John Stephenson leaves the Albion

[Uwinsc]

Just imagine you thought you were responsible for academy development and then found out that a couple of your key employees had been told they were no longer required, without anyone consultation with you. Do you think this might make it more or less difficult for you to settle in the area

I would imagine this is a possiblity

 

[Dick Knights Mumm]

Doesn't feel like good news to me. I have nothing to base that on - other than than when everything appears to be going well I feel happier on a "steady as she goes" course.

 

[Ecosse Exile]

Clash of personalities with Gus and then there would be only one winner, the Hoskins deal was on since January, Mackail Smith was on the radar too in January so the only signing of any note would have been Buckleys so maybe Gus is fed up on losing out on his targets due to all the 6 part faffing about.

It did seem a bit long winded, i remember at the time he announced this thinking by the time we have done all these checks the player will have either fallen short somewhere or been signed by someone else!

 

[clarkey]

It did seem a bit long winded, i remember at the time he announced this thinking by the time we have done all these checks the player will have either fallen short somewhere or been signed by someone else!

Or it will be November.

 

[deletebeepbeepbeep]

What is going ON at the Albion? Who will be next to face the chopping block!? Will it be GUS!?

 

[clarkey]

What is going ON at the Albion? Who will be next to face the chopping block!? Will it be GUS!?

Dont be silly. Gus has realised he doesnt need anyone else. He can do it all on his own. Give it a few weeks and he'll be the only one left.

 

[Giraffe]

Pretty obvious that something is wrong. Suspect it is a case of Stephenson feeling undermined by the manager who is very strong about what he wants. Suspect Stephenson thought the job was not what he had at Watford with a weaker manager. Strange on the back of Brown going though.

 

[Driver8]

Much as I love him I can imagine Gus being a nightmare to work for.

 

[Ecosse Exile]

I thought it very strange that on Andy Naylor's Q&A the other day, Naylor had no idea that Steve Brown had gone, either Naylor is well and truly cut off from the club now, or the club were trying to keep it quiet.

I suspect it was the latter and that this news from Stephenson, is not exactly unexpected, and were hoping to reinstate Steve Brown before the news broke.

Time will tell i suppose.

 

[wilko1]

Clearly something not right here, and probably no coincidence with Brown going too

The not settling bit cant be about not settling in Brighton, as I understand he didnt live in Watford before, but near Crewe, which must prove its not about our town!

As we all know Gus is very much his own man, perhaps there was a major clash of personalities

 

[Seagull over Canaryland]

Very curious. The 'not settling in Brighton' excuse sounds a bit thin. Can't imagine JS would walk away from all the positives at The Albion plus the opportunity to have a state of the art training academy, without having a good reason. I expect he would have been on a good financial deal too. Sounds like some sort of fundamental disagreement, wonder if it got to the 'it's Gus or me' stage, in which case JS was on a loser.

On the plus side I anticipate Tony Bloom will be head hunting already. He won't let this hiccup tarnish our progress.

Also might explain why the additional signings are taking a little longer to sort than hoped for?

 

[Pantani]

A possibility that no one has considered yet, is that Stephenson may have received a better offer elsewhere.

 

[Daffy Duck]

Don't think any of us will ever know the real reason.

I do like a good conspiracy theory, though.

 

[daveinprague]

Watford fans seemed pissed off when he left for us. Wonder what they make of it.

 

[BensGrandad]

Perhaps if that is true he lived near Crewe when at Watford, that he moved to Brighton and he couldn't settle here. It is unlikely that he would commute between Crewe and Brighton each day and we are all adding 2 and 2 and making 5.

 

[7:18]

it seemed very strange to me, came out of nowhere...don't think we will ever know the real reason, I just hope we get a good replacement in

 

[Biscuit]

it seemed very strange to me, came out of nowhere...don't think we will ever know the real reason, I just hope we get a good replacement in

100% this.

 

[Napper]

Watford fans seemed pissed off when he left for us. Wonder what they make of it.

loving it I expect, the internet forum of theirs seem to really not like us

 

[BigGully]

We are in a fortunate position where we currently have a manager that has 'absolute power', maybe one of only a few in the professional game.

Any recruitments or departures especially on the footballing side, I am sure will be his decision and his only.

 

[Silent Bob]

So some people think he got rid of Brown and that's why he's been got rid of, some people think he's gone because he Brown was sacked against his will??

Second one sounds slightly more likely, but who knows. Rumours about Gus not being entirely happy with him/the set up do seem more credible now but would Bloom have gone against Gus to begin with?

I doubt we'll be told the turth by anyone, I guess what happens next will be some indication.

On the academy, hopefully we have already got some good use out of him even if none of it has been made real yet.