[Albion] Marc Cucurella *Signed For Chelsea 05/08/2022*

[WATFORD zero]

Wouldn’t call, say, Southampton a failure. Tony is trying to break the mould somewhat anyway - hence the huge (for a club of our size) investment in Lancing. There’s always going to be a food chain, we’re just much higher up it now than we’ve ever been thanks to what he’s done.

And still moving upwards ever since TB came in with this strategy

 

[dazzer6666]

Yes. On the other hand, the one win without him was a game against a lost and confused Brentford who at that point was in a freefall.

And then there's obviously other stats... pretty much all of them pointing towards Bissouma being one of the best defensive midfielders in the league. Some peoples false, bullshit narratives that he was "sulking", "downing his tools" or "we're better without him" had no basis in reality. The win against West Ham, in which he played half of the game, doesn't change the fact that Brighton struggled very a lot to win without him.

That’s fair enough - not suggesting we won’t miss him, but it’s just another unavoidable evolutionary step for Potter to overcome. I never agreed with the ‘downing tools/sulking’ narrative…….like anyone his form could be a bit up and down….

 

[chaileyjem]

We didn’t cover it well last season tbh. We have the same players.

We certainly don’t have the same players as we had 18 months or further back when club at the very least were starting to plan for Bissouma leaving and probably White leaving.
And the squad isn’t looked at, window by window. Caicedo was brought in 18 months ago but is now ready to be a first team pick in midfield. But you know all this.

 

[Iggle Piggle]

We are the best run club in the country. Identifying Cucurella and flogging him on for 35 million profit with a team of players who could be anything this season is further evidence of that. 9th off our budget was a fantastic achievement but unfortunately the vultures were always going to circle.

The reality is that there is always a food chain. Mane wanted to leave Liverpool, Rudiger left Chelsea for Real Madrid etc. Players will come and go. The trick is to replace them. That's the real difficulty with MC. There is clear succession plans in place for some players (Trossard, Mitouma and Bissouma, Moises) but unfortunately that's not the case here. I'm sure a new signing will come in at LWB or LCB unless the loan boys coming back are deemed good enough.

 

[SweatyMexican]

I’m sure the club know what they’re doing but…

Damn…our first proper good left-back we’ve had in a decade.

I hope it doesn’t take another 10 years to find another. Season starts in 5 days.

 

[JBizzle]

Yes. On the other hand, the one win without him was a game against a lost and confused Brentford who at that point was in a freefall.

And then there's obviously other stats... pretty much all of them pointing towards Bissouma being one of the best defensive midfielders in the league. Some peoples false, bullshit narratives that he was "sulking", "downing his tools" or "we're better without him" had no basis in reality. The win against West Ham, in which he played half of the game, doesn't change the fact that Brighton struggled very a lot to win without him.

You say that, but he was really poor by his standards for about 4 or 5 games in Feb. I don't know why so I'm not saying he was sulking, suffering because of the arrest, distracted by speculation about his future etc but he did go through a run of poor form. There's one game in particular during that period (against Villa I think) when he didn't break into more that a half-@rsed jog as he got beaten time and again. So I don't think it's a bullsh!t narrative to suggest he was poor at times this season.

That said, it's also a bullsh!t narrative to suggest that we won't miss him. He's the best player we've ever had in that position and arguably one of our best players ever full stop. Both things can be true, no?

 

[Bry Nylon]

I’m sure the club know what they’re doing but…

Damn…our first proper good left-back we’ve had in a decade.

But it’s not like the club are actively looking to move him on. I’m sure the club are doing their best to get the optimum outcome from a situation they don’t want to be in. They bought Cucu in on a 5 year contract. Him handing in a transfer request after 11 months wouldn’t have been part of the strategy when they bought him.

 

[Clive Walker]

the difficulty is that we don't seem to be in a position to sell only if we are confident of filling the void. From what it sounds like it seems we sell only if the price is right and the deal works well for our model.

The awkward part for us fans is that we might not be factoring in the ease to replace element. Which we know is very difficult. SO we get 50m for the player, great, but what does that get us? A half baked Cucu replacement if we are lucky or nothing at all.

 

[Papa Lazarou]

Didn't we beat West Ham (2nd half) without Bissouma? The midfield looked electric without him.

 

[grubbyhands]

So then what is the point of a development squad if you’re not going to promote those that have fulfilled their potential, and thus, ready to play in the first team. I can’t be bothered to list all the players on our books who have followed that path or have been loaned out to gain experience and returned better players. I’ll just give you Ben White and Moises Caicedo as examples.

