Was Gus trying to prove a point with the team selection today?

[Icy Gull]

no but it confirmed that our defence can't cope with pace, height and strength.

I don't claim to be a football manager, hell I don't even own any computer manager games but I do know that if you are forced to play Calde and Painter against fast Premier quality forwards you are gonna struggle. No idea why he picked Painter over Reyes either.

Couple all this to a forward line that cannot win from a losing position and we were dead and buried after three mins, not that we seemed to bother with a forward line in the 1st half.

 

[maltaseagull]

I don't really do negative, and I certainly don't do negative towards the players. Everyone deserves their place in this team. However when the team was announced I did sit back and think it was a bit weak.

Do you think this team was selected to see how well they could cope against a nearly premiership team, to see who was up to it and thoughts towards next season?

Obviously living where I do I have to rely on NSC feedback on performances etc. but I don't understand why we started with Bridcutt, Navarro and Dicker? I thought Dicker came in to cover while Bridcutt was suspended? As for Painter I can only guess that Mattock is still injured and that Reyes playing there hasn't worked? Bad day all round I very rarely get to watch games (Went to the home game V Palace and watched on either TV or streaming the Leeds, Liverpool x 2 Southampton away and the game yesterday so haven't seen a win ) I was sort of hoping for a 4th substitution - Dicker off and Nobody on as he was having a nightmare and it would have been kinder to have got him off the pitch. We are not ready for the prem and need a few areas strengthened. So a lesson learned albeit painfully. So sorry for all of you who went yesterday. The trip home must have been really depressing. But could still hear you all the way through- Well done.

 

[Deleted member 22389]

If we go down against Watford and all is lost as regards the play offs, two players I would love to see get a run out, JFK and Torbjorn Agdestein

 

[Zebedee]

If we go down against Watford and all is lost as regards the play offs, two players I would love to see get a run out, JFK and Torbjorn Agdestein

I agree - both have played well for us earlier in the season but then simply disappeared from sight. Time to see what they can do for us again.

 

[nick c]

Thought it interesting yesterday how apart from one player(assulin)the rest of the team including the subs were our own players,this on the back of a article by Gus in the argus about loan players and signings being made before July for next season.Perhaps he was making some sort of statement about the current squad of players not being able to compete at the top end of the championship.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

I was puzzled by the line up, mainly the full-backs and Barnes up front on his own. The constant tinkering is starting to frustrate me a little as well. I'd prefer a settled side where we do our thing, as opposed to constantly fiddling with things and worrying about the opposition all the time. At times I wonder if Gus knows his best team.

 

[APACHE]

Away form has been poor for a long time and yesterday not one area of the team looked strong enough to cope with W Ham even before the kick-off. I bet every Brighton supporter knew what to expect from the Hammers and feared the worst when they saw our line-up. Why change the team so much, are we trying to be too clever because that score line away from home has been coming for a while, we just don't like playing under pressure when teams won't let us have time on the ball something we've also seen at the Amex(again W Ham).I 'm not picking on Barnes but this is just an example of the selection, all season we've seen him now and then asked to play upfront on his own but it's clear he's not strong enough to hold up the ball and has a poor 1st touch so why ask him to do it v players who've played in the PL, he can't just change over night. Yesterday just showed how many players are short of the standard needed to take us to the next level.

 

[pork pie]

Well Gus got it wrong today. Against the 6 foot plus giants, who wack it forward and shoot for the lucky deflection, and if it works then BigSam smiles - how do you play? Do we field a team of 6 foot plus body builders or try choose the team that can hold the ball, pass it around, retain possession. Maybe he made the right decision or maybe he made the wrong choice. Only hindsight has the answer. Which is what he said in his interview.

This is England. We are playing English football. WE need to have players with size, power and pace. Simple as that. So I choose your first option. Much prefer to see lots of goals than tippy-tappy poncey football as well!

 

[maltaseagull]

everyone is entitled to their right to have an opinion and to say that gus balled it up. How would you have played? What team would you have picked and why? Tell us how you are so tacticaly (sic) superior? How come you are only an accountant or banker? Everyone can have an opinion... But at least back it up with sanity.

this !

 

[The Large One]

Gus is already playing with his ideas and getting a better feel for what he wants next season.

While he might serve up the platitudes 'we'll give it a go for the play-offs', the fact is he knows, and has alluded to many times (in fact, both him and Tano) that this squad is punching above its weight and is not good enough to go up. Even the play-offs are higher than his target. But then, he's not telling us something we didn't already know. He even felt we didn't have the best squad last year - but his methods still saw us piss that division.

As he has said, he has learnt something from yesterday.

To say he threw the game is taking it way too far, but for me that squad selection was not about beating West Ham, but confirming what exactly he needs to do during the summer.