Minhosa

Today is no catastrophy clearly. It's a shame it wasn't us that won it as I think it'd be quite close to one for Brighton tbqh. As it is, I'm very disappointed to miss out on a point against a really poor team. My next game is Southampton away and I said to my sons today as we left the Amex that I think that game might suit us a bit more as Saint's will be expecting to win and will therefore come at us.

Interesting that Rafa played Merino the further forwards of the pair. May have just been me, but it looked like Shelvey had put a small amount of weight back on. He certainly didn't look as slim as the Spurs game/preseason.... I liked how they were interchanging positions. You could see as soon as Shelvey came on that they got players to stick to him, having someone who could fill the role and take some heat off him was actually nice to see. Just a shame that neither had more direct targets to consistently play towards. Agree - we looked pretty anonymous in the final third. That's what you get much of the time with Perez though.

Him and Perez have yet to form an understanding and Perez was way too deep today, especially first half. There was a very obvious gap of 20-30ft nearly all first half. I felt a bit for Joselu because he barely had the chance to get involved or to link up/use his strength which appears his ability to hold up and connect the dots in attack. He was cold when the chance came because he'd done fuck all else all game up to that point. He should've scored, no excuses. Gayle certainly would have.

Interesting that Rafa played Merino the further forwards of the pair. May have just been me, but it looked like Shelvey had put a small amount of weight back on. He certainly didn't look as slim as the Spurs game/preseason....

Also, not sure if it was clear from the TV, but Hayden started the game all taped up so clearly he's got some muscle issues and/or he's carrying something minor. Our fans were pretty quiet today and very surprised that they didn't give Timmy Krul an airing.

Just back from the game. I live fairly close to Brighton. I've not read any of this thread/this place nor seen any coverage but, having been there, I thought we deserved a point and certainly didnt think they'd done enough to take all 3. Merino was the best player on the pitch, first half in particular. Everything came through him. If anything, Brighton seemed to out-Rafa us, in that they were compact, organised and very deep. Not sure if you guys saw it on TV but there was a ball from Merino to Shelvey around the 83 minute mark which was phenomenal. Indicating that Merino will find him if they're playing together. I thought Perez was awful first half and Joselu looks like he needs a spell out of the side too. Gayle would've had two today. Atsu had Bruno on toast in the 1st half so should have been used more and more. 3 Times for me now at the Amex and three 1-0 defeats. Fucking hate that place.

Someone should revive the HBA 'Hope' banner and stick Rafa's mug on there.

I had that - quality.

Elliot is nailed on to have a mare and this guy a blinder.

Part of that is down to the players not being that great to start with. Shelvey has a great eye for a pass, but he's not great when we don't have the ball. If he was I think he'd be in for Hayden. Yeah but they weren't that great under Pardew, McClaren or Charver either but they rarely dropped the 'purples'. It's the sense of entitlement he seems to have knocked out of them, which is admirable.

I love that this guy hasn't just waltzed straight back into the team. One of the biggest things Rafa has done is create a competitive environment where nobody is guaranteed a spot.

Yeah - Pretty sure you do.

Nah - that's definetely right. Back in the early premiership days, they were hardly given any real kudos. Top scorers were where it was at. Hardly anywhere near the level of statistical analysis that is done now and we're still miles behind many American sports for it. :shrug: I remember it completely differently tbh. Or at least creativity and chance creation was massively lauded. Just off the top of my head I remember Cantona, Giggs, Beardsley, Ripley, McManaman, Le Tissier being singled out as being big deals because of their creativity, chance creation, assists, whatever you want to call it. There's a possibility that it really started to become a bigger deal when Beckham was putting it on a plate and became much more a part of goals than the actual goalscorer, but I don't think it was ever ignored. Aye - lauded for being good players/providers or whatever but never in the form of '10 goals and 18 assists last season, Stuart Ripley is amongst the most productive in Europe, whose return was only bettered by xxx at Barcelona'. It may not have been ignored but it was never really presented in a statistical form or even talked about in that way imho.

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Nah - that's definetely right. Back in the early premiership days, they were hardly given any real kudos. Top scorers were where it was at. Hardly anywhere near the level of statistical analysis that is done now and we're still miles behind many American sports for it.

Pardew actually made them worse players. He did. I think there can perhaps be a case for Cabaye being improved but he actually started really well and maintained that, allowing for up's and down's of form, throughout. If you had to give Pardew something then he enabled a good transition into British football though, I guess. That's being generous. What Rafa has done with so many others is marvellous. The difference a genuine coach makes is night and day. The difference is so stark because not only have we had some of the worst managers in PL history recently, but Rafa is also one of the best coaches in the world. Yes - it's funny though, that Pardew effectively blagged a 5th place finish, and the best Rafa may ever do here is 14th or something but the value of Rafa's ability to polish a cumulative turd is absolutely vast. Pardew with this bunch would take them down. Rafa, with this bunch over a period of time, could probably get them top half consistently just through organisation. How Ashley can't see that or be able to place a value on that astounds me. I mean, he literally pays for himself, in the extra places he'll grab us in the league table. Even if Pardew, Allardyce, Warnock or whoever kept us up at fourth bottom, Rafa would probably have us in 13th/14th by comparison this effectively working for free through the extra ££££££££'s in finishing spots.

Pardew actually made them worse players. He did. I think there can perhaps be a case for Cabaye being improved but he actually started really well and maintained that, allowing for up's and down's of form, throughout. If you had to give Pardew something then he enabled a good transition into British football though, I guess. That's being generous. What Rafa has done with so many others is marvellous. The difference a genuine coach makes is night and day.

I remember constantly moaning about how Pardew never ever developed/improved a player. I genuinely can't think of a better manager we've had for improving players technically than Rafa. Sir Bobby and KK were very good at creating a positive environment which many players flourished in but neither were as good as Rafa in polishing very rough diamonds. Love this guy.

What's he on now? about 5?

6 weeks apparently.

Mate of mine is a Brighton fan and he emailed today to say he watched the game at the weekend and thought Merino was a revelation. Couldn't believe the deal we'd got when he looked it up.

On the TV it looked like Mawson hardly jumped but he's actually got up ok it's just Jamaal's run and leap that's killed him. Incredible height there. Sir Lesley-esque.

Exactly - and you've seen where the policy has got us. Relegated twice. I'd hasten a guess that Rafa thought he had a greater budget left than he actually had as Murphy was fairly early in the window from memory.

I agree that Perez has had a couple of games completely pass him by and isn't looking great but I'd have serious reservations over whether Atsu would have the positional discipline to play at 10. I'd have Merino there ahead of Atsu personally. I'd also try Shelvey there.

My gut feel is that he'll come good but I'm struggling to see the logic in investing such a large portion of our transfer budget in a player with potential when we're playing in such a demanding league in terms of 'results now'. I trust in him to work hard though especially given his affinity with the club, it would matter more to him, you'd think. On a general note, you have to say that Rafa has signed some really solid characters. He's not taken any chances with the squad morale by taking a risk on a tosser or two. Murphy, Merino, Ritchie, even Murphy last season, Yedlin etc etc etc are all good lads. I guess Lazaar was the only slight exception but I'm sure he'd have been fine if he'd had more games.