Too early for Poyet to Panic?
Another loss, this time away at Swindon means nil points again. Our Seagulls find themselves entrenched in 21st spot, within the relegation zone.
Worse a worrying three point gap has sprung up between us and those above.
Of course it is far too early to panic – we can leave that to February! But it is time to be worry! Our new Uruguayan manager, Gus Poyet, has been in charge for 9 games and has a 4 wins, 5 losses record. We are in a slightly worse league position than when Russell Slade was sacked.
On the upside our five defeats have come at the hands, or feet, of top sides – Leeds, Charlton, Norwich, Colchester and now Swindon. These five are the top teams in League One. Now we have a couple of crucial six-pointers coming up and to be honest nothing less than six points is needed.
At Swindon Poyet went with Jim McNulty instead of Arsenal loanee Gavin Hoyte. Few would argue with that decision – although it may have backfired slightly when McNulty gave away a penalty after 30 minutes. It was a rather harsh judgement and Billy Paynter penalised us by scoring from the spot.
Poyet retained Peter Brezovan in goal with Michele Kuipers on the bench. The two goals the Swindon Robins scored weren't down to the keeper. The only other change was positional with Adam El-Abd switching to the right-back slot allowing McNulty to play left.
One thing that puzzles me is Poyet/Virgo. What has happened here? Last year under Slade Adam Virgo was club captain, the first name on the team sheet. Gus just isn't playing him. Obviously Poyet hasn't been impressed by what he has seen. To the longstanding observer, who knows of Virgo's Roy-of-the-Rovers and Captain Marvel feats of the past, it is strange. I see the merits of James Tunnicliffe in central defence and even the benefits of Tommy Elphick's younger legs but is it time for the 100% commitment and experience that Virgo offers? Answers on a postcard please!
Brighton reacted well to going one down with a great goal. They kept possession, strung together around 20 passes until Glenn Murray found Elliott Bennett. He put in the perfect cross for Nicky Forster to dive and head home. (1 – 1). This was Nicky's 12th goal of the season.
Unfortunately for the Albion Swindon produced an equally good goal ten minutes after the restart when Charlie Austin headed past Brezovan. Poyet reacted by bringing on Liam Dickinson and Dean Cox. This worked to the extent that chances were created. Murray had his shot pushed for a corner by David Lucas in the Robin's goal. Dickinson got his head to the corner but Lucas managed to keep the ball out. It was Dickinson again that had the best chance to equalise but he could only steer Murray's flick-on wide of the post.
Brighton certainly worked hard to get something from the game. Murray had another shot well saved. Poyet threw on Craig Davies at the end but despite pressure Albion could not score. Forster had a penalty shout turned down which summed up our frustrating day. It ended 2 – 1 to Swindon who with a game in hand are now well placed in the play-offs zone.
After the game Poyet said "There is nowhere to hide. We need to try and win the next two games or we could be in real trouble. Nobody wants to say it, but we have to accept it."
Bottom line – we shouldn't be in this position. On paper our team is one of the strongest in the division. So now is the time for the players to perform with Poyet getting the selection and tactics right! Simple?
First up are Leyton Orient in the "local" derby match at Withdean on Boxing Day (13.00 kick-off!). This is the real six-pointer! Orient are 22nd one place above us on 23 points. We need to beat them 3 – 0 to leapfrog them out of the relegation zone! This could be my late Christmas present.
Two days later, Monday 28th December, it's Wycombe Wanderers and just a short trip northwards for another six-pointer. Wycombe are 23rd in League One on 18 points, just two behind (before the O's result!). If (and here's the if's again) IF we beat Orient AND grab an away win at Wycombe, we could be comparatively comfortable for the start of 2010. Fingers crossed - have a good Christmas!
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Weather for Lewes
Thursday 09 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 0 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: -5 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: South east
