Poyet: "I would say we need to strengthen every single area of the team..

[ali jenkins]

Casper has been excellent throughout the season. Takes all the pressure off the defence, Only really made one stupid mistake at home to Rochdale from what I remember.

Over a whole season he has won us MANY points. I think a lot of people don't quite appreciate how good a shot stopper he is.

His decision to stay on the line causes problems. Look at the goal at Walsall, the guy ran 10 yards to win a headder 2 yards off the line and Casper just stood there. Id expect Sunday Leaguw goalies to easily claim those.

Its a hidden problem when Greer is in the team as he is so good at winning the ball in the air but we cant rely on that for every game next year.

I think Casper is great, definatly one of the most important players for us this year, but he needs to sort out his catching from high balls!

Gus also needs a 'plan B' next season. Any team that has come at us has caused us problems. That will happen alot more next season and if we want to be at least top half then we need to be able to change the plan.

Saying that, Gus knows what he is doing and I have 100% trust in him.

 

[Captain Haddock]

Perhaps a Spanish goalkeeper brought up with a pass-from-the-back philosophy?

 

[mcshane in the 79th]

Gus has previously said 6 or 7 but now needs another CB due to injuries

GK
RB
CB
CM
LM
ST
ST

This has got to be the 7 with possibly another midfielder as the 8th

We wouldn't have given Poke another deal if we were going to sign another keeper. To sign one on top of Casper, Brez and Poke would we a real waste of ££ in my opinion

 

[Scotty Mac]

We wouldn't have given Poke another deal if we were going to sign another keeper. To sign one on top of Casper, Brez and Poke would we a real waste of ££ in my opinion

agreed - still think we could have done with signing one, but the fact we now have three senior keepers under contract makes it bloody unlikely we will be unless there is some sort of injur crisis in the run up to the season ala last year

 

[Acker79]

Saying we don't need to strengthen the goal keeper position isn't exactly telling casper he is good enough, making him complacent. It is saying he has enough options, brez will push casper to be the best he can be and vice versa. He has two keepers who have as many strengths and weaknesses as most that Gus could get in our team, it would be replacing like for like (albeit with strengths and weaknesses in different areas, overall similar qualities).

 

[Easy 10]

actually his distribution can be poor alot of the time, he kicks the ball out of touch as much as Kuipers ever did, and virtually everytime he kicks it when it comes to him along the ground he falls over!

Absolute bobbins.

Ankergrens distribution is an intrinsic part of our play, in fact most of our moves begin withn him. If his distribution was poor then he wouldn't be in Gus's team, end of. I'm sure occasionally (like every keeper) a kick will find touch now and then, but to compare his distribution with that of Kuipers is just daft.

And the only times I see him falling over is when he comes and claims the ball, just as a ploy to bide his time and let the defence get into position to receive. Long may it continue.

 

[mcshane in the 79th]

agreed - still think we could have done with signing one, but the fact we now have three senior keepers under contract makes it bloody unlikely we will be unless there is some sort of injur crisis in the run up to the season ala last year

Yep, I thought we would have released Poke and signed someone else but Gus obviously thinks ole Pokey has the skills

 

[Lush]

Re the keepers, it would be good if we can sign a big strong striker. I wouldn't imagine you have to be very brave in training if you're only up against Glenn and Ashley. Perhaps Tony Godden thinks that he can still coach all of them to be better keepers and play the Gus way too.

 

[mcshane in the 79th]

Absolute bobbins.

Ankergrens distribution is an intrinsic part of our play, in fact most of our moves begin withn him. If his distribution was poor then he wouldn't be in Gus's team, end of. I'm sure occasionally (like every keeper) a kick will find touch now and then, but to compare his distribution with that of Kuipers is just daft.

And the only times I see him falling over is when he comes and claims the ball, just as a ploy to bide his time and let the defence get into position to receive. Long may it continue.

Agree with everything you say, however he does slip quite a lot when taking goal kicks. Not that matters though.

 

[8ace]

Casper has been excellent throughout the season. Takes all the pressure off the defence, Only really made one stupid mistake at home to Rochdale from what I remember.

Over a whole season he has won us MANY points. I think a lot of people don't quite appreciate how good a shot stopper he is.

I thought he was at fault for the opener at Hartlepool.

 

[Easy 10]

Agree with everything you say, however he does slip quite a lot when taking goal kicks. Not that matters though.

Probably because we water the pitch. As you say, it doesn't matter or have an impact on his goal kicks, its not like he's ever scuffed it 30 yards straight to their forward. And more often than not he passes it out anyway.

I can't understand the criticism of Ankergren. You could count on one hand the number of out-and-out cock-ups caused by him, in fact the only one that really springs to mind is the Rochdale one. The defence are clearly comfortably with him, they know he's more likely to stay on his line than come charging out around the area chasing after crosses - thats far more preferable IMO. And I have not seen a keeper more comfortable receiving the ball at his feet than Ankergren. Just have a look at some of the other keepers around, they just get rid.

Has he ever been robbed in possession ? No.
Has he passed it straight out to an opposition player ? No.
Has he put one of our defenders in trouble with a pass ? Mmm, possibly on occasion its been received under pressure, but we've generally been good enough to play our way out of it. And as Gus says - to win, you must take risks.

Ankergrens my number 1 all the way, he'll be absoluetly fine next season.

 

[Easy 10]

I thought he was at fault for the opener at Hartlepool.

