This season hinges on TB now.....

[Ali_rrr]

Until freebies and out of contracts aren't an option. TB won't spend out on a proven goal scorer. Rather do It the cheap way and sift through the mud just to try and find a gem. Sometimes It works, but 9/10 it's fruitless.

So Mackail-Smith's 35 goals he scored in League one means that he wasn't proven? And Baldock even hit 24 last season. Plenty of people have made the step up from League 1, look at Assombalonga for Peterborough. It's more the fact that these players can't play in our system because some genius thinks if we keep crossing it to vertically challenged forwards we're going to score goals. Maybe if we actually started playing through the middle a bit more we'd have more success.

 

[APACHE]

At last, people are starting to see what's wrong with the front line, the ones being picked or brought, are not ones who lead the line but play off a holding front man to get their goals. The lack of a hold the ball up forward stands out and yesterday both the front 2 were drifting out to the wings leaving no one in the centre or just 1 on his own because none of our midfield were getting forward in support. It's nothing we haven't seen before in the past 3 seasons, a midfield which still
doesn't not get forward quickly to support the front 2. Different manager, same 2 problems.

 

[bhawoddy]

So Mackail-Smith's 35 goals he scored in League one means that he wasn't proven? And Baldock even hit 24 last season. Plenty of people have made the step up from League 1, look at Assombalonga for Peterborough. It's more the fact that these players can't play in our system because some genius thinks if we keep crossing it to vertically challenged forwards we're going to score goals. Maybe if we actually started playing through the middle a bit more we'd have more success.

One dimensional football won't work IMO. You have to be able to open teams up from all over the park. It's clear we do not have the required quality in midfield to do this. I'm not going to single people out but there are a few players who get picked regularly and don't contribute much to the game from an attacking sense. Vicente was a cut above, when he played, and could regularly beat a man or two and open things up for others. All the time we have a limited amount of players who cant beat a man and are clever enough to slip a clever ball between defenders or play a winger in, your going to struggle to break teams down IMO.

 

[portslade seagull]

How about telling your manager that maybe playing (poor) crosses into your 5ft something strikers won't work against most centre backs in this league

That was my gripe from yesterday, if we had Ulloa for example they would have been ok but because we have three of the seven dwarfs as our front line the crosses were simply shocking, hardly any along the ground

 

[portslade seagull]

Weren't some people touting CMS as the twenty goal messiah this season? Was never going to be the case.

Cms runs around a lot little else .... and as for Colunga did he actually play yesterday apart from freezing like a rabbit caught in the headlights and passing the ball to there keeper

 

[BensGrandad]

People saying about a lump up front to get on the end of crosses have they? ever noticed how high Baldock can jump to get up to balls? If the balls are played near to him for him to aim at he will out jump many big defenders to reach the ball.

 

[spanish flair]

Surely this thread saying it depends on TB now is wrong and it goes deeper than that.
Are we saying that the magic David Burke data base has failed and TB has been financing poor signings, if this the case TB needs some better data imputer's otherwise he will continue to waste his money.

 

[One Teddy Maybank]

Could TB insist on bringing in an experienced man to help Hyppia. Somebody like Peter Reid, Lennie Lawrence that type of man with that type of experience.

I couldn't agree more. Sit that person in the stand, because clearly Sami and Nathan cannot work out what is going on at ground level, whereas it's bloody obvious from higher up. Coppell would be perfect, a quiet word regarding the tactics, which Nathan does not seem capable of......

 

[Tony Meolas Loan Spell]

The fact that our centre halves are expected to stop goals at one end and ****ing score them at the other means that striker wise WE ARE IN THE SHIT. FACT.

 

[BensGrandad]

Could TB insist on bringing in an experienced man to help Hyppia. Somebody like Peter Reid, Lennie Lawrence that type of man with that type of experience.

I think an experienced man would point out where we are going wrong in our build up. We are not providing the chances as clear cut chances to our front men most are 50/50 balls and we are changing the side too often seeking the answer.

