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[Albion] De Zerbi was NOT “sacked”



Swegulls

Well-known member
Aug 29, 2023
1,293
Stockholm
I’m getting all dizzy, beeing an outsider here, used to shit football and shitty managers at QPR since the late 70’s.

Here’s a manager that didn’t even did one full season (honestly you can’t count this spring) hailed as the best ever.

The second best is regarded ”by the majority”, as many point out, as a more or less judas or paria.

Well, wonder what’s left to the number three, four or five? Sureley they weren’t that bad?

Anyway, looking forward to Fabian, a bold move by Bloom et al. With a bit of luck he’ll be the new number 1, he certainly got the players to do it!
 




BadFish

Huge Member
Oct 19, 2003
18,194
I’m getting all dizzy, beeing an outsider here, used to shit football and shitty managers at QPR since the late 70’s.

Here’s a manager that didn’t even did one full season (honestly you can’t count this spring) hailed as the best ever.

The second best is regarded ”by the majority”, as many point out, as a more or less judas or paria.

Well, wonder what’s left to the number three, four or five? Sureley they weren’t that bad?

Anyway, looking forward to Fabian, a bold move by Bloom et al. With a bit of luck he’ll be the new number 1, he certainly got the players to do it!
The problem with both of our previous two managers is that neither were around long enough to really show what they can do. This means that any opinion on either is based on incomplete data.

Having said that i think the prevailing opinion is that both were good and both had the potential to be the bets we ever had.

I agree with you though, third time lucky with Hurtz.
 


ozzygull

Well-known member
Oct 6, 2003
4,159
Reading
I have no idea if he was sacked or not. What I do know is that for a season and and a half I was living the dream. Watching some of the best football I had ever seen a Brighton team play. Watching them in the Europa League will be a memory that will live long. What can not be denied though is something upset the apple cart around January time and things never truly got back on track. RDZ went from happy to a moaning mini in interviews. Whatever caused that is only speculation.

He is defiantly not a crap coach, just a hot headed one. I think we knew that from day one though that he time with us was going to be a ride and bloody fantastic one. I am sure Tony Bloom does not regret hiring him.
 
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Guinness Boy

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Jul 23, 2003
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Here’s a manager that didn’t even did one full season (honestly you can’t count this spring) hailed as the best ever.
That's as dumb as saying Pedro's goals from the penalty spot don't count towards his stats.

Just since March we won the two games straight after Roma away, we beat Villa at home for the first time I can remember (by greatly changing tactics) and got a 1-1 draw at Newcastle, again with much changed tactics. We were shut out 0-0 by a desperately boring Brentford team who were the dullest I saw since, well, since Chris Hughton parked the bus at Wolves to get us a celebrated 0-0.

Of the defeats four of them were to Roma, Liverpool. Man City and Arsenal.

And all with an injury ravaged squad that had been playing Sunday / Thursday / Saturday for the first time in the club's history. Look at West Ham the season before, finished 15th but won a trophy in Europe.

De Zerbi is the only coach to take us to Europe, the only coach to win a Europa League group and only the third coach to get us to an FA Cup semi final. No amount of folksy Swedish revisionism is going to change that. He was also only the second coach to openly challenge Tony on recruitment and came off nearly as badly as the first guy.

It's perfectly possible for all those things to be true, and they are unless you have an agenda.
 


Sid and the Sharknados

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Sep 4, 2022
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I have no idea if he was sacked or not. What I do know is that for a season and and a half I was living the dream. Watching some of the best football I had ever seen a Brighton team play. Watching them in the Europa League will be a memory that will live long. What can not be denied though is something upset the apple cart around January time and things never truly got back on track. RDZ went from happy to a moaning mini in interviews. Whatever caused that is only speculation.

He is defiantly not a crap coach, just a hot headed one. I think we knew that from day one though that he time with us was going to be a ride and bloody fantastic one. I sure Tony Bloom does not regret hiring him.
He'd gone from "we've got massive balls and nobody can steal them" to "we're a small club who are lucky to be competing" from the start of last season. It was like he got freaked out by actually getting into Europe.
 




Swegulls

Well-known member
Aug 29, 2023
1,293
Stockholm
That's as dumb as saying Pedro's goals from the penalty spot don't count towards his stats.

