shaolinpunk
[Insert witty title here]
Firstly, it was a very poor performance. There's no getting away from that. Everybody looked far too casual on the ball and indeed without it. There was little cohesion going forward when we had possession and it was rarely long before we'd concede it again. Even when we were on the attack late on we'd still be at risk of constantly overhitting passes
The defence was uncharacteristically flimsy when being attacked today. McCourt (or whatever his name was) danced through more than once, and people just completely missed their tackles. Ward was solid and unspectacular, as per usual - won't let you down and won't set the world alight. Greer and Upson were pretty nondescript and didn't really stand out for right or wrong reasons (goal aside). Bruno, however, seems to have lost judgement when defending; he loves going forward but is a weakness when we're being attacked. I'll need to see the goals again but on first glance t seemed Kuszczak could have done better with the goals, mainly the second.
JFC is a good player... but generally that's when we're the dominant team. When we're on the back foot he is largely anonymous. I'd be very surprised if Ince doesn't replace him on Saturday. Crofts charged around with his usual all-action bluster but tonight didn't really make much impact. Bridcutt clearly isn't fully match sharp but doesn't look too far off.
Watching Lopez just makes me feel a bit sad these days. He's a complete shadow of his former self and his contribution is minimal. When we put Buckley out wide we looked more dangerous, and again looked more complete when he was replaced with Agustien (who himself wasn't exactly perfect but I think that's fitness). Conway works well with Ward and was our main threat although he was still a bit quiet beyond his shot in the first half and a few crosses.
Felt a bit sorry for Barnes - he got sod all service and as a result I don't recall him having attempts on goal other than his soft overhead quickly followed by slamming it high and wide with his left foot. He said the other day that he has given Oscar a selection headache when Ulloa returns but this won't have done him any favours. I'm not suggesting Ulloa would have done too much better with the service tonight but I think his presence alone might have posed more of a problem for their defence.
Seems tonight was the perfect storm of everybody falling below their usual standards. Barnsley didn't look like a team at the bottom of the league with no manager, but that was our doing. Typical Brighton.
We're not suddenly a bad team but it's clear how much we can miss Ulloa, Buckley, Orlandi et al
The team I expect us to put out for Saturday is:
Kuszczak
Bruno, Greer, Upson, Ward
Ince, Bridcutt, Crofts
Buckley, Barnes, Conway
The defence was uncharacteristically flimsy when being attacked today. McCourt (or whatever his name was) danced through more than once, and people just completely missed their tackles. Ward was solid and unspectacular, as per usual - won't let you down and won't set the world alight. Greer and Upson were pretty nondescript and didn't really stand out for right or wrong reasons (goal aside). Bruno, however, seems to have lost judgement when defending; he loves going forward but is a weakness when we're being attacked. I'll need to see the goals again but on first glance t seemed Kuszczak could have done better with the goals, mainly the second.
JFC is a good player... but generally that's when we're the dominant team. When we're on the back foot he is largely anonymous. I'd be very surprised if Ince doesn't replace him on Saturday. Crofts charged around with his usual all-action bluster but tonight didn't really make much impact. Bridcutt clearly isn't fully match sharp but doesn't look too far off.
Watching Lopez just makes me feel a bit sad these days. He's a complete shadow of his former self and his contribution is minimal. When we put Buckley out wide we looked more dangerous, and again looked more complete when he was replaced with Agustien (who himself wasn't exactly perfect but I think that's fitness). Conway works well with Ward and was our main threat although he was still a bit quiet beyond his shot in the first half and a few crosses.
Felt a bit sorry for Barnes - he got sod all service and as a result I don't recall him having attempts on goal other than his soft overhead quickly followed by slamming it high and wide with his left foot. He said the other day that he has given Oscar a selection headache when Ulloa returns but this won't have done him any favours. I'm not suggesting Ulloa would have done too much better with the service tonight but I think his presence alone might have posed more of a problem for their defence.
Seems tonight was the perfect storm of everybody falling below their usual standards. Barnsley didn't look like a team at the bottom of the league with no manager, but that was our doing. Typical Brighton.
We're not suddenly a bad team but it's clear how much we can miss Ulloa, Buckley, Orlandi et al
The team I expect us to put out for Saturday is:
Kuszczak
Bruno, Greer, Upson, Ward
Ince, Bridcutt, Crofts
Buckley, Barnes, Conway
