[Albion] Brentford vs Brighton & Hove Albion *** Official Match Thread ***

[Uh_huh_him]

90%

I felt it was a huge gamble at the time… I guess I cautiously optimistic at best, but felt it might well turn out to be an utter car crash too…

90% hugely excited Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm no.

That’s 90% horseshit.

He’s done alright, but he’s not going to be a great coach, unless he can prove he can learn… I’m still waiting on this tbh.

Meh, really… C-

Ultimately the club took a risk on signing a load of players with no prem experience being managed by a coach with no premier league experience.

In truth, it's worked out about as well as could be expected.


We need quicker defenders to play the way Fab wants to play.

Tony needs to make a call this summer.

Back the coach, or change the way we expect our coaches to play.


They have sold our last 3 coaches short, by refusing to recruit pace in the back line.

 

[Kosh]

Ultimately the club took a risk on signing a load of players with no prem experience being managed by a coach with no premier league experience.

In truth, it's worked out about as well as could be expected.


We need quicker defenders to play the way Fab wants to play.

Tony needs to make a call this summer.

Back the coach, or change the way we expect our coaches to play.


They have sold our last 3 coaches short, by refusing to recruit pace in the back line.

Now that I agree with.

Big call(s) this summer… get it wrong and we could really struggle, and by that I don’t mean finishing 11th.

 

[jcdenton08]

Jesus. What are people expecting? Our budget is the 14th highest in the league. We are over-performing by most metrics.

I know you don’t want to hear this, but we are a small club with ambitions, not a big club with expectations.

We are where we are in the league because of the ability of our players, and yes possibility the inexperience of our head coach at times, but that’s because we can’t afford to get the best coach and best ready made consistent footballers in world football. Add in the second worst injury record in the league, and you have 10th place.

 

[Brian Munich]

Next five games is about giving Solly minutes and seeing if there are any decent defenders in the U23s

If we had any decent defenders in the U21s they’d have been sent out on loan. The Premier League isn’t the place to be playing youngsters that the coaches don’t rate enough for a 2nd or 3rd tier loan.

Like all fans I was absolutely delighted with the run of results after the Forest defeat. But and it’s a big but, it’s clear that was the outlier for the season. Either side we have had a wretched run of form which has included our worst defeat in 60 years and a double Palace league defeat for the first time in 100+ years.

Yes points wise we are on for one of our best ever season but with the summer investment building on what RDZ had built surely that was the bare minimum to be expected?

It wasn’t really an outlier though, was it? The post-Forest run only accountes for 13 points, so the other 33 must’ve come from somewhere as we wouldn’t have been 3 points behind City at that point.

It’s clear that the 2 season-ending injuries in the same game to Rutter and, more significantly, Webster have been the straw that broke the camels back injury wise and f***ed us for the run in.

 

[Kosh]

Jesus. What are people expecting? Our budget is the 14th highest in the league. We are over-performing by most metrics.

I know you don’t want to hear this, but we are a small club with ambitions, not a big club with expectations.

We are where we are in the league because of the ability of our players, and yes possibility the inexperience of our head coach at times, but that’s because we can’t afford to get the best coach and best ready made consistent footballers in world football. Add in the second worst injury record in the league, and you have 10th place.

Yes, but surely you can recruit at least one youngish defender with potential and errrrr pace ? In like three seasons, you know where we’ve all seen it and asked the question… but here we are, spending the 14th largest budget on an array of ill fitting #10s (whilst loaning the genuine game changer to Ipswich)…. It’s not all rosey/perfect and in some respects simply piss poor.

 

[Wozza]

Lots of arguing among Albion fans at the game, which added to the ‘fun’.

Then to top it off, a family wouldn’t let us squeeze by to get to the aisle to LEAVE at the end of the match because the mouthy mum was, and I quote, “talking”.

Morons.

 

[jcdenton08]

Yes, but surely you can recruit at least one youngish defender with potential and errrrr pace ? In like three seasons, you know where we’ve all seen it and asked the question… but here we are, spending the 14th largest budget on an array of ill fitting #10s (whilst loaning the genuine game changer to Ipswich)…. It’s not all rosey/perfect and in some respects simply piss poor.

Absolutely, I agree. I think our squad is unbalanced and I have real question marks about a couple of the signings we’ve made, but this is certainly not the head coach’s remit.

A lot of our recruitment is about the right guy, with the right numbers, at the right price with a view to development and resale. It is the strategy for being self-sufficient as a club, and not relying on Tony’s continued investment.

It has left the squad lacking, but again the injury situation has been brutal.

 

[Deadly Danson]

90%

I felt it was a huge gamble at the time… I guess I cautiously optimistic at best, but felt it might well turn out to be an utter car crash too…

90% hugely excited Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm no.

That’s 90% horseshit.

He’s done alright, but he’s not going to be a great coach, unless he can prove he can learn… I’m still waiting on this tbh.

Meh really… C-

If i could be bothered to go back to the next manager threads at the time then yep, it was close to unanimous excitement at the appointment and, if memory serves, he was by a mile the most popular of the options - of course there were some who weren't so keen. As I can't be bothered we'll just have to agree to disagree or feel free to prove me wrong if you like - I'm usually wrong.

 

[dwayne]

Jesus. What are people expecting? Our budget is the 14th highest in the league. We are over-performing by most metrics.

