[Albion] Our Roberto.........

[Dibdab]

Regardless of results what is abundantly clear to me is that RDZ has far more emotional intelligence than Potter ever will. Everything he says is designed to get players and the club believing more, pushing harder, and aiming higher. His interview last night was super impressive. We had just won 4-1 and he said he wasnt happy and there was loads more to improve on. He is honest and transparent to the media and talks to connect fan and team. Potter was just a walking interview cliche who always gave out the message that we were punching above our weight. These is zero doubt in my mind who is the best man manager.

 

[Cheeky Monkey]

With us having our midweek game ‘in the bank,’ the City/Chelsea game is a fantastic prospect, another possible bad result for Potter, plus Arsenal being reeled in by City. City winning the title I can do, because no one cares, Arsenal would be unbearable, them falling away hilarious.

 

[The Fits]

I think it was the Chelsea game. He was screaming at the bench and his translator was going equally mad. Players looked amused/bemused.

 

[The Fits]

And there was this

 

[Cheeky Monkey]

Regardless of results what is abundantly clear to me is that RDZ has far more emotional intelligence than Potter ever will. Everything he says is designed to get players and the club believing more, pushing harder, and aiming higher. His interview last night was super impressive. We had just won 4-1 and he said he wasnt happy and there was loads more to improve on. He is honest and transparent to the media and talks to connect fan and team. Potter was just a walking interview cliche who always gave out the message that we were punching above our weight. These is zero doubt in my mind who is the best man manager.

100%, RDZ has a warmth, a ‘human’ side GP seemingly lacks. You wonder what someone like Bruno ever saw in him...beyond a fat Chelsea pay cheque. As for Swansman...

 

[Swansman]

You make some good points - the re-writing of our history is annoying, and not all of Chelsea's issues lie at his door.

But let's be clear - under RDZ, we score goals from all over the pitch and look like scoring every time we attack in some games. The flip side is that we've only had one clean sheet, which reading between the lines is why he seemed oddly pissed off in his post match interviews.

On balance, RDZ is a MUCH better watch. He's also hit the ground running, whereas that is not the case with Potter. Life under Potter was always easy on the eye but often incredibly frustrating as we took teams apart without actually scoring. So much so that there was one calendar year where we only won 2 or maybe 3 times. The October of that year, there was a stat that Palace had won as many league games at the Amex in that calendar year to date as we had.

I'm happy not to compare GP to RDZ beyond that. In 12 months from now, we'll get a clearer picture of both men's respective legacies. Mind you, I'll continue to absolutely lap up the whole Chelsea thing if that's alright with you? He's definitely part of the problem there and in a year we might see if he's managed to sort it out.

Again... so very simple to just put this down to the change of manager. Certainly has nothing to do with replacing Ryan with Sanchez, Montoya with Veltman/Lamptey, Bernardo/Burn with Pervis, Stephens with Caicedo, Pröpper with Alexis, Mooy with Lallana, Connolly/Maupay vs Mitoma/Welbeck and so forth...

With equal squads = equal results.

When RDZ goes to Everton and produce a non-frustrating performance/result with a lineup of Ryan - Dunk, Duffy, Webster - Bernardo, Pröpper, Stephens, Montoya - Trossard, Maupay, Jahanbaksh, then I'll bow down to the idea that RDZ is a magician. Until then I will just compare apples with apples - GPs results with the current squad and RDZs results with the current squad.

 

[GT49er]

Why isn't Potter achieving much with his current squad of players who are supposedly better than ours?

Because Chelsea are a bunch of primadonnas, who consider themselves entitled to have a big name CL winning foreign manager - and, in the case of the latter, one who doesn't want to make them do things they don't want to.
Basically the same buch of shysters that saw off Fat Frank and Tommty T.

 

[Icy Gull]

If nuanced views like "look at the opposition" is a factor re: De Zerbi, then it only makes sense if that is the case re; Potter in Chelsea as well. If we in a discussion like this can ignore that Potter has been working with an injury-riddled aging squad full of saturated, poorly trained (they don't last for more than 60 minutes, which was also the case in Tuchels final six months) players, then surely we can also ignore the level of opposition. Ignoring the circumstances in one case while using circumstances as an excuse in the other case makes any discussion unreasonable aside for pushing whatever narrative that's on your or my mind.

I do understand the desire to all of a sudden pretend that GP had Brighton play some kind of defensive catenaccio football that prevented Maupay & co to reach that top 4 position they truly were capable etc and that he is now preventing Loftus-Cheek, Mount and other lazy merceneries of Chelsea to reach their entitled 4th place but reality just isn't that simple.

