Gazwag
5 millionth post poster
So the poll shows pretty much a 50/50 split, but the comments are about 80% (hoping) he's going - just goes to show how NSC works
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[Albion] Gut feeling - RDZ staying or going after this season?
- Thread starter Flounce
- Start date
Weststander
Well-known member
portslade seagull
Well-known member
Must've missed them along with the other 95% of fans. Name the Caciedo and McCallister replacements
Dahoud (a player RDZ particularly wanted) and Baleba. Plus Gilmour after a season working with RDZ and now free from the off field issues.
Now obviously they’re nowhere near as good as Mac Allister and Caicedo but we weren’t ever going to sign players that were. We did replace them though.
Dahoud and Baleba.
Tom Hark Preston Park
Will Post For Cash
- Jul 6, 2003
- 72,323
Reckon RDZ, although grateful for BHAFC for raising his profile, has realised he's signed up to a club with no serious ambitions to take things to the next level. Oh well, our loss 
Weststander
Well-known member
Defensively, MacA and Caicedo were gods.
Baleba is a very promising alternative, similar to Bissouma's early seasons.
Dahoud a dud, Gilmour is shit at DM skillsets, Milner inevitably too injury prone and would need pace next to him.
It was pointed out by countless NSC'ers last summer who despite being laymen, do know their football onions, that DM and LB were glaring holes. And so it came to pass. It doesn't boil down to the funds required to replace two world class CM'ers. Endo cost £16.25m and Lavia was reportedly affordable before Boehly went loopy in a mad dash to kill Liverpool's season. We know the monies there, demonstrated by the later attempts to buy Dewsbury-Hall.
Pavilionaire
Well-known member
- Jul 7, 2003
- 31,263
I think if RDZ can get us into Europe for a second season in a row then - justifiably - his stock will be high and he will get more time to implement his plan at a bigger club.
However, if we finish 9th or lower and are - effectively - one season wonders then although he may get his move he will not be cut as much slack by those fans or the board. The likes of Nuno Espirito Santo at Spurs and Potter at Chelsea achieved similar things but got no time at those elite clubs.
Personally, with Mitoma signing his new deal, with Barco on board, with younger players improving and with money in the kitty I think we could be a real force in 2024/25 and I think RDZ should commit for this season and the next. However, the reality is many clubs will double or even treble his salary and give him a big transfer budget too.
He will think he is a better manager than Poch, Ten Haag and Big Ange, and he'd also fancy winning trophies with a big Italian side but there is enough time for all of that.
However, if we finish 9th or lower and are - effectively - one season wonders then although he may get his move he will not be cut as much slack by those fans or the board. The likes of Nuno Espirito Santo at Spurs and Potter at Chelsea achieved similar things but got no time at those elite clubs.
Personally, with Mitoma signing his new deal, with Barco on board, with younger players improving and with money in the kitty I think we could be a real force in 2024/25 and I think RDZ should commit for this season and the next. However, the reality is many clubs will double or even treble his salary and give him a big transfer budget too.
He will think he is a better manager than Poch, Ten Haag and Big Ange, and he'd also fancy winning trophies with a big Italian side but there is enough time for all of that.
You know my thoughts on Gilmour but according to most of NSC he's quality and he has played well in some games against weaker opposition. Dahoud was an experienced German international who RDZ really wanted and Caicedo only had one more full season of European football than Baleba. I think we all know Caicedo went one season earlier than we would have liked though which is probably why we bought Baleba sooner than we might and paid a relatively big fee for such an inexperienced player as we needed a player of that ilk. I do think he is going to be an outstanding player though. We also brought in Milner, had Gross and Moder coming back. As I say, we were never going to replace Mac Allister and Caicedo's quality - look what Liverpool had to spend to sign that level of midfield last summer, that's not realistic for us - but on paper at the start of the season our options in CM looked decent. Whether the picked personnel and systems have been right at times is another matter.
I agree about full back though - I said pre-season that right back was my concern rather than left with Veltman and Lamptey's recent fitness records - luckily Hinshelwood broke through and got us out of a hole there for a while. Right wing was definitely somewhere the club were looking and a lot of us thought we should strengthen there too - turns out that was probably correct too.
Weststander
Well-known member
Sometimes these things boil down to how one views football during games. I'll cite many of the anti Steele posters, who completely dismiss distribution skills as ever being balanced against not quite so good at crosses/saves. At the extreme, "Just oof it, won't ya".
I'm definitely more conservative than Klopp or RDZ, in that I like a decent CM with pace/power to always be available as insurance in front of the defence. They can interchange as Mac A and Caicedo did, that worked beautifully. In addition, I don't like to see both FB's 80 yards upfield, ever. That's where by hero Veltman ticks all the boxes, probably due to his average pace and nous, his starting point when we lose the ball is near the centre line.
