Player hunt on hold

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Paul McShane had not problems with coming here. So it can be done. It's just that the club's gutless exit from the Championship makes it that bit harder.

 

[Icy Gull]

He had more resources than any other manager since we have been at Withdean and they weren't used well.

You seem to have forgotten that we lost Cullip, Virgo, Currie and Harding so he may have had more resources than any other manager, but no other manager had the heart ripped out of the team whilst in the Championship and then got all the blame because we went down.

Just maybe McGhee thinks that there is enough about the team at this level not to panic buy?

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

I'm not overly concerned about the lack of signings.

We've got plenty of trialists down here and the squad is okay as it is.

Granted we could do with a few additions but we're not in crisis.

The left back looks decent and hopefully if we sign him that'll improve us.

I'm not convinced Brittain will get offered anything in the Championship and reckon we still have a chance of getting him in. Even if we don't Harty and Reid are decent enough.

Up front. Revell, CKR, Jake, Gatting. It's okay. It would be nice to get a proven striker in but I don't think we're desperate and we shouldn't sign someone for the sake of it. If we can get someone to improve the squad, we will. So enjoy the sun and have a cold beer.

Not sure how you can make such a clam about a player you haveseen one in Brittain?

The squad is not good enough - it needs a left back and someone to pull the strings in the middle, and of course a target man.

If Brighton pick up a couple of long term knocks I doubt the squad has enough depth to cover.

 

[Turkey]

Not sure how you can make such a clam about a player you haveseen one in Brittain?

The squad is not good enough - it needs a left back and someone to pull the strings in the middle, and of course a target man.

If Brighton pick up a couple of long term knocks I doubt the squad has enough depth to cover.

Don't understand the Brittain sentence.

Left back. I think we'll get the French guy. If not we have Mayo, Lynch and Rents. Its easy to knock Kerry but he's got lots of experience at left back and is alright.

Revell is quite a presence up front, Gatting can hold it up well. Chippy is fine in midfield. The youth team look decent enough to come in and cover.

It would be nice to get a few players in but I'm not worried.

 

[algie]

Don't understand the Brittain sentence.

Left back. I think we'll get the French guy. If not we have Mayo, Lynch and Rents. Its easy to knock Kerry but he's got lots of experience at left back and is alright.

Revell is quite a presence up front, Gatting can hold it up well. Chippy is fine in midfield. The youth team look decent enough to come in and cover.

It would be nice to get a few players in but I'm not worried.

I am a little worried and i think you should.We are no way good enough to challenge for promotion this year.This could be our first season where relegation or promotion is out of our reach

 

[Turkey]

I am a little worried and i think you should.We are no way good enough to challenge for promotion this year.This could be our first season where relegation or promotion is out of our reach

I disagree. I'm not claiming we will get promotion because there are a lot of teams who are all in with a shout. I do think we are good enough to be there or thereabouts though.

We have two very good goalkeepers for this level and a very good defence (especially if we sign Bagayoko). Our midfield lacked creativity in our last season at this level but we won the play-offs. Hammond now has 2 years of Championship football under his belt, we've got Fruity (better than Jones imo), Jarrett and Cox who can all do well on the wings. One of the strikers has to start banging them in but I think both CKR and Jake are capable of that at this level and Revell seems to be a better McPhee to me so I fancy him to get a few.

 

[British Bulldog]

I disagree. I'm not claiming we will get promotion because there are a lot of teams who are all in with a shout. I do think we are good enough to be there or thereabouts though.

We have two very good goalkeepers for this level and a very good defence (especially if we sign Bagayoko). Our midfield lacked creativity in our last season at this level but we won the play-offs. Hammond now has 2 years of Championship football under his belt, we've got Fruity (better than Jones imo), Jarrett and Cox who can all do well on the wings. One of the strikers has to start banging them in but I think both CKR and Jake are capable of that at this level and Revell seems to be a better McPhee to me so I fancy him to get a few.

2 Good keepers yeah! The rest is hit and hope! we've no spine to the team to mould the rest of the player's around!

I've sat and thought about who will be our dominant defender, controlling midfielder, and our regular goal scorer in the current squad. I'm still thinking. It's just not there!

We have a good squad but we just need a good spine to build them around!

 

[London Irish]

Yeah he might have had the core of the squad at Fulham, But at least he had the pulling power to bring those players to the Withdean.

All managers like to bring players from previous clubs they know they can trust and rely on, But with the exception of McCammon I cant think of many ex McGhee players who have come to the Withdean.

For the simple reason that McGhee managed clubs at a far higher level than Adams, be nice if Robbie Keane could come here but we're a few years away from that yet.

And you're missing the key point about Fulham, it wasn't just that Adams used to be their manager, it was that Fayed was breaking up the team very quickly and thereby creating a lot of players who were both useful in the lower leagues yet homeless - this is not a common occurance.

 

[London Irish]

You are so far out of line it makes me sick... are you a true supporter?... I have supported the club since the mid-70's so I KNOW we are a big club... you, on the other hand, seem to want to knock the club at EVERY available opportunity... now... I may wear rose-tinted spectacles.. I may think our culb is better than it actually is... but at least I recognise that playing for Brighton is a better proposition than playing for a large number of clubs in our current league... the manager, however, seems unable to get the players in that HE says he needs... that is the manager's fault, not the clubs...

