[Albion] ‘Happy with the squad’.. are we now paying the price for not signing a Striker in the wind

[Icy Gull]

One word answer - yes

 

[trueblue]

I think this goes a little further back than Ashworth, although he has failed to correct a problem of fairly haphazard recruitment.

It appears to me that we have just signed players that the recruitment team like, regardless of whether they fill a specific squad need. This is why we are overloaded with central defenders, wingers and number 10s but short of defensive midfield players, central strikers and (until recently) right backs. Alireza didn't exactly fill a gaping hole on the right when we already had Knockaert and March but we still targeted him rather than a Murray replacement. The result is that we have an unbalanced squad full of not-very-fast wide players drawing big wages when we could have a slightly smaller, better-balanced squad, all earning a bit more.

Until recently Potter has repeated a mantra of 'improving what we have' but the truth is that you can't improve something that isn't there, and we're short of strikers. Look how well Matej Vydra has done recently for Burnley, proving the wisdom of having experienced backup.

I think this is why Potter needs at least a couple more transfer windows before he can be judged fairly. To provide informed input on the players he actually needs and offload what he doesn't. Clearly he targeted those that were deemed disruptive by shipping them out immediately - but that arguably hasn't helped the cause overall. I think recruitment is hit and miss for clubs with our budget at Premier League level and so it's not been as bad as some people claim. The biggest mystery I felt was why we spent huge money to bring in both Clarke and Webster when central defence was already one of our strongest areas. I can only assume they thought they were going to get a big bid (probably from Leicester) for Dunk, which didn't materialise. Maybe you have some insight on that?

 

[Bold Seagull]

It's not just a striker, it's goals from anywhere. First season up we would have won Saturday as we seemed to take much harder chances, Gross, Izquierdo, Murray - we seemed to have someone stepping up to get us a goal or two. Saturday should have been and M&M double in all honesty. After scoring against SheffUtd really hoping Maupay had found his clinical touch, but he's snatching at chances again, or in the case of one of the through-balls, not snatching at all...

 

[brightonmark1234]

We are paying the price because we are not clinical enough Infront of goal when we get chances we need to get back to being hard to beat

 

[brightonmark1234]

We are also paying the price for not strengthening the attacking areas

 

[durrington gull]

Because after the last few games, this is my overriding feeling.

I’m genuinely concerned some at the club were a bit arrogant in assuming we’d stay up this season.

90% of us watching and certainly here on NSC were crying out for the club to sign a striker — yet all we repeatedly heard was how happy GP was with the squad.

Well I think the chances spurned and our overall lack of goals in 2020 tells its own story.

The whole thing smacked of relying on Murray to keep us up ! Offered him an extension thinking that would be enough but not signing a Murray ‘like’ replacement is going to haunt us - really poor from our recruitment team

 

[CliveWalkerWingWizard]

Could it be that andone was shipped out due to something off the pitch ? But we should have replaced him.

 

[rippleman]

Giroud's (rumoured) £140K pw wages until the end of the season would have been cheap compared to the cost of relegation.

IMO it was extremely poor judgment by Potter in kicking Andone out after the window closed and not bothering to recruit a replacement in January.

I was pleased to see the back of CH and his "anti-football" and welcomed Potter as a breath of fresh air. I loved the way we played at the start of the season and was really encouraged and started looking forward to games again. But Potter's naivety has caught up with him now. Inconsistent, and at times baffling team selections (playing Alzate at RB, playing M&M together AWAY at Sheff Utd but lone striker at HOME on Saturday, ALexis missing from last two squads).

If we get relegated, I can live with it. Wouldn't be the first time we've gone down after all. But I would feel very sorry for Mr Chairman having invested so heavily in the club if we go down. IMO he has been let down by those managing the club and the players.

 

[Publius Ovidius]

OK, here is my take.

Bloom could quite easily go the Palace route. Get Pards in. Get Big Sam in. Spaff 30 million and £100K a week on Benteke. We would probably be 12th now.

However, this is not a sustainable model, as we will see over the next few years when Palace finally trip up (it will be a very long fall).

No. Instead Bloom has decided to build slowly and sustainably. Potter will stay, whether we stay up or not. Bloom has picked Potter and extended his contract because he likes what he sees. Potter isn't a good interviewee. I suspect he has little time for it, but is smart enough to be able to do it, unrattled (which is why he sounds so lackadaisical). We have no idea what really goes on at the club in terms of the manager's training regime and man management. But we won't stay up simply by getting a manager who sounds better when interviewed and plays to the gallery.

As for spaffing on a £25 mill striker (and the £100K a week salary that goes with it), this will happen as the average wage at the club increases. Apparently we have a good team spirit. Tony probably feels that having one player earning twice what Ali J earns isn't in the best interests of the club at the moment.

