View from Brighton

[terryr]

A bit late with this one but have a look if you have time before we thrash them at their place

" Its not on Sky. So why the Sky badges?
Lualua has to start a he is not match ready as a substitute and cannot get up to pace of the game coming on. He and Knockaert are the players that make things happen. For set piece deliveries, the best we have are Knockaert, Stephens and Skalak.
I am in favour of one inverted winger and one conventional so Skalak ought to match up with Knockaert really leaving open the question of second striker. Baldock has not got the pace to run off the shoulder of the defender. But it is all swings and roundabouts. Nothing to choose between our forward players, just different skills and weaknesses. I'm inclined not to include both Baldock and Knockaert because of the height deficiencies when including Skalak for the crosses.
If Lualua draws a foul, I want him to do it near goal, not in the middle of the park. I would alwys include him because he is two footed and can beat the defender either way. This is much better when he starts the game. But all our forwards are better starting."

"Suspect we may go quite defensive as they're strikers are decent? Though don't really want a repeat of the stresses at craven cottage ."

" Excited for this one, come on you Seagulls! "

Can we sell out against Fulham on Friday?

"Do like a Friday evening game.
Still plenty in the WSL and no blocks released in the South yet.
Any idea how many Fulham will bring or what they were allocated? "

" It would be great too but I think it's unlikely as its Friday game with another home game 4 days later! Think Derby should sell out being last home game with a slim chance of auto promotion in the day!"

"We won't sell out, with the game being on a Friday evening, but surely there should still be a big turnout. Somewhere well north of 27,000 I would hope?"

"We need another atmosphere like burnley. We need a good 28k there."

"Very few left for Derby already.


If reading get a result tomorrow surely all will flock to see us go too?
Chances of filling the place depend also on how many Fulham will bring and ain't got a clue there"

" Fulham have sold a lot of tickets."

"Burnley atmosphere was amazing, as good as it gets in the Championship. After tonight's exploits, I reckon something similar. We've all got to get behind the team, we're close, closer than we've ever been for a generation. Sing up, sing up!"

"On the Fulham site it seems tickets are being offered in S1A to S1D. If all of these blocks have been allocated it would suggest an allocation around 2000 which would mean just over half of S1F would be available. Indeed, if they have all of S1A it would mean we would not be able to offer all of the south side of E1H as some would be needed for segregation. As it happens none of the south side of this block as yet been made available.

As it stands the following is still to be snapped up:-

168 in north (only singles apart from NE corner)
756 in WSL (good availability down the southern end, centre sold and limited space north end)
156 in WSU (no pairs in the northern half)
320 in ESL (single only in centre and northern family. Possibility release of more of bock E1H
364 in ESU
137 in South (with the possibility of the majority of S1F and to be released).

With the best part of 2000 on sale now and the possibility of 600-800 more a sellout is looking unlikely. A favourable result tonight and good weather could change that.
It is worth noting though there are only about 300 of the cheapest seats still for sale and very limited numbers of these are together so, in case the club don't release S1F it might be worth getting your skates on if you want one of these!
In addition the club often is blue to release patches of seats in th WSL"

"Reading on the Fulham Forum it seems their allocation may have been 2200-2300 of which about 300 remain. I suspect they will shift these.

This would mean they have all of S1A though and including all of S1E.

In addition to half of S1F being released they have also found a few more tickets to put on sale in W1A and the SW corner. So now plenty of the lowest priced seats available. A quick count up and allowing for those extra released suggests about 200 have gone this morning.
Still the potential for some of E1H and a bit more of S1F to be released but suspect these half blocks will be kept as sterile areas unless all other tickets go.
With 2000 plus away fans and already over 27,000 shifted, Friday night beers and the possibility of going top (cmon Reading) this does have the possibility of being an absolute cracker. "

"The only place the extra tickets can really be would be a maximum of 7 rows n block S1F. Realistically this means that its unlikely that any more tickets would be made available to us in S1F unless there is an uber thin sterile area or if maybe Fulham just have say 4 rows.

There is still the possibility of at least half of the southern half of E1H being available for us, but we probably won't need it.
Kudos to the club for getting maximum bums on seats and satisfying demand when it's there. A lesson for Charlton maybe.
I would suggest that as it stands now, assuming the school shelf is full and Fulham shift the extra offered then we are already very close to 29,000 sold with 2 more days of brisk sales to go."

" Don't forget to acknowledge the travellers from West London."

" They do have to travel such a long way so let's confuse yet another set of away fans by applauding them."

" McCormack and Dembele

" Rather them than the lighthouse Smith who would be good in the air from set pieces!"

"We're gonna have our work cut out for us tonight eh?!
I thought our 2 CB's did amazing against Donaldson at Birmingham who is a right handful... but these 2 tonight are on a different level.... *gulp*

"More worried about any rain.
We are rubbish in bad conditions."

