“Be careful what you wish for Brighton fans” - How the football world owes us an apology

[Wozza]

It's odd that we look it this in such a linear way, something I'm equally guilty of doing.
They all meet every Monday.
I'll hazard a guess they all meet in a regular specific 'recruitment' meeting.

I'd be absolutely amazed if within those meetings demands are laid down or it's awash with histrionic pouting.

Everybody is working towards the common goal, they appear to be like minded individuals and they're all paid handsomely to get there.

It's not like Mr Bloom has thrown 'Arry or Big Sam into the mixer and said 'you'll all get along just fine'.

I'm not suggesting that there's any type of friction - merely that the head coach (whoever it is) has a diminished role in recruitment at the Albion, so referring to a "Potter signing" is nonsensical.

 

[Icy Gull]

Exactly this. Nobody knows what CH would have achieved with a refreshed squad this season - particularly if we added goals from midfield. Clearly at the end of last season the team had completely run out of steam - as, TBF, so had Potter's team in the couple of months before lockdown.
Yes, maybe if we'd stayed with CH we would be going down now - quite possible, but anyone who thinks they can state that as a fact is a bit of an idiot. On the other hand, he might have turned it round. We'll never know; all anybody will have is an opinion. I was upset when TB sacked Hughton, but I am happy now to have Potter as our manager, and the fact that we now have a younger, quicker squad.

Can we agree that CH had only one plan, being plan A once we made the Premier League. Go out , try not to concede and hope for a breakaway and then sit back and defend, hoping for maybe another breakaway. The “old faithfulls” were mostly shoo ins and breaking into the team and staying there was tough under CH

GP changes things in games and for that reason we are much less predicable. Managers are wise to this now but we caught them on the hop early season. We also have a big squad that he uses so we now have experience in most positions and can replace players in game without weakening the team, whilst also changing tactics, depending on how things are going.

I am so grateful to CH for what he did for us but the inability to progress at this level with his style of management meant he’d reached his ceiling imo. Sorry but that’s how I saw it, I am convinced that he would not have turned it around. I do not believe that some of our signings would have come here if CH was still manager

 

[Stat Brother]

I'm not suggesting that there's any type of friction - merely that the head coach (whoever it is) has a diminished role in recruitment at the Albion, so referring to a "Potter signing" is nonsensical.

Yeah I'm agreeing.

They are 'club signings' everybody has input, I don't imagine anyone gets completely overruled in a:-

"It's my club I'm signing him"
"I'm Director of Football so he's signing"
"If you don't sign him I walk"
Or conversely
"If he signs I'll never play him"

stylee.


As said 'Arry's not been appointed!

 

[neilbard]

This.

Watching many of the games under CH in his last season were painful and not the least bit enjoyable. The predictability of it all was depressing. Set up not to concede and then sneak a goal and try to shut up shop. A tactic used on every team. If you were the visiting manager you’d know exactly what you needed to do, absolutely no guesswork involved! This played into the hands of the teams around us who knew they could have a go with little cause for concern.

At times it was like watching hypia knowing that the end result was inevitable.

Saying all of that. If I was a chairman of a championship team I would have CH on speed dial as these tactics work well.


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From this...

Man Utd finished 6th we finished 17th..

To this...

Bournemouth finished 14th

Something went horribly wrong from February onwards, the players stopped performing for whatever reason, there were times when they couldn't even find a striped shirt to pass the ball too,

appalling stuff from manager and players alike.

 

[Guinness Boy]

I'm not suggesting that there's any type of friction - merely that the head coach (whoever it is) has a diminished role in recruitment at the Albion, so referring to a "Potter signing" is nonsensical.

However, and agree with Stat it is nuanced, there is a Potter ERA signing.

He has brought his own recruitment man with him to join the team. Initially I thought this might cause friction (and still suspect the addition of Ashworth undermined Hughton). However, we seem to be getting the players who suit the coach now. I honestly never saw Locadia or Jahanbaksh as "Hughton players" but Webster, Lamptey and Mooy all suit Potterball in all its forms.

 

[dazzer6666]

Yeah this.

