[Albion] Paul Winstanley joins Chelsea as Director of Global Talent and Transfers

[Springal]

Good to see those are dealing with the break up well still then

 

[Horses Arse]

I think personally you’re way off the mark with your condemnation of Potter. I was disappointed when he went, but think you are reading an awful lot in to a lot of what has been said and done. There might have been a lack of class about some of the things he said after we beat them, but even then it was A mixture of him answering direct questions and also things being taken out of context.

Possibly, always easy to read too much in to things when something's pissed you off. But he has certainly shown another side. Whether that is just emotional immaturity/hurt and pressure or something more underhand we'll maybe see after his chelsea stint.

The one sure thing seems to be that we've got an upgrade from the good work that Potter did. Maybe it was the right time for us to move on.

 

[Horses Arse]

Personally I don't think he's at all vulnerable there. Without claiming to be particularly ITK, I once worked with a member of the new Chelsea board and he says Potter is a long-term appointment. That could all change if Boehly decides he's not, of course, but that's their thinking as of yesterday evening.

You'd know better than me for sure, but I'd be very surprised if he's less vulnerable than he was here. Clearly under more pressure, he said the same himself re taking the easy option and staying with us. Which was nice....

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

Possibly, always easy to read too much in to things when something's pissed you off. But he has certainly shown another side. Whether that is just emotional immaturity/hurt and pressure or something more underhand we'll maybe see after his chelsea stint.

The one sure thing seems to be that we've got an upgrade from the good work that Potter did. Maybe it was the right time for us to move on.

I’m sure there will be a book deal one day, where he will cover it all

 

[Horses Arse]

I’m sure there will be a book deal one day, where he will cover it all

I'd have to be really bored... Will there be an audio version?

 

[Greg Bobkin]

Good to see those are dealing with the break up well still then

Good luck to them when RDZ gets poached/decides to leave for a 'bigger' club

Meanwhile, so many of these comments are from an Albion bubble – and also driven by the views of people who actively want him to fail and be out of a job. As I've seen here and online, people are DESPERATE to believe that things are going against him, will pick holes and/or interpret things he says to suit their anti-Potter agenda and lap up all the negative 'stories' that crop up about him and his team. It's not objective at all (unsurprisingly).

A few matches ago, Potter was undefeated, doing well in Europe and all was fine. We (as fans) know better than almost anybody how the guy works, how long things can take and also how/why chairmen stick by him. When we were not winning or scoring for X many games, it got many here frothing at the gash, but a lot of others (let's call them the silent majority, or whatever it's called) could see what he was doing and why. And ultimately kept the faith. Eventually it clicked and, despite how some people seem to be re-writing it, the team and the performances were fantastic.

There are obviously going to be the equivalents of both camps at Chelsea – and the ones who are not happy will be the most vocal. Coupled with the previous regime at Chelsea who got rid of managers for winning the CL title, I think people have put two and two together and come up with P45. That might be the case if things don't pick up, but players don't become shitehouse overnight, nor does the manager, so I expect him to be there for a while. As I said, we, of all fans, know that things take time with Potter.

(As this thread has been derailed from the original title, I'm sticking these comments here because I guess it's a case of 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em'!)

 

[deslynhamsmoustache1]

According to the Athletic he’s resigned and is on gardening leave, still negotiating with Chelsea though.

To be honest really not bothered if Winstanley goes. What we've learnt over the years is that if TB loses say a Fiesta, he replaces it with a BMW, if he loses the BMW he replaces it with a Porsche and so on and so on. You get the drift. We will be fine, if not better. There will be an avalanche of redundancies at Chelsea one day in a year or two's time if not sooner.

 

[Not Andy Naylor]

What absolute nonsense (the second part).

Astonishing re-writing of history. Has it ever occurred to you that tinkering with the side was part of the process of eventually getting us to click? Or do you think he should have magically known which was the best side in a matchday situation and just played that right from the start of his tenure? Maupay got 8-10 goals every season for us in the Premier League, has it perhaps occurred to you that he played the right role for the level we were at at the time? Where would we have been without those goals? Because Trossard wasn't banging them in every week then. MacAllister wasn't either. I find it so bizarre what some people think high-level management is, compared to what it actually is. It's also absolutely mental so many people think that making mistakes and learning from them is somehow a negative thing. It's exactly stuff like this why Potter used to snap and say things about fans not understanding the game.

