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Talking Point: Albion are going to miss Greer [The Argus]



Newshound

Brighton 8049
Jun 5, 2011
18,358
Albion are going to miss Gordon Greer.
Not the Greer that sat out significant chunks of last season through injury.
Or the near 36-year-old now back with Blackburn Rovers for the rest of pre-season trying to earn a deal with the club where the Scottish international's career in England began.
The version of Greer Albion could do with is the one that led them to the League One title and the Championship play-offs three times in his first five seasons.
In each of those campaigns Greer made more than 40 appearances. He was a dependable, influential captain on the pitch and in the dressing room.
Albion were right to release him at the end of the season. The signs of wear and tear were there, his time had come.
Unfortunately, circumstances have conspired against them to leave a bigger hole right now than they must have envisaged in the absence of the veteran Scottish international.

The focus has shifted dramatically. What Albion needed most at the end of May to make amends for their promotion near-miss was more firepower.
They remain one striker light but the early recapture of Glenn Murray has provided breathing space.
Contrast this with the current situation in the centre of defence. The Championship opener at Derby is less than a fortnight away and Albion have one established central defender who is fit, Lewis Dunk.
A £5 million bid from Crystal Palace for Dunk (below)*was turned down earlier in the summer. Reports of a rejected £7-£8 million offer from West Brom, meanwhile, are inaccurate.
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Even if they were true there is no way Albion can contemplate losing Dunk in their prevailing predicament at the heart of the back four.
Connor Goldson has yet to feature in pre-season after damaging a knee during the training camp in Tenerife.
What seemed at the time like a relatively innocuous groin injury suffered by Uwe Huenemeier against Middlesbrough last December has turned out to be far more serious.
The German has not been seen since and it is unclear when he will be ready to return to action, yet alone fully back up to speed after so long out.
Albion have several young centre-halves with potential, none of whom are ready for the Championship.
That is Mark McGhee's blunt verdict on Ben Hall, blooded by the Seagulls' ex-manager in the Scottish Premier League last season at Motherwell and signed for the under-23s as opposed to instant first team duty.
The same applies to Tom Dallison, loaned out to Cambridge United, the fit-again Tom Cadman and the promising Ben White, who was injured for the friendly double-header at the weekend against Luton and Stevenage.
The temporary solution is Bruno, an able successor to Greer as skipper but nothing more than a short-term fix at centre-half.
As boss Chris Hughton says: "There is no doubt his best position is right-back."
Circumstances can change rapidly during the transfer window. It is worth remembering Goldson and Huenemeier were both signed after the start of last season.
Until then Albion had Dunk - whose head had been turned by Fulham's interest - Greer and Glen Rea (now at Luton) as back-up.
They are in a worse situation at this moment. The transfer shut down is still more than a month away, enougn time for a remedy, but Greer circa 2010-15 would have reassuring.

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