"I'm more worried that some think 6 points are already in the bag between now and Tues night"

"CH has a tendency to select Kayal on the bench when the conditions are particularly wet. Which might explain why we're rubbish in bad conditions. We can all say that we hope he starts Kayal tonight, but the conditions may well aggravate an injury, causing him to be out of future fixtures. For information, weather report is dry Sun-Tue and during the QPR fixture."

"Conversely their defence is going to have their work cut out given that they've conceded 67 goals in the league this season and we're the 4th highest scoring team in the league."

" I think Fulham will score 1 or 2 tonight as we do give sides opportunities. We'll have to outscore them I think, which is entirely possible."

"  its gonna be a very hard game for sure"

" Nothing but doom and gloom on here then FFS !
Why don't you get behind Albion, instead of worrying about how great you all think Fulham and only two of their players are ?
We beat them 3-1 at Craven Cottage at the beginning of the season stop worrying and whining."

" We won 2-1 via a 94th minute penalty. Hopefully our forwards will be more accurate than your posts."

"I'm not quite as concerned as you. As good as their front two are, our defence has been excellent this season, and will relish this challenge, especially given the situation in the season. We also are a team, and defend as a team. Fulham will also be hampered by the lack of a certain player, who provides solidity and dynamism to their play."

" Fulham will score with those two up top (possibly via a set-piece). We'll need 2+ goals. I think we'll do it but another nail biting & heart attack inducing evening ahead."

"No sweat for those 2 to have any impact they will need to get the ball; and picking it out of the net does not count."

" Having said that, against Cardiff last week neither McCormack nor Dembele scored (it was Parker and Hyndman) and we played excellently without Cairney and Madl. We will miss Ince though and we do let soft goals in."

" They are shorthanded in midfield as young Tom Cairney is out too. Scott Parker is back but we need to run him ragged as he's not properly match fit yet. Don't let him pull the strings. I predict Kayal v Parker will be the decisive battle.
McCormack has a great record, but he is the most selfish player. His passing is non-existent.
3-1 Albion."

" Some on here have said that Fulham are the form team in the Championship. I think they've won three on the trot, but their position in the table (and goals conceded column) doesn't lie. I'd venture that Burnley and us are in far better form (we could even throw Rotherham into that). We also have most of our players fit and raring to go, with good competition for the starting 11, 14 and 18, which provides options off the bench depending on the game situation. If we play well (which we have done at home for months), we really ought to beat them. I do think that QPR will be a bigger challenge than Fulham, but the team's focus will rightly be on Fulham for now."

" What's McCormmack's record like against The Albion?
I've got him as a Jordan Rhodes type player:-
I'm sure he's bloody good, but I've never seen it.
Basically the reverse Vydra."

" He enjoyed scoring against us for Leeds."

" I still remember that 3-3 against Leeds, he was decent that game"

" I've got this down for 3-2 us. However good they are up front they are AWFUL at the back."

" And they've got two key performers in recent games (Madl and Ince)missing tonight."

"Quite. Who is going to do Parker's running now?"

" I have every faith in Dunk and Goldson to handle this pair - they might sneak one between them but Fulham's defence is as tight as a sieve.
3 or 4 - 1 me hopes ..."

" Maybe McCormmack might twinge his groin in the warm up and need a week rest......"

" its going to be very tough.
This is the real big one though, pile the pressure on tonight for the weekend and before Boro and Burnley meet."

" A difficult game for sure, but this team has hardly let us down this year. Quietly confident.
6-1"

" I must admit to being surprised at the poor season they are having as they were one of the teams I expected to be in or near the play offs."

" I think they'll turn us over Friday,McCormack is a dot on the card to score."

"Did something not click when you heard about them being after Dunk for £5m+? One of the worst defences in the division paired with one of the best attacks. They were never going to challenge leaking so many goals, odd team."

"  Plus their goalkeeper (Bettinelli) is average, and even then, neither Lonergan nor Lewis are better than him"

"Tony Gayle says they are the better team on paper:Fair comment - probably better on paper. Certainly more expensive by a long way. But luckily football is a lot to do with team spirit these days - togetherness and determination. We have 10x more that than Fulham have shown. However, Friday will be very, very tough. They've won 3 on the spin and do have very good players. I believe McCormack is another who cost about the same as our whole squad"

" He is of course correct.
If you're reading this Fulham, you only need to turn up really - your quality will show."

" Doesn't really matter what he thinks tbh. The table doesn't lie and Fulham were ticked off the who can't catch us list a number of weeks back. They have hit some decent form for a few weeks which may do is good As they are pretty much safe now"

"Says a lot about the manager then if it is. Arguably up front they are better, but their defence is a crock of poo."

"It isn't totally clear to me when Tony Gale suddenly became relevant again, but Fulham have a couple of individuals that are very talented. I would say McCormack is, IMO, in that grey area of being better than Championship standard but perhaps not quite good enough for the top flight.
Their squad is weaker than ours, substantially so in almost every area."

