Alex and Seb

[RhythmicTheory]

if its possible I would use bassong till the end of the season, hopefully get his value up a bit (assuming he plays well) and then get rid.  This is assuming that the rumours about his attitude are true, if not then i would keep him (only the clubs knows).

 

[SussexYellow]

I watched Watford a few times and saw the best and worst of Seb, sometimes commanding, other times distracted and anonymous. Watford fans opinions I saw said one week he was amazing, the next average.

Really not sure what the right thing to do here is, to be honest, if we try to sell, I don't think there will be clubs beating our door down for him.

I guess the best result is that we get his head right and he plays well for us. I'm not convinced though. Perhaps it was just Chris Hughton who could get the very best out of him.

Chatting to a Brighton supporter today - apparently they have centre backs to spare and do not need another. But apparently the talk is that he might be the defensive midfielder they need. Do not think I have heard of him playing that role well not on a regular basis.

Anybody think he could play that position?

 

[dj161]

We all know that Bassong had a pretty poor season last year, but I think its important to remember that with the exception of Snoddy and Olsson everyone had a poor season, Also with Hughton's defence 1st approach to football we had to do so much more defending than we really should of, so more mistakes were bound to happen, I'd have him back for sure

 

[Beauseant]

Sussex, he won his 2 French Under 21 caps as a holding midfielder and has also played there for Cameroon.

 

[Boyerboy]

We all know that Bassong had a pretty poor season last year, but I think its important to remember that with the exception of Snoddy and Olsson everyone had a poor season, Also with Hughton's defence 1st approach to football we had to do so much more defending than we really should of, so more mistakes were bound to happen, I'd have him back for sure

It was also obvious in several games that Bassong was not fit. He came back from injury too soon. All in all, there are good grounds on both sides for a clean slate.

 

[Surgeryman]

Chatting to a Brighton supporter today - apparently they have centre backs to spare and do not need another. But apparently the talk is that he might be the defensive midfielder they need. Do not think I have heard of him playing that role well not on a regular basis.

Anybody think he could play that position?

Here's something to speculate. Hughton bidding for Bradley Johnson.

 

[Yellow Fever]

Here's something to speculate. Hughton bidding for Bradley Johnson.

He could try, but I think it's be knocked back straight away. Also doubt that Brighton could afford BJ.

 

[eatonparkboy]

I understood that Bloom said there was no money available in January so they will have to get him on a free.

 

[Din]

https://twitter.com/browno_/status/554745557047332865

I was in Taverham Tesco today, gutted he wasn't there this time

To be fair though, Adrian Forbes only lives about 5 houses away from me, and Elliott Bennett only lives down the road, so I have my fair share of Norwich footballers living around me.

 

[Canaryboy]

No chance with Bradley Johnson, he's the midfield enforcer and will probably be Alex Neil's favourite player, to the bemusement of some fans perhaps - but three successive managers have made him an important member of our squad. I think Alex Neil will sign a wide player and move him back in the middle to be our 'enforcer'. 

Not sure about Elliott Bennett but with the shortage of wide players we can expect Alex Neil to at least want to have a close look at him? 

 

[GJP]

I prefer Johnson playing to the left of midfield. I think he can play that role quite well. 

I don't think he's a great "enforcer".

 

[Din]

As long as Bassong wants to be here I would be more than happy to have him back in the side. Look at Hoolahan. He called the club a "F*cking *bleep* club", and handed in a transfer request, and yet everyone loves him, why should the situation with Bassong be any different?

I would like to see Elliott Bennett converted into a right back, and have him and Whittaker compete for that spot, assuming that Russell Martin isn't going to play there any more. 

 

[morty]

Well according to the Pinkun story, he is back in from the cold.

I suspect Alex won't put up with any of his nonsense.

 

[The Great Mass Debater]

Did Adams cut his nose off to spite his face? Think we all understand the problem Adams had and can understand his approach. BUT, if Adams had handled things slightly differently and sucked up to Bassong and soothed his ego the way he did with Wes, might he still be in a job right now?

Suppose we will only know the answer to this one when it is seen how well Bassong does over the next few months. If he has a storming remainder of the season you could well argue this. If he's pants then probably not!

 

[Yellow Fever]

I prefer Johnson playing to the left of midfield. I think he can play that role quite well. 

I don't think he's a great "enforcer".

I agree. Also, his playing on the left means that both he and Tettey can play at the same time without the negativity of '2 defensive midfielders in the same team'.

 

[Yellow Fever]

Did Adams cut his nose off to spite his face? Think we all understand the problem Adams had and can understand his approach. BUT, if Adams had handled things slightly differently and sucked up to Bassong and soothed his ego the way he did with Wes, might he still be in a job right now?

Suppose we will only know the answer to this one when it is seen how well Bassong does over the next few months. If he has a storming remainder of the season you could well argue this. If he's pants then probably not!

The situation was different with Wes, as his outburst was when Hughton was in charge, and therefore didn't impinge on Adams' management situation. IMO, the fault lies with Bassong, not Adams, but Alex Neil can perhaps bring Seb back in in much the same way Adams did with Wes.

 

[Canaryboy]

Did Adams cut his nose off to spite his face?

I'd argue that it was his inability to sufficiently replace Bassong which was the problem, signing three centre backs and then not using them. Cuellar actually looks pretty classy, shame we had to wait half a season to see him play. Miquel was clearly deemed not ready, which is odd considering we were said to have paid £1.5m for him which is a fortune in the Championship, whilst Hooiveld is - put simply - a bit of a donkey. 

Perhaps this Bassong debate wouldn't even be happening if Adams had just signed (and played) a decent centre back from the start. For all we know that player could be Miquel. It is a bit mental that we've paid £1.5m for him and not played him isn't it, that's twice as much as Lambert paid for Ayala in the Premier League (and he played a little!) and is also the same fee that we paid for both Michael Turner and Cameron Jerome. 

Adams spent £1.5m on a kid that he decided wasn't ready, whilst signing Hooiveld on a season long loan, pretty much says it all doesn't it? 

 

[Gaffer]

My big problem with Bassong is really that his form dropped off while Hughton was still here - he'd lost his way fairly early on that season which was a big reason we struggled last season.

So I just can't see him ever recapturing his first season form under Hughton when he was our main defensive leader - it doesn't really work when you're being inconsistent and people know you've been a bit petulant about managerial changes.

It's down to him but I'm not particuarly hopeful.

If he can't perform for his 'dad' then who can he perform for? No one is going to pay any sort of money considering his contract is almost up so just loan him out again until his contract expires.

 

[The Great Mass Debater]

If he can't perform for his 'dad' then who can he perform for? No one is going to pay any sort of money considering his contract is almost up so just loan him out again until his contract expires.

Keeps being said that Bassong's contract is up in the summer. I've seen it written (not least on the Bassong thread) that his contract expires June 2016. Seem to remember he signed an improved contract after his storming first season? I dont htink he becomes a free agent in 6 months, which somewhat influences the situation

 

[Canaryboy]

Summer 2016 his contract expires