Tag: Chris Hughton

BHAFC: Oliver Norwood signing a clever bit of business by Chris Hughton.

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Brighton and Hove Albion’s new signing Oliver Norwood shouldn’t take too long to adapt at the south coast club, as he is a player who fits the mould of manager Chris Hughton’s way of playing perfectly.

The Northern Ireland international signed from Championship rivals Reading on a three-year deal, and could make his debut for the Seagulls against Derby County in this weekend’s Championship opener.

Norwood, 25, is a defensive midfielder who likes to dictate the play and spring the forwards into counter attacks through his vast range of passing.

The former Manchester United youngster is also a fine set piece taker, and his deliveries from corners and free kicks could offer something different for Brighton going into the new season.

Some see this move as a bad omen, and feel that the consequence of this signing will be the departure of Dale Stephens. The box-to-box midfielder has been on Burnley’s  wishlist all summer but there is no reason why Norwood, Stephens and Beram Kayal can’t all play in the same team.

Hughton may decide to switch from his traditional 4-4-2 to a 4-2-3-1 formation. This would allow Norwood and Kayal to play alongside each other, with Stephens in a more advanced position.

In his first interview with the Argus, Norwood insisted that it was Chairman Tony Bloom and his determination to keep all of Albion’s in demand players at the club was key to him signing the contract.

This is positive news to hear, after the most recent speculation linked Anthony Knockaert with a move north to Newcastle United.

Bloom, like the manager and players, is as determined as ever to finally get this club into the Premier League, and keeping the star players during the transfer windows is the first little step towards that.

He may not be an Alex Pritchard, nor an attacking midfielder who will score 10+ goals for us this season, but Norwood didn’t cost eight million pounds to buy, and with just under 200 appearances in this league, he knows the Championship like the back of his hand.

With just under four weeks to go before the transfer window slams shut, fans will be hoping to see more new faces come through the doors in the coming days.

 

 

 

 

BHAFC: Interest in Tomer Hemed becoming difficult to shrug off.

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It’s slowly becoming more and more like Brighton and Hove Albion are coming under heavy fire from the spending power of more reputable clubs.

The past week has seen bids made for key players come and go a plenty for key players Beram Kayal and Dale Stephens), and now Maccabi Haifa are set to imminently offer £5 million for the services of Tomer Hemed.

The Israeli striker only moved to the Amex last season on a three-year deal, but we all know contracts these days are about as worthless as a banged up motor left on the side of the road to rust.

Maccabi Haifa are looking to strengthen their offensive line ahead of their upcoming Europa League campaign, and Hemed is top of their list.

Maccabi Tel-Aviv are also considering making a bid for the 29-year old.

Hemed started his career at Haifa, scoring 16 goals in 47 appearances during a six year spell at the club before moving to Mallorca in 2011.

Last season the forward netted 17 times for the Seagulls as they came within a whisker of promotion to the Premier League.

Whilst some fans are crying out for the club to spend on a striker, keeping our current bunch has got to be the priority during this period of  transfer bombardment.

We don’t want to go into pre-season needing to bring in another two strikers when one is proving elusive so far.

Although Baldock and Murray could lead the line for the Albion, Hemed is a crucial part of Chris Hughton’s plans. Without doubt, he will be our first choice striker when we make the trip to Derby comes around, and I know the manager will do everything in his power to keep him on the south coast.

Hemed is loved by Albion fans, and a premature departure would spoil what has been a quite successful start to life in English football.

Yes the chance to play in Europe and return home could be two factors the striker may feel too good to pass up, but he did recently comment that he is focused on scoring more goals and helping our club reach the Premier League. To give up on that and join one of the Maccabi sides would be a bitter pill to swallow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

BHAFC: Beram Kayal linked with move to Premier League.

Published on by Liam_Richner1 Comment

Hull City are reportedly interested in signing midfielder Beram Kayal, according to reports.

The figure being whispered around social media is believed to be £1.5 million, which in my opinion is way too short of his true valuation.