" I met Tony Gale once in a kebab shop in Frankfurt about fifteen years ago. I remember he was having a large donner and a 3 cans of a famous sugary fizzy drink. The fizziness was giving him gas and he was letting out the loudest burps imaginable. Anyway, at the sound of this and the smell of his meaty breath, his girlfriend kicked off screeching at him for always embarrassing her. It was at this point that I realised that said girlfriend was none other than Judith Charmers, taking a break from filming Wish You were Here. She had ordered a medium shish and a strawberry milkshake, all exotic, like. Anyway, I strolled over and introduce myself. Judith remembered me from Saturday Superstore. She had auditioned for the same show back in 1981 but didn't get the part on account of her fat ankles. We chatted for a bit and shared a joke. It was at this point that Tony stood up from his stool and seemed agitated. He clearly didn't like the idea of me chatting to Judith and started pushing me, all aggressive like. I started to reason with him, citing Judith's fat ankles as one of many reasons I would never try and chat her up, another being Tony's big muscles and views of Championship football teams. I told him that he was clearly superior and this seemed to calm him a little. To halt him entirely, I mentioned my new idea for a programme entitled Naked Jungle. I said that if I ever got the show up and running, I would call Tony first and offer him first refusal for the part of my glamorous assistant. Years later the show was commissioned by a famous cable television network. I never did phone Tony. That'll learn him."
   
" Talking to some Fulham supporters it seems their team is finally starting to gel and will give us a very tough test on Friday. Luckily for us Ince cannot play as they think he has been key in protecting their defence. I think it could potentially be a bit of a goal fest as we both like to attack. Really excited already."

" Just saw the replay of the last meeting with Fulham"

Kaz drawing the foul to perfection for the 2nd in the last meeting.
Made quite a meal of it though.
Nailed that dive-to-rollypolly technique."

" drawing the foul lmao - he was completely cleaned out whilst running at full speed!"

" He's spent his career perfecting it matey.
Not complaining as he won us 2 extra points."

" Haha if you think that is a typical example of him 'drawing a foul' you've let your agenda against him get the better of your judgement."

"I don't have an 'agenda' against him.
I just don't particularly rate him and I don't like cheats.
We see examples of him drawing fouls in every single game he has featured.
He knew he was going to go down in the box before he got close to the 18 yard line.
There's no harm in having differing opinions. You like the guy (as do the vast majority of supporters), I'm not his biggest fan.
So what? "

" But there is nothing in that challenge to suggest he dived, yes you knew he was going to go down because the Fulham player was steaming in to take him out. I accept that in a lot of situations he draws the foul, this wasn't one of them."

" No, I knew he was going to go down as his only other play is to win a corner from a deflection, which he obviously wasn't going to do.

He poked the ball ahead of his own reach half a second before the defender triggered the tackle, knowing the defender would miss the ball and knowing that he can easily make any contact with the defender, go down and claim a penalty (legally).

As I said, he's got it down to perfection.
Genuinely hats off to him as he can read other players better than most."

"And the challenge was outside the box as well!
Think this is a much sterner test than some might believe.
Very pleased Baldock is back in the mix as pace will be vital tonight.

UTA!"

" Brighton 3-2
22/1
99th minute winner ... Ohh the drama"

"I am deeply concerned. The defence will have to be on their game tonight. Fulham are the form team in the division right now with possibly the best strike partnership in the division up front. Just hope that Fulham's defence plays down to expectations. I wouldn't be putting any big money on 0-0 tonight."


That's it...there's quite a bit more but the stuff above is pretty representative

[love4ffc]

Thanks for this Terry.  Mixed bag with this lot.  Some are think we will be a breeze and others are worried about our strike team.  I think if the boys continue to play as well as they have in the last three then we should do all right.  If the regular standard team for this season shows up then it will be a disaster for us.  Again it will be interesting to see how Joka sets up for this. 
COYW! 

[Wearethewhites]

Without Madl's calm composure at the back, I've a feeling our back 4 will be in for a rough ride. Stearman along side Nando or Burn gives me the Jitters already. Hope I'm wrong..

[HatterDon]

Thanks again, Terry.

I must say I'm impressed with the quality of their comments -- a significant lack of cheap shots, cliches and poor spelling/grammar.

I like the "saluting the traveling supporters" thing. Nice.

Let's kick their ass!

[Southdowns White]

I think we should applaud them back, especially as i will be sat with them.

[PokerMatt]

Thanks Terry. Always a good read.

[RolandAJ]

Thank you, Terry, for compiling this.  It's always interesting.
Like Don, I'm impressed with the Brighton supporters.  They seem like decent folk.

COYWs!! 

Roland

[gezkc]

Brighton are a team I'd like to see in the Premier League - and as has been said, their supporters seem a decent bunch.

Hopefully we'll thrash them tonight though!