Just since March we won the two games straight after Roma away, we beat Villa at home for the first time I can remember (by greatly changing tactics) and got a 1-1 draw at Newcastle, again with much changed tactics. We were shut out 0-0 by a desperately poor Brentford team who were the dullest I saw since, well, since Chris Hughton parked the bus at Wolves to get us a celebrated 0-0.

Of the defeats four of them were to Roma, Liverpool. Man City and Arsenal.

And all with an injury ravaged squad that had been playing Sunday / Thursday / Saturday for the first time in the club's history. Look at West Ham the season before, finished 15th but won a trophy in Europe.

De Zerbi is the only coach to take us to Europe, the only coach to win a Europa League group and only the third coach to get us to an FA Cup semi final. No amount of folksy Swedish revisionism is going to change that. He was also only the second coach to openly challenge Tony on recruitment and came off nearly as badly as the first guy.

It's perfectly possible for all those things to be true, and they are unless you have an agenda.
Don’t have an agenda, just an opinion. Hope that’s okay, even if you or someone else don’t like it.
 


Brovion

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Jul 6, 2003
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I have no idea if he was sacked or not. What I do know is that for a season and and a half I was living the dream. Watching some of the best football I had ever seen a Brighton team play. Watching them in the Europa League will be a memory that will live long. What can not be denied though is something upset the apple cart around January time and things never truly got back on track. RDZ went from happy to a moaning mini in interviews. Whatever caused that is only speculation.

He is defiantly not a crap coach, just a hot headed one. I think we knew that from day one though that he time with us was going to be a ride and bloody fantastic one. I sure Tony Bloom does not regret hiring him.
Meh. You're only saying that 'cos you fancied him! :lolol:

(But no, you're spot on).
 


Guinness Boy

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Don’t have an agenda, just an opinion. Hope that’s okay, even if you or someone else don’t like it.
It's not an opinion to remove three months from someone's managerial tenure because you didn't like it. It's just factually incorrect.
 




Guinness Boy

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I have no idea if he was sacked or not. What I do know is that for a season and and a half I was living the dream. Watching some of the best football I had ever seen a Brighton team play. Watching them in the Europa League will be a memory that will live long. What can not be denied though is something upset the apple cart around January time and things never truly got back on track. RDZ went from happy to a moaning mini in interviews. Whatever caused that is only speculation.

He is defiantly not a crap coach, just a hot headed one. I think we knew that from day one though that he time with us was going to be a ride and bloody fantastic one. I sure Tony Bloom does not regret hiring him.
Yup. RDZ was always going to be the torrid affair to Potter's mainly stable and dull marriage suddenly ended by a glow up, some better sex and an unexpected 'dear John'.

To continue the metaphor I have high hopes Hurzeler will be a 'keeper'. He's certainly getting some nice toys to play with.
 


Swegulls

Well-known member
Aug 29, 2023
1,293
Stockholm
The problem with both of our previous two managers is that neither were around long enough to really show what they can do. This means that any opinion on either is based on incomplete data.

Having said that i think the prevailing opinion is that both were good and both had the potential to be the bets we ever had.

I agree with you though, third time lucky with Hurtz.
Yes, I think you are right. There’s so many parameters here. Especially when young players are involved. Ali Mac one year wasn’tthe same one year later. Moses and Enciso are other examples.
It's not an opinion to remove three months from someone's managerial tenure because you didn't like it. It's just factually incorrect.
BHA didn’t play that well even before christmas, thats my opinion. The first 5-6 games though is another matter.
 
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Guinness Boy

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no, I think BHA didn’t play that well even before christmas.
Which is an opinion for sure, but not what you originally said.

We played well in some games. December saw us beat Brentford and Marseille and thrash Spurs 4-2. After the turn of the year we thrashed Palace at home and Sheffield United away twice. Many of the other games, however, were complete pants.

Let's not rewrite history.
 




Swegulls

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Aug 29, 2023
1,293
Stockholm
Which is an opinion for sure, but not what you originally said.

We played well in some games. December saw us beat Brentford and Marseille and thrash Spurs 4-2. After the turn of the year we thrashed Palace at home and Sheffield United away twice. Many of the other games, however, were complete pants.