When he arrived here, it was said that, at Ostersunds in particular, he would make changes for almost every match and sometimes even bench a player who had done well in the previous game. Whether this was tactical genius or just trying various combinations until he found one that clicked I don't suppose we'll ever know, but it certainly took him a while to play Bissouma in his best position (which happened almost by accident in the 2-0 home win over the pluckies when Ali J finally scored) or to play Caicedo at all.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

What absolute nonsense (the second part).

Astonishing re-writing of history. Has it ever occurred to you that tinkering with the side was part of the process of eventually getting us to click? Or do you think he should have magically known which was the best side in a matchday situation and just played that right from the start of his tenure? Maupay got 8-10 goals every season for us in the Premier League, has it perhaps occurred to you that he played the right role for the level we were at at the time? Where would we have been without those goals? Because Trossard wasn't banging them in every week then. MacAllister wasn't either. I find it so bizarre what some people think high-level management is, compared to what it actually is. It's also absolutely mental so many people think that making mistakes and learning from them is somehow a negative thing. It's exactly stuff like this why Potter used to snap and say things about fans not understanding the game.

Wouldn't it be just lovely to be @Commander Hindsight

Say someone "doesn't understand the game"? You just lost the argument

Funniest thing ever now is that every time Arctic Benny does a Chelsea presser he ends up shooting himself in the foot. Actually think the media enjoy baiting him now, makes for lazier copy.

This could be one really short 'project'. All the little elves clinging on Benny's coat-tails must already be feeling a little ANXIOUS as to their future employment prospects

 

[highflyer]

I was as pissed off as anyone about Chelsea picking off half our key staff.

That said there are a few on here who's accusations about Potter's 'emotional immaturity' seems somewhat...ironic.

(Of course for some of the spotty oiks making evident their views on Potter and Bruno at the arsenal game, emotional immaturity is just an objective fact - I suppose they get a free pass by dint of being young blokes and therefore, by the laws of nature, knobheads)

 

[Swansman]

When he arrived here, it was said that, at Ostersunds in particular, he would make changes for almost every match and sometimes even bench a player who had done well in the previous game. Whether this was tactical genius or just trying various combinations until he found one that clicked I don't suppose we'll ever know, but it certainly took him a while to play Bissouma in his best position (which happened almost by accident in the 2-0 home win over the pluckies when Ali J finally scored) or to play Caicedo at all.

So you're saying when GP accidently (!) put him in the DMC position against Bournemouth (I seem to recall him playing there against Palace as well but not very important), it meant he found Bissoumas right position within two months (as Biss was injured at the beginning), which was something three Lille managers and then Hughton had failed to do over the previous three seasons in Lille & Brighton.

 

[dwayne]

To be honest really not bothered if Winstanley goes. What we've learnt over the years is that if TB loses say a Fiesta, he replaces it with a BMW, if he loses the BMW he replaces it with a Porsche and so on and so on. You get the drift. We will be fine, if not better. There will be an avalanche of redundancies at Chelsea one day in a year or two's time if not sooner.

Correct.

I think there's a lot better versions of winstanley out there. Don't forget winstanley was getting dogs abuse for years about recruiting expensive rubbish like Ali j and locadia.

It was during potters time that things started to turn around for him.

It would be fascinating to know who the key resources are in regards to our player identification and purchasing areas.

Hopefully the key part is the software and scouting network.

 

[highflyer]

Correct.

I think there's a lot better versions of winstanley out there. Don't forget winstanley was getting dogs abuse for years about recruiting expensive rubbish like Ali j and locadia.

It was during potters time that things started to turn around for him.

It would be fascinating to know who the key resources are in regards to our player identification and purchasing areas.

Hopefully the key part is the software and scouting network.

Ali J wasn't rubbish.
He didnt work out for us - maybe wasn't quite able to adapt to the premier league, but that doesn't mean he was rubbish. Every recruitment is a calculated risk and he was one that almost worked, but in the end, didn't.

