We gave a very good account of ourselves...

[Bozza]

But Wrighty singled Brighton out for special mention as being organised as well - the right way to do things.

Picked up elsewhere also >>> https://whisp.rs/2hELccD

"Just as they did against Manchester City in their opening game of the campaign, Brighton proved themselves to be a resolute defensive force against Arsenal. Without the ball, they lined up in a 4-5-1 shape in which every single player – apart from lone striker Izzy Brown, at times – dropped back into their own half."

 

[DavidinSouthampton]

Brown isn't a No.9 and it showed. He was isolated but did his best I thought. As for Izquierdo there is a very good player there but his attacking instincts were stifled by having to cover Bong. I thought he did well. Stephens and Proper did okay. This was Arsenal away where at no time did I feel Albion were truly out of their depth.

Admittedly it was only MOTD highlights, but we didn't seem to do too badly!

But we lost 2-0 away to Arsenal. Huddersfield lost 0-4 at home to Tottenham. Which promoted team got the better result? and showed more resilience?

 

[heathgate]

Agreed that it wasn't a bad effort overall.... some question marks over Jose, I also thought Gross was a bit too conservative, turned back a number of times when he could have pushed forward, even commentary highlighted it.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

 

[Stat Brother]

The ESPN match report thingummy agrees with you >>> http://es.pn/2fIGRVn

"Such was Brighton's passivity that chances like that and March hitting the post came as a shock, while also suggesting Arsenal could be got at. Hughton is not known for an adventurous approach, preferring to concentrate on defence, and such a constrained philosophy eventually cost him his job at both Newcastle and Norwich. If he'd allowed Brown a little more support in those early stages, perhaps allowing his defence a breather rather than being overworked by Arsenal's perennial pressure, then Brighton might have gotten far more from this game and perhaps a result to boost confidence for the long fight ahead."

That perfectly highlights my other grumble.

CH has allowed those who are blinkered, lazy or just don't know, another opportunity to tell the world "he prefers to concentrate on defence, and such a constrained philosophy" irrespective of the fact the last 2 seasons he's never taken the team off the front foot, attacking and bullying all before them.

Just a little disappointing.

 

[Stat Brother]

Seriously, what do some people expect us to achieve when away to a side like Arsenal?

Arsenal were good with the ball, but they were excellent when they were not in possession. They pressed us so high, they never allowed us to settle anywhere on the pitch with comfortable possession. With this style / tactic our opportunities in the final third were always going to be few and far between.

Even if Arsenal didn't get out of 2nd, they didn't humiliate us. For me, it was an okay result and that isn't saying I'm happy we lost, it's just being realistic given the class of the opposition.

I guess the difference is whether you think Arsenal were excellent or were allowed to be better than they actually are.

 

[Ecosse Exile]

My worry isnt games like yesterdays, we defended well for the most part and restricted Arsenal to playing around the edge of our box, yes they found a way through, twice, once with luck, but then they had enough bodies in our box to make that luck happen, and once with a superb piece of skill from Sanchez that would have unlocked any defence. The better teams will find a way, no complaints.

What worries me more is doing the same against lesser teams, Bournemouth we defended for most of the game against a team that hadn't won a game yet, eventually they got through again twice, but couldn't we have had a bit more of a go? Perhaps giving them something to think about defensively, instead of inviting them on to us and letting their defenders sit on the half way line?

Newcastle we were much better, until we scored, then back to full on defensive mode, this time it worked, but why change what was working in the first place, Newcastle didnt get better as the tv and press seemed to think, we invited them on to us, we did this regularly last season, Newcastle that time punished us for it.

West Brom, wow! We atacked, we went 3-0 up and were easily the better team against a side that is renowned for being a strong disciplined team. But at 3-0 we still went into full defensive mode and allowed them to take control, in this one West Brom were never going to pull it back with the time remaining but they did get one and had it not been for a good save from Ryan when their striker was through one on one, it would have been two. Why change what was working? Maybe that game would have finished up 4 or 5 nil had we not decided to surrender posession and park the bus.

