Brighton Verdict

[Glow69]

I do wonder if giving Fraser 15 mins may have helped, given his goal last Tuesday.

Couldn't see him getting much look against Dunk, Webster and Hecke at this time seeing as physicallity his main trait he isn't going to give them much issue yet.

 

[Black Country Wanderer]

I do wonder if giving Fraser 15 mins may have helped, given his goal last Tuesday.

I think that was the plan going on GONs post match interview
He said he wanted to get Neto off after 75 minutes, but he was causing so many problems he had to keep him on longer, then it was about holding on at the end i guess

 

[wwbug]

So we have 8 forward players for 3 places? Bit overkill

All of them are not being used to their strengths that is the big issue for me.
The frontline yesterday Cunha , Sarabia and Neto are all top class playmakers or assisters, and can assists all day , but they need to assist a focal point . Just my opinion and I believe it’s the opinion of GON and others as they are looking for this.
Fraser could be that man but not yet

 

[Sussex Wolf]

Great point. What a journey. From final whistle we had to queue for over 50 mins to catch train to Brighton, wait 20 mins for 3 minute train. To Hove, and another 10m…. Took 2h 20 to travel on 4 trains the 15m to Lancing (son’s house). Takes me 1h45 from final whistle to home in Cotswolds. Why would ANYONE be Brighton STH??!!

The stadium itself is fine, with decent facilities, albeit lacking in any atmosphere which is not helped by not having a “home end” behind the goal to concentrate what (little) passionate support they have. But the location is awful. It’s great you get free train travel within the local area, so for local Brighton fans, it makes for a cheaper day out. But the lack of any parking within walking distance forces the majority of 30k fans to a small train station and services which can’t handle peak. Had they built a large park&ride car park nearby, with direct access to the A23, then it would have definitely improved transport after the games. But it’s a Green Party council there, so that’s not happening.

A tip for any Wolves fans going there by car in future, is to park at the station in Lewes to the east of Falmer. The short train ride from Lewes to Falmer is also free to those with a match ticket, and the queues at Falmer station heading east are shorter than those heading into Brighton. A number of Brighton fans park at Lewes station for that reason, and there are plenty of restaurants and pubs in Lewes if you want to eat and drink before or after the game.

 

[JR WAS KING]

Tactically..spot on...is there anyone on here not on the GON bus yet ? Will be fascinating what he can do with the players he wants in the Summer and a full preseason

Loppers. He still dislikes him because he agreed to join us.

 

[wolvesjoe]

The stadium itself is fine, with decent facilities, albeit lacking in any atmosphere which is not helped by not having a “home end” behind the goal to concentrate what (little) passionate support they have. But the location is awful. It’s great you get free train travel within the local area, so for local Brighton fans, it makes for a cheaper day out. But the lack of any parking within walking distance forces the majority of 30k fans to a small train station and services which can’t handle peak. Had they built a large park&ride car park nearby, with direct access to the A23, then it would have definitely improved transport after the games. But it’s a Green Party council there, so that’s not happening.

A tip for any Wolves fans going there by car in future, is to park at the station in Lewes to the east of Falmer. The short train ride from Lewes to Falmer is also free to those with a match ticket, and the queues at Falmer station heading east are shorter than those heading into Brighton. A number of Brighton fans park at Lewes station for that reason, and there are plenty of restaurants and pubs in Lewes if you want to eat and drink before or after the game.

Its an odd stadium, which finds it quite difficult to generate any real noise.

Brighton, where I lived for many years, has some real hardcore fans, and have now attracted a whole new generation of fans in a growing and prosperous area. But they are let down and held back by the oddity of the stadium. Planning regulations probably means that it cannot really be expanded beyond a few hundred seats, but the lack of atmosphere is something more integral to design and location.

Having said that the beer, (Harveys), and the pies are sublime, and the concourses are superb. Parking in Lewes is a good idea, esp for away fans, but the local trains are sort of part of the weird experience of a Brighton home game. And excellent pubs await in the city centre.

It always makes me think of how lucky Wolves fans are to have a city centre location, with enough space to make a really impressive design. And how unlucky we have been with Fosun's small-time vision for the club.

 

[Ned]

Its an odd stadium, which finds it quite difficult to generate any real noise.