Locadia on the other hand...

 

[Commander]

Wouldn't it be just lovely to be @Commander Hindsight

Say someone "doesn't understand the game"? You just lost the argument

Funniest thing ever now is that every time Arctic Benny does a Chelsea presser he ends up shooting himself in the foot. Actually think the media enjoy baiting him now, makes for lazier copy.

This could be one really short 'project'. All the little elves clinging on Benny's coat-tails must already be feeling a little ANXIOUS as to their future employment prospects

It's not hindsight at all, I always pro Potter and constantly banged on about people not being able to see what he was trying to do all the way through his tenure. It always annoyed me that people couldn't understand what he was trying to do, or see the progress we were making when results weren't going our way.

I also think a lot of people don't really even understand his 'doesn't understand the game' comment properly. It's not just about a game of football on the pitch.

There is something in your last comment - (your 'Arctic Benny' moniker is possibly the most unfunny 'joke' ever on NSC by the way) Bruno / Roberts etc have nailed their colours to the mast with him. If it goes wrong and he gets booted they will probably need to follow him to his next job, which would presumably be a lower Premier League club that sack their manager. If it goes wrong there then they're finished at the top level, where as Bruno was probably one Manager's tenure away from being Manager of the Albion.

I actually think Boehly is in this for the long game though. I don't think Potter would have gone there otherwise, especially as he dismissed the idea of going to Spurs last year with barely a second thought. I know it's not what people want to hear (I'd love Chelsea to panic and boot him after a few bad results) but I think he is going to get time there, and will end up being a big success. I hope I'm wrong.

 

[Commander]

Correct.

I think there's a lot better versions of winstanley out there. Don't forget winstanley was getting dogs abuse for years about recruiting expensive rubbish like Ali j and locadia.

It was during potters time that things started to turn around for him.

It would be fascinating to know who the key resources are in regards to our player identification and purchasing areas.

Hopefully the key part is the software and scouting network.

It was around the time Potter brought in his own recruitment guy, wasn't it? None of us know who the really key individuals are in that process, so it's hard to have too much of an opinion on the effect of Winstanley leaving. I can't imagine he'll be that difficult to replace though, we are a far, far better prospect for someone than we were when we hired him.

 

[dwayne]

Ali J wasn't rubbish.
He didnt work out for us - maybe wasn't quite able to adapt to the premier league, but that doesn't mean he was rubbish. Every recruitment is a calculated risk and he was one that almost worked, but in the end, didn't.

Locadia on the other hand...

He's hardly setting the world alight at feyernoord. He's a bench player in a league that's probably weaker than the championship. By our high standards and for the amount we paid for him I'm sticking with rubbish

 

[Not Andy Naylor]

So you're saying when GP accidently (!) put him in the DMC position against Bournemouth (I seem to recall him playing there against Palace as well but not very important), it meant he found Bissoumas right position within two months (as Biss was injured at the beginning), which was something three Lille managers and then Hughton had failed to do over the previous three seasons in Lille & Brighton.

As I said, maybe tactical genius, maybe trial and error. Whatever works. Going back a bit, nobody saw Keith Dublin as a central defender until we had nobody else to play alongside Nicky Bissett in that game against Watford in 1989. And he stayed there for the rest of his Albion career.

 

[Iggle Piggle]

Good luck to them when RDZ gets poached/decides to leave for a 'bigger' club

Meanwhile, so many of these comments are from an Albion bubble – and also driven by the views of people who actively want him to fail and be out of a job. As I've seen here and online, people are DESPERATE to believe that things are going against him, will pick holes and/or interpret things he says to suit their anti-Potter agenda and lap up all the negative 'stories' that crop up about him and his team. It's not objective at all (unsurprisingly).

A few matches ago, Potter was undefeated, doing well in Europe and all was fine. We (as fans) know better than almost anybody how the guy works, how long things can take and also how/why chairmen stick by him. When we were not winning or scoring for X many games, it got many here frothing at the gash, but a lot of others (let's call them the silent majority, or whatever it's called) could see what he was doing and why. And ultimately kept the faith. Eventually it clicked and, despite how some people seem to be re-writing it, the team and the performances were fantastic.

