Finchley Seagull
Well-known member
Passion isn't exclusive to local lads.
It seems one of the most common complaints during this season was the lack of passion, how all the loan signings have no interest in playing for us, lets put the youngsters in.
Bradley Johnson performed well on loan for us. The turnaround in our season was on the backs of Whing, Hart, Owusu, Dicker, and Andrews. The last three are loan players, Whing was playing for, among other reasons, a contract next year (preferring league one), Hart was playing to prove people wrong.
It is a footballer's job to play football, their professionalism, their love of the game, and their pride leads to them playing with passion (and yes, Hart and Whing had this in spades too, along with their other motivations).
Being local isn't going to automatically make you passionate or protect you from the demoralising effects of poor form or club politics, and coming to us because we offer you a contract, doesn't make you a mercenary who doesn't care about the club's fortunes.
Exactly. There is also a big difference between bringing in players permanently at the start of the season, which is presumably what Slade wants to do, and bringing in lots of loans players as a desperate measure. Just because a player is not born and bred Brighton, does not mean he cannot be passionate about playing for the club. Can anyone think of a more passionate Albion player than Andrew Whing (Midlands born and a Villa season ticket holder)?