‘Stop playing him’ – Brighton fans want ‘awful’ star axed and replaced in January after West Ham shocker
Brighton supporters were frustrated by Mats Wieffer’s performance in their 1-1 draw with West Ham on Sunday.
While West Ham fans were annoyed by Crysencio Summerville’s display against Brighton, Fabian Hurzeler will also be disappointed by how his side played down on the south coast.
The Seagulls were sloppy during the 90 minutes and were fortunate to get a point out of the match, thanks to a late strike by Georginio Rutter.
Yet, one of the poorest performers on the day was Wieffer who continued his bad run of performances from against Aston Villa on 3 December once again against the Hammers.
Mats Wieffer continues to operate in right-back experiment for Brighton
The Dutchman, originally brought in from Feyenoord as a central midfielder, has been taking up a right-back role this season in one of Hurzeler’s experiments.
The 26-year-old has been a near ever-present in the Seagulls’ starting XI, starting 11 of their 14 matches in the Premier League this campaign.
Yet, supporters are growing tired of this bizarre tactic to play the number 27 down the right-hand side of the defence.
Against the Irons, Wieffer‘s defensive frailties were exposed as he won just one of his five aerial duels as well as making just two recoveries.
| Selected stats vs West Ham (7 December) | Mats Wieffer |
| Minutes played | 90 |
| Shots (on target) | 2 (0) |
| Big chances missed | 1 |
| Accurate passes (%) | 37/45 (82%) |
| Possession lost | 11 |
| Aerial duels (won) | 5 (1) |
The Netherlands international was also careless on the ball, losing possession on 11 occasions and completing 37 of his 45 passes with an 82 per cent accuracy rate, lower than his usual higher standards.
Crucially, in the 33rd minute, the ex-Excelsior man missed a big chance that could’ve changed the course of the match as he rattled the crossbar from six yards out.
Brighton supporters were disappointed and enraged by his all-round poor showing, with one fan saying: “Stop playing Wieffer at right-back, sign a right-back in January.” with another fan adding: “Stop playing Wieffer, I’m struggling to find a more useless footballer in my time watching Albion including Mark McGammon and Martin Montoya.”
Fabian Hurzeler’s desire for bizarre tactics could ruin Brighton’s chances of European football
Dropping points against West Ham is yet another example of the Seagulls’ lack of consistency which has overshadowed their season.
Having been undefeated in four matches prior to the Villa defeat, Brighton are now winless in their last two matches.
If the German manager continues to play around with players in unfamiliar positions, it could potentially damage their hopes of qualifying for Europe at the end of the campaign.
The south coast outfit have an array of superb talent that have shown flashes of brilliance, but consistency is key if the Amex Stadium wants to enjoy the beauty of Conference League or Europa League football next year.