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

[Simster]

I know that this is also old ground, but it is obviously easier for you to be emotionally detached from the ups and downs because you don't actually support Brighton, don't go to games, as far as I'm aware have no connection with Sussex, don't live in England and have consistently refused to say who you do support and why we have been lucky enough to be selected as the recipients of your expert advice about how we should best go about supporting our own football team. I really don't know how we managed before July 2015.

I thought he was a Crawley Town fan?

 

[Finchley Seagull]

Hughton's objective was PL survival - he achieved that twice with Brighton - a remarkable achievement that most promoted clubs don't achieve - and with a bottom three budget and not a lot in the way of transfers. We have no way of knowing what Hughton would have done this season with an £80m transfer budget six new first team players. Bloom made his decision - and it has worked out well this season.

As has been pointed out a number of times here, you are wrong about transfer fees. We didn't spend £80 million this summer. And you underestimate how many players were brought in during Chris Hughton's time in charge. We brought in a lot of players across the first two seasons but he wasn't able to build in season two, despite us spending quite a bit of money. Whether or not you think that is down to Hughton or poor signings, he was still backed considerably before the second season.

We bought in Mooy, Webster, Maupay and Trossard this summer. All of whom have been first team regulars. For the rest, who do you mean? Lamptey has only played two and a half games. Clarke has been on loan all season. Mac Allister was already a Brighton player and just returned. You are basically making up "facts"!

Nobody on here was particularly criticising Hughton until you came along being very defensive. It was mainly comments about the lazy pundits who didn't look at the form in the second half of last season and just criticised Bloom and the board for sacking Hughton. The same pundits who had been criticising our style of play for most of the season.

Hughton will always be one of our best managers. He turned us round from a season near the bottom of the Championship to just missing out and then getting promotion within two years. He then kept us up for two years and got us to FA Cup Quarter and Semi Finals. Nobody can question that record. But it had all gone a bit wrong in the second half of his last season and it was time for a change, which luckily looks like it has worked out this season and hopefully we can build on that.

 

[Acker79]

Been through this before - Norwich were 5 points above relegation with 5 games to go (and 7 ahead of Sunderland who eventually survived) when Hughton was sacked - two weeks before they had beaten Sunderland 2-0. The Norwich board sacked and got their team relegated. We cannot predict what would have happened if Hughton hadn't been sacked - but the guy was adamant that he would have kept them up - and he had the pedigree and know-how to do it. Bloom didn't panic when things were dire and Brighton are still in the PL as a result.

I would also point out how in that first season, our final 5 games included Tottenham, Man City, Man Utd and Liverpool (and Burnley) and we picked up an unexpected point v spurs and three even less expected points v Man Utd.

Hughton did get the team to the semi-final and they nearly upset Man City in the game.

Only if you define 'upset' as pissed off that the game was so bad. It was an awful game and they beat us at a canter.

 

[rogersix]

I think he would be disappointed with all the nonsense that is spoken about him on here - and the tone of the nonsense. The guy is gone since May 2019 - time for some people to start showing him the respect he deserves for what he achieved at this club and not constantly harping on about what the football was like towards the back-end of last season.

are you always the dullest man in the room?

 

[dazzer6666]

are you always the dullest man in the room?

I'd imagine he's usually the only man in the room.

 

[LlcoolJ]

As many have said, CH is a hugely popular figure in football, and rightly so. So it was an easy target for many pundits to say "oh he kept you up and was sacked, what a DISGRACE (with added spurious racist undertones in cases)".

But (and I know this has been pointed out but bares repeating) MANY of the very same pundits were previously pointing out how the football we were playing was AWFUL, and how we were very lucky to survive having stunk out the division in the second half of the season.

Having your cake and eating it. So yeah, I agree with the OP. The cake they are eating now should be a large slice of HUMBLE pie.

 

[rogersix]

I'd imagine he's usually the only man in the room.

 

[Tweeting Seagull]

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.

