Should the club exercise the 1 year extension on LuaLua's contract?

[Seagulls1984]

Depends on budget and player/agent demands but he has to improve his decision making otherwise he will remain an average Championship winger.

Whilst I don't like basing my opinions purely on stats his goals per game ratio is poor and his cross completion must also be low (not helped by having an isolated Ulloa only in the box).

I'd rather have a less eye catching man on the wing who delivers better quality into the box.

This

 

[Goldstone1976]

If nothing else you take the option up so you can sell him, right?

Has to be the correct answer. If we go up (ummmm, right), I'd then sell; if we stay down I'd keep him (just).

 

[dazzer6666]

I'm not LuaLua's biggest fan but the fact is we don't have anyone else who can change a game like him. He's definitely our player with the most explosive pace. Seeing as the general agreement is we need more pace, letting him go would be odd. I would definitely take the extra year on his contract.

This. Keep.

 

[Stumpy Tim]

We're getting to see players with pace coming into the club over the summer - makes no sense to get rid of one of the few players with pace we already have

 

[Baaaald]

I'm on the fence. I don't get all the hype about him being the great player referred to on here all the time. Rarely scores, assists are minimal, stroppy and can't play more than 30 mins. But can't help but thinking he has something to offer if someone can coach the best out of him. Fence!

 

[zamham]

Gone backwards this season unfortunately. Other than March perhaps, best wide player this season has been Conway which given the short time he was with us says something about the form and fitness of Kaz, Buckley and Orlandi.

 

[Barry M]

Can't see the club not extending his contract as he'll be off for free which would be a shocking bit of business. I for one want him to stay as he is really special on his day, hopefully it'll be his day more often than not in the future!

 

[Brighton Mod]

KLL, clearly has athleticism, but appears at times not to follow the game, has his back to play, slows down the game. But when he runs at defenders when not on the wing can be very useful. Reckon he needs some coaching, not sure that this happens at this level.

 

[boik]

I'm on the fence. I don't get all the hype about him being the great player referred to on here all the time. Rarely scores, assists are minimal, stroppy and can't play more than 30 mins. But can't help but thinking he has something to offer if someone can coach the best out of him. Fence!

I agree. he obviously has talent, and the crowd love him, but I'm not sure the team benefit in any way. he confuses his team-mates as much as the opposition. However, I seem to remember another young lad who was like that, but he knuckled down, listened to what he was obviously being told and came on in leaps and bounds. Cristiano somebody. Wonder what happened to him. (no I'm not suggesting Kaz can be like him, but should copy his attitude),

 

[nwgull]

I'm on the fence. I don't get all the hype about him being the great player referred to on here all the time. Rarely scores, assists are minimal, stroppy and can't play more than 30 mins. But can't help but thinking he has something to offer if someone can coach the best out of him. Fence!

Direct assists may be minimal be he nearly always effects a change in the way defences are set up because the often put 2-3 men on him. The late winner at Forrest is a great example: a surging run from inside our half took 2 Forrest defenders out of the game, which gave CMS a bit more space to put in that inch perfect cross.

 

[TheJasperCo]

He has the pace and the good sense to shoot on sight if there's no better option, instead of passing around the pitch hoping that a decent goal-scoring opportunity will arise.

 

[Steve351]

Fence well quoted Baaaald !

 

[Sheebo]

Can we name and shame the 12 who didn't vote yes? Just so we can see if their trolls & of they aren't remember to ignore their opinions in future?

 

[WATFORD zero]

I think we should keep, but if OG signs a number of quick players and is looking for one touch fast moving football I'm not sure he currently fits.

Yes he is fast, but he always slows the game down to enable him to take on the defender. The only time I have seen him move the ball quickly is when he takes possession at a stretch and is then struggling with control. So for me he is very exciting but also frustrating.

 

[danish seagull]

100% keep. With Buckley having elastic band hamstrings, Lua Lua is one of only 2 players that can beat a player and whip (ok a usually shit) ball in!

 

[Sheebo]

Gone backwards this season unfortunately. Other than March perhaps, best wide player this season has been Conway which given the short time he was with us says something about the form and fitness of Kaz, Buckley and Orlandi.

I think Kaz has come on leaps and bounds under Oscar! And nobody must forget THAT season when he was unplayable. Regular Withdean attendees that yr will be well aware...

As for Conway, he's proved he's a good player in his last 3 performances for us & seems to be doing brilliantly at Blackburn (on 20k a week). But people seem to forget he was fairly poor for a fair number of games when he first came to us. I know there's prob reasons for this but people talk on here like he was Messi sometimes

 

[Seagull1989]

Keep! He brings something different to the game. He's direct and causes problems with his pace

 

[big nuts]

Can we name and shame the 12 who didn't vote yes? Just so we can see if their trolls & of they aren't remember to ignore their opinions in future?

I voted no although I can see both sides to the argument.

His an incredibly frustrating footballer as his performances vary so greatly from week to week.

My main issue with him is his decision making, more often than not he takes the wrong option and that's hard to be coached as most good footballers have a natural instinct for the game.

His delivery is best described as wayward and whilst he hits a clean ball again it's as likely to clear the stands as it is hit the target.

Wingers by there very nature are inconsistent but we need more than one good cameo every half dozen games.

Having a good target in the box like Ulloa means we need to get better quality from wide areas and I'm not sure if lua lua is the man for that. It must be frustrating for Ulloa who times runs into the box only to continually see Lua Lua cut back onto his right foot delaying the cross or shot. By doing this the chances of forwards being caught offside increases too.

Put a winger in the side like Bennett or Conway and Ulloa would have at least five additional goals this season.

Looking ahead to next season I can see March being more central to our plans then lua lua so we need to probably find another winger with a good fitness record who excels in delivering crosses from the left he doesn't neccessarily need to beat players he just needs to make a yard of space and deliver.

 

[B.W.]

This is a no-brainer. 'Keep' for me. The fact that opponents put 2-3 defenders on him tells you all you need to know. The fact that our other forwards don't exploit the space this creates well enough says more about them than him.

 

[Acker79]

I think when he is on form, he is great, but I don't think he is on form often enough. I think people project their own feelings on to it, in that, I think people get excited when he gets the ball because they have their own expectations rather than actually being excited by what he does, which too often is hesitate, wait until a couple of players are around him (often more because he waits so long more than because of fear), run a bit then blast the ball high and or wide.

He can change games, and can provide a threat, but this past season hasn't done so often enough. How much of that is confidence, how much is tactics, how much is how he has been used, etc. I don't know.

I'd say yes, exercise it. Get him under contract for another year. If he shows signs of finding form, great, if not and/or he shows frustration with how he is being used, and hints at not wanting to sign a new contract then we can consider selling him and getting some money out of it.