Chris Hughton is an Albion Legend.

Graham Potter was the right choice, but he will have to do a hell of a lot more than keep us up to be considered a legend.

but so far so good.

Also true.......

I don't think (and clearly neither did Uncle Tony) that Chris was the right coach to take the club on the next stage of the journey (or in whatever cheesy bollox term it's being described), hence the absolute need for a more progressive coach. It was a calculated (and brave - he would have known he'd get flamed for it, and if we'd gone down this season the chorus of laughter and 'I told you sos' would be horrific) punt on Tony's part to do it when he did, and particularly by appointing 'untried' (at PL level) manager. When he did it, it was rapid and ruthless (he obviously learned from the Sami debacle) as it had to be to give Potter the maximum time to settle pre-season. The huge challenge for Potter was keeping us up AND starting to make the transition on and off the pitch in the same season - that he looks to have been able to do that (in spades) is hugely commendable IMO and points to a very, very good coach, supported by an outstanding team from top to bottom. It'll be another couple of seasons before we really see the real fruits of Potterball I reckon but we're in a massively better position than we were this time last season.

 

[GT49er]

As a black Albion fan tweeted at the time, the danger to black coaches came not from CH's sacking but the hysterical media reaction. She pointed out that chairman of other clubs would look at the reaction and wonder whether appointing a black coach would be worth all the aggravation when the time came - as it surely would - to part ways.

Absolutely this. Same as on the Sol Campbell thread too.

https://nortr3nixy.nimpr.uk/showthread.php?380955-Sol-Campbell&p=9398084&viewfull=1#post9398084

 

[Jolly Red Giant]

That’s all we heard when our Tony Bloom made the choice to replace Chris Hughton.

“Be careful what you wish for”
“Arrogant Brighton”
“What do they expect to achieve?”

I won’t bring in the abhorrent accusations of racism that was seriously raised by some (yes, really..a reminder: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/f...-Townsend-slams-Brighton-sacking-Hughton.html)

And why was the football world so anti Brighton after sacking Hughton?

Because we, or specifically Uncle Tony, dared to look up. Dared to attempt to be more ambitious than backs to the wall defending and finishing one place outside relegation every year.

Chris Hughton will always be a legend to Brighton fans. But it was the right move, and Graham Potter has now vindicated Tony Blooms faith. The improvements to our club, tactically, the attractive progressive football we’re now capable of playing, all whilst achieving safety and even blooding youngsters.

Suddenly we’ve turned from being a Huddersfield or a Cardiff into a club that has legitimate aims of becoming mid table. We’re a club on the up.

All these experts, who arrogantly slated us as fans, slated Tony Bloom and our club in general, if they had any decency should make a retraction, even an apology, but of course they won’t.

As a reminder. Here’s a taster. This is what John Barnes was saying (“I don’t know what Brighton fans expect”):



Danny Mills told us, “you can’t play that way at Brighton”:




[tweet]1127992526445719553[/tweet]

We can praise Graham Potter later at the end of the season (and we surely will, he’s been a superb appointment and a breath of fresh air).

But tonight I raise a drink to Tony Bloom, Dan Ashworth and Paul Barber. They stuck their necks on the line making a hard decision for the betterment of Brighton and Hove Albion. They dared to show ambition and believed there was a better way to progress. They refused to settle for our lot in life.

They were way ahead of the curve, and certainly ahead of the so called football experts, journalists and pundits.

“Be careful what you wish for Brighton fans”. If the pundits who wrote such disparaging comments at the time had any decency, they’d write an apology today.

Is it really necessary to rehash all of this crap again ?

 

[Springal]

Is it really necessary to rehash all of this crap again ?

Yes.

Huge vindication of Tony Bloom decisive action last summer when many doubted him

 

[Skaville]

From this...

Man Utd finished 6th we finished 17th..

To this...

Bournemouth finished 14th

Something went horribly wrong from February onwards, the players stopped performing for whatever reason, there were times when they couldn't even find a striped shirt to pass the ball too,

appalling stuff from manager and players alike.

