[Football] De Zerbi offers to resign as Marseilles coach

[Sid and the Sharknados]

I think it was @Guinness Boy who said Fab feels like a mix of the best bits of Potter and RDZ. It really does feel like this.

I'm trying to think that through from @Guinness Boy's perspective.

Presumably we're talking RDZ's tactics, man management, play style, attitude, personality, and Potter's... erm, sparkling wit?

 

[Springal]

I'm trying to think that through from @Guinness Boy's perspective.

Presumably we're talking RDZ's tactics, man management, play style, attitude, personality, and Potter's... erm, sparkling wit?

Man management

 

[Zeberdi]

I'm trying to think that through from @Guinness Boy's perspective.

Presumably we're talking RDZ's tactics, man management, play style, attitude, personality, and Potter's... erm, sparkling wit?

or better in defence than RDZ and better in attack than Potter?

 

[Guinness Boy]

Man management

Well, Pascal Gross called him 'my most important and influential manager'. Whether Trossard (who has been sulking away at Arsenal) or Sanchez (who has been shit at Chelsea) would agree is unlikely. In the same way GP developed a lot of our players (which I'll come back to) but apparently didn't notice Connolly heading for AA meetings (or couldn't do anything about it).

I think it was @Guinness Boy who said Fab feels like a mix of the best bits of Potter and RDZ. It really does feel like this.

I'm trying to think that through from @Guinness Boy's perspective.

Presumably we're talking RDZ's tactics, man management, play style, attitude, personality, and Potter's... erm, sparkling wit?

or better in defence than RDZ and better in attack than Potter?

I might have said that but I certainly don't remember it. I've said specifically that we look better set up to get results under FH, that he's pragmatic and intense in the right way. RDZ was too wedded to patterns, Potter often couldn't buy results. But he seems to have the good development and usage of young players (e.g. Baleba) that Potter did and the same drive for perfection and results that RDZ had so I now wish I had said it

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

I might have said that but I certainly don't remember it. I've said specifically that we look better set up to get results under FH, that he's pragmatic and intense in the right way. RDZ was too wedded to patterns, Potter often couldn't buy results. But he seems to have the good development and usage of young players (e.g. Baleba) that Potter did and the same drive for perfection and results that RDZ had so I now wish I had said it

Maybe it wasnt you then. But feel free to claim it!

 

[Springal]

Well, Pascal Gross called him 'my most important and influential manager'. Whether Trossard (who has been sulking away at Arsenal) or Sanchez (who has been shit at Chelsea) would agree is unlikely. In the same way GP developed a lot of our players (which I'll come back to) but apparently didn't notice Connolly heading for AA meetings (or couldn't do anything about it).

what about managing ‘up’ ?

 

[Guinness Boy]

what about managing ‘up’ ?

I'm not sure I get you? You're saying RDZ should have man-managed Bloom?

 

[warmleyseagull]

or better in defence than RDZ and better in attack than Potter?

Or just fortunate to have even better players and stronger squad. Potter had Maupay or Maupay option upfront for much of his reign. RDZ had insufficient depth to manage EL as well as PL and cups.

 

[Springal]

I'm not sure I get you? You're saying RDZ should have man-managed Bloom?

I think it’s pretty evident by Christmas the board and realised it wasn’t going anywhere and started to make plans. I don’t get the impression the board enjoyed working with him

 

[Guinness Boy]

I think it’s pretty evident by Christmas the board and realised it wasn’t going anywhere and started to make plans. I don’t get the impression the board enjoyed working with him

I agree, although I think that was after January. Had we had a good window he would have stopped sulking (yes, I know we don't normally do January but we had a ton of injuries, AFCON and Asia Cup and were in the last 16 of the Europe League) but as we saw in the summer Bloom's plans were longer term and focussed on value due to PSR issues at big clubs.

But it wasn't bad enough for Bloom to fire him there and then, nor is that 'man management'. There was simply a clash between two very ambitious people and only one of them was ever going to win it.

 

[Commander]

Or had Tony already made his mind up that RDZ wasn't the way forward and decided to keep quiet about it and more or less "let him sack himself"?

I think this is exactly what happened. I think while we were all hoping we could somehow hold on to RDZ, Tony had already decided his time was up. I really can't imagine that FH attending our game with Spurs over Christmas was a coincidence either.

 

[deletebeepbeepbeep]

"Before Marseille's opening game of the season, Robert De Zerbi used a projector to display a blurred-out contract offer from Manchester United in front of his squad.

He told his players: “This is where I could have been, but I put my passion before money. I came to Marseille for the passion." [L'equipe]

I think that is the most conceited thing I have ever heard.

 

[Zeberdi]

Or just fortunate to have even better players and stronger squad. Potter had Maupay or Maupay option upfront for much of his reign. RDZ had insufficient depth to manage EL as well as PL and cups.

When we’re talking about comparing a succession of managers, of course that’s the essence of it but the Club doesn’t stand still - we’d have dropped back into the Championship long ago if that were the case.

Our recruitment strategy over the consecutive seasons got us to a point this window where we were the biggest PL net spender than any other Club and second in Europe - and we still have a net spending surplus from our dealings over the past 5 years ago - that would have been unfathomable 5 years ago let alone 20.

With that, the squad has progressively improved ( a bigger progressive improvement this summer slightly outside our usual business model although we had a spring clean too) but so have our managers improved - we paid allegedly double for Hürzeler than we paid for RDZ and paid a fraction of that for Potter - when we get to the point where fans are saying a current manager is not as good as the previous manager, or the squad not as good as one we had several seasons ago , then we’ve already started regressing imo.

 

[ozzygull]

RDZ is still my favourite Brighton manager ever (yes, I had a little crush) I felt really sad at the last game when he said his good byes, but even then I knew it was the right time for him to leave. The journey we went on while he was here was not just about the trips to Europe, but a change in attitude by the fans and the club, not into being billy big bollox, but believing we can have a right to go and compete with the best. RDZ made us grow as a club, and he was bloody box office.

Fabian is also gong to be a great manager and his "lets upset the establishment" attitude is perfect to take forward what RDZ started and to build on it.

Obviously, we know the only person we can not question is Tony Bloom. He is the man