Leicester, well it started badly and never got any better, i'm just putting this one down to a bad day but perhaps we showed them too much respect, after all as of now, we are the only team they've beaten. Same is true of Bournemouth.

Someone said earlier that we are better than we think we are, i think that sums it up, but is it the players or the manager, i noted Hughton saying yesterday that he wanted us to be more attacking, so therefore its the players, but then we have witnessed this time and time again, even last season when we were clearly head and shoulders above most teams, so that suggests its tactical, i.e. management.

I'm not calling for Hughtons head here, i have way to much respect for him and yes he knows way more than i do about the game, i am just stating the obvious, if you sit back and defend for 90 minutes the better teams will find a way through, unfortunately every team in this division has a couple of players at least that are capable of finding a pass to unlock the tightest defense, even Palace.

 

[Bozza]

Whilst seven points is a reasonable return from our first seven games, and 10 from 8 would look even better if we can overcome Everton, we really should have more points on the board at this stage.

To only take 1 point from Watford and Bournemouth combined feels very wasteful. Sitting on 9 or even 10 points now would feel like a very decent start to Premier League life and give us a nice little cushion between us and that dreaded dotted line.

Hughton does keep talking about most of our points coming at home, which I don't doubt, but a little bit more adventure away from home, in the right circumstances, could be very beneficial.

 

[LamieRobertson]

Whilst seven points is a reasonable return from our first seven games, and 10 from 8 would look even better if we can overcome Everton, we really should have more points on the board at this stage.

To only take 1 point from Watford and Bournemouth combined feels very wasteful. Sitting on 9 or even 10 points now would feel like a very decent start to Premier League life and give us a nice little cushion between us and that dreaded dotted line.

Hughton does keep talking about most of our points coming at home, which I don't doubt, but a little bit more adventure away from home, in the right circumstances, could be very beneficial.

The Bournemouth game to me was the most disappointing

 

[chaileyjem]

Whilst seven points is a reasonable return from our first seven games, and 10 from 8 would look even better if we can overcome Everton, we really should have more points on the board at this stage.

To only take 1 point from Watford and Bournemouth combined feels very wasteful. Sitting on 10 or even 11 points now would feel like a very decent start to Premier League life and give us a nice little cushion between us and that dreaded dotted line.

Hughton does keep talking about most of our points coming at home, which I don't doubt, but a little bit more adventure away from home, in the right circumstances, could be very beneficial.

Of course and i hear lots of calls in this thread and for the team to "go for it" , "be allowed to play"
but i'm still not sure what "a little bit more adventure" actually means though ? And do we have fit players, confidence or experience to execute that.
What changes to formation, subs, players are you recommending for that to happen?
I guess the assumption that more adventure wouldn't result in more goals conceded ? (eg: at West Brom and Newcastle and Watford)

 

[LamieRobertson]

Of course and i hear lots of calls in this thread and for the team to "go for it" , "be allowed to play"
but i'm still not sure what "a little bit more adventure" actually means though ? And do we have fit players, confidence or experience to execute that.
What changes to formation, subs, players are you recommending for that to happen?
I guess the assumption that more adventure wouldn't result in more goals conceded ? (eg: at West Brom and Newcastle and Watford)

I don't think many people are suggesting a gung ho approach ....but just maybe a change of mindset in certain situations when it seems (from the stands) that the first instinct is to pass the ball back .. on the other hand over commit to attack and you can see what happened at Arsenal yesterday when they broke and Ryan saved the day.
Personally i didn't think this is all down to the way CH sets up...a certain amount will be down to the players and their confidence ..they are still feeling there way in the PL

 

[Bozza]

Of course and i hear lots of calls in this thread and for the team to "go for it" , "be allowed to play"
but i'm still not sure what "a little bit more adventure" actually means though ? And do we have fit players, confidence or experience to execute that.
What changes to formation, subs, players are you recommending for that to happen?
I guess the assumption that more adventure wouldn't result in more goals conceded ? (eg: at West Brom and Newcastle and Watford)

I intentionally didn't use cliches and I also recognise that it is a very fine balance that Hughton is attempting to strike here and as such, unlike some others, I'm not criticising.