Ironically this thread is full of arrogance. No one owes us an apology.

Yes. We’ve marginally stayed up more comfortably than in previous seasons and Potter has improved the team. Not that anyone saw that coming after the Palace defeat 5 games ago.

Either way, the ends don’t justify the means and that doesn’t in and of itself mean everything said about Hughton’s sacking is invalidated.

 

[Jolly Red Giant]

There you go then. There's a brief-ish explanation of some of my biases.

Your turn:

Everybody has biases - 14 months ago some people felt that Hughton shouldn't have been sacked - some people supported what happened - there was an intense and prolonged debate.

Now - what bias results in having to rehash the entire thing all over again?

Potter is the head coach, Hughton was manager. It's less his money to spend than it was CH's.

Google has let you down there, yet again.

Come on now GB - a bit of bias kicking in there - it was clear that Hughton did not have control over the players that were signed - but once Bloom made the decision to sack Hughton and go with Potter, he was left with no choice but to bankroll the players Potter wanted to bring in. Not doing so would have defeated the purpose of the appointment.

I thought he was a Crawley Town fan?

Nope - and another one to add to the list.

As has been pointed out a number of times here, you are wrong about transfer fees. We didn't spend £80 million this summer.

The Brighton transfer record was broken three time in the space of a couple of weeks (and would likely have been broken a fourth time if Mooy had been signed outright at the start of the season). More money was spent on three players than on all 11 squad players signed in 2018.

Again - many people do not seem to realise how difficult it is for a newly promoted team to sign players that are capable of playing at PL level - very difficult straight after promotion, a little less so in the second season, easier in the third season - that is unless you are willing to throw £120million and throw a lot of big contracts at players.

Potter had 6 players that played pretty much every week that were better than anything Hughton had last season - that makes a massive difference to a team (and the performance of that team) - and all credit to Potter making the improvement that is clear (at least for the most part.

Hughton will always be one of our best managers. He turned us round from a season near the bottom of the Championship to just missing out and then getting promotion within two years. He then kept us up for two years and got us to FA Cup Quarter and Semi Finals. Nobody can question that record. But it had all gone a bit wrong in the second half of his last season and it was time for a change, which luckily looks like it has worked out this season and hopefully we can build on that.

No argument there - and it is a valid point that things needed to change. I disagreed with it at the time (so did others) - but it has happened now and it is time to move on.

 

[Simster]

Nope - and another one to add to the list.

What list?

 

[Finchley Seagull]

The Brighton transfer record was broken three time in the space of a couple of weeks (and would likely have been broken a fourth time if Mooy had been signed outright at the start of the season). More money was spent on three players than on all 11 squad players signed in 2018.

Again - many people do not seem to realise how difficult it is for a newly promoted team to sign players that are capable of playing at PL level - very difficult straight after promotion, a little less so in the second season, easier in the third season - that is unless you are willing to throw £120million and throw a lot of big contracts at players.

Potter had 6 players that played pretty much every week that were better than anything Hughton had last season - that makes a massive difference to a team (and the performance of that team) - and all credit to Potter making the improvement that is clear (at least for the most part.

I would agree with you it is hard to sign players when newly promoted. Despite any history you might have as a club, you are often bottom of the list of options for players (as Leeds may well find this summer despite the assumptions of their fans).

In terms of the six players, are you including Connolly and Alzate in that? If so, then they were both at the club at the time. If not, who are the others you mean? I am sure you will say I can't know this but, given his record with young players, I am confident Hughton would not have played Connolly and Alzate anywhere near as much as Potter has. It's not a criticism, just a point based on his time at the club.

You are being harsh in terms of the players signed in 2017. Calling them 11 squad players makes it sounds like all we signed was back up players. Ryan, Propper and Gross all played the vast majority of games that season (with the latter winning player of the season). Izquierdo played a lot and was arguably our best player in the second half of the season. Schelotto and Suttner both had runs in the side. So I would say that was quite a few first team players signed

 

[Springal]

Of course forgetting the 'wasted' transfer fees of Andone (a player we chased throughout Hughton term with us - took us a few years to get him), Locadia & Ali J.....

