Blackpool 1, Albion 0
Chris Hughton's first month in charge of Albion concluded with a sharp reminder of the flaws in the squad he inherited and the amount of work still required to ensure they do not end up in League One with Blackpool next season.
Setting aside the FA Cup diverson, the Seagulls have won once and lost once under Hughton in the Championship, both at home and away.
That is a clear improvement compared to the results under Sami Hyypia. First and foremost, Hughton has made Albion more solid, harder to beat.
They have conceded four goals in four games, including an unfortunate deflection against Brentford and Jamie O'Hara's stunning set piece which earned stranded Blackpool a second home win in succession.
They have also only scored four goals in four games, three of them in a lesson of clinical finishing against Ipswich. The other three league outings have produced two blank sheets and a set piece winner of their own at Charlton.
It is not easy but it is easier to set up a side to blunt the opposition. The harder bit is opening them up.
The match against Blackpool is not a great example to highlight the shortcoming. It might as well have been played on the nearby beach, such is the appalling state of the pitch at Bloomfield Road, which makes anything other than a direct approach inappropriate.
The conditions certainly would not have suited Joao Teixeira, the two-goal architect of Ipswich's demise, even if he had been healthy enough to be more than an unused substitute after the virus which knocked him out of Arsenal's visit.
In any case - and this is where the weakness in the squad is relevant - Albion should not be dependent on an inexperienced Portugese kid from Liverpool inevitably prone at his tender age to inconsistency.
The return to contention of Kazenga LuaLua, missing since November with knee trouble, is a significant boost to the limited attacking power at Hughton's disposal.
The arrival of Beram Kayal will hopefully improve the quality in midfield, especially when the Israeli is eventually joined by Dale Stephens.
This should help push the team further up the pitch, reducing the gap between the current safety-first feel in the centre of the park and the forwards, which was evident against Blackpool.
Leon Best, brought on early in the second half for the hamstrung Sam Baldock, provided a more physical edge playing alongside Chris O'Grady, but it was a difficult match in which to make a meaningful impact.
Best possesses the quality if the injection combination of Kayal, Teixeira and LuaLua can supply the ammunition.
In this respect, the transfer business done by Hughton with the deadline hours away looks encouraging.
It was always going to be a two-stage job for him. The first is to see Albion safe this season, the second to turn them back into promotion contenders. It may take two or three more windows to manage that.
The immediate priority of survival suffered, in Hughton's own words, a "bad blow" in succumbing to Blackpool, responding to their 7-2 mauling at Watford.
The first away defeat of his reign was exacerbated by results elsewhere, particularly the win at this Saturday's Amex visitors Nottingham Forest by Millwall, Blackpool's previous victims.
Albion, remarkably, were the only losers in the bottom nine, which merely emphasised that you cannot rely on others.
They did not help themselves by conceding too many free-kicks inside their own territory. It invited danger with O'Hara in opposition.
His career has gone downhill since he was at Spurs when Hughton was assistant manager, but he offered a reminder of his talent with a free-kick from 30 yards which deceived David Stockdale and found the top corner.
Both Hughton and his captain Gordon Greer felt the free-kick awarded against Rohan Ince was unjust.
Greer was certainly right in remarking that the game "had nil-nil written all over it."
Albion looked no more like scoring than a Blackpool side with a 17-year-old making his first appearance and an 18-year-old his full debut in a five-man midfield.
Greer came closest with a first half header from a Danny Holla free-kick flicked over the bar by keeper Ell Parish.
The Seagulls had a last-gasp shout for handball from a free-kick after a second half incident involving Greer summed up the horror of the playing surface. He was trying to chest a shot which bounced awkwardly against his hand inside the area.
"We played Stockport when I was at Swindon and the pitch was flooded and it was really boggy, but it wasn't as bad," Greer said.
"The ball definitely hit my hand, but there was no way my arms moved. They were straight and I went to chest the ball. I think the ref made the right decision, but I don't think we got many decisions.
"I know how it must look for the other team. They must have thought it was handball in the box, but we had a handball at the end and never got it."
The response from Albion to their deficit in the final 20 minutes, including injury time, was virtually non-existent, even with Best and O'Grady in tandem.
Hughton admitted: "Most disappointing was losing a game that I never felt we would lose as it wore on, but to win we've got to have more opportunities and show more in the final third. It was a very difficult pitch, but you have got to have the ability to do that if you want to win matches."
The six-game February schedule, against sides outside the top nine, does not look severe, but when you have failed to score in three hours and taken only one point from the team tailed off at the foot of the table, you need all the creativity you can muster.
