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Baldyboy

Brighton

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Bassong and Turner was our last decent pairing. I dont believe we''ve ever improved on that pair. Turner was on the way down after that first season. And even then we had that weakness of folding if we want behind.

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Yes Bassong and Turner were a good pairing for a spell. Both regressed though.

I''d still argue the football under Hughton in the second season was the worst I''ve ever watched us play though. If he''d have stayed I was going to give up my season ticket.

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@kick it off
With respect, I didn''t say Hughton was a defensive mastermind. What I said was that Hughton was/is in no doubt that success is built first and foremost on sound defence; saying that he had the priorities right does not mean he managed to build a team to realise them. The stats show only that at Norwich he wasn''t able to build a defensively solid side out of the resources available to him (including his own signings). In short, the job defeated him, but not because he he had a seriously flawed approach to it from the start. 

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Really hope it doesnt come to this, but do you think there''d be a pitch invasion by the away fans if they go up on Friday?

Its one of the anomalies in our history (or certainly going back to the 70''s, if anyone can correct me with anything prior) in that in all our promotions , we''ve never had one after a result at Carrow Rd.

having been on the pitch at places like Gresty Rd and Fratton Park, I don''t suppose you could begrudge them of that...but it would be pretty galling to witness

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[quote user="westcoastcanary"][quote user="keelansgrandad"]I believe Hughton, who quite rightly believed you have to attack to get out of the Championship, also wrongly believed you have to defend to stay in the Prem. And I believe it is virtually impossible for clubs like us to attract top class defenders, of which there is a dearth even at the highest level.[/quote]"Wrongly believed"? Statistics gathered over decades from every top league in Europe demonstrate that sustained success depends absolutely on good defence. Agreed that good defence doesn''t mean 90 minute parking-the-bus-type penalty box protection, but the apparent inability of our players to grasp the essentials of disciplined team defending left Hughton with little alternative. Faced with the same problem Neil, by instinct and instruction, took the opposite course and tried to do what you advocate, score more goals than you concede. But the outcome has been exactly the same in terms of success/failure on the pitch. It''s down to Webber now to rid us of that fundamental weakness.[/quote]

I''m talking about a belief more than a tactic.

Watching Hughton''s first home match against QPR, I could see, perhaps losing 5-0 at Fulham didn''t help, that his first thought was not to concede.

Some would argue attacking in numbers is the best form of defence, ie keeping the ball at the other end of the pitch for as long as possible. Position over possession.

But you really do have to have a top defence and a disciplined midfield, like Chelsea in 2012 to rely on defending alone.

Individually I don''t think our current defence is particularly worse than others in this league. They just do their job badly at the moment. And I believe that is the coaching.

Are WBA''s defenders that much better individually? It is arguable. But Pulis has them so organised and they just throw the two banks in front of their opponents when they lose the ball and stay with the job they are given.

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"Are WBA''s defenders that much better individually? It is arguable. But Pulis has them so organised and they just throw the two banks in front of their opponents when they lose the ball and stay with the job they are given."

Well off topic now but this was the biggest black mark on Alex Neil for me. Over two years he couldn''t improve the defence or get them remotely organised even when he reigned in the his more attacking instincts.

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[quote user="GJL Mid-Norfolk Canary"]Really hope it doesnt come to this, but do you think there''d be a pitch invasion by the away fans if they go up on Friday?

Its one of the anomalies in our history (or certainly going back to the 70''s, if anyone can correct me with anything prior) in that in all our promotions , we''ve never had one after a result at Carrow Rd.

having been on the pitch at places like Gresty Rd and Fratton Park, I don''t suppose you could begrudge them of that...but it would be pretty galling to witness[/quote]

Not sure if Everton did mid 80s memorys a bit pickled now but they did have fans in the River End that day ,i for one wouldn''t take kindly if the Brighton fans went on the pitch while not so long ago our club and the old bill were looking quite happily to ban our fans for the same thing

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@keelansgrandad
Agree it''s about belief, i.e. belief about how you have to play to maximise your chances of winning football matches. But belief needs to be founded on solid evidence, and there is abundant evidence demonstrating the overriding value in that respect of not conceding. 
I also agree about the defensive organisation and discipline of Pulis''s sides. But our recurring failure in both respects under Hughton, Adams and Neil (each with their different coaching staff) suggests to me deficiency in our players, not just poor coaching. 

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Where Hughton failed in his second season, and subsequent managers since, is that we had a leader from the front. Grant Holt dragged play up into the opposition half. We shipped goals under Lambert, but always played until the final whistle. How many goals we scored in the final closing minutes of Lambert-era matches. Once GH left us, the defensive failings became exposed. No disrespect to Cam Jam though, as he cant be faulted as a truer. The Hughton second season defensive frailties still remain. The spine of his defensive team remains, and the errors will continue until they are replaced. The players need to go, the Board cant foolishly believe a new head coach or manager will make a difference to the current defensive incumbents as Hughton, Neil Adams, Alex Neil and Alan Irvine all cant find the means to get them to defend.

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Well, we booked the Brighton game 5 months ago, and we are traveling from the USA. I was hoping for a meaningful game, but I am looking forward for what is going to be an annual trip to Carrow Road!

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Thank God they got promoted tonight. Chris Hughton is a lovely man but his time here ended in rancour and I didn''t want them to clinch it at our place. Hopefully they''ll be hungover in more ways than one and we''ll get the win that often eludes teams that have just won something.

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[quote user="Rogue Baboon"]They can still win the league with a win though[/quote]they can still win the league if they lose and newcastle lose.however you look at it, they will win the league just maybe not at carrow rd

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[quote user="city4eva"][quote user="Rogue Baboon"]They can still win the league with a win though[/quote]they can still win the league if they lose and newcastle lose.however you look at it, they will win the league just maybe not at carrow rd[/quote]A colleague has just told me that Mick Quinn, the horse trainer/miss treater has a very large bet that Newcastle will be champions and it looks like he''ll lose it, so Seagulls for me but not on Friday night.

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