Steve Sidwell

[spence]

Therein lies a tale - He is a hit and miss player but his attitude and body language doesn't help him and I just don't think the player himself realises that. he has potential if he were to apply himself.

Tonight Simon Rusk screamed at Harper for what i can only guess was for being lazy. The kid from Madrid was probably our worse player followed by the other striker. Was no surprise to see both come off.
Ince is ready for the first team. He got stuck in tonight and won everything.

As for Elvis how can you say he is a hit and miss player? I have only seen miss so far. Up until now he has been a poor signing. He costs nearly double what we paid for Hemed and yet Hemed is the one getting flak from fans.

 

[BensGrandad]

Tonight Simon Rusk screamed at Harper for what i can only guess was for being lazy. The kid from Madrid was probably our worse player followed by the other striker. Was no surprise to see both come off.
Ince is ready for the first team. He got stuck in tonight and won everything.

As for Elvis how can you say he is a hit and miss player? I have only seen miss so far. Up until now he has been a poor signing. He costs nearly double what we paid for Hemed and yet Hemed is the one getting flak from fans.

Ince has proved time and again he isnt ready for the first team on a regular basis and whose place would he take, even more so now with Sidwell so the obvious is send him out on loan to a top Div 1 side if possible or lower Championship team to get some game time.

 

[NooBHA]

Tonight Simon Rusk screamed at Harper for what i can only guess was for being lazy. The kid from Madrid was probably our worse player followed by the other striker. Was no surprise to see both come off.
Ince is ready for the first team. He got stuck in tonight and won everything.

As for Elvis how can you say he is a hit and miss player? I have only seen miss so far. Up until now he has been a poor signing. He costs nearly double what we paid for Hemed and yet Hemed is the one getting flak from fans.

I have seen him play in Holland before and I have seen him play both bad and good. I don't want to put anything negative about the lad on the boards. However he either starts to turn things around or he won't last the pace either but I
think he has the ability o turn it around. Does he have the desire to. That I have doubts about

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

Ince has proved time and again he isnt ready for the first team on a regular basis and whose place would he take, even more so now with Sidwell so the obvious is send him out on loan to a top Div 1 side if possible or lower Championship team to get some game time.

Ince had a storming season under Garcia and was every bit a Championship midfielder.

However, I have never seen a player go so far backwards, so quickly and it may be that Hyppia ruined him.

He needs to go out on loan, I wonder if Garcia at Saltzberg can sort him out for us.

 

[sussex_guy2k2]

Ince had a storming season under Garcia and was every bit a Championship midfielder.

However, I have never seen a player go so far backwards, so quickly and it may be that Hyppia ruined him.

He needs to go out on loan, I wonder if Garcia at Saltzberg can sort him out for us.

It's almost impossible to judge Ince this season as he's barely played. He had a decent if unspectacular end to last season following, as you said, a very good season the season before where he proved himself to be good enough for the level we're currently at, but it's clear that Hughton doesn't fancy him. It's a shame as I'm very much in the camp that there's a good player in there that CH seems desperate not to develop.

As I've said elsewhere, Sidwell was (and maybe still is) a good player who will (probably, fitness permitting) help us throughout the rest of the season (particularly if the Kayal injury rumours are true) but it's a pragmatic signing in terms of the long term future of the club as it shows CH's unwillingness to develop the young talent that we have (and let's be honest, they've been given chances due to injuries, not due to CHs faith in their abilities).

 

[BensGrandad]

IMHO Ince looked ok in a poor Albion side last season but we have upped our level and he appears to be unable to when called upon to play.

 

[sussex_guy2k2]

Maybe the club has changed by installing quality in depth and throughout. We no longer need to hope that youngster will step up to grade due to injuries. Now you have to breakthrough on merit not circumstances. Then you also have to stay there on merit. This must be a proud time for a player to make it into our first 11.

Unfortunately I just cannot agree with this. March and Goldson (two players who many would claim have been stand outs in the time they've played) have got into the team this season due to circumstance i.e. injuries. They may have stayed in on merit, but that's not a positive reflection on CH, rather it shows what young players can do when given the chance to prove themselves over a sustained period of time.

It's also hard to argue that competition has been fostered at the club. You can go to any Brighton match right now and pick the team beforehand knowing that it'll be the same one that CH picks. Basically he does the opposite of foster competition - he plays the same 11 until injuries or suspensions take their toll and then he brings in the back up player for a game or two (or however long they're needed) which rarely has a positive impact, nor does it allow said back up player to thrive usually.

 

[sussex_guy2k2]

IMHO Ince looked ok in a poor Albion side last season but we have upped our level and he appears to be unable to when called upon to play.

But you think Steve Sidwell, with one game to his name all season, and just 12 last, will be able to fit seamlessly into the side if he's just given the odd 90 minutes here and there (which is what has happened to Ince!) as a back up?

 

[BensGrandad]

I think that Sidwell will show his worth in training and will be in the 1st team squad very soon, possibly instead of Crofts. The best that can be hoped for Ince is a loan to get games which he wont and shouldnt get with us on past showing.

