Why all the grief for the strikers?

[Brighton Mod]

Fair enough. Perhaps we are where we deserve to be, and should simply accept, that as a middling provincial club, on the basis of our resources, we are likely to bounce around in this division most of the time, with a playoff chance now and then along with the odd relegation scrap.

Certainly that's what an analysis of the numbers would suggest. If so, why not enjoy it?

The fictitious 26,000 attendance is where we are and indicative of the spin that emerges from the club. I would like to feel that our fan base is decently educated and informed on the game, sometimes the diatribe that is posted on the web or eminates from the club is laughable. FFP is a smokescreen and the signing of replacements has been poor, this includes a manger who has never managed in this country let alone the Championship. The whole team set up feels second rate to me, i'll still go and support the team, but feel that the club are not being straight with us. By the way £81 + VAT for dinner in the 1901 is risible, see how far £96 goes on a meal in Brighton!

 

[LamieRobertson]

Don't forget Calde on the right in acres of space never receiving the ball . The manager should either a) stop Bennett and Calde from going there or b) demand that the other players show an IQ higher than their shoe size, look up occasionally and give the wide players the damn ball!

Agreed...although he did receive it on one occasion yesterday ..good low cross which picked out Gardner in the box who spurned a good chance...which made me wonder why Calde wasn't given more opportunities after!

 

[Lifelong Supporter]

we sell off our best players - we bring in cheap re-placements with no pre-season experiance - then wonder why we are near the relagation zone - albion fans deserve better.

This view has a fair bit going for it.

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

Can we lay off the strikers please.

Seriously can you not see that square pegs will not fit in round holes.

It's happened every season at the Amex, we play one isolated striker, give them no ammo, and then wonder why they don't score goals.

CMS and Baldock are about as much a lone striker as Katie Price is a scientist.

Baldock had one chance yesterday and fluffed his lines. If this was one of ten chances, no one would care. But it was the only proper chance he had. The bloke needs confidence, that will come with goals. One chance a game, is not going to bring that.

Some are calling for target men up front. Leo played that role last season, and it didn't suit him as much as it won't suit CMS or Baldock, or O'Grady or anyone else for that matter.

It would be no different if we had you 6ft 6 giants up front and then played balls in behind the defense for them to run onto. They equally would not be suited to that style.

So please, get off the strikers back. If there is anyone to blame, its the manager, who whilst might be a nice bloke is painfully out of his depth here.

When he came in he said he will suit the style of play to the players he has. That painfully is not happening.

CMS and Baldock will score for fun in this division. All we need to do is supply the Ammo, and until we do they will struggle.

But the strikers are woeful !

We sell a 1 goal every 2 Championship games HERO, and invest just a fraction of the fee in absolute dross.

 

[Machiavelli]

I think we just aren't giving the strikers anything to work with. We have midfielders that are all too similar, or where they are different, they are too predictable.

Apologies. I will continue to reserve judgment on Baldock, and from what I've seen thus far he has a few more qualities than HKFC allows (on this, I've set these out in post 24), but your argument I find astounding: check out the number of chances we've created this season -- go on, have a look at the BBC website and have a look at how many attempts we've had in our games -- and what we have is one, ONE, goal by our out-and-out forwards in 12 games. We've had far too many attempts off target, the movement and/or positional sense of our forwards isn't working which Bennett, for instance, has been far more effective at. And they're not clinical. Look at Middlesborough, for just one instance, two presentable chances, two goals. And look at their forwards: Kike, Vossen, Bamford and Tomlin.

 

[portslade seagull]

Can we lay off the strikers please.

Seriously can you not see that square pegs will not fit in round holes.

It's happened every season at the Amex, we play one isolated striker, give them no ammo, and then wonder why they don't score goals.

CMS and Baldock are about as much a lone striker as Katie Price is a scientist.

Baldock had one chance yesterday and fluffed his lines. If this was one of ten chances, no one would care. But it was the only proper chance he had. The bloke needs confidence, that will come with goals. One chance a game, is not going to bring that.

Some are calling for target men up front. Leo played that role last season, and it didn't suit him as much as it won't suit CMS or Baldock, or O'Grady or anyone else for that matter.

It would be no different if we had you 6ft 6 giants up front and then played balls in behind the defense for them to run onto. They equally would not be suited to that style.

So please, get off the strikers back. If there is anyone to blame, its the manager, who whilst might be a nice bloke is painfully out of his depth here.