I think so. Let me explain my logic I think due to their known experience SH might listen to somebody like that rather than NJ and act accordingly.

I couldn't agree more. Sit that person in the stand, because clearly Sami and Nathan cannot work out what is going on at ground level, whereas it's bloody obvious from higher up. Coppell would be perfect, a quiet word regarding the tactics, which Nathan does not seem capable of......

Could we utilise Mullery sat in 1901 or what about Curbishley but then that is another wage.

 

[ewe2]

Shirley,COG must be given a chance ! He is big and mobile allowing CMS or Sam to play off him.He has proved he can score goals in the championship.

 

[crasher]

It's ridiculous that every one of our strikers is being written off in this thread even though they've had just a handful of games for us (or in the case of CMS - being injured for more than a year).

Give them and give Sami and his system a chance. If - after another 5 games - we're in the same state then maybe start calling for reinforcements. But they'll need more time to click into gear I'd have thought.

 

[Phat Baz 68]

Careful the lickers will " av you " don't forget TB can do no wrong !!!!

 

[durrington gull]

When you are playing a striker as central player in a front 3, or on his own up front, it's not just about aerial ability. We need someone who has the power and presence to handle that role - as well as being able to poach and finish eg. Ulloa, Murray, Zamora, Wood etc. - Baldock, CMS, Corlucka do not fit the bill, although I think they could be great as a front 2.

I believe for this reason we either need to sign someone who is capable of holding his own as a lone striker (and fast) or play two up front, in a 4-4-2 perhaps.

But we have signed the target man though - COG but he's shite

 

[BensGrandad]

When you are playing a striker as central player in a front 3, or on his own up front, it's not just about aerial ability. We need someone who has the power and presence to handle that role - as well as being able to poach and finish eg. Ulloa, Murray, Zamora, Wood etc. - Baldock, CMS, Corlucka do not fit the bill, although I think they could be great as a front 2.

I believe for this reason we either need to sign someone who is capable of holding his own as a lone striker (and fast) or play two up front, in a 4-4-2 perhaps.

The argument against that has got to be that both Baldock and CMS have proved they can poach goals given the service.

 

[brightonmark1234]

We've made our signings but unfortunately most look shite- colunga too small no pace and lightweight, COG is our ulloa replacement but can't even get on the bench despite being given a 3yr contract!!!, CMS simply not good enough and jury out on Baldock - really not looking good.

how do you know ogrady is ulloa replacement and also has anyone from the club said ogrady was the replacement for ulloa

 

[brightonmark1234]

from what i seen of baldock he is not the answer and nor is colunga we should of gone out and broke the bank to get a quality centre forward with the money we got for ulloa end of

 

[portslade seagull]

from what i seen of baldock he is not the answer and nor is colunga we should of gone out and broke the bank to get a quality centre forward with the money we got for ulloa end of

That money was used to meet FFP requirements

 

[RexCathedra]

To be accurate, the whole ball of wax -- team, stadium, the club's existence at a non-Isthmian level - hinges on TB, doesn't it?

 

[nwgull]

That money was used to meet FFP requirements

I believe the club (PB and TB) when they say that they were on target to meet FFP limits for last season and this season and didn't need to sell for financial reasons. Bridcutt and Buckley gave us no choice as they were definitely not putting in 100% ever since Gus's first approach to both players, and I'd say that although Ulloa showed much more professionalism and class, we probably would have had an unhappy player on our hands if we'd denied him his (deserved) move to a PL club and a big contract to set him up at the end of his career.

We've spent a few quid on transfers fees and signing on fees for the free agents, but I doubt it would have made a huge dent in the 10.5m (+ possible 2m add on) for Ulloa and Buckley. This may mean that we have a few quid to spend in January; it may also mean that TB would like the club to break even instead of having to fund the losses out of his own pocket again.