Brighton 0-0 Leeds United: Groundhog Day booing leaves Potter perplexed

Perplexed. Arguably one of the best and most underused words in the English language, it was therefore fantastic to hear Graham Potter use it in his post match interview following Brighton 0-0 The Leeds United.

Potter was discussing the booing that greeted the final whistle as the Albion again failed to put the ball in the back of the net in a game in which they were dominant. He could not understand it which, whether or not you agreed with the reaction of those who did boo, seemed a little bit naïve.

It was fairly obvious to most of us what those supporters who decided to vent their frustrations were booing. It was not the performance, because other than applying the finishing touch it was another promising display befitting of a side sitting eighth in the Premier League table.

And you certainly could not boo that current lofty position, either. Even if it is perplexing how a team who have not won in eight games stretching back to mid-September remains that high in the standings.

The players were not getting booed either. They played well, even current public enemy number one Neal Maupay. Yes, he could not hit a cow’s arse with a banjo, but Brighton looked more threatening with him back leading the line and linking play than they had in their previous two matches.

Potter is an intelligent bloke. He surely must realise that those boos were for the fact that Albion fans are living out their own version of Groundhog Day.

The booing was needless and arguably stupid. But people react stupidly when they become frustrated at the same old story playing out.

Take Phil Connors for example. He woke up every morning and was perplexed that he had to tell the weather in Pennsylvania over and over again, to the point where he drives his car off a cliff.

Brighton fans currently wake up every time there is a game and find themselves perplexed as the Albion miss countless opportunities which results in points being chucked in the bin over and over again.

That is why some of the fans left inside the Amex decided to boo at full time of Brighton 0-0 The Leeds United. It comes from the frustration of the club failing or refusing to sign a new first team centre forward for the past four transfer windows, resulting in the same old outcome.

Points wise, the bottom half of the Premier League table is slowly creeping up on the Albion, even if their eighth place looks strong. A difficult December featuring games against the likes of West Ham, Spurs, Manchester United and Chelsea lies ahead.

By the time corks are popping on New Year’s Eve, there is every chance that a promising start to the campaign and talk of a European tour will have given way to a fifth successive season of merely trying to survive in the top flight.

When Tony Bloom might publicly stated his ambition of becoming an established top 10 Premier League club, the expectations of supporters were risen, no matter what Potter might say about the club needing a history lesson having never finished above 13th before.

The Albion seem tantalising close to Bloom’s aim and yet at the same time, the same problem exists that has done for the entirety of the Potter Era. The simple fact is that the top 10 will not happen unless Brighton take the plunge on a striker.

That is easier said than done of course for a club who recorded a £67 million loss in the 2019-20 season. That figure will likely be even higher when 2020-21’s accounts are released, covering an entire season played behind closed doors.

The missing piece of the jigsaw, the final addition that turns the Albion into a top 10 outfit is so perplexingly obvious though that those pulling the purse strings surely cannot ignore it any longer. Until a centre forward arrives, Brighton will do nothing more than tread water and frustration will fester over what might be.

A look though the stats from Brighton 0-0 Leeds tells you everything you need to know. The Albion had 57 percent possession, six corners and 20 shots. Problematically, only four of those were on target.

And there was our old friend xG. When the Albion were flying in the Champions League spots at the start of the season, it looked like Brighton had exorcised their expected goals demons.

Chance would be a fine thing. The Seagulls recorded an xG of 1.90 compared to The Leeds United’s 0.88. Didn’t we do this yesterday, as Connors asks himself in the hotel when February 2nd plays out on a never-ending loop.

What made all these numbers most impressive was that they were recorded against a The Leeds United side who try and dictate themselves.

Potter was right afterwards when he said: “The performance was fantastic against a Leeds team that like to dominate possession, like to out-run you – they didn’t do that today.”

The first half was one way traffic and it is no exaggeration to say Brighton could have had the game dead and buried inside of 45 minutes.

Maupay was the chief culprit, looking a world away from the player who was clinical enough to have four goals from the opening six matches and rescue the Albion from losing to arch rivals Crystal Palace in the last minute.

The French striker had been one of the better Brighton players this season until Potter dropped him in favour of persevering with a false nine.

That combined with a penalty miss in the Leicester City Carabao Cup shootout seems to have destroyed Maupay’s confidence, which is obviously terrible news for the ultimate confidence player.