This post is utterly incredible.

If you've supported the club since the 1970s, didn't you notice all the way that the Albion's ability to sign players of a certain standard was always dependent of its financial spending power in the transfer market?

It's people like you who believe we can just float free from our currently awful financial circumstances that are just living in a world of wishful thinking - and then you have the cheek to get angry with people who try to remind you of a few financial realities!

If you think we are one of the biggest clubs in League 1, name your criteria for that statement because I just don't see the evidence for that claim.

 

[London Irish]

Steve Coppell. When he joined us he had less time to prepare than McGhee had last season and yet he brought in some useful players. He nearly kept us up, in fact I beleive that if he had the job from the start of that season we would have stayed up.

And Mark McGhee DID keep us up, were you on the moon in 2004-5?

Fact is McGhee is one of the reasons why players won't come here.

Repeating that lie over and over again doesn't make it any less of a total lie.

 

[Icy Gull]

And you're missing the key point about Fulham, it wasn't just that Adams used to be their manager, it was that Fayed was breaking up the team very quickly and thereby creating a lot of players who were both useful in the lower leagues yet homeless - this is not a common occurance.

Adams also had the momentum of coming back to Brighton and the "inevitable" stadium within 2 years. That was the way the club was sold back then and it worked, unfortunately after 8 years and LDC the inevitability of a new stadium does not stand up. In fact it is probably more of a hindrance than a help these days as the end looks no closer than it was when we moved into Withdean, full of hope. We are also in much bigger debt than we were. The only good thing is that despite all the shit of the last few seasons, we are still in the same division as we were when Adams dropped us like a hot potato, is that worth nothing then

It is clear to me why MM has more trouble enticing players here, we are a division above where we were when MA rebuilt his team, we have bigger debts and we have sold all our best players and have only used a fraction of the money received to re-invest. MA was given the 2nd biggest budget in Div 4, didn't have to sell at any stage, and did very well with it. I have no doubts MM would do similarly well if he had the 2nd biggest budget in this division this year.

 

[London Irish]

Is it the club being ultra tight with money?

Or has McGhee got a bad reputation in the game, And players don't want to play for him?

It's an acknowledged fact that the club have little money to spend in the transfer market because of our huge yearly losses and the fact that the only reason why the club is not currently in administration is due to the generosity of the current directors/shareholders. That can all be proven by looking at profit and loss accounts and balance sheets.

Now what scrap of evidence do you have for the slander you repeat in that second par of yours? What source can you quote that will back up your claim of McGhee's "bad reputation" throughout the world of football?

 

[London Irish]

On the tight with money thing, Dick made a point of stating that money was not the problem with Dichio... more eveidence that the problem is MM...

What evidence would that be then?

None in fact, your usual method of total fabrication.

If you were Dichio, would you go to a League 1 club with no ground like the Albion, or a Championship club with a decent set-up like Plymouth?

Are you capable of an honest answer on that, BW?

 

[London Irish]

Spot on, all the financial terms were in place and had been agreed between Dick and the player. He then decides to back out, why? Its because of MM.

Jesus Christ - do you genuinely believe that?

 

[London Irish]

How was Dodd a sucess he was injured most of last season!
Reid yes he has been a success. Currie was a godd deal too.
How was Carole a success, we pay and agent for him, pay his wages he doesn't contribute that much to last season and he goes on free transfer to Leeds!
Frutos, the jury is still out on that one. Not sure about Mc Shane and CKR either.

Not sure about McShane! Yeah, he was only the bloody player of the season!

 

[London Irish]

Our situation has been used to death as an excuse. There are so many other managers who are in much worse positions than MM is in and still perform better than him in the transfer market, e.g. DJ Campbell and Martin Alllen at Brentford.

Why are Brentford in a worse position than us? Other than the fact that they can't find a manager to take them up through the play-offs but we did?

 

[London Irish]

ICoppell made some good signings, and some ropey ones, and when in a position to keep us up, he failed. That's harsh, bearing in mind the handicap he was given to start with, but it was still within him to do it.

And the sad fact is none of Coppell's signings were long-term, except for Leon Knight and his attitude problem.

It would be interesting to see how the gang on here would slate McGhee if he signed players who spent most of their paid Albion careers on treatment tables like Rodger, Blackwell and Roberts.

 

[London Irish]

I think you will find that barring Forest, Bristol City, Swansea and Huddersfield at the moment all the other clubs don't have that much better facilties than we do.

So we have the fifth-best ground in League 1 then? That wonderful athletics track of ours?

Really makes you wonder why we make such a fuss about getting Falmer, don't it?

 

[British Bulldog]

It's an acknowledged fact that the club have little money to spend in the transfer market because of our huge yearly losses and the fact that the only reason why the club is not currently in administration is due to the generosity of the current directors/shareholders. That can all be proven by looking at profit and loss accounts and balance sheets.

Now what scrap of evidence do you have for the slander you repeat in that second par of yours? What source can you quote that will back up your claim of McGhee's "bad reputation" throughout the world of football?

Now how is it I can ask 2 questions and you can give a fair answer to the first one, But you then manage to twist the second one around to the fact I've made a slanderous statement claiming McGhee HAS a bad reputation in the game??

 

[Gerbil]

This thread has now been officially PADDIED.