Brighton vs Crystal Palace match thread

[JHB]

Whatever people think about whether Sage should go, should stay, whose fault it all is and so it is clear he is now managing for his job in the next four games if he gets that long.

If we keep conceding goals at the rate of over three a game he is gone by the international break. It’s that simple.

 

[daven]

Sage hasn't done anything to suggest that he can make the players that we have organised. He will be gone TODAY.

 

[Jameston88]

The defensive coach? I have to be honest I see only problems no solutions.

Something isn’t right at the club. They all looked miserable in the team photo.

Paddy got a yellow card today,which proves at least he has some passion.
I don't agree with Howe as he already turned us down once.
I didn't think that I'd ever say this, but I think you need someone like Sean Dyche to sort out our defence in particular and the entire team in general.

 

[BromleyMonkey]

Does anyone think we would be in this mess if we still had Lacroix?
His generalship covered many of our shortcomings last season and we miss him greatly.

We need a leader and it's not Wharton (who had a paricularly poor game today)
Henderson is our supposed captain but we need a leader on the field and I see no candidates for this vital position.
One thing is for sure - we and the management need a rethink, and quickly!

I did make this point about guehi and LaCroix, sometimes it’s just about the quality of players and not the tactics. Selling our best players has clearly caught up with us, even though I know why we have to do it and where we are as a club the impact of it is showing now when we’re up against premier league opposition

 

[Talvlad]

Back to hoping there are three worst teams ... standard

Two worse teams this season probs.

Can Roy manage the first halves for us?

 

[TheBigToePunt]

I blame the board for this predictable thrashing.

Selling Guehi, Lacroix and Muñoz within six months, what did they expect? And this happening when they knew that Mateta and Sarr were looking to leave.

If we had the same manager and coaching staff, we might have got away with it, but with a new regime and the loss of our best forwards and the goalkeeper captain, we were always going to nosedive.

We might improve up front with players returning, but our defence is the real problem. It is hopeless right now.
Sage will have lost friends with this result and I think he will have till the end of November to sort it out or he will be replaced before Christmas. The board won't sack themselves, so he will carry the can.

I agree with all of this, especially the importance of succession planning. My only reservation is that we don't really know why the club sold la croix and Munoz in the summer. Some reports suggest it's to cover us for FFP, in which case it is perhaps more understandable. If it was by choice then it might be a fatal mistake, whoever is in the dugout.

 

[JHB]

Does anyone think we would be in this mess if we still had Lacroix?
His generalship covered many of our shortcomings last season and we miss him greatly.

We need a leader and it's not Wharton (who had a paricularly poor game today)
Henderson is our supposed captain but we need a leader on the field and I see no candidates for this vital position.
One thing is for sure - we and the management need a rethink, and quickly!

Yes. We would still be in this mess. Conceding as a team isn’t as simple as having one more good defender. It’s about the whole team and the tactics. Our tactics leave us wildly exposed. The midfielders are pushed up and so are the wingbacks. That leaves the back three constantly exposed and is why we are conceding so many goals and so many chances. Maybe Lacroix covers one or two of those chances but we’d still be a mess defensively. It’s a tactical issue more than being down to poor individual play.

 

[doombear]

But we are the worst defense and that is getting worse, not better. We conceded 23 goals in 7 league games. More than 3 a game! No manager can survive that sort of ineptitude for long especially when we can see a lot of it stems directly from his tactics

No we haven't - we've conceded 17 in 7 league games. That's not much confort as it's still the worst in the division, and we have the joint worst negative goal difference.

 

[JHB]

I did make this point about guehi and LaCroix, sometimes it’s just about the quality of players and not the tactics. Selling our best players has clearly caught up with us, even though I know why we have to do it and where we are as a club the impact of it is showing now when we’re up against premier league opposition

It is possible it is both. For me the criminal thing was selling Munoz having sold Lacroix. Getting rid of that experience and energy was bonkers. Khalali has struggled badly.

What I know is Sage can’t fix the quality of the players but he can fix the tactics. He isn’t.

 

[BigGcpfc]

Back to hoping there are three worst teams ... standard

At this very moment I don't think there are 3 worse teams.

 

[Willo]

the chopping and changing of the back three, rank bad defending and keep giving the ball away doesn’t help

Richards plays in the middle when his best position is out on the right.
Today Canvot who is used to playing on the left was deployed on the right to accommodate the very inexperienced Ahanor introduced into the fray in a 'Derby' game.
From my perspective, Lerma should have started down the right.
These are decisions made by Pierre Sage who seems lost on the touchline.

 

[JHB]

No we haven't - we've conceded 17 in 7 league games. That's not much confort as it's still the worst in the division, and we have the joint worst negative goal difference.

Apologies you are correct

 

[eritheagle]

I think sage is gone tomorrow!!

 

[Save Dwindlehurst]

We got away with it against Nottm Forest who simply never converted their chances.
We conceded 3 at Lyon and now 5 at Brighton.
I have reached the stage whereby I am expecting our team to concede a plethora of goals and Besiktas will be looking forward to playing us.
We look a total mess at the back, we are getting overrun in midfield and are totally disorganised across the pitch.We look a sorry sight.

I’m afraid I’m coming round to your way of thinking Willo…..

 

[Adrift]

Calm down ladies, we were never going to win this one. They thrashed the Arse off The Arse last week, they are clearly on a roll.

Yes, there's definitely something wrong with the defence, pretty disorganized, they don't seem to understand their job, I would expect better from seasoned Championship players. Positioning, marking, organizing from the CF, leadership. I don't see the midfield defending the backline either. Surely Sage will be shining the spotlight on the defensive coach, oh they don't have anyone with specific responsibility.

I see that as structural flaw that needs immediate attention.

Sage won't be getting the tin tack this side of the international break as long as they aren't in the relegation zone.

One thing I don't like is public criticism of players, you only get the best out of people if you treat them with respect and that isn't it.

Finally, I have posted before.

 

[Plaistow Eagle]

I blame the board for this predictable thrashing.

Selling Guehi, Lacroix and Muñoz within six months, what did they expect? And this happening when they knew that Mateta and Sarr were looking to leave.

If we had the same manager and coaching staff, we might have got away with it, but with a new regime and the loss of our best forwards and the goalkeeper captain, we were always going to nosedive.

We might improve up front with players returning, but our defence is the real problem. It is hopeless right now.
Sage will have lost friends with this result and I think he will have till the end of November to sort it out or he will be replaced before Christmas. The board won't sack themselves, so he will carry the can.

Very good post - Parish equally culpable..!!

 

[MarkA333]

There are two things,
1 we don’t have Guehi. Olise, Eze and Lacroix. Amongst the best players in our side.
2 we replaced them with Brennan and JSL. And nobody near as good.
And we have a manager who makes our good players look bad.
ANSWER?

 

[highbury eagle]

Howe..!!

and Whye

 

[Plaistow Eagle]

There are two things,
1 we don’t have Guehi. Olise, Eze and Lacroix. Amongst the best players in our side.
2 we replaced them with Brennan and JSL. And nobody near as good.
And we have a manager who makes our good players look bad.
ANSWER?

Parish..!!

 

[Willo]

It is possible it is both. For me the criminal thing was selling Munoz having sold Lacroix. Getting rid of that experience and energy was bonkers. Khalali has struggled badly.

What I know is Sage can’t fix the quality of the players but he can fix the tactics. He isn’t.

To my mind, Munoz was not the player of old after his injury.
Khalaili has not been impressive and Mingueza has hardly had our supporters in raptures.
I have had informed gentlemen raising questions about our summer recruitment and I for one, in the main, share their views.