What it’s really all about is the club know what they’re doing - you, me, us don’t. Just trust their judgement and relax!

That's pretty much my take on the situation. Thank goodness we have TB,PB and GP to do our worrying for us. Reading a lot of these posts would make an outsider think they don't have a clue how to run / progress a professional football club. TB won't be taking any uncalculated risks with this process. Let's remember what he does,at least in part,to make his money. He is one shrewd,smart fella. This football club has never been in better hands under his stewardship and will continue to be so. Trust in TB,keep the faith!

 

[227 BHA]

Didn't we beat West Ham (2nd half) without Bissouma? The midfield looked electric without him.

Yes,
One-nil down first half with Biss on the pitch. Took him off at half time and ran out 3-1 winners

 

[portslade seagull]

Just seems madness to let a player leave a week b4 the season starts. Suppose money talks but can't help thinking 2 established 1st teamers leaving will seriously hamper us. Hopefully I'm wrong

 

[A1X]

Can someone with the ability change the thread title? It's not exactly reflective of anything like a recent position

 

[Hotchilidog]

Every club who has tried to do the PL on the cheap has failed eventually. Interesting TB used to be all about keeping our best players now he seems to have switched on that stance.

There's a difference between being cheap and being smart. The evidence seems to suggest our strategy is working just fine right now. Even if Cucu goes I am still pumped for this upcoming season. We have a young dynamic side that should prove exciting to watch.

 

[Napper]

We didn’t cover it well last season tbh. We have the same players.

we do but we should be better attacking wise with Mitoma / Sarmiento for starters.

I'd like to see a player come in from serie A / Bundesliga / la liga to improve us though

9th at the moment a massive ask , 11th - 17th should be achievable and if this is combined with plenty of home wins should keep us all happy

 

[Not Andy Naylor]

the difficulty is that we don't seem to be in a position to sell only if we are confident of filling the void. From what it sounds like it seems we sell only if the price is right and the deal works well for our model.

The awkward part for us fans is that we might not be factoring in the ease to replace element. Which we know is very difficult. SO we get 50m for the player, great, but what does that get us? A half baked Cucu replacement if we are lucky or nothing at all.

We *could* hold Cucurella to his contract if we wanted to but no doubt TB, PB, GP, DW and company are factoring in the need to be seen by current and future players as not ‘standing in their way’. But why don’t you believe that the recruitment team that unearthed him for £15m in the first place can do something similar now? Or that GP can come up with an innovative solution? This, after all, is the head coach who played Dan Burn at left back ...

 

[Swansman]

Didn't we beat West Ham (2nd half) without Bissouma? The midfield looked electric without him.

It also looked pretty electric with him against United, Wolves, Spurs, and pretty non-electric without him in the 2-2 vs Southampton.

 

[nickjhs]

Very difficult to keep a player when he’s offered CL football and 2/3 x his salary, and if we continually refuse to sell in those circumstances then the strategy is fooked as promising younger players won’t join us if we’re seen to block their path. All we can sensibly do is hold out for a massive fee and only sell if that’s met (the ‘too good to refuse’ offer that anyone selling anything wants)………which is exactly what we’re doing.

I agree, but it is this system that keeps the top clubs up and the rest rotating. It seems to me the only way out of this cycle is to sell the soul of the club to overseas interests and keep new players because they know the purchased squad will be that strong CL is all but a guarantee. EG Saudi FC

 

[BBassic]

It also looked pretty electric with him against United, Wolves, Spurs, and pretty non-electric without him in the 2-2 vs Southampton.

Yeah it's almost as if 90 minutes of football is influenced by an almost incalculable number of variables and decisions of which only one is the inclusion or exclusion of a particular player.

 

[rippleman]

We *could* hold Cucurella to his contract if we wanted to but no doubt TB, PB, GP, DW and company are factoring in the need to be seen by current and future players as not ‘standing in their way’. But why don’t you believe that the recruitment team that unearthed him for £15m in the first place can do something similar now? Or that GP can come up with an innovative solution? This, after all, is the head coach who played Dan Burn at left back ...

You are asking a lot for the recruitment team to source a player of similar quality to Cucu, for similar money, get the deal done, get him here and fit and ready to play in a couple of weeks. I have no doubt the recruitment team can do it. But do it in a fortnight? I would be mighty surprised.