[Albion] Potterball, your opinions so far?

[Mo Gosfield]

If we are going to get the ball forward quickly and with purpose, then midfield is the key. At the moment, it is too pedestrian. GP will need to gradually make changes and at least two of Stephens, Propper, Gross, Mooy and Bissouma will have to go and be replaced with quicker, more creative and better goalscoring players. Its the engine room and it needs a few more gears.

 

[Weststander]

Overall, impressive.

But we need to turn more of these 45 minute cameos into 90 minute performances to get wins.

IMHO that would include NOT defending naively, gifting chances to counter attacking teams such as Manure & Leicester.

 

[Stat Brother]

Wouldn’t be any worse.

If Palace said they played Hodgsonball we’d rip the slash out of them and rightly so.

But you can't really describe 'kick it to Wilf' as:-

HodgePodgeBall.


Esp when Will Smith got there first.

 

[RossyG]

But you can't really describe 'kick it to Wilf' as:-

HodgePodgeball.

Tumbleball.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Do we really have to use the word Potterball? It sounds so infantile.

I like the fact it annoys people.

To me it sums up a style of play that some of our supporters (especially one whose name begins with S and rhymes with dense) regard as incomprehensible and frightening, and doomed to fail.

I like the fact that when I told my scouse mate 'you were lucky' after the game, yesterday, he didn't say anything.

Standby for the next intentionally irritating term, which may emerge if our points tally perks up:

'club of the 20s'.

 

[Guinness Boy]

It's a work in progress with many of the same players who were sitting back under Hughton last season. The thing we are still really lacking is belief.

We saw against Leicester that we were a little within ourselves in the first half. It might have been a "don't get caught on the break" instruction but they were all over us anyway and should have been two or three up at half time. Of course we survived, had a go, got all over them and got caught on the break. This was covered a bit on the Albion Roar this week but, as we put pressure on them, Vardy found space and our set pieces turned to shit. No excuse for playing it to the edge of the box when Jonny Evans is off the pitch and no excuse for not winning the second ball when they are as quick as they are. So, ultimately, "Potterball" got us back in to the game but also led to us finally conceding.

On Saturday it was the opposite. We sat off for 20 minutes and went 2 down. A very similar thing would have happened under Hughton. Then we had some self belief put in to us at half time and look at it. We gave the best club side in the world today (they'd beat Barca over 2 legs again if it comes to it this season) an absolutely torrid time, hit that long ball to Torossard to earn the sending off, scored a very clever goal and really should have equalised. Liverpool have gone 31 unbeaten, have barely even drawn and there we are getting their keeper sent off, scoring cheeky goals and generally having the Kop shit themselves. THAT is "Potterball" (and yes, it is a bit of a cringey name but "Graham Potter's style of football" isn't ironic and takes too long to type). That's what we signed up for.

What was holding us back was a lack of desire and confidence. I will say it again. If we'd spent our whole Premier League stay trying to finish 17th with 11 behind the ball I would have given up my season ticket. There's more to football than that. Luckily Bloom understands that and Potter understands it too. There will be games where the old self doubts do appear. There will be games where a side with not very much pace that was set up to defend last season will look ponderous. But there's no excuse for poor decision making and for not having a go. Once we do those two things better, as we did against Spurs, we'll be a force to be reckoned with.

And Knockaert? Knockaert is very much NOT the answer. Far too selfish. When "our playing style" (better Rossy?) works best it involves quick one or two touch passing, movement and unselfishness. Not the kid at school who never passed.

To improve? I think White in for Duffy as soon as is posssible (I love Duffy but he does not suit these tactics, he needs to be a stopper in a 4 again), a new full back (and Bernardo back to full fitness) and, ideally, a big number 9 with lots of pace who can score goals. But they are as rare as hen's teeth and will probably set you back 50 million if you can pursuade them to come, so don't hold your breath on that one.

 

[LamieRobertson]

Do we have to have a ‘ Do you like Potter ball ‘ thread after every game

This

 

[casbom]

I guess if you're looking short term then you would be worried, only a few points above the drop zone with some tough games coming up, it's conceivable we could be in the bottom 3 come Christmas.

However long term the trend is clear, we are enjoyable to watch and as someone else said this has been achieved with only one window, think what he could do with another 3 or 4!

For me it's like the team is a bloke who has undergone reconstructive surgery all over so now on the outside they are beautiful to look at.
But they are impotent. This will need time to sort out with some more surgery!