When he came in he said he will suit the style of play to the players he has. That painfully is not happening.

CMS and Baldock will score for fun in this division. All we need to do is supply the Ammo, and until we do they will struggle.

Not good enough I'm afraid, strikers also need to create there own chances this lot just don't look capable

 

[Silk]

Apologies. I will continue to reserve judgment on Baldock, and from what I've seen thus far he has a few more qualities than HKFC allows (on this, I've set these out in post 24), but your argument I find astounding: check out the number of chances we've created this season -- go on, have a look at the BBC website and have a look at how many attempts we've had in our games -- and what we have is one, ONE, goal by our out-and-out forwards in 12 games. We've had far too many attempts off target, the movement and/or positional sense of our forwards isn't working which Bennett, for instance, has been far more effective at. And they're not clinical. Look at Middlesborough, for just one instance, two presentable chances, two goals. And look at their forwards: Kike, Vossen, Bamford and Tomlin.

The argument wasn't about the "number of shots we've had" though, was it? It was about the number of chances our strikers have had. I don't go to every game, but I don't think they've had that many.

 

[Tubby-McFat-Fuc]

Not good enough I'm afraid, strikers also need to create there own chances this lot just don't look capable

THat is such a park football comment.

Okay, so how would you suggest our strikers create their own chances then?

 

[Tubby-McFat-Fuc]

Apologies. I will continue to reserve judgment on Baldock, and from what I've seen thus far he has a few more qualities than HKFC allows (on this, I've set these out in post 24), but your argument I find astounding: check out the number of chances we've created this season -- go on, have a look at the BBC website and have a look at how many attempts we've had in our games -- and what we have is one, ONE, goal by our out-and-out forwards in 12 games. We've had far too many attempts off target, the movement and/or positional sense of our forwards isn't working which Bennett, for instance, has been far more effective at. And they're not clinical. Look at Middlesborough, for just one instance, two presentable chances, two goals. And look at their forwards: Kike, Vossen, Bamford and Tomlin.

You speak of presentable chances. How many of our shots have been good chances. How many have been from Lua Lua or from another midfilder shooting high and wide from 25 yards? I think if you are going to use the "check out the number of chances we've created this season" line, I think you need to break them down. I've no doubt we have created more chances, but that doesn't start to tell the story

 

[Silk]

You speak of presentable chances. How many of our shots have been good chances. How many have been from Lua Lua or from another midfilder shooting high and wide from 25 yards? I think if you are going to use the "check out the number of chances we've created this season" line, I think you need to break them down. I've no doubt we have created more chances, but that doesn't start to tell the story

Exactly.

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

I think some of the blame has to be laid at Burke's door (and yes I know he, together with Gus brought in Ulloa, so it works both ways)

COG needs someone to play with up front. So does Baldock. So does Colunga.

Yet we buy strikers who need to play with a partner up front, in the knowledge we only ever play one up front. Even at home.

 

[1066familyman]

Can we lay off the strikers please.

Seriously can you not see that square pegs will not fit in round holes.

It's happened every season at the Amex, we play one isolated striker, give them no ammo, and then wonder why they don't score goals.

CMS and Baldock are about as much a lone striker as Katie Price is a scientist.

Baldock had one chance yesterday and fluffed his lines. If this was one of ten chances, no one would care. But it was the only proper chance he had. The bloke needs confidence, that will come with goals. One chance a game, is not going to bring that.

Some are calling for target men up front. Leo played that role last season, and it didn't suit him as much as it won't suit CMS or Baldock, or O'Grady or anyone else for that matter.

It would be no different if we had you 6ft 6 giants up front and then played balls in behind the defense for them to run onto. They equally would not be suited to that style.

So please, get off the strikers back. If there is anyone to blame, its the manager, who whilst might be a nice bloke is painfully out of his depth here.

When he came in he said he will suit the style of play to the players he has. That painfully is not happening.

CMS and Baldock will score for fun in this division. All we need to do is supply the Ammo, and until we do they will struggle.

History shows us quite clearly that CMS and Baldock will most likely not score for fun in this division.

Make all the arguments you like about us not playing to their strengths. I'm not particularly going to disagree with you there. Although it's still not quite that simple.

But take their previous Championship and League One records and it's quite clear what division their level is. CMS in particular had the same supporting cast around him in The Championship as he did in League One too, in the shape of Boyd an McLean.