Brighton, where I lived for many years, has some real hardcore fans, and have now attracted a whole new generation of fans in a growing and prosperous area. But they are let down and held back by the oddity of the stadium. Planning regulations probably means that it cannot really be expanded beyond a few hundred seats, but the lack of atmosphere is something more integral to design and location.

Having said that the beer, (Harveys), and the pies are sublime, and the concourses are superb. Parking in Lewes is a good idea, esp for away fans, but the local trains are sort of part of the weird experience of a Brighton home game. And excellent pubs await in the city centre.

It always makes me think of how lucky Wolves fans are to have a city centre location, with enough space to make a really impressive design. And how unlucky we have been with Fosun's small-time vision for the club.

Agree with the stadium. The food and drink options are great and the away experience is also very decent - we were chatting about how awful an experience it must be for away fans at our place in comparison.

The stadium is more for spectators than fans, if that makes any sense. End end opposite the away fans could do with going back further and having much more rows of seats rather than a brick wall behind a small crowd, there’s really no thought to the atmosphere in the design of the stadium. No real home end.

I’m biased as I live 1h45m drive away on a good day (2 and a bit yesterday) but I always enjoy this away day. What I would say is that I would never take advantage of their parking/public transfer offerings. We did it once and never again; especially the train, just get a parking spot about 20/30mins walk away and it’s easy to get out.

 

[JJ59]

Anyone know do Wolves provide Stewards for the AMEX match. I was chatting to some during the match who had wolves logos on their tabards and who were clearly supporting wolves.

 

[wolvesjoe]

7 decent chances, 3 more very dangerous situations where crosses were not attacked.
Close to the perfect game against very good and confident opponents, just lacking the
killer touch. Brighton had less decent chances and much of their possession came to nothing.

The back three have almost perfected their defensive choreography as they work as a unit now
over an increasing amount of games. Pedro's late run was the only real occasion when Brighton
managed to get around the defensive screen, but Semedo stepped up with a faultless last ditch tackle.

Short of a striker on the bench, we packed up fairly early, but saw out the game well.

Wins against Albion and Man U and a famous season is still in sight.

Players:

Sa: Very little to do. Struggled with the corners, but most teams do against Brighton.
Strangely reassuring player, however. 7

Semedo: My MOTM. Some excellent attacking moments, but a defensive masterclass, especially
against the dangerous Pedro in the second half. Monumental tackle for their best chance.....9

Doherty: Quiet unassuming game, good in the air, and defensively tight. Made several forward runs, but not picked out......7

Toti:/Kilman/Dawson: All excellent in the backs to the wall department, very coordinated. Some good distribution as well, esp from Toti down the left wing.....8

Doyle: Both cultured and gritty, Doyle is imposing himself on the team as a reliable and hardworking option. Hard to see him being dropped for Joao.....8

Lemina: Rusty during the first half, with 3 turnovers that could have led to a Brighton goal. Much better second half when he imposed himself, with an excellent ball out, and a good chance where he possibly could have done better.....7

Sarabia: Still moments where he looks too easily muscled out, but review the highlights and it is easy to see how much he brings,
very good control of ball, excellent vision and always able to find spaces. Definitely should have done better, howver, with his chance.....7

Cunha: Irrepressible as ever, just lacking the killer touch. Also did well to recover from losing it at halftime at Pawson's criminal failure to book Gilmour, to give a very positive and controlled second half.....8

Neto: A bit rusty as well, and not on the ball quite as much as he should be, taking plenty of rests. But looked like the best player on the pitch when he did get hold of the ball, going past good defenders as if they had superglue on their boots. Work on his finishing very much needed, but it looks like he could have a major influence on the second half of the seasn.....8

Subs: Only Bellegarde on for any time. Really does need some work on getting involved, as he has all the skill and pace you could wish for, but somewhat of a passenger at the moment.....6

 

[Jack Russell]

This from the BBC have your say had me in stitches!

BHA fan here, all credit to Wolves for making a Monday night trip to see their team. They had a couple of good chances but fluffed them. Brighton had the control of the match but seemed to just want to walk the ball into the goal. There were three or four times when a **** from distance would have been preferable to the close quarter play which is fine if it works. Take a punt every now and then!

Read it carefully!

Swear filter ruined it but the missing word is another word for poo!