I know you don’t want to hear this, but we are a small club with ambitions, not a big club with expectations.

We are where we are in the league because of the ability of our players, and yes possibility the inexperience of our head coach at times, but that’s because we can’t afford to get the best coach and best ready made consistent footballers in world football. Add in the second worst injury record in the league, and you have 10th place.

Hmmn we could afford to spend 10 Milly on GASHin but couldn't afford a half decent manager. Not sure about that one.

 

[Kosh]

If i could be bothered to go back to the next manager threads at the time then yep, it was close to unanimous excitement at the appointment and, if memory serves, he was by a mile the most popular of the options - of course there were some who weren't so keen. As I can't be bothered we'll just have to agree to disagree or feel free to prove me wrong if you like - I'm usually wrong.

No, not at all… just maybe a bit sensationalist with the 90% hugely excited comment… hugely optimistic maybe…

 

[Uh_huh_him]

Dq

If we had any decent defenders in the U21s they’d have been sent out on loan. The Premier League isn’t the place to be playing youngsters that the coaches don’t rate enough for a 2nd or 3rd tier loan.

It wasn’t really an outlier though, was it? The post-Forest run only accountes for 13 points, so the other 33 must’ve come from somewhere as we wouldn’t have been 3 points behind City at that point.

It’s clear that the 2 season-ending injuries in the same game to Rutter and, more significantly, Webster have been the straw that broke the camels back injury wise and f***ed us for the run in.

So what do you want to see in the last 5 games?
Whether Lewis Dunk can win a foot race against
Jared Bowen
Anthony Gordon
Matheus Cunha
Mohamed Salah
Heung-min Son

??

I already know the answer to that question.

 

[birthofanorange]

Absolutely, I agree. I think our squad is unbalanced and I have real question marks about a couple of the signings we’ve made, but this is certainly not the head coach’s remit.

A lot of our recruitment is about the right guy, with the right numbers, at the right price with a view to development and resale. It is the strategy for being self-sufficient as a club, and not relying on Tony’s continued investment.

It has left the squad lacking, but again the injury situation has been brutal.

...and that is the crux, imho. Being able to field a regular and fit first 11 makes a hell of a difference.

 

[Brian Munich]

Jesus. What are people expecting? Our budget is the 14th highest in the league. We are over-performing by most metrics.

I know you don’t want to hear this, but we are a small club with ambitions, not a big club with expectations.

We are where we are in the league because of the ability of our players, and yes possibility the inexperience of our head coach at times, but that’s because we can’t afford to get the best coach and best ready made consistent footballers in world football. Add in the second worst injury record in the league, and you have 10th place.

Second worst? We had by far the worst injury record in terms of days missed before the recent new injuries. I can’t believe anyone has overtaken us.

Or am I being whooshed on the basis that pundits were banging on about Spurs injuries most of the season?

 

[wellquickwoody]

We beat Newcastle and Chelsea in the cup. We weren't dumped out, we were just facing possibly the best defence and penalty taking team in the country. Not good but not punishable by getting the sack.

FH is a manager who is learning. If he is making the same errors in a few years time, we should bin him off but what sort of moronic ownership would recruit a young manager with a huge future in order to develop him (like we do with players) then sack him off after he has made a few errors but has had to cope with the worst injuries in the premier league (by far) and a defence (looking at our next fixture) which most Championship clubs could tear to pieces.

Whether you like it or not, managers do not get ‘a few years time’ anymore. Too much money to be won and lost. Gone by Xmas if results do not improve.

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

I’m old enough to remember pre season when we were guessing which one of our DM Destroyers was going to drop in to the back four to make an unstoppable
5-4-1.

We are so open and predicable.

 

[jcdenton08]

Second worst? We had by far the worst injury record in terms of days missed before the recent new injuries. I can’t believe anyone has overtaken us.

Or am I being whooshed on the basis that pundits were banging on about Spurs injuries most of the season?

Arsenal have had slightly more based on the number of players who played the majority of matches last season, being unavailable for minutes this season.

This is slightly skewed because several of ours who have missed a lot of minutes aren’t counted in that statistical method, such as Milner.

 

[Brian Munich]

Dq

So what do you want to see in the last 5 games?
Whether Lewis Dunk can win a foot race against
Jared Bowen
Anthony Gordon
Matheus Cunha
Mohamed Salah
Heung-min Son

??

I already know the answer to that question.

Better that than a 20 year old who’s only senior experience is in the Papa Johns Pizza cup and who will probably end up being released and playing semi-pro.

It’s an unfortunate fact that in elite football academies: a large number of the players are only there to make up the numbers.

 

[birthofanorange]

Whether you like it or not, managers do not get ‘a few years time’ anymore. Too much money to be won and lost. Gone by Xmas if results do not improve.

Unlike Mr. Frank, who has been given plenty of time and are still knocking on the European door.
Don't be too hasty in the 'Fab out' camp, is my suggestion.

 

[WATFORD zero]

If we need a quick strong, good ball playing centre back who can bring the ball forward, I'm only going to whisper it but last week Baleba was the best player on the pitch, today not so much. Maybe JPVH + Baleba at the back and perm two from Hinsh, Gomez, Ayari and Weifer for DM could be a way ahead ?

I'll go and keep my head below the parapet now

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

Weiffer looking not too bad at right back, to be fair to him.

Put some decent crosses in to be fair