[Albion] Are the club thin skinned and unable to take criticism?

[Uh_huh_him]

Smell out the fact he played lip service to the strategy and was always likely to rock the boat if he didn't get what he wanted. Yes everything else you said was of course true and I loved that about RDZ but if he can't see there had to be compromise to his other wants then it's his loss.

I don't think he paid lip-service to the strategy.
Certainly no more so than Bloom and Barber did.

The strategy was - If an offer comes in that is right for the club and the player, then we won't stand in their way.
When the offer came in for Caicedo, it wasn't the right time for the club.
MacAllister was going (planned) and Baleba wasn't ready to step up.
Caicedo agitated for the move and the club cashed in, leaving a big gap to fill in a demanding season.

I don't think it's reasonable to expect any manager to just accept losing his best players every season, without adequate replacements.

 

[NorthstandRacoon]

I'd draw a distinction between the footballing side (managers, players etc.) and the fan side of things.

There are, undoubtedly, specific decisions made on the fan side that seem, at best, counter intuitive to a neutral observer. On the other hand, if I try and be positive about it, the club are often making decisions based on "he said this / they say this / some camera only shows that" while trying to be fair to tens of thousands of fans. I don't think they always get it right, but I don't think anybody would in the same situation. That won't make anybody on the wrong end of one of those decisions feel any better, or make it right.

On the other hand, on the footballing side there's a clear strategy with a wealth of data behind it, and a proven record of success. Even if some decisions are still somewhat bewildering at times, I don't think there's any reason for anybody to question the club on that score.

I agree with all there. But do think we might have made a mistake with RDZ. Only time will tell.

 

[American Seagle]

But do you see the similarities between Bielsa and De Zerbi?

Sure. But that doesn't mean the club are thin skinned to stick to their already working plan. I don't get your point?

 

[Barham's tash]

I don't think he paid lip-service to the strategy.
Certainly no more so than Bloom and Barber did.

The strategy was - If an offer comes in that is right for the club and the player, then we won't stand in their way.
When the offer came in for Caicedo, it wasn't the right time for the club.
MacAllister was going (planned) and Baleba wasn't ready to step up.
Caicedo agitated for the move and the club cashed in, leaving a big gap to fill in a demanding season.

I don't think it's reasonable to expect any manager to just accept losing his best players every season, without adequate replacements.

It is when that’s the pre determined and explained strategy to line up replacements who might not be quite ready but have the potential to reach similar heights.

If he joined on the pretext of ‘don’t worry we’ll buy you a ready made replacement’ then Bloom is in the wrong, but if he didn’t then why is he throwing his toys out of the pram?!

 

[Uh_huh_him]

It is when that’s the pre determined and explained strategy to line up replacements who might not be quite ready but have the potential to reach similar heights.

If he joined on the pretext of ‘don’t worry we’ll buy you a ready made replacement’ then Bloom is in the wrong, but if he didn’t then why is he throwing his toys out of the pram?!

Toys out of the pram? When was that then?

He joined on the basis that we will sell players when it's right for the club and player.
The argument about what constitutes a "right time for the club" is where the difference of opinion is.

Accepting the club had little choice but to get the best price for Caicedo, the difference of opinion seems to have then moved to how to use that money to plug a gaping hole in our midfield.

This has led to some understandable annoyance from De Zerbi, often tempered with acknowledgement of the club's model.
But again, I must have missed this unreasonable temper tantrum thrown by De Zerbi.

 

[Talby]

I think @Guinness Boy & @Talby have perfectly summed up my exact thoughts on the matter and how I would have replied to some of the responses here.

However, I still stand by what I said. Whilst the club is superbly run, I do feel they give the impression that they don't take kindly to criticism. Not only with an opinionated manager (I'm not getting into why he shouldn't have done it in public), but they seem to not accept when they are in the wrong when making incorrect decisions against our fans for reasons that are not true or jumping on the slightest sign of untoward behaviour without gathering the facts.

These little things all make sense when they can sometimes come across as though the know what is best.

Also, some of the replies on here are a little over the top. No need to be for harsh haha it's a forum at the end of the day.

It's just my opinion and the recent big change in RDZ leaving made me think that it may well be the case.

I think fan behavioural matters are sometimes taken to an unnecessary extreme. The club will actively promote rivalries and big games, PB will make a derisory / mickey taking comment about Chelsea or our players will celebrate in front of the oppositions fans with cupped ears, or finger to lips etc. The club will also celebrate limbs in Ajax.

There’s also a culture of drinking, gambling and the media fuels tensions at times.

Yeah…some people way over step the mark but others are sanctioned due to the well used ‘bringing the club into disrepute’ argument.

That doesn’t appear to apply to players or officials at times. Eg. Bissouma playing whilst under police investigation is a key example but could you also suggest players going head to head with the opposition or getting in the face of the referee is inappropriate, likewise RDZ getting sent off?

The club wants atmosphere which means passion. Passion from fans at football is a peculiar one to define - is it BHAFC, Liverpool, Roma, Ajax, Marseille or Crawley, Fulham or Boca Juniors?

I suppose what I’m trying to get at is that it’s sometimes very difficult to understand what the club expects of fans, specifically the youths who travel up and down the country supporting the team.

Sorry if that makes no sense at all.

 

[NorthstandRacoon]

I think fan behavioural matters are sometimes taken to an unnecessary extreme. The club will actively promote rivalries and big games, PB will make a derisory / mickey taking comment about Chelsea or our players will celebrate in from of the oppositions fans with cupped ears, or finger to lips etc. The club will also celebrate limbs in Ajax.

There’s also a culture of drinking, gambling and the media fuels tensions at times.

Yeah…some people way over step the mark but others are sanctioned due to the well used ‘bringing the club into disrepute’ argument.

That doesn’t appear to apply to players or officials at times. Eg. Bissouma playing whilst under police investigation is a key example but could you also suggest players going head to head with the opposition or getting in the face of the referee is inappropriate, likewise RDZ getting sent off?

The club wants atmosphere which means passion. Passion from fans at football is a peculiar one to define - is it BHAFC, Liverpool, Roma, Ajax, Marseille or Crawley, Fulham or Boca Juniors?

I suppose what I’m trying to get at is that it’s sometimes very difficult what the club expects of fans, specifically the youths who travel up and down the country supporting the team.

Sorry if that makes no sense at all.

No I completely get it. They want passion but don’t want what comes of it which can be seen to taking it too far etc when ultimately that happens in highly strung matches