Interesting that that Bournemouth are a part of this post. When I look at Eddie Howe right now I see a deflated man and a team that are bereft of confidence who aren’t playinG for the manager. That’s where we were in May and their refusal to do anything about it is why they will go down

 

[Icy Gull]

Yes.

Huge vindication of Tony Bloom decisive action last summer when many doubted him

As if [MENTION=33329]Jolly Red Giant[/MENTION] wouldn’t have re hashed it if we had dropped out if the division. CH’s biggest non Albion fan on this board would not have been able to resist imo.

 

[Springal]

The thing is no one is slagging off Hughton or disrespecting him - but these staunch defenders almost come on here spoiling for a fight. Weird behaviour

 

[Deportivo Seagull]

From this...

Man Utd finished 6th we finished 17th..

To this...

Bournemouth finished 14th

Something went horribly wrong from February onwards, the players stopped performing for whatever reason, there were times when they couldn't even find a striped shirt to pass the ball too,

appalling stuff from manager and players alike.

We got sussed and played into the oppositions hands. If you aren’t going to have a go then it makes the oppositions job very much easier. That was down to CH.


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[Cheshire Cat]

There hadn't been a vast improvement in results though. We are still scrapping with relegation most of the season.

 

[neilbard]

Interesting that that Bournemouth are a part of this post. When I look at Eddie Howe right now I see a deflated man and a team that are bereft of confidence who aren’t playinG for the manager. That’s where we were in May and their refusal to do anything about it is why they will go down

I agree we were there in May but we stayed up in 17th position, Hughton was sacked the day after Man City ripped us a new one, Eddie Howe looks like he could take Bournemouth down?

If Bournemouth do stay up like we managed to do, we don't know if Bournemouth will off load him, chances are they will keep him,

PL record finishing 14th, 12th, 9th and 16th isn't too shabby but they could finish 19th this season.

Hughton managed 15th and 17th that was enough for Bloom to ring out the changes and rightly so, the team had stopped playing for Hughton.

 

[Guinness Boy]

Is it really necessary to rehash all of this crap again ?

Brighton easing out of relegation problems with games to spare and Corbyn chased from the Labour front benches with his tail between his legs and yet you were back on here literally five minutes after your ban expired.

I wonder why?

 

[neilbard]

The thing is no one is slagging off Hughton or disrespecting him - but these staunch defenders almost come on here spoiling for a fight. Weird behaviour

Who's defending Hughton? It was time to say goodbye sadly, we were appalling the players had stopped playing for whatever reason and he failed to turn it round, but the football world still doesn't owe us an apology.

Who really gives a flying fig about the so called pundits, I certainly don't care what they think or write.

 

[GT49er]

Can we agree that CH had only one plan, being plan A once we made the Premier League. Go out , try not to concede and hope for a breakaway and then sit back and defend, hoping for maybe another breakaway. The “old faithfulls” were mostly shoo ins and breaking into the team and staying there was tough under CH.:

Certainly looked that way in the last half season. We'd all previously seen, though, that Hughton teams could (and had done so at times) play good attacking football. Perhaps his professional opinion was that with the players he had available, that was the only way to go until he could refresh the squad? Guess only Hughton knows the answer to that!

I am so grateful to CH for what he did for us but the inability to progress at this level with his style of management meant he’d reached his ceiling imo. Sorry but that’s how I saw it, I am convinced that he would not have turned it around. I do not believe that some of our signings would have come here if CH was still manager

Totally agree with the gratitude bit. I don't know whether he would have turned it round or not; personally, I'd have given him the chance - but that's just my opinion - it certainly does not mean to say I think TB got it wrong! Potter's doing OK .................... and I'm looking forward to next season.

 

[R. Slicker]

I said it at the time, anyone who sat through the 'Football' we played for the last half of last season could not be surprised that Hughton was let go.
That said, still a legend for what he achieved before.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Seems to me that the quotes quoted by OP were honest shock on the spot reaction at what some might say was the fairly brutal sacking of Chris Hughton by what some might say is a fairly genteel family club. Don't think many of the commentators thought the club had it in them to do the iron fist in the velvet glove