Let's not rewrite history.
I’m glad we didn’t concede a goal or two early in those games against Sheff Utd. Could easilly be two down within a couple of minutes in at least one of them if memory serves me well.
 


dazzer6666

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Mar 27, 2013
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He'd gone from "we've got massive balls and nobody can steal them" to "we're a small club who are lucky to be competing" from the start of last season. It was like he got freaked out by actually getting into Europe.
I think he took the likelihood of not getting into Europe (due to injuries) very personally as he’s so ambitious so to avoid this ‘failure’ he looked for ways to try to make it happen - i.e. buying a raft of expensive PL-ready players in January - changing the club strategy on recruitment for short-term gain was never going to cut it with TB/PB though
 


Guinness Boy

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I’m glad we didn’t concede a goal or two early in those games against Sheff Utd. Could easilly be two down within a couple of minutes in at least one of them if memory serves me well.
One good chance in the league game IIRC. I was at the cup game. Bounanotte scored one of the goals of the season after only 14 mins and we were two up before half an hour. We then defended appallingly for the next 15 mins before completely bossing the second half.
 






OzMike

Well-known member
Oct 2, 2006
13,277
Perth Australia
There is an article in the Argus about the 'real' reasons he left.
Have to subscribe to read it, so I will just assume that he was sacked.
 


Jul 20, 2003
20,669
There is an article in the Argus about the 'real' reasons he left.
Have to subscribe to read it, so I will just assume that he was sacked.


I'm guessing The Argus story is broadly similar to some of this (with a couple of dozen badly targeted adverts).

 


Machiavelli

Well-known member
Oct 11, 2013
17,770
Fiveways
I’m getting all dizzy, beeing an outsider here, used to shit football and shitty managers at QPR since the late 70’s.

Here’s a manager that didn’t even did one full season (honestly you can’t count this spring) hailed as the best ever.

The second best is regarded ”by the majority”, as many point out, as a more or less judas or paria.

Well, wonder what’s left to the number three, four or five? Sureley they weren’t that bad?

Anyway, looking forward to Fabian, a bold move by Bloom et al. With a bit of luck he’ll be the new number 1, he certainly got the players to do it!
Both GP and RDZ were great managers, but were very different and had very different trajectories.

GP followed on from CH, who took us to the PL after half a season of dour survival in the Championship, followed by two scintillating seasons playing both pragmatic and attacking football. The first of these seasons was just delightful but ended in the most glorious failure. The next season, we were just like a machine (in a good way) and got promoted with several games to spare. We were pragmatic in the first PL season under CH, but became increasingly dour in the second season and only just survived. We had an old, unathletic and slow squad and were heading in one direction -- Bloom sacked CH the day after the season ended.

GP transformed the way we played immediately and, gradually, the profile of the squad began to shift. We played exciting football and went toe-to-toe with any team in the PL (whereas we had been timid prior to that against the top teams, despite picking up the odd positive result). Our points total didn't improve that much for two seasons, but we were clearly heading upwards. That became manifest in the third season under GP, where our quality really shined. That was continued into the next season, but GP left taking many of the coaching team with him.

RDZ took a while to get going but the WC winter was kind to him, giving him a bonus 'pre-season' to work with the players in Nov + Dec. Thereafter we were devastating for a year, finished sixth, qualified for Europe and played the best football the club has experienced. You're aware what went on in the second half of the season.

Most importantly, BHA fans have a propensity to rewrite what former players/managers did while here. You might just have witnessed this happening gradually to RDZ in recent months; it was far more dramatic with GP, in no small part due to the circumstances of the departure.
 




Flounce

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Nov 15, 2006
4,246
There is an article in the Argus about the 'real' reasons he left.
Have to subscribe to read it, so I will just assume that he was sacked.
He felt TB was unfair to him. The Dickhead

It was a mutual decision, which sounds about right. He would 100% have been sacked if it hadn’t been….imo
 


Mustafa II

Well-known member
Oct 14, 2022
1,816
Hove
RDZ did not leave the club on good terms, which is a shame, as he could have been a legend.

His disgruntlement with the way the club was run clearly showed in our performances, which was really disappointing as we could have gone further in Europe, at least, or even qualified for Europe again.

He undoubtedly was the leader and mastermind of the greatest Albion team to date, which of course Potter was greatly responsible for as well, and we should all be grateful for that... but like with a lot of talented staff in the history of BHAFC, it didn't really end well, which tarnished the memories somewhat.

I think it's pretty clear that RDZ and TB were at an impasse, both unwilling to budge with their positions. TB wanted him to move on, he wanted to move on, and the rest is history.
 


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