 

[Grassman]

This.

Back at Withdean, a cigar smoking bloke a few rows behind me used to shout "Hoof it!........Quality hoof" with hilarious regularity. Thing was, he was being facetious but I'm sure plenty thought he was being serious. "Get into 'em!". Yeh, Potter OUT!!!

At least he was being facetious Harry, behind me at Withdean an old fella shouted “Get it forward!” at least a dozen times a game. Ok, under some of the crap we witnessed there you could hardly blame him, but he continued doing it in that final glorious season under Gus. Bizarre.

 

[SIMMO SAYS]

This

That

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

At least he was being facetious Harry, behind me at Withdean an old fella shouted “Get it forward!” at least a dozen times a game. Ok, under some of the crap we witnessed there you could hardly blame him, but he continued doing it in that final glorious season under Gus. Bizarre.

It's called being thick. Brace yourself, but I have a theory that some footy fans are a bit thick. Who knew?

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

To improve? I think White in for Duffy as soon as is posssible (I love Duffy but he does not suit these tactics, he needs to be a stopper in a 4 again), a new full back (and Bernardo back to full fitness) and, ideally, a big number 9 with lots of pace who can score goals. But they are as rare as hen's teeth and will probably set you back 50 million if you can pursuade them to come, so don't hold your breath on that one.

Spot on.

Everton paid over £50 million for Richarleson, a Brazilian who would have regarded Everton as a step up from Watford.

So, for us we need a player who would see us as a step up, yet a player who can bang in 20 PL goals a season.

Tricky.

Which is why we have thus far chosen to gamble on overseas players of uncertain provenance and temperament, and better-tested but only in the championship brit-based forwards. Money does talk, though.....maybe a massive spaff on somone proper decent up front is the best plan for January. But who?

 

[AmexRuislip]

Spot on.

Everton paid over £50 million for Richarleson, a Brazilian who would have regarded Everton as a step up from Watford.

So, for us we need a player who would see us as a step up, yet a player who can bang in 20 PL goals a season.

Tricky.

Which is why we have thus far chosen to gamble on overseas players of uncertain provenance and temperament, and better-tested but only in the championship brit-based forwards. Money does talk, though.....maybe a massive spaff on somone proper decent up front is the best plan for January. But who?

Careful, or you'll be touted for the vacant Watford job

 

[Shuggie]

Results wise we are similar if not worse than the first part of last season. However it wasnt the first part of last season that did for us it was the end. I have just witnessed us out possess the European champions resulting in them looking scared of us toward the end at their own ground.

So I am happy, what I fear for and dont like is a VERY large number of fans who constantly loudly bitch about us playing out from the back. THIS IS THE COUNTER TO A PRESS AND IT IS WORKING. Humping the ball up the pitch is what they want you to do SO STOP SHITTING A BRICK AND DEMANDING IT LIKE A SHIT OLD MANAGER it just gives possession back ( see possession vs liverpool thats why ours was more)

Just to back up the possession thing ... I already posted this on another thread but it took me a while to pull it together so worth recycling ... forgive me if self-plagiarism is a faux pas .

 

[DavidinSouthampton]

It's a work in progress with many of the same players who were sitting back under Hughton last season. The thing we are still really lacking is belief.

We saw against Leicester that we were a little within ourselves in the first half. It might have been a "don't get caught on the break" instruction but they were all over us anyway and should have been two or three up at half time. Of course we survived, had a go, got all over them and got caught on the break. This was covered a bit on the Albion Roar this week but, as we put pressure on them, Vardy found space and our set pieces turned to shit. No excuse for playing it to the edge of the box when Jonny Evans is off the pitch and no excuse for not winning the second ball when they are as quick as they are. So, ultimately, "Potterball" got us back in to the game but also led to us finally conceding.

On Saturday it was the opposite. We sat off for 20 minutes and went 2 down. A very similar thing would have happened under Hughton. Then we had some self belief put in to us at half time and look at it. We gave the best club side in the world today (they'd beat Barca over 2 legs again if it comes to it this season) an absolutely torrid time, hit that long ball to Torossard to earn the sending off, scored a very clever goal and really should have equalised. Liverpool have gone 31 unbeaten, have barely even drawn and there we are getting their keeper sent off, scoring cheeky goals and generally having the Kop shit themselves. THAT is "Potterball" (and yes, it is a bit of a cringey name but "Graham Potter's style of football" isn't ironic and takes too long to type). That's what we signed up for.