Strangest thing of all is when people put all their trust in Baldock and dismiss COG. In fact, COG has the the best Championship record of the lot of the them! And he's not a clone of the other two either.

Sorry, but I think you're flogging a dead horse.

 

[1066familyman]

THat is such a park football comment.

Okay, so how would you suggest our strikers create their own chances then?

With a decent first touch for starters!

 

[dibsy]

I thought COG looked a bit iffy first game he played this season, but since seeing the others I think he is currently our best striker

 

[LamieRobertson]

I thought COG looked a bit iffy first game he played this season, but since seeing the others I think he is currently our best striker

until recently he had only started 2 league games (the first 2) and tbh everyone looked iffy in those games!

 

[Machiavelli]

You speak of presentable chances. How many of our shots have been good chances. How many have been from Lua Lua or from another midfilder shooting high and wide from 25 yards? I think if you are going to use the "check out the number of chances we've created this season" line, I think you need to break them down. I've no doubt we have created more chances, but that doesn't start to tell the story

Fair play to most of this. But not all. We've had plenty of presentable chances, and many half-/quarter-chances, that our forwards simply aren't tucking away. It's ONE goal they've mustered this season. That tells a pretty clear story.

 

[Tubby-McFat-Fuc]

History shows us quite clearly that CMS and Baldock will most likely not score for fun in this division.

Make all the arguments you like about us not playing to their strengths. I'm not particularly going to disagree with you there. Although it's still not quite that simple.

But take their previous Championship and League One records and it's quite clear what division their level is. CMS in particular had the same supporting cast around him in The Championship as he did in League One too, in the shape of Boyd an McLean.

Strangest thing of all is when people put all their trust in Baldock and dismiss COG. In fact, COG has the the best Championship record of the lot of the them! And he's not a clone of the other two either.

Sorry, but I think you're flogging a dead horse.

But CMS was in a struggling team. Baldock was in a struggling team. COG was in a struggling team. They all got relegated. We should not be struggling along the likes of Peterborough, Barnsley and Bristol City. We just had back to back play offs, and with the exception of Leo, I think the squad is as strong as it was last season. He's a big loss, but he's not that much of a loss as some would try and make out.

Tony Bloom promised us a squad capable of promotion. I think he has just about delivered this. But what he has failed to deliver is a manager capable of getting the best out of the squad..... AGAIN!

It was music to my ears when Sami said pre-season he will adjust the tactics to suit the squad. But he is no different to Oscar, or Poyet. This is the way I play, bollocks if it doesn't suit the players, we'll stick with it. It cost us promotion under Poyet, it nearly cost us our sanity watching the shit Oscar's team turned out, and now it could cost us our Championship status, because to me yesterday, Hyppia looked lost and completely devoid of ideas.

 

[symyjym]

But CMS was in a struggling team. Baldock was in a struggling team. COG was in a struggling team. They all got relegated. We should not be struggling along the likes of Peterborough, Barnsley and Bristol City. We just had back to back play offs, and with the exception of Leo, I think the squad is as strong as it was last season. He's a big loss, but he's not that much of a loss as some would try and make out.

Tony Bloom promised us a squad capable of promotion. I think he has just about delivered this. But what he has failed to deliver is a manager capable of getting the best out of the squad..... AGAIN!

It was music to my ears when Sami said pre-season he will adjust the tactics to suit the squad. But he is no different to Oscar, or Poyet. This is the way I play, bollocks if it doesn't suit the players, we'll stick with it. It cost us promotion under Poyet, it nearly cost us our sanity watching the shit Oscar's team turned out, and now it could cost us our Championship status, because to me yesterday, Hyppia looked lost and completely devoid of ideas.

 

[GreersElbow]

Too narrow under Sammi? under Poyet we saw Bridge on the left in acres of space never receiving the ball, then under Oscar we had Ward on the left in acres of space never receiving the ball and now under Sammi we have Bennett on the left in acres of space never receiving the ball, where we sit we're all chipping in to buy the left back a seat, thus we push our left back up in space never use him and then get him caught out of position!!

Your point being? We're still narrow because of this, go look at the 'goal analysis' thread, they're caught out of position because they're expected to go forward. As you point out, they don't receive the ball when in the acres of space our wingers could be in, therefore allowing our fall backs to fulfil their defensive duties.

 

[Psychobilly freakout]

Surely Tony Bloom deserves better for his £200 million?

200 million yes, but not 200 million on the squad big difference.