[Albion] Do Forest have a better squad than us?

[Justice]

Where was the proof Hürzeler wasn’t first choice.

He wasn’t even on the radar of these sports journalists when they were all guessing McKenna was the top choice. Shows what they know

And just to reiterate, as it was at the time, “ a stand out candidate” does not mean the first choice necessarily- it could just as easily mean, one of several that stood out in a crowded field.

Paul B. also said they considered 3 or 4 candidates and Hürzeler ”emerged as the outstanding candidate out of those”



I’d rather believe the Club than a transfer/sports journo.

Jindřich Trpišovský had already turned us down that’s how.

 

[tstanbur]

tell me you didn’t furiously search the board for that, to be fair I have changed my mind about him lately they could have beaten Arsenal last night with a bit more quality in front of goal.
Well done for stalking though

You literally asked me to prove it! How else would you like me to?

I searched for McKenna and your username to do so. Took 42 seconds to find the post. Hardly stalking.

Just made you look a bit of a mug though haven’t I?

 

[slartibartfast]

Other clubs have good squads too, shock.

 

[Zeberdi]

Jindřich Trpišovský had already turned us down that’s how.

Absolutely no reason to think Hürzeler was not Paul Barber’s and TB’s first choice to replace RDZ we had moved on considerably from the football we were playing under Potter - the football that St Pauli were playing was not that different to De Zerbi with Clubs having a similar culture and ethos. FH watched Brighton a lot and had an eye for talent and youth development - couldn’t have been a better appointment if only the fans would give him a season to develop his project.

 

[kevo]

Absolutely no reason to think Hürzeler was not Paul Barber’s and TB’s first choice to replace RDZ

If he was, they would have said as such (as they did with RDZ). The fact they did not, says everything.

 

[Weststander]

Absolutely no reason to think Hürzeler was not Paul Barber’s and TB’s first choice to replace RDZ we had moved on considerably from the football we were playing under Potter - the football that St Pauli were playing was not that different to De Zerbi with Clubs having a similar culture and ethos. FH watched Brighton a lot and had an eye for talent and youth development - couldn’t have been a better appointment if only the fans would give him a season to develop his project.

The Times reported on 20 May that McKenna faced the choice of Brighton or Chelsea, both sides willing to meet his personal demands.

 

[OzMike]

Tony will not sack FH just to appease supporters if he thinks he can get better.

 

[Snowflake]

Defensively, undoubtedly.

 

[Zeberdi]

The Times reported on 20 May that McKenna faced the choice of Brighton or Chelsea, both sides willing to meet his personal demands.

Yep, he did and we were probably willing as we would have been willing to meet the personal demands of any manager on our shortlist that we were seriously considering otherwise it is a waste of time and money to continue the process so I’m not saying he wasn’t short-listed. We were tracking these managers for months even years so knew well in advance of RDZ leaving who our preferred successor would be but we still interview a 3 or 4 top choice candidates and get them to the Club discuss terms in principle and look around as part of the interview process like any other employer.

I think there is a danger here that people are going to start a revisionist narrative on why they think Hürzeler is not ‘working out” by suggesting he was low on our list in the first place because our first choices turned us down. There is no proof of that. It is a constructed narrative for those trying to rationalise our poor performances compared to 2022/3 or the first half of last season.

We should know that Brighton doesn’t reveal specific details or comments on where we are in the process of who we are interviewing for top positions nor on players we are in the process of targeting.

 

[Zeberdi]

If he was, they would have said as such (as they did with RDZ). The fact they did not, says everything.

Oh for pete’s sake - I have just posted an interview with Paul Barber saying that Hürzeler was “THE outstanding candidate”. If you think Brighton are going to say to anyone that they preferred McKenna after employing someone else then you must be missing a few brain cells.

Clearly I’m in debate with the anti-Hürzeler fans here so I’ll leave it at that.

Believe what you want, the fact is Brighton chose Hürzeler to lead us into the next cycle of our development so live with it..

 

[oldboyroy]

But that’s not the question. Yes. They have more points. But how much of it is down to the coach ? Or timing ? (He’s had longer to work with them). ? Or is their bench better ? (How do you measure that ? )

Oh OK, well, I think we have a better squad but they are better than us tactically and Nuno is a better coach than Fab.

 

[Weststander]

Yep, he did and we were probably willing as we would have been willing to meet the personal demands of any manager on our shortlist that we were seriously considering otherwise it is a waste of time and money to continue the process so I’m not saying he wasn’t short-listed. We were tracking these managers for months even years so knew well in advance of RDZ leaving who our preferred successor would be but we still interview a 3 or 4 top choice candidates and get them to the Club discuss terms in principle and look around as part of the interview process like any other employer.