My point is I wish we had the quality players this season to give a more rock solid defence.
Reckon RDZ, although grateful for BHAFC for raising his profile, has realised he's signed up to a club with no serious ambitions to take things to the next level. Oh well, our loss
Blimey.
Tony Bloom has no serious ambition to take the club further?
Tough crowd!
Tom Hark Preston Park
Will Post For Cash
- Jul 6, 2003
- 72,323
He doesn't tho, does he? Just wants a neat tidy EPL club that doesn't rock the boat or trouble the judges unduly.
Nothing wrong with that particularly
Silverhatch
Well-known member
Love RDZ. However, he tactically got it biblically wrong taking his side back to the Italian capital. A young manager with a burgeoning reputation -he’s either going to do a Potter (and discover the icy elite winds outside of the Albion) or he’ll stick around and develop his repertoire working in a brilliant environment with underrated players. Stay.
We've done it to death, but very obviously the club didn't want to sell Caicedo....However, when someone offers £115m, and it's clear the guy wants to go, it would be madness to keep. And as for ambition, I think Baleba is beginning to emerge as a very decent successor. Plus, just a month or so ago, we tried for KDH, which - imho - seemed pretty ambitious, plus bought an Argentinian wonder kid, and did a deal for Ibrahim Osman, who by all accounts is highly rated. Not forgetting the four other teenagers who, whilst "ones for the future" look like great recruits. Maybe no Kudus-type signings there, but I'm sure there'll be the potential to get someone of that calibre in the summer. Hang on in there, Roberto 
I think you have misjudged our dear leader if you don't think he has serious ambition to keep pushing the club forward.He doesn't tho, does he? Just wants a neat tidy EPL club that doesn't rock the boat or trouble the judges unduly. Nothing wrong with that particularly
I personally think what is perhaps misaligned between RdZ and Bloom is the timeframe (due to method).
Bloom absolutely wants to keep pushing for the next level (and the next), but to do it his way and over time, rather than speed things up by splashing the cash in the short term on expensive signings (presumably what RdZ would prefer).
It also depends on what you perceive as our current level. One 6th place finish doesn't make us a top 6 team, it just shows that when the stars align we can achieve it. Regularly finishing 6-8th (or thereabouts) and regularly being in Europe is the next level IMO as I'd argue that we can only really talk about ourselves in the context of a top half team now. Even that is a stretch given we have only had 2 top 10 finishes (+ probably this season).
Would you tell Tony Bloom to his face that he has no ambition for the club anymore
Or Barber?I reckon you'd get a very polite yet forthright answer in return.
He's done an incredible job in taking us to another level, we've played some stunning football and so many players have been given chances and improved under his management. But it just feels like it's drawing to its natural conclusion to me. Both RDZ and the players don't seem to have that 'spark' that they had about them last season, the gushing in press conferences, the body language on the pitch, the cohesion and feeling of togetherness seems to have taken a hit in recent months. Entirely possible I'm talking shit and it's not the case and everything is fine, that's just the way I see it from the outside.
I'd love for him to stay another season at least, but I don't think he will. If he goes, he'll undoubtedly go on to a bigger club and have success and we will have a great pool of talented managers to choose from given our reputation as a well-run club with top facilities, loads of talented youngsters and one of the best owners in the business. It's not the be all and end all either way.
I'd love for him to stay another season at least, but I don't think he will. If he goes, he'll undoubtedly go on to a bigger club and have success and we will have a great pool of talented managers to choose from given our reputation as a well-run club with top facilities, loads of talented youngsters and one of the best owners in the business. It's not the be all and end all either way.
Weststander
Well-known member
I think you have misjudged our dear leader if you don't think he has serious ambition to keep pushing the club forward.
I personally think what is perhaps misaligned between RdZ and Bloom is the timeframe (due to method).
Bloom absolutely wants to keep pushing for the next level (and the next), but to do it his way and over time, rather than speed things up by splashing the cash in the short term on expensive signings (presumably what RdZ would prefer).
It also depends on what you perceive as our current level. One 6th place finish doesn't make us a top 6 team, it just shows that when the stars align we can achieve it. Regularly finishing 6-8th (or thereabouts) and regularly being in Europe is the next level IMO as I'd argue that we can only really talk about ourselves in the context of a top half team now. Even that is a stretch given we have only had 2 top 10 finishes (+ probably this season).
Would you tell Tony Bloom to his face that he has no ambition for the club anymore
I reckon you'd get a very polite yet forthright answer in return.
A very, very long one.