[Albion] Decision Making - Coaching

Stato · Mar 12, 2022

Punished myself by watching MotD tonight as there were so few games that I thought we might get a bit of analysis. Shearer, who I don't usually have much time for as a pundit did a fairly neat bit on our decision making in the final third. They also hinted that this was analysis of Brighton that they could have done many times before. Its easy to follow the received wisdom that goal scoring is instinct and I've long been resigned to the fact that we have a lot of decent ballplayers who just don't have that instinct.

Shearer may generally be a poor pundit, but he was a hell of a goalscorer and his short look at where we went wrong today and have done in so many similar matches rang true. The stuff he was talking about wasn't complicated and seemed to me to be coachable. Given how long the problem has been apparent, and given that there seems to be no sign of it changing, it would seem that either its not something that can be easily coached, or we are not coaching it effectively. Potter talks constantly about hard work and improvement, but this is a glaring aspect of our play where we have seen little or no improvement during his time here.

Do you think that we just have the wrong personnel to make the right decisions often enough to consistently hurt good teams in key areas, or do you think that our coaching of attacking situations should be solving the problem?

Weststander · Mar 12, 2022

I watched it too.

He showed incredibly simple final passes in our counter attacks, typically 18 yards out (Liverpool men down), that should’ve been made for imho near certain goals for the recipients.

In the examples March, Maupay and Mac Allister blowing simple killer passes.

Mac Allister’s young and talented enough to evolve.

Bry Nylon · Mar 13, 2022

I don’t have the answers to your questions but I too watched the post- match analysis on MOTD. Whilst the ‘obvious’ ball seems easy when the play is freezed, there’s no getting away from the fact that these weren’t isolated incidents. Every time we created an opportunity the wrong option was chosen, with the ball going sideways or backwards at the critical moment, instead of into an area the forwards could attack.

I’m not sure how easy it is to coach ‘vision’ which is what the issue appears to be. We play some lovely intricate stuff through the middle of the field, then seem to try to replicate that style in the final third when a ball played into a space for a team mate to attack - rather than another short pass to feet - seems to be what’s required.

Obviously, I know nothing - but watching Shearer’s analysis it did seem painfully obvious where the killer ball should have been played, and as you say, he knows a fair bit about what a striker needs to feed off to be successful.

Milano · Mar 13, 2022

Yep, being at the game I’ve got one response to this….

Maupay is shit, end of, shit. If he lined up for the oppo against the Albion would you be remotely concerned? No? Me neither.
Until we address that anything above 15th is a pipe dream.

KZNSeagull · Mar 13, 2022

In that analysis, the March one was poor, the Maupay one was dreadful, the Ali Mac one was understandable since in that split second it was possible he thought Tross was offside, so he chose to keep the move going rather. Ali Mac, Mwepu, Moder, Gross are all capable of killer passes. Adam L is too obviously but he can't make them too easily from the physios office. Am looking forward to seeing Sarmiento and Caicedo. They all need to be given the confidence to take more risks in the final third.

Is one answer simply that our attacking coach is an ex-defender?

Stato · Mar 13, 2022

Milano said:
Yep, being at the game I’ve got one response to this….

Maupay is shit, end of, shit. If he lined up for the oppo against the Albion would you be remotely concerned? No? Me neither.
Until we address that anything above 15th is a pipe dream.

I was at the game too and thought that Maups was one of our best players today.

wellquickwoody · Mar 13, 2022

Milano said:
Yep, being at the game I’ve got one response to this….

Maupay is shit, end of, shit. If he lined up for the oppo against the Albion would you be remotely concerned? No? Me neither.
Until we address that anything above 15th is a pipe dream.

Wow, scathing! And harsh.

But I am inclined to not argue too much. Yes he is up there with x number of goals, but how many has he blown by being indecisive, or too slow, or fluffing his footwork, or as today……backing away from a shooting opportunity. Second half, mid way through, Maupay tried to break from our half, got knocked/pushed off the ball, looked for a foul (not given) and then chased up the field. The ball by now was on our left. got moved across the 18 yard line to the right, tippy tapped a couple of times, and then put back across but inside the box. It would not have been an easy reach, but the ball was there to be hit, Maupay backed away instead as though it was already a lost ball. Maybe not a conscious decision, but not a strikers instinct either.

He scores a few worldies, but cannot do the bread and butter. A luxury we cannot afford. And Potter will not suffer our lack of quality up front for too much longer, let’s hope Undav works out.

wellquickwoody · Mar 13, 2022

Stato said:
I was at the game too and thought that Maups was one of our best players today.

The bar has slipped.

Robinjakarta · Mar 13, 2022

Milano said:
Yep, being at the game I’ve got one response to this….

Maupay is shit, end of, shit.

Not a very nice thing to say about one of our players who always does his best.

Oh, and you're wrong.

BadFish · Mar 13, 2022

I think that we need to address our attacking coaching. It cannot be that all these players can't finish. Something else is being missed.

Of course attacking making can be coached. I have both coached players to improve in this area and been coached to improve myself.

there is a knack for finishing, an ability to stay calm and slow everything down in moments of pressure. However, what this means is that you have time to make the right decision about what you are going to do with the ball. The more options you have been coached with the better chance you have of selecting one that is going to work. Add into this coaching technique of using different parts of your boot to finish, coaching movement so you can get in the right places and be in the right place to finish. Add to this coaching the assist players to play a decent ball into the strikers so they can hit it first time.

I have no doubt that attacking and finishing is coached at the club but something need tweaking in this area. Surely somewhere there is an attacking coach that improves players who would like to come and work at Brighton.

This is more of a priority to me than adding more personnel.

BadFish · Mar 13, 2022

Maupay shouldn't be leading our line and he shouldn't be our main striker.

However he does a lot really well and should be part of our team.

