Vote for your WeAreBrighton.com Player of the Month for December 2011
In the month of goodwill to all men, a combination of Brighton and Hove Albion’s performances and some shocking refereeing decisions saw the Seagulls hand out the gift of victories to four of their opponents throughout December.
Nottingham Forest were the only team Gus Poyet’s side managed to beat right at the start of the month through yet another late Will Buckley strike. That turned out to be the only goal the Albion would manage to score all month, again highlighting where the problems within the team lie.
Indeed, away at Middlesbrough and Coventry City we couldn’t even muster one shot on target. They were both opponents so losing to them was far more hurtful than the heavy 3-0 defeat at promotion chasing Reading on Boxing Day.
Then there was the home game with Burnley, where Craig Pawson wrote himself into Albion folklore by dismissing both Romain Vincelot and Ashley Barnes inside the opening 15 minutes. Despite having to play for over three quarters of the game against the Clarets with 10 men, we still could’ve got something out of it were it not for some more woeful finishing.
Given those trials and tribulations in front of goal, it is unsurprisingly a very defence orientated shortlist for our WeAreBrighton.com Player of the Month Award.
Liam Bridcutt
Continued his fine form for the season with a set of impressive displays throughout December, none more so than when anchoring the midfield against Burnley – an extremely difficult job given the circumstances of being down to nine men
Will Buckley
Scorer of the only goal of the month with another one of his super-sub performance from the bench against Nottingham Forest. He has looked lively when given the chance to play by Gus Poyet now that his injury woes from earlier in the campaign look behind him.
Lewis Dunk
Helped earn three points over Nottingham Forest with his clearance off the goal line and he continued to impress at the heart of the defence, especially during testing circumstances when the Albion were down to nine men against Burnley.
Adam El-Abd
Last seasons Player of the Year made his long-awaited return from injury at the end of November and was handed his first starts of the campaign in December. He put in a great performance in his first ninety minutes back against Burnley and did a decent job covering the injury crisis at right back, a position he hasn’t played in for a number of seasons.
Gordon Greer
A difficult month for the defence but it was one in which the captain again shone, continuing the form that saw him win our November Player of the Month award. He was superb against Nottingham Forest in preserving a clean sheet and impressed in the nine man display against Burnley.
Kazenga LuaLua
Four months after his permanent arrival from Newcastle United and he finally began to make an impact on the season. Dangerous whenever he has started and unlucky not to score at Middlesbrough with a trademark 30 yard effort that smashed against the post in the Albion’s only notable effort on goal all afternoon.
Craig Mackail-Smith
A goalless month for the Albion’s record signing although the lack of service hasn’t helped him. He worked tirelessly against Burnley on his own up front when he perhaps should’ve done better with a couple of chances. Despite that, he continues to be arguably the most popular player at the club.
Craig Noone
A quieter month by the high standards he has set himself so far this season. He did well against Burnley when introduced from the bench as part of the tactical reshuffle after 20 minutes and has also made a decent fist out of playing as a wing back when Poyet switched to the pretty disastrous 3-5-2 formation.
