[Albion] The OFFICIAL what’s gone wrong with our season thread

[Kalimantan Gull]

Failing to sign Kudus.

We got so close, clearly, it was being reported as a done deal. RDZ must have spoken to him, must have wanted him and been excited by him. We clearly could have afforded him - so did we lose out because we didn't want to give the release clause, or because West Ham gazumped us? Whatever, he would have made a difference in the team.

But moreover, when we lost players to injury, or poor form, our failure to get that one over the line must have stuck in RDZ's craw. I'm sure that every comment from RDZ about the club's ambition must have gone back to the Kudus deal, not the January transfer window, but the Kudus deal. It was the one thing where the club possibly could have done more to show the ambition and given RDZ what he needed - or maybe it was all down to Kudus and nothing we could do. But either way, I'm sure it has always been in the back of RDZ's mind.

 

[Hiheidi]

Recruitment is a big thing - and in hindsight, it's easy to see where we went wrong.

I mean was Dahoud any better than Alzate?

Why did we recall and reloan Sarmiento in January when we had a winger shortage and were scrambling round to get Bryan Gil?

Why didn't we put a January recall option into Undav's loan contract?

Why did we waste a wage / squad place on 38 year old Milner?

When we were doing the squad planning for this season we had:
seven players aged 32 +
4 teenagers
a number of players who'd been injured frequently in the past: (Lallana, Webster, Lamptey, Fati) or coming back from injury (Moder and Milner/Dunk/Lamptey were injured for the pre-season)
Surely it was clear most of these wouldn't be able to play the two games a week needed for Europe.

We needed a couple of experienced players who weren't teenagers, but also weren't at the end of their career, who could actually play twice a week.

We looked short at RB, LB and RW before the start of the season, obviously hoping that the likes of Milner/Buonanotte/Hinshelwood could fill in / play out of position if needed. Just looks like poor planning on what was an important, milestone season.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

To be fair that’s exactly the sort of piss taking, blue and white tinted specs bet wetting response i thought this thread would be full of

And its my opinion concerning the state of play. Optimistic but neutral regarding RDZ. I am not on a campaign trail.

Neither a 'we must keep him' campaign (not one I have seen on NSC) nor a 'get rid' campaign (of which there appear to be several). My bed is dry

 

[holybanjo]

Please post your opinions on what you feel are the reasons we have gone from a free scoring top premier league team to a team that would struggle to avoid being relegated??

Injuries

Yep, but why didn’t we strengthen in January?

Still in Europe but didn’t strengthen, big mistake and we are paying the consequences.

It’s about sustainability, both financial and fitness (RDZ can’t escape blame for the injuries). The problem is the drop in form breaks the model and now we might be drawn into a relegation battle next season. Particularly if we don’t get a coach who wants to work here! But also if we lose Mitoma, Groß (rumours to Germany), Estupiñan (long-term injury), Dunk clearly needs a rest. We have a big need for recruitment in midfield if RDZ stays which would break our recruitment policy too. Some of the young player’s development has stagnated. But keeping Joao Pedro has to be the main priority.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Does anyone know what our best team is supposed to be?

It keeps changing every week and I can't keep up.

 

[Simster]

Does anyone know what our best team is supposed to be?

It keeps changing every week and I can't keep up.

It's whoever didn't snap during training.

 

[Hiheidi]

 

[maltaseagull]

Obviously injuries have been ridiculous, but…..

The insistence on playing one style, with minimal flexibility, despite being exposed in the same manner in successive games…..

Perhaps with a full squad might have resulted in a different approach, but I’m not sure it would…..

Still, this season has given us some great memories, it just feels disappointing how it is all ending…..

Those two points are absolutely spot on.
I suspect that RDZ has passed his best before date.

 

[Sarisbury Seagull]

As usual it’s a nothing article from Naylor with no actual insight.

We have been unlucky with injuries and made a couple of recruitment mistakes but I do lay the blame for where the season has gone with De Zerbi. I will explain in detail why I believe that so I don’t get accused of just giving soundbites and whatever else those who criticize De Zerbi get thrown at them. I do think things through, I don’t just say these things lightly but I love this club and I think he has let us down recently and is currently doing some harm to the club. Obviously not in the same league as Archer/Belotti etc in the past but on the playing side and for where we are generally as a club these days.

We did make a couple of mistakes in the summer recruitment by not signing a right and left back. I have less issue with centre midfield as it was impossible to replace Caicedo and Mac Allister ability wise and we did bring in reinforcements there which on paper at the time looked good and Gilmour was able to feature more who supposedly has had a good season.

I don’t have much of an issue with January. We signed some kids and Barco for the first team squad and we already had quite a big squad and players returning from injury. Plus, the market wasn’t really moving. We will always be sensible with spending and I wholeheartedly support that. I 100% trust Bloom, Barber and those in senior management positions at the club to make the right decisions as time has proven they nearly always do.