 

[JJ59]

The stadium itself is fine, with decent facilities, albeit lacking in any atmosphere which is not helped by not having a “home end” behind the goal to concentrate what (little) passionate support they have. But the location is awful. It’s great you get free train travel within the local area, so for local Brighton fans, it makes for a cheaper day out. But the lack of any parking within walking distance forces the majority of 30k fans to a small train station and services which can’t handle peak. Had they built a large park&ride car park nearby, with direct access to the A23, then it would have definitely improved transport after the games. But it’s a Green Party council there, so that’s not happening.

A tip for any Wolves fans going there by car in future, is to park at the station in Lewes to the east of Falmer. The short train ride from Lewes to Falmer is also free to those with a match ticket, and the queues at Falmer station heading east are shorter than those heading into Brighton. A number of Brighton fans park at Lewes station for that reason, and there are plenty of restaurants and pubs in Lewes if you want to eat and drink before or after the game.

Your advice about Lewes approach is spot on, the falmer east bound platform was clear when I was still stuck in a queue of thousands for Brighton . Also if you park at Moulescomb, 3 min train from Amex towards Brighton the platform is very short and only the front 4 carriages open the doors. Tough if you are unaware and join the sardines further back.

 

[WickedWolfie]

This from the BBC have your say had me in stitches!

BHA fan here, all credit to Wolves for making a Monday night trip to see their team. They had a couple of good chances but fluffed them. Brighton had the control of the match but seemed to just want to walk the ball into the goal. There were three or four times when a **** from distance would have been preferable to the close quarter play which is fine if it works. Take a punt every now and then!

Read it carefully!

Swear filter ruined it but the missing words another word for poo!

Presumably a typo/predictive text screw-up for shot lol.....

 

[bod101]

good performance against our bogey side, probably a fair result at 0-0 as despite us having some good chances they did also but for some last ditch defending. I'd still prefer us to go with a flat 4 at the back as i think we still make the same mistakes at the back with a three, it isnt stopping those and in some cases i do think they leave stuff for each other, i reckon defensive midfield would suit us better to help out. Up top we look almost menacing but sufffer a bit from trying to walk the ball in, probably because of the types of players we have, none are really strikers with that sort of instinct apart from hwang, had he played last night we'd have scored there were just those sort of chances that were he on the pitch he just seems to be in the correct place for.

Semedo MOM, Lemina up there again, Doyle was good but i thought was blowing a bit near the end. Doc stuggles at times with anyone who turns quickly. Sarabia needs people running in front of him to shine, Neto thankfully seems to have retained his form after injury. Cunha is an attacking midfielder for me, doesn't really seem to have a strikers instinct.

 

[Sussex Wolf]

Its an odd stadium, which finds it quite difficult to generate any real noise.

Brighton, where I lived for many years, has some real hardcore fans, and have now attracted a whole new generation of fans in a growing and prosperous area. But they are let down and held back by the oddity of the stadium. Planning regulations probably means that it cannot really be expanded beyond a few hundred seats, but the lack of atmosphere is something more integral to design and location.

Having said that the beer, (Harveys), and the pies are sublime, and the concourses are superb. Parking in Lewes is a good idea, esp for away fans, but the local trains are sort of part of the weird experience of a Brighton home game. And excellent pubs await in the city centre.

It always makes me think of how lucky Wolves fans are to have a city centre location, with enough space to make a really impressive design. And how unlucky we have been with Fosun's small-time vision for the club.

Very well said!

Yes, the unusual design of the stadium really doesn’t help the atmosphere. I’ve been there a few times to watch Wolves and Boro games, and I’m always struck by just how quiet the Brighton fans are. It wasn’t like that at the Goldstone when I went there once as a kid to watch us. Of the roughly 32k capacity, almost identical to Molineux, only 5k of that is behind the goals (split roughly evenly between home and away ends), while 27k is in the large main stands either side. By comparison, our North and South Bank stands each hold that alone.

While they have the space to increase the size of their stands behind the goals, I doubt the council would support it because of the knock on impact on transport. The owner doesn’t see any likelihood of a significant expansion, but he is thinking of sprucing up the roof to make it blue again! Says it all doesn’t it?

