[Albion] Graham Potter

[Hotchilidog]

I think it's a matter of thanking Potter for his great contribution at the start of the season, coupled with a measure of extreme sadness, irritation and annoyance at his decision to leave us so suddenly without apparent regard for the feelings of so many who had given him immense support; then as far as I am aware he had no compunction about filleting our great club of anyone who might further his career and the success of toxic Chelsea. It is possible to feel genuine gratitude and deep anger simultaneously; I do.

This is my position also. I was furious at the manner of his departure, gutting the club was unforgivable in my view. That does not change the fact that after two years the plan was finally coming together as we had finally begun to add goals to our beautiful football and left us in 4th place. Potter is a good coach, he did a good a job and De Zerbi took on a squad of football literate players who after a brief transition period were capable of implementing his ideas.

I booed Potter and his team in both games for the betrayal but that does not mean I do not acknowledge the work he had put in here. I felt fantastic after that thrashing of Leicester which ignited the European dream, only to feel sick a few days later when he walked out. Now we have RDZ breathing new life into us I have moved on from the Potter baiting, I’m just excited about our future.

 

[GallodiMare]

Can I just say that I never liked the guy.
Always came across as a bit supercilious - a bit meh - a bit smug.
In terms of the contribution and impact on this club of getting us into Europe, here’s my take on it - just my opinion like.

Poyet. 0.5% - To second tier from third tier
Then mouth got too big

Hughton 5% - saved second tier status and then first tier and maintenance
Then Cashworth needed to earn his keep

Potter - 0.5% - maintained first tier and utilised better squad
Then believed the hype

De Zerbi - 5% - European qualification - built on all the above - and took us to the stars



Lord Tony Bloom 75% - without him, would we still be in League 1?

The balance - us lot, Sir Dick Knight, Micky Adams, and everyone upstairs



Just my opinion like

Your percentages seem very minimalistic to me. Also in terms of the importance players have when they take the field.

 

[Icy Gull]

This is my position also. I was furious at the manner of his departure, gutting the club was unforgivable in my view. That does not change the fact that after two years the plan was finally coming together as we had finally begun to add goals to our beautiful football and left us in 4th place. Potter is a good coach, he did a good a job and De Zerbi took on a squad of football literate players who after a brief transition period were capable of implementing his ideas.

I booed Potter and his team in both games for the betrayal but that does not mean I do not acknowledge the work he had put in here. I felt fantastic after that thrashing of Leicester which ignited the European dream, only to feel sick a few days later when he walked out. Now we have RDZ breathing new life into us I have moved on from the Potter baiting, I’m just excited about our future.

With you 100%, good post

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Can I just say that I never liked the guy.
Always came across as a bit supercilious - a bit meh - a bit smug.
In terms of the contribution and impact on this club of getting us into Europe, here’s my take on it - just my opinion like.

Poyet. 0.5% - To second tier from third tier
Then mouth got too big

Hughton 5% - saved second tier status and then first tier and maintenance
Then Cashworth needed to earn his keep

Potter - 0.5% - maintained first tier and utilised better squad
Then believed the hype

De Zerbi - 5% - European qualification - built on all the above - and took us to the stars



Lord Tony Bloom 75% - without him, would we still be in League 1?

The balance - us lot, Sir Dick Knight, Micky Adams, and everyone upstairs



Just my opinion like

Quite small %s imho.

Like most success in most fields, it’s based on a combination/team of people. Yes Bloom is at the helm and it’s his cash but we wouldn’t be in this position without Barber. Equally we wouldn’t be in this position without the foundations which Potter laid and so on.

 

[Guinness Boy]

Less is more, people. We no longer have attention spans in the Internet Age, plus most of us have got early/late onset dementia. Bozza, can you introduce a Twitter style post word count limit?

Ah, but you can always tweet longer these days. Hanif Kureishi on Sensitivity Editing is a joy.



Back on topic I mostly thought GP was uninspiring and that the long streaks without wins and terrible home form weren’t coincidental. It’s not an era I’ll look back on with much fondness except the period from Arsenal away last season until he left.

However, what he did do was bring on a good technical group who were used to playing a coaches pattern and leave the club when we were high up the table. Both very useful for RDZ.

 

[Justice]

Do Liverpool fans thank Rodgers for Klopps success it’s a bizarre post by the OP. The formations played are completely different RDZ plays with wingers Potter preferred wing backs one small example of why the post makes no sense whatsoever.

 

[Nobby]

Your percentages seem very minimalistic to me. Also in terms of the importance players have when they take the field.

Ah yes - I think I was just trying to include the real influencers at the top of the chain
Just my opinion

 

[SUIYHP]

Its been done to death. We’ve moved on and excelled under De Zerbi, whilst Potter became a millionaire and has managed to keep his reputation (mostly) intact. The big losers here are Chelsea, who have had their worst season in decades, no European football at all, have lined themselves up for deep trouble financially and will probably need another season just to stabilise.

 

[sparkie]

Potter is off my radar now. I have a mild interest in where he ends up next and how that goes, I suppose.

