Pre-season Player Ratings Comments/Thoughts

[Ⓩ-Ⓐ-Ⓜ-Ⓞ-Ⓡ-Ⓐ]

Weren't we undefeated last year?

We beat Seville, Lewes, Crawley, Gillingham can't remember the other game.

The year before under Hyypia was poor.

Pretty sure we lost to Aberdeen last pre-season

 

[Marshy]

Ignore pre season it counts for nothing, we looked fine in my opinion

 

[One Teddy Maybank]

That was the other game I couldn't think of, still, I think we had a good pre-season last year.

 

[martin tyler]

Weren't we undefeated last year?

We beat Seville, Lewes, Crawley, Gillingham can't remember the other game.

The year before under Hyypia was poor.

We were pretty poor last pre season as well but it is what it is. We drew at Lewes. Lost to Southampton and Aberdeen but did beat Sevilla, Crawley and Gillingham. This years has been a bit different and 45 mins v Oxford and today was the 1st chance they have had really to play together. The squad is clearly 2/3 players light but we have a month to rectify this.

 

[Nixonator]

Also quite concerned about Bong. His poor touches/passing is what put us under pressure at the tail end of the Burnley game (when he came on for his first minutes back) which culminated in you know what.

Ever since then he's not looked the player from early last season.

 

[One Teddy Maybank]

We were pretty poor last pre season as well but it is what it is. We drew at Lewes. Lost to Southampton and Aberdeen but did beat Sevilla, Crawley and Gillingham. This years has been a bit different and 45 mins v Oxford and today was the 1st chance they have had really to play together. The squad is clearly 2/3 players light but we have a month to rectify this.

Think one of us is confusing the last two years.

We did lose to Aberdeen but beat Lewes last year under Hughton. We drew at Lewes the previous season and lost 3-1 at home to Southampton as I recall, we also lost at Peterboro - all under Hyppia.

EDIT - drew at Lewes last season

 

[Doc Lynam]

We are in that sometimes odd position of a quality side; could bring in players but need to wait for that extra quality if we are to move an already good team forward. Particularly impressed with the Norwegian from the DS and expect to see more of him this season.

 

[The Sock of Poskett]

Went to the game today and have watched several of the other friendlies on Seagulls Player.
I think we'll be OK, but we do need another centre back and a striker, minimum. Dunky looks good and Bruno will do a sterling job filling in (one AWESOME last ditch tackle today), but the sooner we get Goldson back the better.
Kayal and Stephens have largely looked decent, and it's been interesting to see the options available additionally. Enjoyed seeing Skalak have a go on the right during the last 20 mins today and he looked like he enjoyed it, getting past his defender a couple of times with decent crosses. Murphy had a good stint at Oxford and set up Tomer for a couple of goals. Knocky has been his usual fizzing self. Kaz, it's fair to say, has yet to find his touch.
Would like to see a small mobile striker come in to give us options, and provide the poaching ability we need.
Of the youngsters, Bjordal looks promising, Molumby is clearly talented and needs careful managing to make the most of it, Rob Hunt looks pacy and a neat passer, and hopefully we'll get a better chance to assess Harper and Hambo. Jury's out on the rest at the moment for me.
I'm hopeful

 

[el punal]

Top post.

I'm really worried by this whole pre-season...

Whilst I'm glad the younger group has had some game time, they just don't seem up to even league 2 football let alone the rigours of the championship.

That aside some of the senior players seem down, full of injury niggles, lacking in sharpness and the group as a whole seems disjointed to me.

We've seen two actual senior squad 'purchases' and by senior I mean bus pass ready, and we've got 4-5 key and I mean KEY players who's heads and minds have been turned by bids/interest from 'bigger' clubs.

This feels like the Hyypia pre-season, something is simply not right I can feel it :/ and I think we'll be lucky to finish anywhere near the top 2.

Not looking forward to Derby at all - we're not fit, can't score against decent defenders, and as I say... Something's just not right.

We also seem stuck with certain players, represented by Manu and Holla whom should have been let go this year. Are we so badly off we can't mutually pay off these contracts? Manu is clearly a bad apple... Yet he lingers...

14th was and remains my prediction... Down to earth with a bang.

