordinarily hard to get these deals over the line. Hours and hours of research followed by weeks and weeks and sometimes months or years of negotiations.

So my thoughts go out to the team that got the O’Riley deal over the line. The effort and graft they put in for the last two months (when O’Riley said the serious interest started). Imagine how pleased they were to fit-out the team with such an integral player to Hürzeler’s plan? A Scottish transfer sale record.

Only for some thuggish clogger to ruin his debut and then give Webster the wink. They must be feeling absolutely deflated.

Williams knew what he was doing. As he grinned inanely at Adam remembering the snap and crack of his boot on contact with O’Riley. He’ll never be famous. He’ll never play higher than League One but he has earned himself the ‘infamous’ tag amongst our support now. Playing in Sussex, he is going to have to look over his shoulder a lot now. You never know when karma might strike.

He was trying to get Webster to hit him and get sent off

 

[Disco Snr]

You could argue, why was he picked for a game against lower league cloggers in an irrelevant cup match, waited until fully embedded into the squad and then picked for Prem games.

 

[DJ NOBO]

Yes - but wouldn't you be a bit pissed off if you spent three months working towards something, you achieve it - and next day it all goes wrong? That's what the poster was expressing / talking about really.

“My thoughts are with the recruitment team” is perhaps a little OTT though

 

[El Turi]

I guess we’ll have to wait for Fabian’s press conference tomorrow for an update.

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

“My thoughts are with the recruitment team” is perhaps a little OTT though

My thoughts are with us fans having to watch an awful lot more of James Milner.

Who to be fair, has started this year in fine fettle that I didn't think he still had. But still, we could be watching the absolutely gorgeous Matt O Riley glide round the park, silkily passing the ball this way and that, scoring a dozen or so, and getting everyone purring. Instead we'll have to listen to the commentators continually reminding us that grizzled old man Milner has played in 125 premier league seasons and is at least 30 years older than his manager, as he gamely tries to keep up with play. Over and over and over.

 

[PlayMoran]

Blimey - what on earth was Webster saying?!

"The whole team swings, mate. Give me a go of your missus"

 

[Stato]

You could argue, why was he picked for a game against lower league cloggers in an irrelevant cup match, waited until fully embedded into the squad and then picked for Prem games.

Crawley are not 'lower league cloggers'. They are a fairly decent footballing side with a recent reputation for playing the game in the right way. Of course, every team needs to win the ball in order to play, but it looked like either the players or the coaches over-emphasised this for some reason.

Although Crawley played some decent stuff, there were moments last night when the gulf in pace and technical ability between them and the likes of Enciso, Adringa, Lamptey and Sarmiento left them looking and possibly feeling bit silly. No professional athlete likes that and the increased aggression seemed to be a result of hurt pride combined with too much pressure being put on a game that was always going to be a massive throw of the dice for them.

There was no reason to believe in advance that O'Riley would be in any more danger than he would be against Arsenal at the weekend. I suspect that playing him was part of the bedding in process and it's just backfired because of a reckless challenge. Even just for his own development, Williams needs to see consequences. He needs to understand that his action was rash and stupid and that, he let his team down by not dealing with the pressure and playing his normal game. He's not going to have a long career in modern football if he thinks that he's going to get away with the reducer tactics of 1970s Leeds United.

 

[Originunknown]

Crawley are not 'lower league cloggers'. They are a fairly decent footballing side with a recent reputation for playing the game in the right way.

You're on a wind up son. They were the worst I've seen since we ourselves were lower league cloggers.

Trying to play out from the back or not, regardless of that most of their challenges were cynical at best or dangerous at worst.

Far less likely against Arsenal, or against any PL side especially with VAR.

 

[nicko31]

The reason people are annoyed is because it wasn't just a bad tackle, Williams set out to injure him and took the piss afterwards

I'm not sure if that is true. That said if it was the player should be prosecuted for common assault, it is wrong that somehow contact sport such as football provides immunity.

Roy Keane on Haaland a prime example of someone who went out of his way to harm someone with intent

 

[SeagullinExile]

My thoughts are with us fans having to watch an awful lot more of James Milner.

Who to be fair, has started this year in fine fettle that I didn't think he still had. But still, we could be watching the absolutely gorgeous Matt O Riley glide round the park, silkily passing the ball this way and that, scoring a dozen or so, and getting everyone purring. Instead we'll have to listen to the commentators continually reminding us that grizzled old man Milner has played in 125 premier league seasons and is at least 30 years older than his manager, as he gamely tries to keep up with play. Over and over and over.

Pretty sure Milner would of started at Arsenal ahead of O’Riley anyway. Bench at best. We’re two from two, if it ain’t broken....

Besides, it will give him time to learn any tactical nuances that we have.

 

[Javeaseagull]

There were time last night when I really missed Caicido. He would have sought retribution and not even been booked, like he did against Martinelli!

 

[Greg Bobkin]

I completely understand the reaction on here. The tackle aside, most of us must be hugely frustrated/disappointed that what looks like a key piece of the puzzle - who we took weeks and weeks to land - could have been crocked 6 minutes into his debut in an unimportant game, against an irrelevant side.

This isn't a fringe player (if all goes to plan). This is a guy who will be playing in a pivotal position that we know is critical to FH style and where we haven't had top talent since we sold Moises Caicedo.

This potential time out on top of our other essential deep lying midfield purchase being out injured already. And after a season where injuries decemated what could have been the best year of any of us supporters of the Albion. It's hardly surprising that we are as sensitive as a tulip under a Crawley captain's boot.

An over reaction? Maybe. But it's entirely understandable.

Yes, it's an over-reaction, but it's also understandable too because it's human nature. However, it's ALL speculation about a situation where no-one on here has a clue what the truth is. It might be serious and rule him out for the season, or it might be nothing and he'll be back in training soon.

Whatever it is, people can 'deal with it' when they know more. What's the point in worrying about something when you don't actually know what you're worrying about?