Any rumours of where that will be ?

 

[jonny.rainbow]

Mitoma only had the six games under Potter, having spent last year on loan at USG. I don't think he started under Potter, but came off the bench regularly, and wowed the fans (not sure if he got goals or assists in that period).
When RDZ arrived, I think that coincided with a Welbeck injury, so Trossard played as the central striker/false nine (remember his hat-trick against Liverpool), which opened up a space on the left wing for Mitoma to start.

That’s a bit of a history rewrite.

Wellbeck played in 13 of our 14 first league games prior to the World Cup break.
Mitoma starting was a tactical change by De Zerbi.
Whether Potter would’ve made that same change is open to debate, but I don’t believe Mitoma was a Potter-type player.

 

[beorhthelm]

Do Liverpool fans thank Rodgers for Klopps success it’s a bizarre post by the OP. The formations played are completely different RDZ plays with wingers Potter preferred wing backs one small example of why the post makes no sense whatsoever.

i know with Leicester some credit Pearson as building the team that Ranieri won the title with.

 

[SUIYHP]

Potter is off my radar now. I have a mild interest in where he ends up next and how that goes, I suppose.

Any rumours of where that will be ?

Aside from Leicester, the most recent rumour is Nice. Potter going on to manage a club based in a South Eastern seaside resort? Where have I heard that before?

 

[Cheeky Monkey]

Aside from Leicester, the most recent rumour is Nice. Potter going on to manage a club based in a South Eastern seaside resort? Where have I heard that before?

Had to read that three times before my brain registered the French city rather than that you'd heard a nice (!?) rumour that he was off to a UK seaside club, something I couldn't figure either (which club that might be)

 

[Bold Seagull]

Nice related article here - the upshot of which is 'we'll never know'.

Serendipity of De Zerbi and Brighton underlines football’s great complexities | Jonathan Wilson

Brighton under De Zerbi are not the only case where a manager inherits a legacy that proves crucial for the success he builds

www.theguardian.com

Seems a very balanced article.

 

[Sid and the Sharknados]

Had to read that three times before my brain registered the French city rather than that you'd heard a nice (!?) rumour that he was off to a UK seaside club, something I couldn't figure either (which club that might be)

Newhaven.
Means he won't have to move house again.
Might struggle with expectations to score and win games frequently.

 

[Bold Seagull]

One thing I'm pretty sure of, is that we wouldn't have scored 70 goals (and counting) this season under Potter.

His last 14 games we scored 27 goals, 1.93 per game. The transition to goal scoring side had already happened a combination of the likes of Caicedo and Mwepu coming good, belief in front of goal etc. Funny enough, 1.93 is 69 goals after 36 games.

 

[Machiavelli]

That’s a bit of a history rewrite.

Wellbeck played in 13 of our 14 first league games prior to the World Cup break.
Mitoma starting was a tactical change by De Zerbi.
Whether Potter would’ve made that same change is open to debate, but I don’t believe Mitoma was a Potter-type player.

You've made me go back and have a look at the line-ups under RDZ pre-WC (source: BBC)
Mitoma only started two of them: the Chelsea demolition was his first, and the Wolves game before the break was his second.
We started off playing a back three for a fair few games, and it was only with the Chelsea game that RDZ played his 4231 formation which he did not repeat for the subsequent fixture against Villa, but returned to for that Wolves game. Haven't looked, but the WC break pretty much gave RDZ time to work on his preferred formation, and we've played it since (perhaps with the odd tweak to it here and there).
Trossard, in fact, didn't start as a (false) nine against Liverpool, Welbeck played there, with Trossard and Lallana either side. Trossard did play as a (false) nine for a fair few of the pre-WC games, and Welbeck's starts were intermittent.

 

[Bra]

I never really warmed to Potter. He always seemed to me to expect us to be grateful for every result good or bad, as we were just little Brighton. Good coach but not a person I liked.
De zerbi is just a natural leader who has lifted the whole club and got us all believing. I will be forever grateful that Chelsea came calling.

 

[Mo Gosfield]

Its been done to death. We’ve moved on and excelled under De Zerbi, whilst Potter became a millionaire and has managed to keep his reputation (mostly) intact. The big losers here are Chelsea, who have had their worst season in decades, no European football at all, have lined themselves up for deep trouble financially and will probably need another season just to stabilise.

......and sacked a bloke who had a better win rate ( 38% ) at Chelsea than at his previous club ( 31% )

 

[Audax]

De Zerbi is just a natural leader who has lifted the whole club and got us all believing.

I think this is the nub of it, isn't it? For me, Potter was the right man at the right time to replace Hughton. He got us out of the hole that Hughton had been digging, and began the transformation journey that RDZ has accelerated. But it's the personality side of things that I think has been the real injection. Hughton and Potter - both quite reserved outwardly, both did a job for us, but neither seemed able to inject that little bit of charisma to really get the players to believe. That's not a slight on either of them, they just aren't that type of personality. RDZ, however, has that bit of fire in his belly, that something that takes the players along on the ride.