The Israeli international featured in almost all of the Seagulls games last season, making 43 appearances in the Championship and scoring two goals.

Brighton’s number seven is a key member of Chris Hughton’s team, as he is a player who reads the game well and makes crucial interceptions which lead to our counter attacks.

He has also formed a formidable partnership in the centre of Albion’s midfield with Dale Stephens, with Steve Sidwell failing to break into the side during his initial loan last season.

Whilst Kayal seems happy at Brighton, the worrying factor that comes with Hull’s interest is their ability to offer him a better contract and the opportunity to play in the Premier League.

At 28 years of age, it is very much make or break for the central midfielder. He could easily play in the top flight of English football, but does he want to try and make it there with the Seagulls? Or is this potential move north just too difficult for him to pass up.

On the plus side for Brighton fans, Hull’s current crop of midfielders makes me wonder why they are even considering any kind of bid for our man in the first place.

Kayal has no Premier League experience, whilst the likes of Tom Huddlestone, Jake Livermore and Mohamed Diame between them have plenty.

Huddlestone and Diame in particular play similarly to Kayal, so it makes you think, would the Israeli actually get any game time?

Brighton are yet to accept any bid, (thats if one has officially been made), and anyway, I don’t think Kayal has any intention to leave.

His Instagram account and Twitter feed show him looking more than content at Albion, and with him playing consistently for Hughton, why would he want to go?

I’m more than confident he will remain in an Albion shirt when the window shuts.

BHAFC: Glenn Murray, Is he the answer to our goalscoring problems?

Published on by Liam_Richner1 Comment

So the paperwork was signed last night and Glenn Murray is once again an Albion player (for a season at least). The former Albion favourite returns after five years away with arch rivals Crystal Palace and short stints with Reading (on loan) and Bournemouth.

The 32-year old isn’t a spring chicken anymore like he was back in the Withdean years, but he brings along with him some Premier League experience following his time in the big league with the Eagles and Cherries respectively.

Although manager Chris Hughton feels this is a good signing for us going into the new campaign, I look at Glenn and then look at our current top dog, Tomer Hemed, and struggle not to come up with similarities between the two.

Both are strong men who hold the ball up well. They are both deadly in the air and have that striker’s instinct of being in the right place at the right time. But both simply don’t have the pace we need to inject into this side up top.

We are too reliant on our wingers, Jamie Murphy and Kazenga LuaLua in particular, to bomb down the wing into the box and cause defenders problems.

Look at the teams that went up automatically last season. Burnley had Andre Gray, Middlesbrough had Jordan Rhodes (maybe for only half a season but that was more than enough). Both caused havoc for opposition back lines and scored the vital goals to get their teams promoted.

James Wilson was meant to bring our pace to the table last year along with Sam Baldock, but whilst one struggled to find form, the other suffered injury problems all season.

Then there is the question of whether Glenn will score us enough goals? We know he will score some big goals for us, but is he the same striker that powered in 31 goals for Palace during their successful promotion season back in 2012-13?

He is a good signing in the fact that he has been there and done it, and he will be key in the dressing room, telling the younger players not to feel too nervous and enjoy the experience.

But this makes him more of a like for like replacement for Bobby Zamora, who was released this summer, the only exception being he is younger and will be on the pitch far more than BZ was during the previous season (touch wood he doesn’t suffer a nasty injury).

So the question is where does Chris go from here? He now has three first team strikers in Hemed, Baldock and Murray, but he will definitely need to be in the market for a permanent striker. A young, pacey forward that will have the ability to score 20+ would be perfect, but we all know how difficult it is this day and age to afford one of those.

Newcastle are already using their parachute payments they received from the Premier League following last season’s relegation by signing Dwight Gayle for around £13 million pounds. We simply cannot compete with that.

However, forgetting the poor Elvis Manu, Chris and his recruitment team have done extremely well in bringing some excellent players to our football club. The likes of Beram Kayal, Liam Rosenior, Tomer Hemed, Gaetan Bong, Anthony Knockaert and Jiri Skalek have all come in settled well into the first team, so in Chris and the team I trust.