Paul Barber says Amex's capacity can grow in the hundreds not thousands

Brighton's Amex Stadium was opened in 2011, initially with 22,500 seats, and over time, that grew to just over 30,000 in 2013 right up to its current number of just shy of 32,000

www.sussexlive.co.uk

 

[JonahWolf]

good performance against our bogey side, probably a fair result at 0-0 as despite us having some good chances they did also but for some last ditch defending. I'd still prefer us to go with a flat 4 at the back as i think we still make the same mistakes at the back with a three, it isnt stopping those and in some cases i do think they leave stuff for each other, i reckon defensive midfield would suit us better to help out. Up top we look almost menacing but sufffer a bit from trying to walk the ball in, probably because of the types of players we have, none are really strikers with that sort of instinct apart from hwang, had he played last night we'd have scored there were just those sort of chances that were he on the pitch he just seems to be in the correct place for.

Semedo MOM, Lemina up there again, Doyle was good but i thought was blowing a bit near the end. Doc stuggles at times with anyone who turns quickly. Sarabia needs people running in front of him to shine, Neto thankfully seems to have retained his form after injury. Cunha is an attacking midfielder for me, doesn't really seem to have a strikers instinct.

Lol, still the back 4 obsession.
After our second consecutive league clean sheet, and the only team to stop Brighton scoring at home this season.
It’s working, let it alone. Yes they got into and around our box quite a lot, their passing and movement was good all night…but couldn’t get anything clean away. Because we had committed bodies in the right places at the right time. Why mess with that?!?

 

[Streathamwolf]

O'Neil | 'A point is a fair result'

By earning a goalless draw away at Brighton & Hove Albion, Gary O’Neil feels his Wolves side have shown their improvements since their last meeting...

www.wolves.co.uk

Pedro speaks like he runs - flat out! He seems as happy as I have heard him in that clip.

 

[GoldenHorseshoe]

Pedro speaks like he runs - flat out! He seems as happy as I have heard him in that clip.

He's the absolute opposite of a moody broody type, very shortly after looking disappointed at being subbed, he was back to his bubbly school boy personna.
I remember from past games, clips of him skipping with delight after a team mate has scored.

The irrepressible Pedro is back!

 

[wolvesjoe]

Brighton did have six of their better players out, it should be remembered, we had four out.

Having predicted that Brighton were on the slide, as their model hits the bumpers of reality, I
have to say they looked a pretty good side still. They move the ball very well indeed, and with
Enisco and Mitoma back, will be hard for us to overhaul.

 

[Hazza]

Great point. What a journey. From final whistle we had to queue for over 50 mins to catch train to Brighton, wait 20 mins for 3 minute train. To Hove, and another 10m…. Took 2h 20 to travel on 4 trains the 15m to Lancing (son’s house). Takes me 1h45 from final whistle to home in Cotswolds. Why would ANYONE be Brighton STH??!!

I parked in Moulsecomb (someone’s drive), 2 1/2 mile jog back to car then drove home (Brackley) and was home by 12.15, crazy how long it took you to get to Lancing.
If it’s like that every game it would make you think about going.
So glad Molineux is city centre

Pre match they’ve got that fanzone area but it’s too small. Q’s were long. If they’re trying to copy European sides they are way off, you need 4 or 5 times the vendors and in an area that isn’t an area people walk through to get from station/car parks to ground

 

[wulfie88]

 

[Corporate Wolf]

Main Verdict: Jermaine Jenas as a commentator is a complete *******.

 

[Ercall Wolves]

I parked in Moulsecomb (someone’s drive), 2 1/2 mile jog back to car then drove home (Brackley) and was home by 12.15, crazy how long it took you to get to Lancing.
If it’s like that every game it would make you think about going.
So glad Molineux is city centre

Pre match they’ve got that fanzone area but it’s too small. Q’s were long. If they’re trying to copy European sides they are way off, you need 4 or 5 times the vendors and in an area that isn’t an area people walk through to get from station/car parks to ground

We found a lovely pub called The Swan Inn, I’ve never managed to find a pub local to the ground in previous seasons its a 5/6 minute walk from the ground
Will definitely go to the same pub again next season

 

[Lawndog]

Please someone tell me corboran employs a strict play style!

......always s**£e......hopefully!