At the heart of almost everything good Brighton did was Tariq Lamptey. He tore The Leeds United apart to the point where Junior Firpo was booked inside the opening 10 minutes and then substituted at the break to save him from what seemed an inevitable red card.

Lamptey created five first half chances in Brighton 0-0 The Leeds United, more than all the other players on the pitch combined. The first of those came inside of four minutes for Jakub Moder to fire over the bar from six yards out when completely unmarked.

Anyone who thought “Here we go again” at that point, like Connors waking up to I Got You Babe playing on his alarm clock radio, would ultimately be proven right over the next 86 minutes as Moder’s miss set the scene for what was to come.

Maupay produced astonishing miss number one next, firing over from six yards out after more great work from Lamptey. The outstanding Leandro Trossard then hit the post and drew a save from Ilan Meslier.

Moder was next to rattle the woodwork, his cross-shot beating Meslier but not the angle of the bar and post. Maupay put astonishing miss number two wide of the post after Lamptey rampaged down the right and crossed Brighton had claims for a penalty turned down after Liam Cooper accidentally handled in the box.

Brighton were that good in the first half of their 0-0 draw with The Leeds United that Marcelo Bielsa hauled England Player of the Year 2021 Kalvin Phillips at half time as part of a mass tactical reshuffle, which also included the removal of Firpo.

The Peacocks were slightly improved for the changes, but it was still Brighton who dominated the second half. Meslier saved from Trossard, Moder stretched to lift a cross over the bar after Pascal Gross seemed to outpace someone – arguably the most perplexing moment of the evening – before Potter turned to his bench to try and find a means of breaking the deadlock.

His answer? Throw on DJ, Instagram influencer, fashionista and part-time footballer Jurgen Locadia for his first Premier League minutes since August 2019.

In the intervening two-and-a-half years, Locadia has bombed in the Bundesliga with Hoffenheim and then managed a paltry two goals for FC Cincinnati, the side who finished bottom of that hotbed of football which is Major League Soccer in the USA.

Not even the worst team in America wanted to activate their right-to-buy option on the Dutch striker, yet the centre forward situation at Brighton is so grave that here he was getting 15 minutes to try and rescue a Premier League win.

Maybe this was Potter’s way of sending a signal to the board? “Look Tony, we are that desperate for a new striker that I am having to chuck on this bloke, who spent last week photographing himself looking pensively into his fridge.”

That Locadia’s introduction was met with ironic cheers from the 31,166 in attendance (lol) was nearly as telling a crowd reaction as the smattering of booing at the end.

Locadia had an instant opportunity to show what he could do when a loose ball fell to him inside the area. As he turned to shoot, he appeared to fall over his own leg, with the result being a promising chance pea rolling harmlessly towards Meslier.

Fellow substitute Solly March made much more of an impact when replacing Lamptey. March cut in from the right and hit an effort which deflected over the bar off a The Leeds United defender.

The visitors finally threatened in the final five minutes and without Robert Sanchez, they might have even escaped with an unjust victory rather than it finishing Brighton 0-0 The Leeds United.

Adam Webster and Lewis Dunk did their best Chuckle Brothers impression, only to be rescued by an excellent save from the feet of Sanchez after Stuart Dallas got a sight of goal.

The Leeds United had their first corner as a result and from that, Tyler Roberts found himself free. His deflected effort appeared to be creeping into the bottom corner until Sanchez sprung from nowhere to claw it out with an even better stop than the first.

Up the other end Brighton went for their final chance, March becoming the third player to hit the woodwork when striking the post with a left footed effort.

When you see the frame of the goal giving such an inspired performance, it is easy to understand how Bielsa was on the shortlist for FIFA World Coach of the Year 2020. How many other managers could coax such a display from an individual?

Actually, don’t answer that. Almost every single opposition manager gets away from a hiding against Brighton and it has nothing to with the brilliance of their coaching.

It is all down to woeful finishing. The reason why it keeps happening is clear – and that is why some fans booed at full time.

Was it right to boo? No, but when fans are forking out £45 a game then you could argue that they are entitled to react however they want.

Was it understandable? In a way, yes. Will it mean we get an 800 word essay from Paul Barber in the programme for Spurs at home telling us how to support our team? Undoubtedly. Was the booing perplexing? Not really.

It was Groundhog Day… again.