I think there is a danger here that people are going to start a revisionist narrative on why they think Hürzeler is not ‘working out” by suggesting he was low on our list in the first place because our first choices turned us down. There is no proof of that. It is a constructed narrative for those trying to rationalise our poor performances compared to 2022/3 or the first half of last season.

We should know that Brighton doesn’t reveal specific details or comments on where we are in the process of who we are interviewing for top positions nor on players we are in the process of targeting.

TB/PB at that time would’ve thought it win-win whether it be McKenna, FH or third on the list.

 

[Hiheidi]

Our interest / talks with McKenna were reported pretty soon after the news of RDZ's departure, until he turned us down on 27 May. Hürzeler's name didn't come up untill around 6 June when it was reported that our shortlist was Hürzeler, Rydström and Potter.

 

[Zeberdi]

TB/PB at that time would’ve thought it win-win whether it be McKenna, FH or third on the list.

Agree completely - none of the short listed would have been managers that could not have done a decent job of managing us - they had different strengths and weaknesses but we were not rushed like we were with RDZ so I think we had time to get the candidate we most favoured and was most suitable for us.

But I have to admit to not obviously being impartial!

I preferred Hürzeler out of all the options that were being discussed back in May because I didn’t think instinctively McKenna or Potter (a safe known option) or any of the other names being touted were that right for us which is why I looked elsewhere for a potential candidate.

That said, he is NOT a Nuno or even an RDZ and I am not blind to the fact we are still all over the place in terms of a first 11 and look reactionary and uncommunicative on the pitch at times but I think we’ll get there.

It is really important for our older players to hold it together - we can match Forest’s bench but not their defensive game or Nuno’s tactical nous from the touchline.

 

[Weststander]

Our interest / talks with McKenna were reported pretty soon after the news of RDZ's departure, until he turned us down on 27 May. Hürzeler's name didn't come up untill around 6 June when it was reported that our shortlist was Hürzeler, Rydström and Potter.

Was the Potter ‘interest’ later deemed a non starter, TB had never entertained reappointing him?

 

[nsclurker]

Squad? Debatable.

Team? Definitely.

 

[Zeberdi]

Our interest / talks with McKenna were reported pretty soon after the news of RDZ's departure, until he turned us down on 27 May. Hürzeler's name didn't come up untill around 6 June when it was reported that our shortlist was Hürzeler, Rydström and Potter.

As I said, we don’t discuss our negotiations in the media and its rarely the early stalking horse that leads the pack that gets selected - RDZ was an unknown name out of the blue, not mentioned until late in the process if I remember rightly but the Club later said they had followed him for years and we were lucky he became available.

I really don’t think one can formulate truths out of communications that haven’t been made public or make assertions based on data driven recruitment decisions behind closed doors, especially when we are not privy to how the data has been analysed.

Maybe we should get back to the thread topic with apologies to the OP.

 

[Not Andy Naylor]

Their first eleven appears to be better than ours, and in a way their relative lack of squad depth counts in their favour because they start the same 11 or 12 players in most games. Whereas it's anybody's guess who'll be starting for us.

 

[jcdenton08]

Their first eleven appears to be better than ours, and in a way their relative lack of squad depth counts in their favour because they start the same 11 or 12 players in most games. Whereas it's anybody's guess who'll be starting for us.

So that’s their secret! We normally only play against 12 men when Michael Salisbury or Stuart Attwell are on the pitch.

 

[Guinness Boy]

I would agree that our last performance (second half in particular) suggested confidence is ebbing slightly.

Positionally poor? Not really, hardly a rout, was it? I know lots don’t like the high defensive line, but by and large it works.

Less technical? Yes, if you mean “technical” in a RDZ/Pep way, not fixed patterns drilled to within an inch of your life, but greater belief in individual decision-making. We’re trying to make our players smarter, not just technically better, this will take time and confidence plays a part.

Physically weaker? I think we look less physical with Enciso upfront, and while I like Lamptey at right-wing I don’t ever want to see him at right-back unless we’re playing a team from the Shire. We’ve looked poor physically without Veltman/Ferdi/Hinshelwood at RB, and Dunk wasn’t at his best for a few games. I’ve not seen a weakening outside those areas.

For me we need a slightly smaller pool of players, and I hope FH has the confidence to suggest that at least a couple go on loan. I’m happy with where we are right now, and I’ll give FH at least as long as the club hierarchy do before I start getting on his (or the players) back.

Were you at Fulham? They quite literally beat us in every physical challenge. Even Palace were knocking us off the ball.