The rest is fine margins. The plan is long term, so short term setbacks, including relegation, are factored into the plan.

I'm happy with that. If we find ourselves 12th in the championship next season, playing shite, and with 5 of our current squad sold, and no obvious plan, then I'll be critical. But not now.

I am no palace fan, but I think it hilarious that we are so clutching to the straws that palace will crash and burn sometime soon ....this are a club that has been in the premier far longer that we have and they have the knack of pulling off great results to stay in the prem. People also say that if wilf goes they will crash and burn...well yes he is a very good player, but as shown on Saturday, they were not relying on him.

Hodgson has actually put together a very capable squad and sticks with his team unless injuries and form forces changes....we don’t!

So some people keep trotting out this “ they are shit have no money and will get relegated soon,” and evidence says. No they won’t!

 

[Ninja Elephant]

Personally, I think that we have good enough players but they're constantly on edge because one minute you're a starter and then the next you're barely in the squad. Jahanbakhsh opens the scoring against Bournemouth (we rarely take the lead in games, so by all means punish someone who puts us ahead!) and then scores a wondergoal off the bench against Chelsea. He's barely played a few minutes since and it's impossible to justify considering how badly everyone else is playing.

It does no player no favours to be in and out of the team, we need to settle down the team selection to let the players get a little bit of stability in the side to, in the words of Russell Slade, gel as a team. The number of changes every game is ridiculous, Solly March starting despite his performances for the last three years. Schelotto sometimes popping in for a game and then disappearing again, Montoya sometimes existing, sometime he's nowhere. Bissouma well out of the picture for months and suddenly he's starting every game again. Ridiculous inconsistency in the team selections resulting in a lack of consistency in the performances of the team.

 

[Eric Youngs Contact Lense]

Who is the mystery striker that we all think we should have signed? I can't see anyone who strengthened in that area. Palace needed a striker more than us, and they got Tosun. No-one on here was shouting that we should get him in and he doesn't even start!! Bowen signed by West Ham, another Championship player - we already have the best one from last season. Giroud? Anyone really think that was likely and would love to know why he would have come to us? Even Man Utd could only get Ighalo.. would we have been excited at that prospect and could we compete with United for wages? Maupay is doing OK.. Can't think of anyone who did great business up front in January that is impacting their season right now.

 

[Eric Youngs Contact Lense]

EDIT to earlier post - Samatta signed by Aston Villa has shown some promise.. I think we were linked (in media) but he chose Villa?

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

I am no palace fan, but I think it hilarious that we are so clutching to the straws that palace will crash and burn sometime soon ....this are a club that has been in the premier far longer that we have and they have the knack of pulling off great results to stay in the prem. People also say that if wilf goes they will crash and burn...well yes he is a very good player, but as shown on Saturday, they were not relying on him.

Hodgson has actually put together a very capable squad and sticks with his team unless injuries and form forces changes....we don’t!

So some people keep trotting out this “ they are shit have no money and will get relegated soon,” and evidence says. No they won’t!

My point about Palace is that theirs is not a sustainable model, meaning that if they go down (and the fact I think they will at some point is irrelevant - maybe they will emulate Arsenal and never drop out of the top flight again, albeit I somehow doubt it) it will hit them very hard.

Where did I predict they will go down soon? I am certainly not 'clutching at straws' about Palace going down soon (couldn't care less about them actually), I was using them as an exemplar of how to do things a different way to Bloom's Albion. In my view theirs is a bad way, and I prefer the way Bloom operates to the way Disney operates. I'm sure our resident football finance expert would agree.


Edit calling [MENTION=31]El Presidente[/MENTION]

 

[Hugo Rune]

Personally, I think that we have good enough players but they're constantly on edge because one minute you're a starter and then the next you're barely in the squad. Jahanbakhsh opens the scoring against Bournemouth (we rarely take the lead in games, so by all means punish someone who puts us ahead!) and then scores a wondergoal off the bench against Chelsea. He's barely played a few minutes since and it's impossible to justify considering how badly everyone else is playing.

He’d have taken both March’s and Maupay’s Palace chances with aplomb.

Get him back for Wolves I say!

 

[thbjenkins]

Short answer is yes. But I don't think that alone is to blame.

We have highest possession most games, but as soon as we get into that final third we look like we have no clue how to score. We pass the ball around the 18 yard box, but there is little movement creating spaces, and when there is some, we don't seem to be able to make the killer pass.