 

[stever]

The stadium itself is fine, with decent facilities, albeit lacking in any atmosphere which is not helped by not having a “home end” behind the goal to concentrate what (little) passionate support they have. But the location is awful. It’s great you get free train travel within the local area, so for local Brighton fans, it makes for a cheaper day out. But the lack of any parking within walking distance forces the majority of 30k fans to a small train station and services which can’t handle peak. Had they built a large park&ride car park nearby, with direct access to the A23, then it would have definitely improved transport after the games. But it’s a Green Party council there, so that’s not happening.

A tip for any Wolves fans going there by car in future, is to park at the station in Lewes to the east of Falmer. The short train ride from Lewes to Falmer is also free to those with a match ticket, and the queues at Falmer station heading east are shorter than those heading into Brighton. A number of Brighton fans park at Lewes station for that reason, and there are plenty of restaurants and pubs in Lewes if you want to eat and drink before or after the game.

The location of their ground is a nightmare. That game when we played them on a Sunday and drew 2 all, 2019. They ran a Sunday service back to the main station which was ridiculous when 1000s of people were trying to get back to some sort of civilisation ,then I had to change at Guildford to get home. Took me four hours to get home before I got to put the key in the lock

 

[Sussex Wolf]

The location of their ground is a nightmare. That game when we played them on a Sunday and drew 2 all, 2019. They ran a Sunday service back to the main station which was ridiculous when 1000s of people were trying to get back to some sort of civilisation ,then I had to change at Guildford to get home. Took me four hours to get home before I got to put the key in the lock

Well that’s Southern trains for you. Try living down here and commuting into London every day! I live just outside Horsham, which is a large town (100k) with two mainline routes to central London. It’s about 30 miles as the crow flies. Yet the fastest direct train to Victoria takes just under an hour, and the stopping trains, about 1 hr 20mins. I could live in Leicester and still only take an hour to get to central London, despite it being 90 miles away from London. Even without HS2, New Street is only 1hr 20 from Euston. Yeah I know how poor the regional services are outside of the South East, so I’m not trying to underplay that, but sometimes people may not appreciate how slow the trains are down here, even if there are loads of them.

The route you took, which avoids London, is cheaper but definitely not the fastest because the connections are rubbish and the trains slow. Our daughter had the same experience when at Birmingham Uni doing her masters and coming home. From Brighton to the midlands, I’d always take the Brighton mainline to Victoria, tube (Victoria line direct) to Euston, and then the WCML trains up to the Midlands. It’s the same story as travelling to the NE from down here. Our daughter is down for the Chelsea v Boro game tonight. After work last night, she came down from Darlington to KX, tube to Victoria, and the mainline here. Arrived 9.30pm having left Darlington 4 hours earlier. It’s almost 300 miles door to door, and on a good day, a 5 hour drive, so not bad considering.

 

[Berkshire Wolf]

I did the racecourse park & ride which was pretty faultless - 10 min bus to & from the stadium, 5 min queue to get on the bus before the game and 15-20 mins after, and surprisingly no queue to get out of the car park! Looks like the best option for those driving next season, trains sound like they were a nightmare...

 

[Werewolf of Wombourne]

Lol, still the back 4 obsession.
After our second consecutive league clean sheet, and the only team to stop Brighton scoring at home this season.
It’s working, let it alone. Yes they got into and around our box quite a lot, their passing and movement was good all night…but couldn’t get anything clean away. Because we had committed bodies in the right places at the right time. Why mess with that?!?

I just don't get it about the back four. If we switch to a back 4 then we are committed to playing Semedo and RAN as pure full backs. You can't play WB's in a back 4 as you are leaving your CB's horribly exposed and the extra man in the middle is wasted as he has to cover them, so you end up in a defacto back 5 anyway. Semedo would be fine as an out and out defender but it would be a total waste of RAN's talent to shackle him to be just a LB

 

[manchesterwolf17]

Can't believe, given the opportunity, anyone would now swap GON for Lopetegui? I'm shocked by how good he has been and how well it's all turned out.

Absolutely. And O'Neil is only going to get better. He's not stubborn or stuck in a certain frame of mind. You can see how much he's improved this season already.

 

[thommo1984]

The stadium is more for spectators than fans, if that makes any sense.

That would explain the couple sharing a big bucket of cinema style popcorn in the second half, which was caught by the cameras haha

 

[Werewolf of Wombourne]

Absolutely. And O'Neil is only going to get better. He's not stubborn or stuck in a certain frame of mind. You can see how much he's improved this season already.

