[Albion] Potter as a Coach

[Dick Swiveller]

He has a slice of luck with Ben White fitting in perfectly to a back 3 and Lamptey popping up to fit the RHS of the 5, but must take credit for trusting and nurturing Solly into LWB position with such authority. Alzate is a revelation too. .

You say slice of luck - I say that the culture change in our club over the last few years is paying off. Bloom has instigated an ethos throughout the club of signing players who are young and comfortable on the ball. Hughton's reluctance to use these players was probably his undoing as the plan is more than trying to survive. As with everything Bloom does, this is a calculated gamble - playing the pot odds if you want a poker analogy. Ashworth was the first step and Potter was the next. The plan is to avoid £20-30m signings where possible by developing the players you buy for £2-3m into first team players. Ben White was a long term plan, slowly brought up through the leagues via loans and turned into a £30m player. That is not blind luck. You only need 1 in 10 of your £3m players to take off (And less if you end up selling them if they don't make it) and we look to be aiming higher than that. Exciting times.

 

[Icy Gull]

Best football I have seen in my 45 years of loving this club. Potterball ��

This is absolutely spot on, it seems like we are in line to have our best ever season. Nothing is guaranteed but it’s all very exciting.

I am still pissed about yesterday though

 

[Uh_huh_him]

The thing I like most about Potter is the often repeated line of "we can improve in these areas"

I have confidence that he knows all of our weaknesses and has a plan how to bridge the gap.

Before the season started, when questioned about the lack of goalscorers, there was no moaning, just a sensible "It's always nice to improve what you have, if you can", but more tellingly "I think we can get more goals from what we've got".
Since this point we have scored 12 goals, with our midfielders chipping in handsomely.

 

[GloryDays]

CH effectively played Solly as a LWB directly in front of a LB. He's be a natural at LWB for years.

One of the more worrying variables that can't be ignored is his better performances coming with no fans in the stadium. He is a confidence player for sure...hopefully during this season and a half he will find a level of confidence that won't be effected when the boo boys return.

 

[One Teddy Maybank]

This is absolutely spot on, it seems like we are in line to have our best ever season. Nothing is guaranteed but it’s all very exciting.

I am still pissed about yesterday though

I agree......

Still think we need to get better in defensive situations, all 3 of their goal were preventable, but our young players are just.......... I mean wow!

Then there’s Cochrane, Jenks, Roberts, Ostigard, Sanchez..... possibly Yapi, Weir, Longman, Richards

Great time to be fan, if we can just find that forward, I think we’re set.......

Also seething [emoji2]


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[Sheebo]

I love the fact we’ve never been part of the manager merry go round that other prem teams / champs teams are. Moyes, Fat Sam, Pulis etc etc - we go for something different and have more loyalty than most clubs. Long may we be Brighton and Hove Albion doing things the Albion way

 

[Papa Lazarou]

CH effectively played Solly as a LWB directly in front of a LB. He's be a natural at LWB for years.

One of the more worrying variables that can't be ignored is his better performances coming with no fans in the stadium. He is a confidence player for sure...hopefully during this season and a half he will find a level of confidence that won't be effected when the boo boys return.

Or he's fitted nicely into a settled, confident formation, with Lamptey on the other side ensuring that the opposition can't risk doubling up in either side, meaning he will always have space at times in the game.

Also, every player interviewed say that the manager is clear in defining each player's role, and they know how to execute that. That must be brilliant for ALL of them.

 

[Sorrel]

Also was very impressed by his comments at the end of the ManU match: other coaches would have lost their rag, but he remained a class apart, while clearly articulating his point.

 

[Lady Whistledown]

Agree with a lot of that but having gone to Europe once and had success there, I suspect he may not be as adverse to going elsewhere in Europe as some English Managers you could think of



Let's hope it's not a problem for a few years yet

This blows me away.

How many other British managers (a) would go abroad to manage and (b) learn the local language to the point where they're fluent enough to confidently conduct an interview? Let alone in a country where so many people have English as a second language, you could probably get any with not bothering. Swedish isn't a language that comes easily to native English speakers either (not that we're generally good with many, but the common roots of Latin languages make it easier for us than Scandinavian or Celtic ones), which makes it more impressive still.

We're used to the likes of Steve McLaren going abroad and developing a bizarre Dutch accented English. I've no idea if Pardew is still managing in the Netherlands, but I'm willing to bet the only things he knows how to say in Dutch are "Two beers please" and "Your breasts are magnificent: are they real?".

Are there any British managers other than Potter and Roy Hodgson (speaks French, German, Italian and Swedish) who've actually assimilated so well into their continental European surroundings?

 

[vagabond]

When we consider how this season has started my only conclusion is how good Potter is as a coach. We have played 5 matches and looked creative and attacking in all 5 games, we have a squad who play a drilled style which they now all seem to understand. We have switched from a back 4 to a back 5 which has helped play to our strengths but the way our players have performed within that is a credit to Potter and the coaching set up.

I'm very excited for the season ahead

Well congratulations I guess, but you’re just realising this now?

He’s been an incredible appointment since day 1 for me. His philosophy was evident right at the start.

We have a fantastic manager who I am on record here as saying I’d back even if were relegated.

 

[vagabond]

I don't think that will be a problem. The big 4 clubs won't be interested in him.
His CV is about improving young/lower league players. Not managing superstar egos.

Any clubs likely to make a bid for him at the moment, will not be offering the facilities or quality of senior management support that we do,
The only way he will get on anyone else's radar, is if we get into Europa League positions.
At which point his head would only be turned by someone like Spurs/wolves/Everton offering better money, which we will be able to match/better at that point.