Here's hoping that a Maupay/Undav partnership pays dividends next season (with the addition of a specialised attacking coach - otherwise I fear Undav's goals will dry up)

Deadly Danson · Mar 13, 2022

Final ball, final ball, final ball. I've been banging on about this for ages. The runs are made but one extra touch is always made and the moment is gone. The ball never gets into the box or, by the time it does, the defence is set. March and Lamptey are particular offenders - JUST CROSS IT!!
There was one moment in the first half today when March created a perfect bit of space for a cross but checked back AGAIN, passed back and the ball never came in. It's absolutely a coaching issue. If Potter was this coaching guru he is supposed to be this would have been addressed ages ago because its glaring. What he can't do anything about is the likes of Trossard blazing over when he has to score and he must be tearing his hair out.

BadFish · Mar 13, 2022

Deadly Danson said:
Final ball, final ball, final ball. I've been banging on about this for ages. The runs are made but one extra touch is always made and the moment is gone. The ball never gets into the box or, by the time it does, the defence is set. March and Lamptey are particular offenders - JUST CROSS IT!!
There was one moment in the first half today when March created a perfect bit of space for a cross but checked back AGAIN, passed back and the ball never came in. It's absolutely a coaching issue. If Potter was this coaching guru he is supposed to be this would have been addressed ages ago because its glaring. What he can't do anything about is the likes of Trossard blazing over when he has to score and he must be tearing his hair out.

Potter doesn't like a cross into a dangerous area as it loses us possession. Very frustrating as we seem to be looking for the perfect goalscoring opportunity. As you say though this means that defences get set and packed and we are ****ed because we don't have the quality of player to pick the lock-in that situation.

Our main striker is also short so sticking crosses in might not be the best idea. Although they still don't do it when Welbeck is playing.

Tom Hark Preston Park · Mar 13, 2022

BadFish said:
I think that we need to address our attacking coaching. It cannot be that all these players can't finish. Something else is being missed.

Of course attacking making can be coached. I have both coached players to improve in this area and been coached to improve myself.

there is a knack for finishing, an ability to stay calm and slow everything down in moments of pressure. However, what this means is that you have time to make the right decision about what you are going to do with the ball. The more options you have been coached with the better chance you have of selecting one that is going to work. Add into this coaching technique of using different parts of your boot to finish, coaching movement so you can get in the right places and be in the right place to finish. Add to this coaching the assist players to play a decent ball into the strikers so they can hit it first time.

I have no doubt that attacking and finishing is coached at the club but something need tweaking in this area. Surely somewhere there is an attacking coach that improves players who would like to come and work at Brighton.

This is more of a priority to me than adding more personnel.

Shearer's analysis on MOTD pretty much hit the nail on the head. If the players are open to improvement, they could do a lot worse than replay that segment of analysis and advice over and over again in the privacy of their own training ground and at least try and put it into practice

Tom Hark Preston Park · Mar 13, 2022

Stato said:
I was at the game too and thought that Maups was one of our best players today.

I thought he was lucky to stay on the pitch after his assault on Alisson towards the end

Stat Brother · Mar 13, 2022

I think it's a symptom of players who are pressured into not giving the ball away.
Oblivious of the fact that the.easiest way to beat GPott's Albion is:-

'let them have the ball and take your chance when they present it too you'.

raymondo · Mar 13, 2022

KZNSeagull said:
In that analysis, the March one was poor, the Maupay one was dreadful, the Ali Mac one was understandable since in that split second it was possible he thought Tross was offside, so he chose to keep the move going rather. Ali Mac, Mwepu, Moder, Gross are all capable of killer passes. Adam L is too obviously but he can't make them too easily from the physios office. Am looking forward to seeing Sarmiento and Caicedo. They all need to be given the confidence to take more risks in the final third.

Is one answer simply that our attacking coach is an ex-defender?

I think it's this. Bruno has been good when we were having the quick box to box breaks earlier in the season, with Lamptey and Cucu bombing forward...but it's ridiculous from the club if that is our sole attacking coach option and input. Change is needed.

Deleted member 37369 · Mar 13, 2022

Whilst at the game yesterday the thing that struck me was that the Liverpool players could see the pass that was needed and then they could make that pass with the right accuracy and weight of ball. We just don't manage it in the same way ...

Bry Nylon · Mar 13, 2022

BadFish said:
Potter doesn't like a cross into a dangerous area as it loses us possession. Very frustrating as we seem to be looking for the perfect goalscoring opportunity. As you say though this means that defences get set and packed and we are ****ed because we don't have the quality of player to pick the lock-in that situation.

Our main striker is also short so sticking crosses in might not be the best idea. Although they still don't do it when Welbeck is playing.

We scored a last minute equaliser away at Chelsea when Cucu hung up a first time cross for Welbeck to attack. We scored a last minute equaliser away at West Ham when Lamptey whipped a ball into the middle that Maupay scored from. We also got a late equsliser verses Palace at the Amex when Maupay slid a ball into a dangerous area and a Palace player turned it into his own net. There are probably others that I can't recall right now. Plus there have been good headed goals from corners vs Newcastle (away) and Everton (away) when the ball actually beats the first man or doesn't go short and end up with Sanchez.

So we can and occasionally do it. Which makes it even more frustrating that our preferred option in the final third seems to be to paint pretty triangles on the turf. A bit more focus on the ends and not so much on the means may pay dividends :shrug:

Stat Brother · Mar 13, 2022

heavysoul said:
Whilst at the game yesterday the thing that struck me was that the Liverpool players could see the pass that was needed and then they could make that pass with the right accuracy and weight of ball. We just don't manage it in the same way ...

Holy shit you're right - Liverpool are better than Brighton.

Thanks for the insight.

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[Albion] Decision Making - Coaching

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