Kosh

I can understand your concerns but try to put it into perspective, pre-season friendlies are football's equivalent of rehearsals in the entertainment world. It's the time to correct, adapt, tinker, improve or whatever, for the big event - the start of the football season.

By all means start fretting after three or four league games that produce nothing of fruition but let's wait and see before casting judgement. Come the 6th of August no one will remember the friendlies anyway. Onwards and upwards and all that.

 

[Finchley Seagull]

We've got a great team. You look at that starting eleven today and it was amazing in the second half of last season. Once we have Goldson back or a new centre back to partner Dunk, I'm confident we'll do fine (and that doesn't mean we'll finish top or we'll get a result next Saturday, just that I'm confident we will be top six).

Pre season is always a bit up and down. We've had a few injuries but, once they are fit, we will have a great squad, especially if we strengthen with a couple of signings.

 

[GT49er]

Bong has looked shit ever since he came back from that nasty injury. Was hoping a good pre season would do him the world of good. Not looking like it yet.

I'll be much happier when Bruno gets back to playing RB and Rosenior can play LB again.

 

[Brighton Mod]

Lua Lua looking low in confidence, a pre season wouldn't be the same without that, would it.

 

[clippedgull]

Lua Lua looking low in confidence, a pre season wouldn't be the same without that, would it.

He hasn't been the same player since he returned from injury last season.

I think he won't play much part this season unless he can up his game in training.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Lua Lua looking low in confidence, a pre season wouldn't be the same without that, would it.

Sadly, Lua Lua has been a bit-part player for YEARS now, with an utterly predictable cameo role for the last twenty minutes or so. Time was, he'd be a game-changer when he came on. Not any more.

 

[Springal]

Sadly, Lua Lua has been a bit-part player for YEARS now, with an utterly predictable ineffectual cameo role for the last twenty minutes or so.

Agreed, just not good enough. Consistently seems to get injured for large parts of a season, takes him a long time to come back. As posted end of last season I really think he needs to carve out a career at a slightly lower level where he is a bit more of a big fish in a small pond. Skalak and Knockaert are the level / type of signings we should now be aiming for

 

[blue'n'white]

I'm torn between being concerned that we've not actually bought anyone and trying to convince myself that CH has everything under control and is patiently awaiting a couple of other transfers to go through for other teams and will then announce the acquisition of somebody who will be amazing for us. Who that person is I have no idea.
I saw the game yesterday and thought it was a good workout for us - Bruno is wasted at centre back though and I would have thought that someone else would have been better but . . .I aint the manager so what do i know. With a month of the window still to run I am hopeful that we can bring in someone to freshen everyone else up a wee bit.

 

[Easy 10]

Sadly, Lua Lua has been a bit-part player for YEARS now, with an utterly predictable cameo role for the last twenty minutes or so. Time was, he'd be a game-changer when he came on. Not any more.

He was on FIRE at the start of last season, scored the winning goals vs Forest and Blackburn, and bagged another one in the 3-2 win at Ipswich as well. Him and Bong were combining superbly down the left. Then he got crocked, and never managed to find anything like the form he was showing before the injury. If he could start this season how he started the last one, he's a hell of a potent weapon down that side.

 

[Napper]

@%1;

He was on FIRE at the start of last season, scored the winning goals vs Forest and Blackburn, and bagged another one in the 3-2 win at Ipswich as well. Him and Bong were combining superbly down the left. Then he got crocked, and never managed to find anything like the form he was showing before the injury. If he could start this season how he started the last one, he's a hell of a potent weapon down that side.

Looking at Wiki he made a total of 5 league appearances last year.

Thought was about double that at least.


edit ** also learnt couple things here

He is the younger brother of DR Congo international striker Lomana LuaLua. He is also the cousin of striker Trésor Kandol and Crystal Palace midfielder Yannick Bolasie, and also the brother-in-law of Reading striker Yann Kermorgant.

 

[symyjym]

Watching on the Seagull player I thought we looked ok for the run out yesterday. It's a bit of a makeshift defense so we lose that bit of magic from Bruno on the left, which has a domino effect throughout. I thought Murray put in a good shift, held the ball up well and brings others into play.

My only concern is Bruno not playing at RB, even though he looked pretty good covering as CB.