My point is more that if Hughton sees our prospects dictated by success at home, then when circumstances are favourable away from home (eg Watford down to 10 men for most of the game), then we need to be able to find a way to win. I'm not sure we'll have many better opportunities for three points on the road.

 

[chaileyjem]

I intentionally didn't use cliches and I also recognise that it is a very fine balance that Hughton is attempting to strike here and as such, unlike some others, I'm not criticising.

My point is more that if Hughton sees our prospects dictated by success at home, then when circumstances are favourable away from home (eg Watford down to 10 men for most of the game), then we need to be able to find a way to win. I'm not sure we'll have many better opportunities for three points on the road.

Agreed. We might have to look at Watford (down to ten men after 20 mins) and Bournemouth (1-0 up with 20 mins to go) as far more crucial moments of the season that we inexplicably couldn't find a way to exploit rather than yesterday's resilient display but not unexpected defeat.
Was Bournemouth about tactics or defending too deep. Their goals at least were the results of some poor defending lapses (Defoe on his own in the box, Ibe's skill) and clinical finishing. Not things that CH can do much about.

 

[Perry Milkins]

Also posted on 'Substitution's' thread.

I honestly think he is playing down the 'lost' games (v the top 6) and playing damage limitations tactics.

if we defend stoutly and nick one from a counter attack or set piece then fine. But the plan is to ensure we do not get:

- Whipped (goal difference at the end of the season may worth a point)

- Demoralised and lose confidence

- Suffer injuries or suspensions.

That is all.

 

[Perry Milkins]

Agreed. We might have to look at Watford (down to ten men after 20 mins) and Bournemouth (1-0 up with 20 mins to go) as far more crucial moments of the season that we inexplicably couldn't find a way to exploit rather than yesterday's resilient display but not unexpected defeat.
Was Bournemouth about tactics or defending too deep. Their goals at least were the results of some poor defending lapses (Defoe on his own in the box, Ibe's skill) and clinical finishing. Not things that CH can do much about.

Well if we had cut down the amount of possession B had it would have reduced the time opportunity for this piece of skill and defensive lapse.

 

[Stat Brother]

Also posted on 'Substitution's' thread.

I honestly think he is playing down the 'lost' games (v the top 6) and playing damage limitations tactics.

if we defend stoutly and nick one from a counter attack or set piece then fine. But the plan is to ensure we do not get:

- Whipped (goal difference at the end of the season may worth a point)

- Demoralised and lose confidence

- Suffer injuries or suspensions.

That is all.

It's a tough call.
Were we playing City or Utd yesterday all of that, and then some, would apply.
I'd currently be wondering why Izzy wasn't back defending.

Sure goal difference could act as a point, but not as well as an actual point, let alone 3.

This isn't a poor team of easily demoralised mercenary introverts, who'll crumble after a schooling, esp not one that came about in, say, the last 15 minutes after catching a 'big 6' team cold.

We're a bloody good team, with an excellent manager.
The team has, surprisingly for such a short space of time, looked so much better than the first game of the season, which is the yardstick for yesterday's performance.

That change has come from Gross being closer to the front man, and the wingers less relied upon to defend.
Something I'm sure we'll see v Everton, but for me just a little disappointing we didn't see more of that yesterday, esp when Solly's purple patch showed Arsenal might have been a little vulnerable.

 

[Drebin]

Also posted on 'Substitution's' thread.

I honestly think he is playing down the 'lost' games (v the top 6) and playing damage limitations tactics.

if we defend stoutly and nick one from a counter attack or set piece then fine. But the plan is to ensure we do not get:

- Whipped (goal difference at the end of the season may worth a point)

- Demoralised and lose confidence

- Suffer injuries or suspensions.

