Minhosa Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 I thought Merino and Shelvey showed some decent understanding, tbh, and it'll only get better if they start. There will absolutely be games where the two should play together, like. 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.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
astraguy Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 I'm sure once Hemed scored sky said he has now scored past his former club? i don't remember him Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gallowgate Toon Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 I thought Merino and Shelvey showed some decent understanding, tbh, and it'll only get better if they start. There will absolutely be games where the two should play together, like. 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. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minhosa Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 I thought Merino and Shelvey showed some decent understanding, tbh, and it'll only get better if they start. There will absolutely be games where the two should play together, like. 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. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astroblack Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 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. f***ing hate that place. And aye, Merino's pass to Shelvey was absolute quality. Sensational pass it was. Shelvey didn't know whether to pass or shoot. Even though we lost, we looked comfortable on the ball. We brought the game to them. I think a draw would have been nice. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gallowgate Toon Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 I thought Merino and Shelvey showed some decent understanding, tbh, and it'll only get better if they start. There will absolutely be games where the two should play together, like. 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. They had 11 men behind the ball for the last 40 minutes of the game and restricted space really well after going up, tbf. I'm not sure how Rafa thought we were going to open them up enough without someone to aim at and mix the tempo of play up. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minhosa Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 I thought Merino and Shelvey showed some decent understanding, tbh, and it'll only get better if they start. There will absolutely be games where the two should play together, like. 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. They had 11 men behind the ball for the last 40 minutes of the game and restricted space really well after going up, tbf. I'm not sure how Rafa thought we were going to open them up enough without someone to aim at and mix the tempo of play up. It was even the same first half though mate. I've got serious doubts about Perez's ability in that role and Rafa seem's entirely reliant on him at the minute. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Interpolic Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 All of our away games have been similar tbh, fairly even games where we've played pretty well at times but had to absorb some pressure too. Obviously the first goal has won it each time too. Strange how few games we seem to draw under Benitez, would be nice to scrape a point from games like this and Huddersfield but then again we've got 3 points out of 9 on the road so far which is the same we'd have got for drawing all 3. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odear Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 Few thoughts coming away from the game. Although Merino played Shelvey in nicely at one point, he was essentially in the left wing position.. they didn't look compatible as a midfield pairing. Hayden needs to stick to DM work.. he's not box to box and used the ball poorly at various points. Merino class again.. are we making best use of him though? Joselu is going to cost us points with his poor finishing, we got away with it last week but not today. Why did we sign Murphy? If he's not going to oust Atsu, perhaps give him a chance at no.10 instead of Perez. Speaking of which, what's his function? He's trying really hard to put himself about but not sharp on the ball, certainly not influencing anything, no threat on goal. It's hard to criticise the back line.. Lascelles did give away the free kick but it was Merinos lack of concentration at the back which gave them the chance to score. He's not a defender though so can't really say much. Overall Brighton did their homework. Kept it very tight. This one falls on Rafa really. We should have been more positive. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parky Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 Side is missing a No.10 and a real striker it showed today. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
huss9 Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 rafa's refusal to make subs before 70 minutes seems inexplicable given what we were seeing on the pitch. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 rafa's refusal to make subs before 70 minutes seems inexplicable given what we were seeing on the pitch. Shelvey came on after 68. In any case, 25mins is plenty. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveItIfWeBeatU Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 We didn't seem to win anything in the air. The Brighton players seemed a foot taller than our players when jumping for the ball. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixx Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 Just shows how dependent we are on Ritchie delivering the goods. If he's not switched on we're not about to create much. Atsu does try but his end product and his ability to take men on 1v1 is suspect. Ayoze puts in a lot of graft but bears little to no threat. I bet Gayle is very confused about why Joselu gets picked before him and rightly so. Merino yet again cut above the rest on the field. Amazing how he manages to find these small pockets of space when there seems to be no. Hayden has to regain his confidence to be an adequate partner for him. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 No fucker seemed to strike the ball cleanly or with any power at goal today. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Away Day Gadgie Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 I thought we played ok and certainly created enough to get something out of the game. Joselu's miss and our failure to get on the end of a couple of decent balls into the box were crucial, but the way we came out after half time lost us the game i think. Elliott - Looked a bit dodgy on crosses but pulled off a brilliant save to keep us in the game at 1-0. Yedlin - Hit and miss. Not as much attacking threat as i would like but he's still finding his match sharpness i suppose, hoping he has it for Liverpool as we could tear them apart down that side if him and Ritchie click. Lascelles - Did ok but i think he gave away the FK for the goal? Clark - No major problems i can remember. Solid. Mbemba - Did well going forward in the 1st half but could've cost us a goal from a free kick or corner when he didn't attack it. Can't remember him doing much in the 2nd. Merino - Best player on the pitch and should've got MOTM. Hayden - Looked off the pace, i can see why people might want him dropped but i can't see Rafa doing it and i think we might miss his engine if he was. Ritchie - Poor by his recent standards. His set pieces were crap and he made the wrong decision quite a few times. Perez - I feel he's getting better in that position, there was a few occasions where he cleverly found a pocket of space in between the defence and midfield but at the moment his end product is nowhere near good enough. We might aswell perservere with him though since we don't really have another option bar Ritchie IMO. Atsu - Had an off day but had a couple of decent moments. Struggled to beat his man most of the time. Joselu - Not involved much and missed a decent chance. Frustrating game really. Can't stand that Knockaert or that c*** who stamped on Yedlin. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 Merino, on loan from Borussia Dortmund, is a major acquisition, and combined well with Shelvey, a second-half substitute, when Newcastle were besieging Brighton in the last 15 minutes. “They did well when they were playing together. But it depends on the games. Today we changed something and it was good for us,” Benitez said. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Interpolic Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 Agree that Shelvey and Merino looked good together, there's promise there. Thought Dunk was immense for them btw, gobbled everything up in the air. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bimpy474 Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 I thought Clark got bullied today, i don't think he won a header all game and generally got knocked about by Hamad. Not one of his best games, especially for a suicidal pass in our box that Brighton nearly picked up. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbnufc Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 Anyone watching the Sky coverage, was the Hemed stamp brought up after FT? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 I thought Clark got bullied today, i don't think he won a header all game and generally got knocked about by Hamad. Not one of his best games, especially for a suicidal pass in our box that Brighton nearly picked up. Aye, thought he was uncharacteristically average today. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Figures 1-0 Football Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 Anyone watching the Sky coverage, was the Hemed stamp brought up after FT? Aye, pundits said he should expect a ban. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sh74 Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 It looked to me as though when Shelvey came on he was playing more advanced and merino was sitting obviously cos we were chasing the game. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
madras Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 It looked to me as though when Shelvey came on he was playing more advanced and merino was sitting obviously cos we were chasing the game. I thought they were switching a fair bit. Not like taking it in turns but when one was in a better position to come short the other went a bit more advanced. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TK-421 Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 So the MOTD2 Brighton wankfest completely ignored the stamp incident and never even mentioned it??!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now