If GP is given at least two summer windows I think he’ll turn Chelsea into something special, however if they are still not close to a CL place within a month or so I can see him getting the tin tack. I have no doubts that he is a quality manager but I do have my doubts that he will ever get established top players to buy into his ethos. As a bang average player, he needed to have actually won something as a manager with a smaller club to get that respect from top players imo

If Chelsea give him time and let him bring through the cream of young players he’ll do well. If they continue to spend top dollar on established stars I can’t see him lasting long at all

 

[Not Andy Naylor]

Again... so very simple to just put this down to the change of manager. Certainly has nothing to do with replacing Ryan with Sanchez, Montoya with Veltman/Lamptey, Bernardo/Burn with Pervis, Stephens with Caicedo, Pröpper with Alexis, Mooy with Lallana, Connolly/Maupay vs Mitoma/Welbeck and so forth...

With equal squads = equal results.

When RDZ goes to Everton and produce a non-frustrating performance/result with a lineup of Ryan - Dunk, Duffy, Webster - Bernardo, Pröpper, Stephens, Montoya - Trossard, Maupay, Jahanbaksh, then I'll bow down to the idea that RDZ is a magician. Until then I will just compare apples with apples - GPs results with the current squad and RDZs results with the current squad.

But would he have done that, or tried to find some other options? One of the things I like about RDZ is the way he has given the young players a chance. Starting Sarmiento and Ferguson at Everton is a pretty bold move, and I love his willingness to throw on Enciso and Moran. The average age of our team at the end was somewhere around 22, I believe.

 

[Swansman]

If GP is given at least two summer windows I think he’ll turn Chelsea into something special, however if they are still not close to a CL place within a month or so I can see him getting the tin tack. I have no doubts that he is a quality manager but I do have my doubts that he will ever get established top players to buy into his ethos. As a bang average player, he needed to have actually won something as a manager with a smaller club to get that respect from top players imo

If Chelsea give him time and let him bring through the cream of young players he’ll do well. If they continue to spend top dollar on established stars I can’t see him lasting long at all

Any of it would be fine with me. Would be nice if all that money could be used to actually produce exciting top football, good football is always good. On the other hand, if he gets sacked it comes with a fat positive: he won't any longer be part of a dirty dull club that I have to force myself to watch each week. I'd take that.

 

[Icy Gull]

Any of it would be fine with me. Would be nice if all that money could be used to actually produce exciting top football, good football is always good. On the other hand, if he gets sacked it comes with a fat positive: he won't any longer be part of a dirty dull club that I have to force myself to watch each week. I'd take that.

Point of interest, when Chelsea and Albion play on the same day at the same time…..who do you watch

I do get the impression that you are slowly turning into an Albion fan over a Potter fan but are kicking against it

 

[Seasider78]

Again... so very simple to just put this down to the change of manager. Certainly has nothing to do with replacing Ryan with Sanchez, Montoya with Veltman/Lamptey, Bernardo/Burn with Pervis, Stephens with Caicedo, Pröpper with Alexis, Mooy with Lallana, Connolly/Maupay vs Mitoma/Welbeck and so forth...

With equal squads = equal results.

When RDZ goes to Everton and produce a non-frustrating performance/result with a lineup of Ryan - Dunk, Duffy, Webster - Bernardo, Pröpper, Stephens, Montoya - Trossard, Maupay, Jahanbaksh, then I'll bow down to the idea that RDZ is a magician. Until then I will just compare apples with apples - GPs results with the current squad and RDZs results with the current squad.

It’s hardly apples with apples is it given how long Potter had been working with this club and squad.

 

[RandyWanger]

... in the Premier League, it’s Dunk standing on the ball 15 yards further forward, waiting for an opposition player to advance. And then to Gross or Caicedo and then we’re away again!!! Just so good to watch.

Doing this late on in the 2nd half and Everton refusing to press and their fans booing was a joy

 

[Sid and the Sharknados]

But would he have done that, or tried to find some other options? One of the things I like about RDZ is the way he has given the young players a chance. Starting Sarmiento and Ferguson at Everton is a pretty bold move, and I love his willingness to throw on Enciso and Moran. The average age of our team at the end was somewhere around 22, I believe.

I think everybody thought starting Connolly against Spurs was pretty bold at the time.
I'm also intrigued by the suggestion by some on here that we used to set up for containment and a draw against the better sides under Potter.