There are obviously going to be the equivalents of both camps at Chelsea – and the ones who are not happy will be the most vocal. Coupled with the previous regime at Chelsea who got rid of managers for winning the CL title, I think people have put two and two together and come up with P45. That might be the case if things don't pick up, but players don't become shitehouse overnight, nor does the manager, so I expect him to be there for a while. As I said, we, of all fans, know that things take time with Potter.

(As this thread has been derailed from the original title, I'm sticking these comments here because I guess it's a case of 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em'!)

I was always pro Potter and if we go back to his first season, the transformation in playing style from the team who lost a combined 7-0 at home to Bournemouth and Cardiff to the following season was something else. The players clearly bought into him and so did TB judging by the contract extension he earnt in such a short period of time. I don't see that at Chelsea though, i'm seeing the opposite. Pulisic was clearly pissed off with him against us, Sterling hung Cucurella out to dry as "wing back" and the fans are piping up already. Boehly might talk about long term plans and all that but he will soon pull the trigger if that ire gets directed to him - His ego won't stand the flack. Equally, I think Potter's demeanour - whilst calm is probably better for the team - won't earn him any points at all with the shed end in the slightest. The slack he was cut here simply won't be there at Chelsea.

Has the manger turned shitehouse overnight? Of course he hasn't but i'm not seeing Chelsea fan base buying into "It is what it is" "Process" and "levels" Chelsea is an unforgiving environment - The players could get him sacked in 3 games if they really wanted to. I can't see him lasting even if the boardroom are making the right noises. Time will tell.

 

[Baldseagull]

Good luck to them when RDZ gets poached/decides to leave for a 'bigger' club

Meanwhile, so many of these comments are from an Albion bubble – and also driven by the views of people who actively want him to fail and be out of a job. As I've seen here and online, people are DESPERATE to believe that things are going against him, will pick holes and/or interpret things he says to suit their anti-Potter agenda and lap up all the negative 'stories' that crop up about him and his team. It's not objective at all (unsurprisingly).

A few matches ago, Potter was undefeated, doing well in Europe and all was fine. We (as fans) know better than almost anybody how the guy works, how long things can take and also how/why chairmen stick by him. When we were not winning or scoring for X many games, it got many here frothing at the gash, but a lot of others (let's call them the silent majority, or whatever it's called) could see what he was doing and why. And ultimately kept the faith. Eventually it clicked and, despite how some people seem to be re-writing it, the team and the performances were fantastic.

There are obviously going to be the equivalents of both camps at Chelsea – and the ones who are not happy will be the most vocal. Coupled with the previous regime at Chelsea who got rid of managers for winning the CL title, I think people have put two and two together and come up with P45. That might be the case if things don't pick up, but players don't become shitehouse overnight, nor does the manager, so I expect him to be there for a while. As I said, we, of all fans, know that things take time with Potter.

(As this thread has been derailed from the original title, I'm sticking these comments here because I guess it's a case of 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em'!)

"Eventually it clicked and, despite how some people seem to be re-writing it, the team and the performances were fantastic."

RDZ will not face the same level of animosity if he moves on, unless he gives us 3 seasons of looking like we are about to start competing at the top end of the table rather than the bottom, and then f***ing off when eventually it clicks, part way into the 4th season, taking Lewis Dunk who is by then a coach, with him.
As you say, we know things can take time with Potter, unless Chelsea come knocking, then he moves very f***ing quickly. I would love to see this long term commitment he supposedly has from the club tested severely, and I hope they are true to their word and do stick with him as he guides them to a bottom half finish.

 

[Baldseagull]

Correct.

I think there's a lot better versions of winstanley out there. Don't forget winstanley was getting dogs abuse for years about recruiting expensive rubbish like Ali j and locadia.

It was during potters time that things started to turn around for him.

It would be fascinating to know who the key resources are in regards to our player identification and purchasing areas.

Hopefully the key part is the software and scouting network.

It's really difficult for us to judge his qualities based just on who has come in, recruitment does seem to be better over time, but is this due to him refining what he does, or having better assistants, or us being an established PL club and better able to sign players we want, or just a lucky streak?