We don't put a lot of crosses in the box because we don't have an attacking player taller than 6ft (Murray excluded). Then when we put Murray on, he's out wide laying the ball off and we still don't put crosses in the box.
That being said, there was a spell against Palace once Ali J came on where he but quite a few decent balls in. But as someone else has pointed out, he's not often selected.
I've lost count of the amount of times this season where we've got the ball in a wide position and theres barely anyone in the box.

Potter needs to be given time, thats for sure. But other than a lot of (sometimes not very) pretty passes, and out the box team selections- what really is Potterball?

 

[Bold Seagull]

My point about Palace is that theirs is not a sustainable model, meaning that if they go down (and the fact I think they will at some point is irrelevant - maybe they will emulate Arsenal and never drop out of the top flight again, albeit I somehow doubt it) it will hit them very hard.

Where did I predict they will go down soon? I am certainly not 'clutching at straws' about Palace going down soon (couldn't care less about them actually), I was using them as an exemplar of how to do things a different way to Bloom's Albion. In my view theirs is a bad way, and I prefer the way Bloom operates to the way Disney operates. I'm sure our resident football finance expert would agree.


Edit calling [MENTION=31]El Presidente[/MENTION]

You could argue that a Wan Bissaka every now and again does make it a sustainable model. They sold Bissaka for £49m and only spent £7m in the summer. Season before they just spent £10m on Kouyate (good signing imho). Season before that 17/18 they spent -£41m. 16/17 -£46m, 15/16 -£21m, 14/15 -£25m, 13/14 -£1£30m, 12/13 +£13m.

Over 8 seasons their net spend on players is £118m. How is ours a sustainable model of a £190m outlay over 3 srasons and at severe risk of dropping out the league again more sustainable than an 8 year £118m outlay, and relative safety each season?

I know we're rivals but you know, what do you need El Pres for?

 

[El Presidente]

My point about Palace is that theirs is not a sustainable model, meaning that if they go down (and the fact I think they will at some point is irrelevant - maybe they will emulate Arsenal and never drop out of the top flight again, albeit I somehow doubt it) it will hit them very hard.

Where did I predict they will go down soon? I am certainly not 'clutching at straws' about Palace going down soon (couldn't care less about them actually), I was using them as an exemplar of how to do things a different way to Bloom's Albion. In my view theirs is a bad way, and I prefer the way Bloom operates to the way Disney operates. I'm sure our resident football finance expert would agree.


Edit calling [MENTION=31]El Presidente[/MENTION]

Palace's strategy of recruiting and retaining players on big wages is high risk but it has worked. If they do go down then he will leave but they’d pick up a good fee (same for Van Arnholt) which along with parachute payments would allow them to adjust to the Championship.

They play a compact, defensive game especially away from home, which because of Zaha’s talent especially allows them to score on the counterattack.

As a result they’ve earned more points away from home than Manchester United, Arsenal, Spurs, Everton etc.

 

[Justice]

Potter is being undermined IMO. Didn’t play Murray for half the season he then gets a tap in at West Ham and immediately offered a new deal? Makes no sense, our best performances this season have been when AC and Maupay have been the front two, AC seems to have been frozen out which again makes little sense. The return of March has seen us decline yet again a million miles away from the impressive win at the Arsenal. I don’t know what’s happening behind the scenes whatever it is it’s not healthy. Andone hinted Murray is untouchable and now history from last season it seems is repeating itself.

Last time we had a head coach Oscar he was undermined Barnes was sold without a replacement, wanted Grabben a player who’s still scoring to this day club didn’t back him in the window and it’s obvious GP wasn’t backed in the last window.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Palace's strategy of recruiting and retaining players on big wages is high risk but it has worked. If they do go down then he will leave but they’d pick up a good fee (same for Van Arnholt) which along with parachute payments would allow them to adjust to the Championship.

They play a compact, defensive game especially away from home, which because of Zaha’s talent especially allows them to score on the counterattack.

As a result they’ve earned more points away from home than Manchester United, Arsenal, Spurs, Everton etc.

So you think they will be OK if they get relegated?

Hmmm....perhaps we need our Benteke, then....

 

[sussex_guy2k2]

Last reasonable centre forward was Tomer Hemed. We have struggled for goals ever since being in the top flight. We all knew that Andone & Locadia leaving was futile. To not bring in any replacements in January was at best arrogant & at worst acceptance of relegation - perhaps there is not such a desire by our chairman now for BHA to be a top flight club. After all we are only going to make up the numbers at best?

Crikey. Hemed was a limited striker, even at Champ level, as he’s currently proving. And Murray has been signed since, who’s of an obviously higher level. The issue is we’ve not replaced him, and when we have, we’ve not given them the appropriate chances outside of Maupay who isn’t yet up to it. Hopefully that will change.