[Albion] Does football need more De Zerbis or more Barbers?

[DavidinSouthampton]

He was playing a game of brinkmanship with the owner, and the owner is not someone to play brinkmanship with.

The outcome was all very amicable I'm sure.

RDZ is a class act. And so are Mr Bloom and PBOBE.

And we move on.....

The epitome of common sense as usual.

 

[Guinness Boy]

No scoffing ! But It’s taking a serious generational PL wide issue of cost, fairness - simplifying it greatly, exaggerating some valid issues (eg rules and bans) . Implying Brighton are somehow in the vanguard of all of it , arguing that the fanzone of all things is suspicious or important and then adding in personal, unfair criticism like x “ despises supporters “ (really ? ) .

But of course - I’m sure some supporters have turned away or believe it . Whatever “it” is. Or as as @Guinness Boy puts it - they want more RDZ less Barber. Whatever that actually means.
I just think it’s wrong to frame it like that. Whatever the justification - the 39th game, ticket prices, tvvmoney distribution, spurs and oap prices, lifting the away ticket price cap - perhaps even old fans like er me could line up against that sorry lot - but I think it’s wrong to pin the blame on Brighton for that and also single out one individual. .
But of course that sentiment exists. Agreed.

My son’s nearly 18 now and we do every home and 5 - 10 aways a season. Through this we’ve met a lot of younger but loyal fans and the perception they’re not wanted is very high, consistently so.

I’d say it was a Premier League wide issue rather than a Brighton one. I could (and maybe should) have just said “who are sexier, coaches or administrators?” but people would have mentioned PB within two posts anyway. And it doesn’t help that it’s him saying we don’t need a FAB, we don’t need a regulator and stage managing press conferences. Those are no doubt TB’s views too but Paul is the public face of them.

It’ll be a sad state of affairs if Premier League football ends up played in front of families and fifty year olds and youngsters desert it for cheaper, more “fun” non league. And it’ll be short sighted - there isn’t an endless supply of Islington Dad out there.

But that’s where many fear we’re heading.

 

[trueblue]

My son’s nearly 18 now and we do every home and 5 - 10 aways a season. Through this we’ve met a lot of younger but loyal fans and the perception they’re not wanted is very high, consistently so.

I’d say it was a Premier League wide issue rather than a Brighton one. I could (and maybe should) have just said “who are sexier, coaches or administrators?” but people would have mentioned PB within two posts anyway. And it doesn’t help that it’s him saying we don’t need a FAB, we don’t need a regulator and stage managing press conferences. Those are no doubt TB’s views too but Paul is the public face of them.

It’ll be a sad state of affairs if Premier League football ends up played in front of families and fifty year olds and youngsters desert it for cheaper, more “fun” non league. And it’ll be short sighted - there isn’t an endless supply of Islington Dad out there.

But that’s where many fear we’re heading.

I understand that perception of football at the highest level as a whole, but what is it specifically Albion have done to suggest to youngsters they’re “not wanted”?

 

[Hotchilidog]

I’ll make this simpler.

RDZ went round the pitch and most Brighton fans sang “we want you to stay”.

a) would they do the same on PBOBE’s leaving do? And

B) why were Tony and others name checked and our CEO not? Odd or not?

Both are questions, not statements.

Go.

Roberto talked himself out of the job, get over it. I stayed and applauded him in recognition of the fantastic memories he has given us, I did not sing his name though, if he was fully committed to the Albion he’d still be here. Also Bloom gave him the boot not Barber, so spare me the petty jibes at the best ceo in the busines.

I thought Roberto’s speech was very moving and it was a classy end to a very exciting era that we can look back on fondly. Now on to the next one.

 

[chaileyjem]

My son’s nearly 18 now and we do every home and 5 - 10 aways a season. Through this we’ve met a lot of younger but loyal fans and the perception they’re not wanted is very high, consistently so.

I’d say it was a Premier League wide issue rather than a Brighton one. I could (and maybe should) have just said “who are sexier, coaches or administrators?” but people would have mentioned PB within two posts anyway. And it doesn’t help that it’s him saying we don’t need a FAB, we don’t need a regulator and stage managing press conferences. Those are no doubt TB’s views too but Paul is the public face of them.

It’ll be a sad state of affairs if Premier League football ends up played in front of families and fifty year olds and youngsters desert it for cheaper, more “fun” non league. And it’ll be short sighted - there isn’t an endless supply of Islington Dad out there.

But that’s where many fear we’re heading.

Of course that’s a concern, I’m concerned and agree too -it’s exoressed widely even by Islington Dads as well as young fans - and you’ll find a lot of support through all of football for that. I’m just questioning the extent of Albions role in this, the sense of threads like this as they inevitably stray into caricature or worse. Also the idea that Brighton don’t “want” young fans or passion and using some binary choice with RDZ (a millionaire premier league coach ) as somehow the opposite of all of which you/you're despairing of - to make your (or your sons/teenage mates) point.

 

[Blue3]

The football world is full of RDZ coaches who start believing in their own hype but owners and those running clubs who are real fans and understand the game are as rare as hens teeth

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

As others have said, we need both.

Regarding RDZ, I have mixed feelings. I’ll forever be grateful for what he achieved on the pitch and personally, my European trips were the stuff of dreams and will live long in my memory. That said, I got frustrated with his behavior when things weren’t going well. I also believe his antics have cost us points.

As for Barber. We need him as well. It’s easy to take a pop at him but he’s running the club appropriately and in the way an EPL club needs to be run….it’s a culture where no single person is seemingly bigger than the club itself and everyone is a valuable part…and a part which can be replaced without too much disruption. This is the first real test of the processes and procedures he talks about in the press and numerous podcasts though. It’s not make-or-break time, for him but the next three years will certainly show his true value to the club.

