Skaville
Well-known member
Okay then - let's have at it
I am not going to go back over each post on this thread because they are mostly a rehash of older stuff from last year and it would be a pain trying to quote everything individually.
But let's take this 'huge vindication' - Bloom made a decision to sack Hughton - it was a risky decision, sacking a proven coach to replace him with an unproven coach with little resume. Hughton had a remit of getting the club to the PL and keeping them there - something which he did incredibly well. Those who supported the sacking of Hughton have little understanding of how difficult it is to keep a team in the PL (just look at Bournemouth this season) - and Hughton did it with few resources and a bottom three budget. I have posted previously of how difficult it is for newly promoted teams to stay in the PL (two are likely to go down this season) - and for teams that don't get relegated the first season to survive for a second season (have a look at where Huddersfield are today). Again, I made this point before - last season Southampton finished just above Brighton - yet had 11 players earning more money that the highest paid player at Brighton.
It takes a minimum of three years to consolidate any club in the PL - and to do it you have to spend a lot of money - and even then there are no guarantees. To keep a club in the PL you have to spend - and spend big - and even then you can get relegated - look at Fulham last season and Villa this season. During the two seasons Hughton managed Brighton in the PL, the club was down near the bottom in terms of spending on players. The weakness of the squad that Hughton had is demonstrated by even a cursory look at the players who Hughton had to rely on and who are now plying their trade in lower level football - Knockhaert, Kayal, Locadia, Andone, Hemed, Bong. At the same time some of the transfers, which Hughton did not have control over, proved to be dodgy at best - Jahanbakhsh, Izquierdo. The job that Hughton did in keeping the club in the PL was quite remarkable - and that is openly recognised across all levels of the PL.
Now Bloom made his decision - and he was entitled to do that as owner of the club. But let's look at the difference with Potter in his first season - three signings - all of whom broke the club record - and a fourth (Mooy) who was effectively another record signing (he would have been if signed last August - and Brighton were lucky to get him on the relative cheap in January). Bloom spent nearly as much last off-season as he had spent in the previous two seasons under Hughton - and he let Potter bring in the players he wanted. On top of that Potter had the advantage of being able to use two very good younger players - Alzate and Connolly (and picked-up a nice signing in Lamptey) that Hughton did not have at his disposal. Effectively, Potter had half of a new team on the pitch for most games. We have no idea what Hughton could have done with those resources at his disposal (and the guff that Hughton wouldn't have changed is nonsense - he had proven that in the past when he had better players available to him).
Now - Potter (and Brighton) started the season very well - with a win away to Watford (over what has proven to be a very poor Watford team) - and all of a sudden people on here were praising Potter and Bloom for appointing him. Then no win in six games and the doom and gloom set in - then Connolly hits the scene against Spurs and Potter is a genius (and Connolly is going to be sold for £50million). Seven points in the next 3 games - Brighton are up to 8th - and Bloom gives Potter a six year contract. At that point opposition coaches start to figure out how Potter sets his team up - inconsistency sets in - some poor loses, a couple of lucky wins (Arsenal should have won) and then from New Year's day to the lockdown in March not a single win. Brighton are pretty much in exactly the same position as they were the previous season under - and the mood on here is dour. The lockdown came at just the right time for the club and for Potter. First game back and a very lucky win at home to Arsenal - and the rest of the relegation competition are going backwards. Watford lose three players - Fraser refuses to play for Bournemouth, the wheels come off at Aston Villa, West Ham struggle and 7 points from three games mean that Brighton are safe and will likely finish in roughly the same position as Hughton did in his first season in the PL with Brighton. The pressure is off now and the Brighton players can enjoy themselves on the pitch - they deserve it - they have put in a good shift this season.
You need luck in football - and Potter has had a fair share of it this season. In my view the teams in the bottom half this season were weaker than last season. Potter has also had much more financial support from Bloom than Hughton ever got - if Bloom was going to justify sacking Hughton and hiring Potter then he had to pump a lot more money into transfers. Is Potter the next big thing in managerial terms - the jury is still out on that one and will be for some time yet - he has managed for less than a season in the PL. Has Bloom been 'hugely vindicated'? - the jury is also out on that one. We have no idea what Hughton could have done with £80million of a transfer budget and a couple of young players coming through - Brighton might have struggled - Hughton may also have done better than Potter - we have no way of predicting this. Bloom's vindication will not be proven for some time yet.
Next season is going to be difficult - and the pandemic has made it even more so - it will be difficult for most clubs, not just Brighton. I suspect that the PL will be stronger next season - Leeds and WBA will likely have more about them than Norwich and Villa - and I wouldn't be surprised to see the third spot taken by Cardiff who have experience of a relegation dog-fight. If Bloom is committed to Potter then this off-season - short as it will be - he needs to remove the purse strings. Brighton need two strikers capable of scoring goals in the PL (Maupay still hasn't hit double digits this season and the next highest scorer is Troussard with 4) - the top 2 goalscorers for Brighton this season have 13 goals between them - the only teams with fewer are Bournemouth, Villa, West Ham and Watford. Bloom needs to spend at least £100 million this off-season - and even if he spends big on strikers there is no guarantee that they will work out. PL standard strikers are very hard to come by. Don't be surprised if next season is a struggle as well - indeed it could be a bigger struggle than this season as every club will strengthen their squads and Potter will not have the advantage of being an unknown quality. Also some Brighton players may be targeted for transfers - wouldn't be surprised to see Duffy leave and Dunk could well be targeted by one of the bigger clubs. The midfield also needs to be bolstered. Saying that - I expect Connolly, Alzate and Lamptey to make progress and it will be interesting to see what White brings to the party.
So if you want to claim that there has been a huge vindication of Bloom for sacking Hughton and hiring Potter - then I suggest that you need to wait a couple of seasons and see where Brighton are at - indeed you could argue that you need to wait out the six years of Potter's contract. It would be great to see Brighton progress, be consolidated as a PL club and, who knows, do a Leicester and win one for the little guys. But it is way to early to make any judgement on the vindication of Bloom's decision to sack Hughton last season - that would be way too arbitrary based on the evidence to date.
Think you need to hire an editor