England though.

That’s my fear. I think GP would be an incredible England manager one day.

Not for a long while yet hopefully.

 

[BUTTERBALL]

The man is a genius coach and master tactician. Listen to how highly every player who has ever worked with him speaks about him. We are very very lucky to have him here and Bloom knew what he was doing when he extended his contract so early on last season.

 

[warmleyseagull]

You say slice of luck - I say that the culture change in our club over the last few years is paying off. Bloom has instigated an ethos throughout the club of signing players who are young and comfortable on the ball. Hughton's reluctance to use these players was probably his undoing as the plan is more than trying to survive. As with everything Bloom does, this is a calculated gamble - playing the pot odds if you want a poker analogy. Ashworth was the first step and Potter was the next. The plan is to avoid £20-30m signings where possible by developing the players you buy for £2-3m into first team players. Ben White was a long term plan, slowly brought up through the leagues via loans and turned into a £30m player. That is not blind luck. You only need 1 in 10 of your £3m players to take off (And less if you end up selling them if they don't make it) and we look to be aiming higher than that. Exciting times.

In the bigger scheme it is not luck; I just meant that Potter can take no direct credit for the 'culture change over the last few years' as you put it. The thread is Potter as a coach, not Brighton as a club.

 

[Dick Swiveller]

In the bigger scheme it is not luck; I just meant that Potter can take no direct credit for the 'culture change over the last few years' as you put it. The thread is Potter as a coach, not Brighton as a club.

According to a commentator the other day, he was basically interviewing Bloom and Barber rather than the other way around. I am sure knowing these players were coming through were a big part of him taking the job.

 

[warmleyseagull]

According to a commentator the other day, he was basically interviewing Bloom and Barber rather than the other way around. I am sure knowing these players were coming through were a big part of him taking the job.

OK, so he made a good decision to come here based on this knowledge, and he has used those resources well, but it is all part of the bigger picture.

 

[Bakero]

Swedish isn't a language that comes easily to native English speakers either (not that we're generally good with many, but the common roots of Latin languages make it easier for us than Scandinavian or Celtic ones), which makes it more impressive still.

I'm loath to detract from anyone's mastery of a foreign language but I'd have to dispute that. English is a Germanic language with a load of Latin influenced vocabulary. This makes learning Spanish, for example, tricky grammar-wise, but you do have the advantage of a fair amount of cognates. I'm not sure the lexical links make up for having to contend with all the verb conjugation, syntax issues and the damn subjunctive though. Swedish, on the other hand, has some familiar vocabulary and the same subject-verb-object as English. As an added bonus I believe there's no tricky conjugation to deal with. Having never studied Swedish beyond "2 beers please", I might be missing something.

Anyway, back on topic. I've always been team Potter. For me, it was clear from the off that he had something about him and kept the faith throughout the sticky patch. The football we're playing now is a joy to watch and it's wonderful to see the improvement in players, as well as the new lads coming through. Let's hope he stays for years to come.

 

[AmexRuislip]

I love the fact we’ve never been part of the manager merry go round that other prem teams / champs teams are. Moyes, Fat Sam, Pulis etc etc - we go for something different and have more loyalty than most clubs. Long may we be Brighton and Hove Albion doing things the Albion way

I must say that all the 'big characters' in the changing room have respectively now gone, leaving a team full of confident, talented and young players who will have a chance to bloom (no pun intended).
I can guess that some of the latter might have been overwhelmed by the bigger characters, in more ways than one.
Potter is instilling an area of calm and equal atmosphere, where no one player is better than the other.
Will be interesting when Andone returns

 

[Neville's Breakfast]

I agree with all the positivity on this thread and am very excited by the style of play and goal threat we are now posing. He just needs to sort out the fragility the team are displaying after we score.

 

[Machiavelli]

When we consider how this season has started my only conclusion is how good Potter is as a coach. We have played 5 matches and looked creative and attacking in all 5 games, we have a squad who play a drilled style which they now all seem to understand. We have switched from a back 4 to a back 5 which has helped play to our strengths but the way our players have performed within that is a credit to Potter and the coaching set up.

I'm very excited for the season ahead

You're right on everything, but I'd nuance the formation point. We've started all three PL games with a back five, but moved to a back four for 25 or so minutes to see out the game against Newcastle. We also played a back four in both cup games. We have certainly seen less searching for a formation this season, but I'd really doubt that he becomes rigid in the formation and personnel he selects.

 

[BrickTamland]

I'm loath to detract from anyone's mastery of a foreign language but I'd have to dispute that. English is a Germanic language with a load of Latin influenced vocabulary. This makes learning Spanish, for example, tricky grammar-wise, but you do have the advantage of a fair amount of cognates. I'm not sure the lexical links make up for having to contend with all the verb conjugation, syntax issues and the damn subjunctive though. Swedish, on the other hand, has some familiar vocabulary and the same subject-verb-object as English. As an added bonus I believe there's no tricky conjugation to deal with. Having never studied Swedish beyond "2 beers please", I might be missing something.

Anyway, back on topic. I've always been team Potter. For me, it was clear from the off that he had something about him and kept the faith throughout the sticky patch. The football we're playing now is a joy to watch and it's wonderful to see the improvement in players, as well as the new lads coming through. Let's hope he stays for years to come.

Pretty much this! Swedish is one of the easier languages to learn if you’re English from a purely linguistic point of view. The reason people find it hard is cultural: everyone speaks English (unlike France and Spain) and the culture doesn’t really exist outside of Sweden so there’s less familiarity when beginning than one may have with French for example.