Like every other team, we could analyse every goal conceded this season and undoubtedly find a few instances where the keeper could have done better. No keeper, at whatever level, can EVER be completely faultless. But the number of errors from Casper is, I think negligable compared with what he brings to the team and our style of play.

 

[Marc1901]

Casper is the only one who would be able to cut it in the championship.

 

[severnside gull]

Agree with Ali J. 100%.

Covering Elphick/elAbd means Gus' 6 or 7 signings becomes 7 or 8. If Benno goes it means 9 and if Muzza goes then we will need to bring in 10. That is a lot of changes to have to make but it's hard to argue that it isn't necessary.

Those who think we are okay in midfield will get a rude awakening next season if we don't strengthen in the centre as we have been consistantly poor against teams who push up against our midfield. We haven't been able to pass the ball forward or hold it up with the result that we have given it away quickly and re-inforced the pressure on our defence.

I would have gone for another keeper for all the reasons stated but it isn't an area I would describe as significantly weak in terms of strength in depth. Keepers who can catch crosses AND narrow angles/stop shots AND play with the ball at their feet are rare as hens teeth in any league anywhere.

 

[8ace]

Like every other team, we could analyse every goal conceded this season and undoubtedly find a few instances where the keeper could have done better. No keeper, at whatever level, can EVER be completely faultless. But the number of errors from Casper is, I think negligable compared with what he brings to the team and our style of play.

I agree his distribution is superb, just think he is poor coming for crosses.
Perhaps that's true of all keepers these days - I can't suggest who we should get as a replacement (then that's not my job).
The last keeper we had who really commanded his area was Beasant.

 

[murraymints4brighton]

Let's stop and think a minute.... If Casper hadn't have made that error against Rochdale, would he still be coming in for this criticism? Personally, I think not. It was a comical error made very publicly due to it being at home and on the first game of the season. I can then remember him making two clear errors that have lead to goals. Questionably Hartlepool away and Colchester away although he was suffering from a move restricting injury. I can't think of anymore CLEAR errors? 3 in a season where I beleive he accomplished somewhere near 20 (?) clean sheets and a player of the month award is pretty good going.

Casper Ankergren is an excellent keeper, more than good enough for the Championship. Have you ever seen a keeper make not just us but any team play football like he does? It is extraordinary, sublime and intelligent play. His calmness on the ball influences the once shoddy defense that we were used to that did infact contain El-Abd, Elphick and Painter. He makes us play, without him I actually feel we would not be top two in this league and that's saying something.

 

[Ernest]

Probably because we water the pitch. As you say, it doesn't matter or have an impact on his goal kicks, its not like he's ever scuffed it 30 yards straight to their forward. And more often than not he passes it out anyway.

I can't understand the criticism of Ankergren. You could count on one hand the number of out-and-out cock-ups caused by him, in fact the only one that really springs to mind is the Rochdale one. The defence are clearly comfortably with him, they know he's more likely to stay on his line than come charging out around the area chasing after crosses - thats far more preferable IMO. And I have not seen a keeper more comfortable receiving the ball at his feet than Ankergren. Just have a look at some of the other keepers around, they just get rid.

Has he ever been robbed in possession ? No.
Has he passed it straight out to an opposition player ? No.
Has he put one of our defenders in trouble with a pass ? Mmm, possibly on occasion its been received under pressure, but we've generally been good enough to play our way out of it. And as Gus says - to win, you must take risks.

Ankergrens my number 1 all the way, he'll be absoluetly fine next season.

Casper is IMMENSE , integral part of the team and the way we play

 

[Easy 10]

Let's stop and think a minute.... If Casper hadn't have made that error against Rochdale, would he still be coming in for this criticism? Personally, I think not. It was a comical error made very publicly due to it being at home and on the first game of the season. I can then remember him making two clear errors that have lead to goals. Questionably Hartlepool away and Colchester away although he was suffering from a move restricting injury. I can't think of anymore CLEAR errors? 3 in a season where I beleive he accomplished somewhere near 20 (?) clean sheets and a player of the month award is pretty good going.

Casper Ankergren is an excellent keeper, more than good enough for the Championship. Have you ever seen a keeper make not just us but any team play football like he does? It is extraordinary, sublime and intelligent play. His calmness on the ball influences the once shoddy defense that we were used to that did infact contain El-Abd, Elphick and Painter. He makes us play, without him I actually feel we would not be top two in this league and that's saying something.

Totally.
Spot.
On.

Except he got TWO player of the month awards.

 

[West Hoathly Seagull]

I would have liked someone like Richard Lee (think I've got the right Christian name) of Brentford to act as cover for Casper, as I'm still not sure about Brezovan at Championship level. However, as Easy says, Casper should be fine for the Championship. Possibly three mistakes all season (and I think Greer was equally to blame for the first at Hartlepool), but the number of crucial saves that Casper made over the season surpasses even the best Albion keepers I have seen in my 26 years of following the club (Keeley, Beeney and Roberts). I can remember one outstanding save at Carlisle early on, one at Brentford when an equaliser would almost certainly have let them get control of the game, and the one at Notts County, which had we needed a point to win the league would have made all the difference. I'm sure if we can sign someone stronger up front, then Tony Godden can get Casper working on challenging for high balls.

 

[mcshane in the 79th]

We were under the cosh a lot more in the last 2 Withdean games against Saints/Hudds than we probably have been all season and although we did concede 5, I think Casper made some unbelievable saves. Probably add Brentford away to that too actually. If the team hadn't been so darn brilliant all year, I think we would have seen even more what a class keeper he actually is and not just his impressive passing, and build up play in his own area.