 

[Guinness Boy]

Come on now GB - a bit of bias kicking in there - it was clear that Hughton did not have control over the players that were signed - but once Bloom made the decision to sack Hughton and go with Potter, he was left with no choice but to bankroll the players Potter wanted to bring in. Not doing so would have defeated the purpose of the appointment.

Bias? Against what or whom? It's an absolute FACT that Hughton was manager and Potter isn't, and Bloom is on record numerous time, as is CH, in saying he had the final say in every player brought in.

In fact, were I to start stating Hughton wasn't involved that would lose him credit for getting Kayal for a steal, Knockaert for a steal, bringing Murray back, getting in Duffy and Ryan and that's just for starters.

 

[Chicken Run]

JRG, how did the big re opening go on Saturday?

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

No argument there - and it is a valid point that things needed to change. I disagreed with it at the time (so did others) - but it has happened now and it is time to move on.

Thank goodness for that.

 

[Jolly Red Giant]

In terms of the six players, are you including Connolly and Alzate in that? If so, then they were both at the club at the time. If not, who are the others you mean? I am sure you will say I can't know this but, given his record with young players, I am confident Hughton would not have played Connolly and Alzate anywhere near as much as Potter has. It's not a criticism, just a point based on his time at the club.

Yes I am talking about Connolly and Alzate. Throughout his time as manager Hughton has always played the best players he had available - for example - he used Nathan Redmond as a 17 year-old at Birmingham - and then signed him two years later at Norwich.

Many on here were constantly going on about Hughton not playing both players last season (some of the same are now saying that Connolly needs to be loaned out to the Championship next season) - however, Connolly was injured from January to April and then for the last few games couldn't get into a Luton team in League One - Alzate was playing in League Two for the first half of the season and then spent months out injured with a broken bone in his back. Hughton couldn't have played them because of injury even if they were good enough at the time. As I pointed out already - Hughton has regularly been singing the praises of Connolly in the Irish media. Now you can argue that Hughton would never have played them - I think that he would because his approach has always been to play the best players that he has at his disposal.

 

[Jolly Red Giant]

Bias? Against what or whom? It's an absolute FACT that Hughton was manager and Potter isn't, and Bloom is on record numerous time, as is CH, in saying he had the final say in every player brought in.
.

These days there is no difference in what term is used - and you know as well as I do that there were plenty of reports that Hughton didn't pick the players that were signed. It is worth nothing that you say Bloom stated numerous times that Hughton had the final say - why did Bloom have to repeatedly say it? having 'the final say' is - 'we have agreed a fee - do you want this guy?' - if Hughton kept saying no he wouldn't have been able to put a team on the pitch. Much better to ask the manager which players should be targeted for transfer and go after those.

Also - GB - a word of caution - be extremely careful about declaring what is and is not 'absolute FACT' - there are only two absolute FACTS in todays world - death and taxes.

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

What list?

Presumably the list of people up against a wall and facing a firing squad when the revolution arrives.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

 

[Chicken Run]

These days there is no difference in what term is used - and you know as well as I do that there were plenty of reports that Hughton didn't pick the players that were signed. It is worth nothing that you say Bloom stated numerous times that Hughton had the final say - why did Bloom have to repeatedly say it? having 'the final say' is - 'we have agreed a fee - do you want this guy?' - if Hughton kept saying no he wouldn't have been able to put a team on the pitch. Much better to ask the manager which players should be targeted for transfer and go after those.

Also - GB - a word of caution - be extremely careful about declaring what is and is not 'absolute FACT' - there are only two absolute FACTS in todays world - death and taxes.

Lord Lucan?

 

[Stat Brother]

are you always the dullest man in the room?

Woow woooow woooooooooow

I turn my back for an afternoon because JRG is all over this thread and this happens.


Come on, I've got a reputation to maintain.