Original article
Chris Hughton's first month in charge of Albion concluded with a sharp reminder of the flaws in the squad he inherited and the amount of work still required to ensure they do not end up in League One with Blackpool next season.
Setting aside the FA Cup diverson, the Seagulls have won once and lost once under Hughton in the Championship, both at home and away.
That is a clear improvement compared to the results under Sami Hyypia. First and foremost, Hughton has made Albion more solid, harder to beat.
They have conceded four goals in four games, including an unfortunate deflection against Brentford and Jamie O'Hara's stunning set piece which earned stranded Blackpool a second home win in succession.
They have also only scored four goals in four games, three of them in a lesson of clinical finishing against Ipswich. The other three league outings have produced two blank sheets and a set piece winner of their own at Charlton.
It is not easy but it is easier to set up a side to blunt the opposition. The harder bit is opening them up.
The match against Blackpool is not a great example to highlight the shortcoming. It might as well have been played on the nearby beach, such is the appalling state of the pitch at Bloomfield Road, which makes anything other than a direct approach inappropriate.
The conditions certainly would not have suited Joao Teixeira, the two-goal architect of Ipswich's demise, even if he had been healthy enough to be more than an unused substitute after the virus which knocked him out of Arsenal's visit.
In any case - and this is where the weakness in the squad is relevant - Albion should not be dependent on an inexperienced Portugese kid from Liverpool inevitably prone at his tender age to inconsistency.
The return to contention of Kazenga LuaLua, missing since November with knee trouble, is a significant boost to the limited attacking power at Hughton's disposal.
The arrival of Beram Kayal will hopefully improve the quality in midfield, especially when the Israeli is eventually joined by Dale Stephens.
This should help push the team further up the pitch, reducing the gap between the current safety-first feel in the centre of the park and the forwards, which was evident against Blackpool.
Leon Best, brought on early in the second half for the hamstrung Sam Baldock, provided a more physical edge playing alongside Chris O'Grady, but it was a difficult match in which to make a meaningful impact.
Best possesses the quality if the injection combination of Kayal, Teixeira and LuaLua can supply the ammunition.
In this respect, the transfer business done by Hughton with the deadline hours away looks encouraging.
It was always going to be a two-stage job for him. The first is to see Albion safe this season, the second to turn them back into promotion contenders. It may take two or three more windows to manage that.
The immediate priority of survival suffered, in Hughton's own words, a "bad blow" in succumbing to Blackpool, responding to their 7-2 mauling at Watford.
The first away defeat of his reign was exacerbated by results elsewhere, particularly the win at this Saturday's Amex visitors Nottingham Forest by Millwall, Blackpool's previous victims.
Albion, remarkably, were the only losers in the bottom nine, which merely emphasised that you cannot rely on others.
They did not help themselves by conceding too many free-kicks inside their own territory. It invited danger with O'Hara in opposition.
His career has gone downhill since he was at Spurs when Hughton was assistant manager, but he offered a reminder of his talent with a free-kick from 30 yards which deceived David Stockdale and found the top corner.
Both Hughton and his captain Gordon Greer felt the free-kick awarded against Rohan Ince was unjust.
Greer was certainly right in remarking that the game "had nil-nil written all over it."
Albion looked no more like scoring than a Blackpool side with a 17-year-old making his first appearance and an 18-year-old his full debut in a five-man midfield.
Greer came closest with a first half header from a Danny Holla free-kick flicked over the bar by keeper Ell Parish.
The Seagulls had a last-gasp shout for handball from a free-kick after a second half incident involving Greer summed up the horror of the playing surface. He was trying to chest a shot which bounced awkwardly against his hand inside the area.
"We played Stockport when I was at Swindon and the pitch was flooded and it was really boggy, but it wasn't as bad," Greer said.
"The ball definitely hit my hand, but there was no way my arms moved. They were straight and I went to chest the ball. I think the ref made the right decision, but I don't think we got many decisions.
"I know how it must look for the other team. They must have thought it was handball in the box, but we had a handball at the end and never got it."
The response from Albion to their deficit in the final 20 minutes, including injury time, was virtually non-existent, even with Best and O'Grady in tandem.
Hughton admitted: "Most disappointing was losing a game that I never felt we would lose as it wore on, but to win we've got to have more opportunities and show more in the final third. It was a very difficult pitch, but you have got to have the ability to do that if you want to win matches."
The six-game February schedule, against sides outside the top nine, does not look severe, but when you have failed to score in three hours and taken only one point from the team tailed off at the foot of the table, you need all the creativity you can muster.
Original article