 

[Guinness Boy]

I understand that perception of football at the highest level as a whole, but what is it specifically Albion have done to suggest to youngsters they’re “not wanted”?

Banning orders for minor offences, prices and tourists / away fans in Brighton seats.

 

[Machiavelli]

Pre-match it was stated (officially?) that Barber and RDZ would do a joint press conference. I take it this didn't happen but would welcome: someone posting it if it did; and, confirmation of whether the mooted conference came from within the club or without.

 

[chaileyjem]

Pre-match it was stated (officially?) that Barber and RDZ would do a joint press conference. I take it this didn't happen but would welcome: someone posting it if it did; and, confirmation of whether the mooted conference came from within the club or without.

BBC Radio Sussex Sport - Brighton and Hove Albion chief executive Paul Barber on Roberto De Zerbi's departure - BBC Sounds

Barber discusses his leaving, sticking to club policy, and searching for new manager

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Machiavelli]

BBC Radio Sussex Sport - Brighton and Hove Albion chief executive Paul Barber on Roberto De Zerbi's departure - BBC Sounds

Barber discusses his leaving, sticking to club policy, and searching for new manager

www.bbc.co.uk

Thanks. Interesting if unsurprising interview. It looks like the PB/RDZ interview didn't occur; any idea on whether the club suggested that it would?

 

[chaileyjem]

Thanks. Interesting if unsurprising interview. It looks like the PB/RDZ interview didn't occur; any idea on whether the club suggested that it would?

they did a joint press conference although it looks like RDZ did his bit first and then Barber joined it for a second half.

 

[Silverhatch]

A bit disingenuous.

When did RDZ ever say we needed to spend a fortune on players? Do you seriously think we had enough players to get through this season when we were competing in Europe for the first time after even just a few key injuries? - for a start, losing Pervis at the beginning of the season meant we had no bedded in left back for weeks and used a player more suited to CB - yet most people agreed that was a position we should have had a back up for going into to 23/24. I think Barber and TB underestimated how much we were underprepared going into this season, yet they wanted the coach to give them a repeat of last season’s performances, yet also compete in Europe without some of the key players we had last season.

RDZ didn’t deliberately ‘turn fans’ against the Club that’s your matter of opinion - most fans with eyes in their head and a grasp of football could see we were still lacking in some key areas after the summer transfer window - it didn’t take RDZ to point that out. By February, many more vocal fans were getting pissed off for nothing improving after the January window - again, nothing to do with RDZ speaking out - but the majority of fans while being pissed off, still backed the Club’s sustainable financial policies.

Blaming RDZ for this seasons poor performances or blaming RDZ for fans being pissed off that our squad wasn’t deep enough to cope this season, is no better than blaming TB/PBOBE. Failed recruitment targets, recruitments not working out, playing Europe and an extraordinary level of injuries all conspired to define the season we have had.

We have a CEO/Owner that put the long term financial health of the club first and we had a manager who wanted to achieve more than was physically possible with the squad he had at his disposal. Neither are wrong and neither are to blame - it is what it is. We will get a manager now who will be less ambitious and more realistic in what we can achieve as a relatively small fish in a big pond.

We are a very small fish in a very small pond filled with six or seven very big fish.

 

[trueblue]

Banning orders for minor offences, prices and tourists / away fans in Brighton seats.

Fair enough. I think there are alternative arguments against all of those viewpoints & I think they’d find it substantially worse at many clubs.

 

[Guinness Boy]

Fair enough. I think there are alternative arguments against all of those viewpoints & I think they’d find it substantially worse at many clubs.

Tourists and prices are undoubtedly a PL wide issue. I'm not sure how many other clubs get home fans in a points controlled away allocation. Bans here seem arbitrary, but I'm sure other clubs will have done the same for sure.

Doesn't make any of it right, like I said we're in danger of having a sanitised PL full of wealthy fans and passionate young fans being driven to non league, and that's not just a Brighton issue.

 

[RandyWanger]

The sport vs the business.

 

[dwayne]

As others have said, we need both.

Regarding RDZ, I have mixed feelings. I’ll forever be grateful for what he achieved on the pitch and personally, my European trips were the stuff of dreams and will live long in my memory. That said, I got frustrated with his behavior when things weren’t going well. I also believe his antics have cost us points.

As for Barber. We need him as well. It’s easy to take a pop at him but he’s running the club appropriately and in the way an EPL club needs to be run….it’s a culture where no single person is seemingly bigger than the club itself and everyone is a valuable part…and a part which can be replaced without too much disruption. This is the first real test of the processes and procedures he talks about in the press and numerous podcasts though. It’s not make-or-break time, for him but the next three years will certainly show his true value to the club.

Why's this the first big test? Surely potter leaving was more of a test?

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Why's this the first big test? Surely potter leaving was more of a test?

I feel fan ambitions and expectations were a lot lower then. Potter also didn’t have all of the fans on his side. The bar has been significantly raised by RDZ.

 

[dwayne]

I feel fan ambitions and expectations were a lot lower then. Potter also didn’t have all of the fans on his side. The bar has been significantly raised by RDZ.

Think the fans need to get real then. The formula ain't changing. So the likelihood is that we will be even lower next season while we rebuild. We need to find 2 or 3 ready made young players over the summer though, pressure is on with that.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Think the fans need to get real then. The formula ain't changing. So the likelihood is that we will be even lower next season while we rebuild. We need to find 2 or 3 ready made young players over the summer though, pressure is on with that.

The formula isn’t changing BUT it’s s formula which has brought us a top 6 finish and European football. I see why no reason why this can’t be repeated at some point over the next few seasons. A domestic cup final is certainly within our grasp as well.