That is all.

Indeed. He's playing the mini-league we're in. We lost by the same scoreline as West Brom (who I consider a relegation rival after their last few performances, especially against us) and one fewer than Bournemouth away at Arsenal without anyone mentioning how naive/deep/inexperienced/incompetent they were. The point being that in the corresponding fixtures we are a goal up on Bournemouth and level with West Brom and the players can be proud of the effort their effort. Who gives a siht about possession stats for one game?

Not Hughton. As you say, his unadventurous tactics could be worth a very crucial point at the end of the season.

 

[Spanish Seagulls]

My worst fears came to fruition.

The Albion had no intention to score from open play, and for all their good play came away with nothing.
The bore-offs who cream themselves over 'Hughton is too defensive', will be like a dog with too dicks.

Sure getting the team attacking without compromising it's defensive duties is a tough balancing act, but they have to do it better than that.

Rolling over for City and now Arsenal, means we can expect the same for Chelsea, Liverpool, Utd and Spurs.
All of whom can humiliate the Albion, but so far the team has clearly been told to show to much respect for 2 teams that weren't entitled to their comfortable wins.

This I agree with, reluctantly. I understand we don't want to go out & get tonked but I think if we actually try & attack it won't be as bad as CH seems to fear, that's it, he has too much fear. I love the man for what he has done but it's time to stop playing homage to the top six. If we know we're gonna lose lets at least throw everything at em and try causing an upset because I actually think we have got the ability to cause some damage. The players & fans will lose confidence unless we attack teams because defending constantly is fecking killing me. Shoot me down if you want but I am in danger of switching off after 40 years if we carry on getting negative against big teams instead of having a go.

 

[Stat Brother]

This I agree with, reluctantly. I understand we don't want to go out & get tonked but I think if we actually try & attack it won't be as bad as CH seems to fear, that's it, he has too much fear. I love the man for what he has done but it's time to stop playing homage to the top six. If we know we're gonna lose lets at least throw everything at em and try causing an upset because I actually think we have got the ability to cause some damage. The players & fans will lose confidence unless we attack teams because defending constantly is fecking killing me. Shoot me down if you want but I am in danger of switching off after 40 years if we carry on getting negative against big teams instead of having a go.

I can't win

I think you're taking my point and running a very long way with it.

 

[portlock seagull]

This I agree with, reluctantly. I understand we don't want to go out & get tonked but I think if we actually try & attack it won't be as bad as CH seems to fear, that's it, he has too much fear. I love the man for what he has done but it's time to stop playing homage to the top six. If we know we're gonna lose lets at least throw everything at em and try causing an upset because I actually think we have got the ability to cause some damage. The players & fans will lose confidence unless we attack teams because defending constantly is fecking killing me. Shoot me down if you want but I am in danger of switching off after 40 years if we carry on getting negative against big teams instead of having a go.

Switch off after 40years? Are you fishing? Or being over dramatic? Surely no Seagulls fan is about to switch off after the last 40years? You've been buying lottery tickets all your life and when you win, you don't claim?!! What's the point? It almost certainly doesn't get better than this for 99% of all teams let alone us!

 

[Finchley Seagull]

Don't think you can criticize any of the lads specifically today. Izquierdo maybe a bit off the pace, however he hasn't started a game for us in the Prem yet... But a 2-0 loss away at Arsenal is not a disgrace whatsoever. We also had good chances to score ourselves with the March strike and the Murray header. Overall, I think you have to give the lads a lot of credit especially Duffy, Dunk and Ryan.

Totally agree. There has been some of the usual rubbish about how we should have attacked more etc from the usual moaners. In my view, we did what we could to restrict Arsenal and actually matched for them for periods of the game. After the first goal, we arguably more than matched them for the rest of the first half and came good at the end of the match too (which is encouraging given we've struggled late on in recent matches).