 

[Icy Gull]

I'm also intrigued by the suggestion by some on here that we used to set up for containment and a draw against the better sides under Potter.

We didn’t, we went for City at the Etihad very early in his tenure and got well beaten. He did become more pragmatic as time went on and would often change things around during the game. Haven’t see much of that from RDZ so far, we seem to set up going toe to toe with top teams now with very little in game tinkering, I have no doubts that we will occasionally be taken apart, it just hasn’t happened yet.

 

[Simster]

Again... so very simple to just put this down to the change of manager. Certainly has nothing to do with replacing Ryan with Sanchez, Montoya with Veltman/Lamptey, Bernardo/Burn with Pervis, Stephens with Caicedo, Pröpper with Alexis, Mooy with Lallana, Connolly/Maupay vs Mitoma/Welbeck and so forth...

With equal squads = equal results.

When RDZ goes to Everton and produce a non-frustrating performance/result with a lineup of Ryan - Dunk, Duffy, Webster - Bernardo, Pröpper, Stephens, Montoya - Trossard, Maupay, Jahanbaksh, then I'll bow down to the idea that RDZ is a magician. Until then I will just compare apples with apples - GPs results with the current squad and RDZs results with the current squad.

Don't kid yourself. You're no more even in your judgement than anyone else. You can't say "With equal squads = equal results" because you don't actually know. They have had different opponents and undoubtedly make different decisions over how and who to play.

As I say, give it a year or so. It's easy to crow about RDZ after a thumping 4 goal win at Everton that ticked almost every box. Potter had days like that too.

 

[Brian Fantana]

My view is simply that we wouldn't be enjoying RDZ were it not for the fruits of GP's labour. It IS possible to be both annoyed at the manner of his departure, but also incredibly grateful for the work he did in stabilising us as a PL club and creating the conditions for a manager like RDZ to be interested in joining us in the first place.

 

[Stat Brother]

To just back up @Swansman stats a bit. Under RDZ's 10 games:
P10 W3 D2 L5 GF 17 GA 19 gd -2 pts 11

Potter's last 10 games:
P10 W7 D2 L1 GF 22 GA 7 gd +15 pts 23

Given the transition of a new manager, some difficult fixtures with injuries and all the departures etc. RDZ has done incredibly well. However, I think we were already transforming into a higher scoring faster team under Potter, and we were starting to see a far more confident BHA in all areas of the pitch.

Absolutely RDZ has turned that up a notch, but it's definitely been a progression from finally getting all the pieces of the jigsaw in place. I don't think anyone should or is undermining the work GP did to enable what RDZ is doing.

I'm not entirely sure GPott edging in this direction.
That has been padded by passing some very tired horses, as RdZ's is thanks to last night.

I don't believe GPotts 'process' was ever going evolve beyond 'keep it tight and we'll see'.
Which is plenty good enough when half the division is shitehouse and half of what's left are playing an entirely different sport.

He is just too pragmatic to throw caution out the window.
RdZ may well end up wishing he could be a little more in game studious, but by jimminy Im bloody glad he isn't.



The next comparison should be calendar year.
Our next 10 upcoming games with GPotts Jan/Feb run last year!

 

[Swansman]

But would he have done that, or tried to find some other options? One of the things I like about RDZ is the way he has given the young players a chance. Starting Sarmiento and Ferguson at Everton is a pretty bold move, and I love his willingness to throw on Enciso and Moran. The average age of our team at the end was somewhere around 22, I believe.

Oh yeah, that part of the revisionism - "GP didn't start young players". But he did.

In the game before the Everton one mentioned - against Chelsea - Steven Alzate started his 11th game out of 20 possible and Aaron Connolly came on for 45 minutes (his 14th appearance of the season). Perhaps RDZ would have started those two against Everton and that 1-0 loss would have been a 4-1 win but there's not a lot suggesting this would be the case.

 

[Sid and the Sharknados]

We didn’t, we went for City at the Etihad very early in his tenure and got well beaten. He did become more pragmatic as time went on and would often change things around during the game. Haven’t see much of that from RDZ so far, we seem to set up going toe to toe with top teams now with very little in game tinkering, I have no doubts that we will occasionally be taken apart, it just hasn’t happened yet.

I suppose that depends what you mean by taken apart, we have conceded 4 against Arsenal (fine, they're really good) and 3 against Liverpool (who let's face it, aren't).