What was holding us back was a lack of desire and confidence. I will say it again. If we'd spent our whole Premier League stay trying to finish 17th with 11 behind the ball I would have given up my season ticket. There's more to football than that. Luckily Bloom understands that and Potter understands it too. There will be games where the old self doubts do appear. There will be games where a side with not very much pace that was set up to defend last season will look ponderous. But there's no excuse for poor decision making and for not having a go. Once we do those two things better, as we did against Spurs, we'll be a force to be reckoned with.

And Knockaert? Knockaert is very much NOT the answer. Far too selfish. When "our playing style" (better Rossy?) works best it involves quick one or two touch passing, movement and unselfishness. Not the kid at school who never passed.

To improve? I think White in for Duffy as soon as is posssible (I love Duffy but he does not suit these tactics, he needs to be a stopper in a 4 again), a new full back (and Bernardo back to full fitness) and, ideally, a big number 9 with lots of pace who can score goals. But they are as rare as hen's teeth and will probably set you back 50 million if you can pursuade them to come, so don't hold your breath on that one.

Very much all this.
I think White will be back home next season, and am looking forward to it!
Even when we have lost this season, it has been far more entertaining than the last two seasons.
Mr Potter himself knows and admits it is still very much a work in progress.
The Players are clearly enjoying it and say so.
Talent from the younger players is coming through and doing well.
And when Mr Potter can get players he wants in, who knows.

I trust that one day soon it will really click and someone is going to get a tonking. Gary Lineker said we played well on Saturday, and I think Phil Neville commented that we dominated large parts of the game...… against the Champions of Europe and the runaway league leaders who were hanging on at the end. What's not to like! OK, we gave two goals away, but Shearer singled out the Alexander-Arnold/Van Dijk combination for special mention. We are not the first team to suffer there!

 

[el punal]

I like the fact it annoys people.

To me it sums up a style of play that some of our supporters (especially one whose name begins with S and rhymes with dense) regard as incomprehensible and frightening, and doomed to fail.

I like the fact that when I told my scouse mate 'you were lucky' after the game, yesterday, he didn't say anything.

Standby for the next intentionally irritating term, which may emerge if our points tally perks up:

'club of the 20s'.

Your Scouse mate - not an Evertonian is he ?

 

[blue-shifted]

I’ll also use the term, “our current style of playing”

The positives

We’re playing with bravery and intelligence that I would not have believed possible.
Alzate and Connolly have made a genuine impact and we look better with both in the team.
It’s enjoyable and it makes me proud to be a Brighton fan

Criticisms

Too often having taken a risk to pay out from the back, we don’t claim our reward by getting it forward quickly when the oppo have men out of the game
Every game we seem to have a bad half an hour
1 or 2 of the regulars aren’t quite at the level required to take us up the league.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Your Scouse mate - not an Evertonian is he ?

No, a lifelong red who has been watching them since the days of Jimmy Harrower under the managerial mediocrity of Phil Taylor, and is chewing his nails at the prospect of a first league title after 30 years (30 years FFS!) and who was rather relieved that we don't yet have that £50 million striker that would surely have defenestrated his team over the weekend.

This is the first time in the 30 years I have known him, btw, that all the kindly but patronising 'my second team, very fond of Brighton' platitudes went out of the window

 

[Bold Seagull]

So, for us we need a player who would see us as a step up, yet a player who can bang in 20 PL goals a season.

Title contenders need strikers that can grab 20 PL goals per season. Anything above 11, 12 or so will be great for us. If we're thinking it's got to be 20, we'll be forever disappointed. If Maupay and Connolly can both get 12+, happy days.

 

[blue-shifted]

Spot on.

Everton paid over £50 million for Richarleson, a Brazilian who would have regarded Everton as a step up from Watford.

So, for us we need a player who would see us as a step up, yet a player who can bang in 20 PL goals a season.

Tricky.

Which is why we have thus far chosen to gamble on overseas players of uncertain provenance and temperament, and better-tested but only in the championship brit-based forwards. Money does talk, though.....maybe a massive spaff on somone proper decent up front is the best plan for January. But who?

In the era where Joelinton is £50m and Haller is £35m and both are presumably on over £100k per week, I would be very surprised if we try to play that particular game.

More likely to me is that we make a play to get our work permit players into the UK or look to unearth another 22 y/o from a Spanish or Italian mid table team or Europa League French or Portuguese side