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

If it was flexibility Hughton wanted, he'd have played one of the other 100 central midfielders we have on the books and shown flexibility in his tactical plans throughout the season I.e. In games such as 'Boro at home, but he hasn't done that.

Steve Sidwell was (and may still be) a PL class footballer, but I've seen enough of him to not think he's a big enough step up in quality to allow for a complete change in system at this stage of the season. Which suggests that he's going to either replace one of the first choice two in midfield (maybe there's an injury?) or he's bought as back up (and that's an expensive back up!).

I guess we'll see won't we! Here's to hoping he'll hit the ground running after just one game this season and just the 12 last...

I think I've seen enough of CH since he came to the Albion, and come to taht even before he came here, to know that by and large his teams adhere to the same fairly rigid, pattern of play.

Fot that reason, even with Steve Sidwell, I don't expect our style of play to change very much at all. Maybe he will simply rotate the midfield, with one of the Kayal/Stephens/Sidwell trio being rested in games, or simply play with all three, if he decides to play in a diamond, or reinforce the midfield in difficult away games.

We will see,

 

[pasty]

Tonight Simon Rusk screamed at Harper for what i can only guess was for being lazy. The kid from Madrid was probably our worse player followed by the other striker. Was no surprise to see both come off.

I said exactly the same after watching the U21's game against Arsenal at The Amex a couple of months back. We actually looked better once he'd gone off. I would say in possible mitigation though, that was his first game for some time I think.

 

[Ernest]

Harper is absolute RUBBISH. I've NEVER seen him play but if he was any good he would be near the first team squad

 

[Ernest]

I think that Sidwell will show his worth in training and will be in the 1st team squad very soon, possibly instead of Crofts. The best that can be hoped for Ince is a loan to get games which he wont and shouldnt get with us on past showing.

Sidwell will be playing in the majority of first team games, he is not SINGED to sit on the bench, Stephens is due a rest and you only have to see what happened when him and Kayal were out to know we needed better alternatives

 

[BensGrandad]

Sidwell will be playing in the majority of first team games, he is not SINGED to sit on the bench, Stephens is due a rest and you only have to see what happened when him and Kayal were out to know we needed better alternatives

I wouldnt disagree I expect to see him in the line up for the Brentford game even if only on the bench, which I dont think it will be.

 

[sussex_guy2k2]

I think that Sidwell will show his worth in training and will be in the 1st team squad very soon, possibly instead of Crofts. The best that can be hoped for Ince is a loan to get games which he wont and shouldnt get with us on past showing.

You really don't like Ince do you... Did he touch Ben inappropriately at some stage?

 

[8ace]

SS averages a goal every seven games so hopefully he can chip in with a couple

 

[sussex_guy2k2]

Sidwell will be playing in the majority of first team games, he is not SINGED to sit on the bench, Stephens is due a rest and you only have to see what happened when him and Kayal were out to know we needed better alternatives

When they were out? You lot aren't using actual facts to back up your arguments here...

Aside from cup games, the only game that Kayal has missed this year is Preston if I'm not mistaken. Ince started that game instead. He's started one game this year. One... He's proven himself before this season to be a very good championship midfielder but how on earth can he prove himself to be good (or even inadequate?!) after one start?

Just to be clear, Stephens has only missed one more game than Kayal... Crofts also started at Preston alongside Ince and has only started 4 league games in total, often out of his preferred central midfield area. Basically, Preston rocked up and Hughton changed the core of his midfield and you wonder why we weren't fluent in that game (although we kept a clean sheet!).

So you lot are judging these two, players that HAVE proven themselves as excellent Championship players, as inadequate based on 5 accumulative starts this season? Mindblowing stuff...

Oh, and to rub salt into the awful argument you're put forward, your solution is Steve Sidwell... A 34 year old with 1 game all season to his name, and 12 last year (and no, they weren't all starts!).

 

[nwgull]

I think that Sidwell will show his worth in training and will be in the 1st team squad very soon, possibly instead of Crofts. The best that can be hoped for Ince is a loan to get games which he wont and shouldnt get with us on past showing.

Past showing being that he was actually a really good defensive midfielder when he was a regular in both Oscar Garcia's starting 11 as well as Sami's, albeit that the latter is less of compliment. The only reason that he's not played much this year is because Stephens and Kayal have been so good.

 

[BensGrandad]

You really don't like Ince do you... Did he touch Ben inappropriately at some stage?

I neither like nor dislike him as I dont know him but as a player I think he is poor and offers us nothing IMHO he is Div 2 standard possibly Div 1 and that would be the reason Chelsea saw no future for him, not that that is a guarantee for the future. If somebody could point out his plus points I would be interested. He is weak in the air, cant tackle and cant pass more than 3 yds so what is left. The only plus I have seen is when he loses the ball after making a tackle he usually wins it back again.

 

[sir albion]

Past showing being that he was actually a really good defensive midfielder when he was a regular in both Oscar Garcia's starting 11 as well as Sami's, albeit that the latter is less of compliment. The only reason that he's not played much this year is because Stephens and Kayal have been so good.

He was not really good and to be frank he offers very little bar commitment.
Massive mistake offering him that new contract