BrickTop

Oh I agree. Whilst it may solve one issue defensively it just creates a different one. The hole our midfield leaves in front of the defense currently is an alarming issue that needs resolving though.

When Botman is back I think Eddie will stick with 433 and return Burn to LB. He's limited there but allows Botman to step up and cut out passing lanes left open when our midfield presses high centrally. Getting Botman back to his pre-injury form is so important if we're to continue with Eddie's current approach.

Gutted about this. Willock is very dangerous on the transition and played a big part in our counter attacking tactics during the 22-23 season. Hopefully he's back soon.

This will be tricky. Long way to travel and these have been a bit of a bogey team of late. Keep it tight and if we can get Gordon in the game I'm hoping we can nick it. We'll need Burn to follow up on last week with another good show and hopefully Joelinton bang up for an away day battle.

When he starts up front it's like we're playing 3-4-2-0. The only contribution he makes is winning aerial duels and constantly trying to find space, even then though he almost never finds a teammate and just ends up giving possession away.

Thought he was quite lively today, unlucky to be wrongfully ruled offside when he was through on goal in the second half. If he was playing with Yedlin instead of Manq today we might have seen a bit more output.

Perez is mint.

The save just before the disallowed goal was fantastic. Saved us at the end.

Hello darkness, my old friend.

He seems to be hogging the ball a lot more so far this season. Not completed a single pass this half...

Did he feature much at the World Cup? I've got him as 1 start and 1 sub at a glance...

amirite in assuming you can get tickets for our end on the gate tonight?

Sent £2. 49 please if its stil available?

How many penalties have Brighton had this season?

I for one would love nothing more than to get a smash in the face from a Matt Ritchie celebration corner flag.

Not sure it’s even the approach, it’s the confidence. This counter attacking approach can work (West Ham at home) but we look too nervous to complete a pass if we’re not a goal up after 20 minutes at home.

Gayle has been infuriating, doesn’t even look like scoring. Last season he gets that header on target at least. His passing is sloppy and he’s not pressing with the rest. Other than Ydelin leaving their fullback as usual I can’t really complain.

Would like to see Perez start again but have a feeling Rafa might be seeing him as an away match starter (Luton aside, obviously.) personally I’d start Perez with Joselu and Shelvey/Merino alongside Diame. Also the same back line that started the cup tie as they’re the most in-form 4 for me.

So much for the fierce rivalry...

Think Perez has been ace. Some intelligent play and won a surprising amount in the air too.

Watched the 11/12 season review recently. The winning run surrounding that game was probably the peak of the Pardew era. What his 'tactics' can bring if everything else magically falls into place.

It was painful to watch how terrified we look on the ball. Last 10 minutes nobody even wanted to receive a throw. Yedlin was absolutely diabolic with the ball at his feet unless he had acres of open pitch ahead of him. They all looked petrified of losing possession. As a side note: Can anybody explain the thought behind substituting Ritchie for Perez other than Ritchie playing as poorly as everyone else?

If only Gayle had left it for Merino. I’ll be thinking about what could have been all week.

It's never coming

Any idea why Gayle barely celebrates a lot of the time?