He strikes me as one of these coaches who wants to suck up as much football knowledge as he can get his hands on and will constantly wand to evolve his style. A kind of anti-Bruce

 

[JonahWolf]

I just don't get it about the back four. If we switch to a back 4 then we are committed to playing Semedo and RAN as pure full backs. You can't play WB's in a back 4 as you are leaving your CB's horribly exposed and the extra man in the middle is wasted as he has to cover them, so you end up in a defacto back 5 anyway. Semedo would be fine as an out and out defender but it would be a total waste of RAN's talent to shackle him to be just a LB

I mean, I get it, our midfield is now far more mobile and aggressive, and sometimes you feel it would be great to see Cunha, Hwang, Neto, JRB/Sarabia all playing narrow and interchanging.
But the main reasons for wanting rid of the 5 were that we couldn’t score goals or create chances (rather less of a problem now) or not being able to defend in a 3/5 either (also not true).
So why tinker when it works.

 

[steve vena]

Doyle and Lemina actually really compliment each other well in a midfield 2 Gomes probably starts on bench Sunday. Nice problem to have but I don’t think Tommy deserves to get dropped.

Still suspended I think mate.

 

[Shergar]

Main Verdict: Jermaine Jenas as a commentator is a complete *******.

His contribution was so irritatingly shocking last night, he almost needs his own thread to record the lazy sanctimonious crap that he came out with last night. I can only assume he was given 5 minutes notice to stand in for somebody else or he is so far up his own **** he doesn't feel the need to prep himself.

 

[Hot Fuss]

Well done GON and the lads. Playing Brighton takes massive concentration and discipline and you need to be set up perfectly.

Good result, Semedo outstanding, **** kit.

 

[Poztin]

Brighton are such a joy to watch. The way they pass and move and find men spare with ease is incredible.

The only thing better was watching us completely nullify that. Such a shame we didn’t make our threat count.

 

[Werewolf of Wombourne]

I mean, I get it, our midfield is now far more mobile and aggressive, and sometimes you feel it would be great to see Cunha, Hwang, Neto, JRB/Sarabia all playing narrow and interchanging.
But the main reasons for wanting rid of the 5 were that we couldn’t score goals or create chances (rather less of a problem now) or not being able to defend in a 3/5 either (also not true).
So why tinker when it works.

In my view playing 3 CB’s was integral to nullifying Brighton last night. They were able to pass through our midfield comfortably but then they hit the brick wall of our back 3 and were constantly forced wide to where they didn’t want to be. Reading the Brighton forum that was a real source of frustration for them as their strengths lay in playing through teams rather than around them and their wide players were the weakest part of their game.

Forcing the ball out wide also meant in the second half we were able to spring Neto several times in a far less congested part of the pitch than trying to play through the middle.

 

[Wolf in Kenilworth]

A great point but 2 points dropped?

We had by far the better chances.

Proud of this team, please win on Sunday!

 

[Wolf in Kenilworth]

Brighton are such a joy to watch. The way they pass and move and find men spare with ease is incredible.

The only thing better was watching us completely nullify that. Such a shame we didn’t make our threat count.

Their keeper and Sa is an interesting comparison in terms of calmness.

 

[RMNottm]

I mean, I get it, our midfield is now far more mobile and aggressive, and sometimes you feel it would be great to see Cunha, Hwang, Neto, JRB/Sarabia all playing narrow and interchanging.
But the main reasons for wanting rid of the 5 were that we couldn’t score goals or create chances (rather less of a problem now) or not being able to defend in a 3/5 either (also not true).
So why tinker when it works.

I agree; I also agree with a post this was in response to, the point about Semedo and RAN getting forward. In the past with both Neves and Moutinho we had a problem that got worse as Mountinho aged- great player but time is Retentless. We do not have that now.

It is a team game.

 

[A3wolf]

The location of their ground is a nightmare. That game when we played them on a Sunday and drew 2 all, 2019. They ran a Sunday service back to the main station which was ridiculous when 1000s of people were trying to get back to some sort of civilisation ,then I had to change at Guildford to get home. Took me four hours to get home before I got to put the key in the lock

Applies to lots of events with train stations nearby, they should just lay on more trains/carriages post match which would change it from a nightmare to great location.