The injuries have obviously been unfortunate but all sides have suffered this season and some more than us. I think the constant reference to the injured and sold players has not helped the fit and current players though. It can’t be great to constantly hear that your coach wishes he had those players playing instead (incidentally he couldn’t wait to talk those same sold players out of the club last season). We spent £100m on new players last summer in addition to a squad of already talented players and up and coming youngsters. Regardless of injuries and players sold, he’s still had a decent, talented squad to pick a team from that lots of managers would give anything for every week.

The rotation this season has been ridiculous, starting with the keeper situation, and it clearly hasn’t helped the players who now look more unfit and lacking in confidence than any team we’ve faced who haven’t rotated as much. By making such a big deal of the extra European games, he almost convinced the players they couldn’t handle this season physically before they’d even started. And yet Mitoma and Gross never got rested when it was obvious they needed it and Mitoma’s injuries and Gross’s current form and fitness are the end result.

Tactically he looks lost. We have no identity in the way we’re playing and the stuff that gets spoken about his football being exciting has looked nonsense this season. We’re incredibly weak at the back, giving away goals for fun and lack any invention going forward and have done for the majority of the season.

Finally his press conferences have done absolutely no good whatsoever for the confidence of the players or club as a whole. His ranting on the touchline at times makes him look like a madman - our bench of players and coaches yesterday looked absolutely shellshocked sinking into their seats. Basic management - you just can’t do that when everyone is clearly so demoralised already. The players look devoid of any confidence whatsoever and his public actions do nothing to help them.

And then he says the players are lacking motivation or incentive - or whatever word people come up with to defend him - well that is his job to sort that shit out not throw the players under a bus! We still had loads to play for after the Roma game.

So all in all, yes the recruitment might have been a bit better and we have been hit by injuries but I think De Zerbi has a lot to answer for. With the current form and confidence where it is, unless there are some big changes, next season is a real concern.

 

[Jimmy Grimble]

Recruitment is a big thing - and in hindsight, it's easy to see where we went wrong.

I mean was Dahoud any better than Alzate?

Why did we recall and reloan Sarmiento in January when we had a winger shortage and were scrambling round to get Bryan Gil?

Why didn't we put a January recall option into Undav's loan contract?

Why did we waste a wage / squad place on 38 year old Milner?

When we were doing the squad planning for this season we had:
seven players aged 32 +
4 teenagers
a number of players who'd been injured frequently in the past: (Lallana, Webster, Lamptey, Fati) or coming back from injury (Moder and Milner/Dunk/Lamptey were injured for the pre-season)
Surely it was clear most of these wouldn't be able to play the two games a week needed for Europe.

We needed a couple of experienced players who weren't teenagers, but also weren't at the end of their career, who could actually play twice a week.

We looked short at RB, LB and RW before the start of the season, obviously hoping that the likes of Milner/Buonanotte/Hinshelwood could fill in / play out of position if needed. Just looks like poor planning on what was an important, milestone season.

Not forgetting:

Igor, who - realistically - gets nowhere near the first XI of a top 10 Premier League defence.

Fati, the marquee signing who was meant to be a game-changer in the way that Mitoma is, but has been a flop.

Baleba, who has great potential but is not ready to be a consistent lynchpin in defensive midfield for a team playing in Europe and pushing for top 10.

The only piece of recruitment where we can say it was a great signing is Pedro.

 

[Bold Seagull]

Does anyone know what our best team is supposed to be?

It keeps changing every week and I can't keep up.

So does our injury list. Our best team has spent a lot of time in the treatment room this season.

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

There’s blame to be shared around, but to me the single biggest fault is recruitment and planning

Southampton and Leicester went down, because they got their recruitment badly wrong for two or three years. We’ve got ours equally wrong in the last 12 months.

We’ve bought, I count 8 first team players in the 12 months

1 = very good
3 = promising and will probably come good
1 = passable squad player
3 = very poor signings

So that’s one player, Pedro who can come in and improve our side.

If we do the same this summer, we’re almost certainly in a relegation fight. And this summer it will be harder. We have to attract players without the promise of European football, we have the look of a middling club on the slide instead of the coming force under the tutelage of one of the best up and coming coaches in europe.

We had the chance to recruit from a position of strength. Personally I don’t think we did enough to get the Kudus and KDH deals over the line while we had the chance. Not saying it was easy, but those are the sort of signings you need to land when you are in that position of strength to keep yourself challenging.

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

Recruitment is a big thing - and in hindsight, it's easy to see where we went wrong.

I mean was Dahoud any better than Alzate?

Why did we recall and reloan Sarmiento in January when we had a winger shortage and were scrambling round to get Bryan Gil?

Why didn't we put a January recall option into Undav's loan contract?

Why did we waste a wage / squad place on 38 year old Milner?

When we were doing the squad planning for this season we had:
seven players aged 32 +
4 teenagers
a number of players who'd been injured frequently in the past: (Lallana, Webster, Lamptey, Fati) or coming back from injury (Moder and Milner/Dunk/Lamptey were injured for the pre-season)
Surely it was clear most of these wouldn't be able to play the two games a week needed for Europe.

We needed a couple of experienced players who weren't teenagers, but also weren't at the end of their career, who could actually play twice a week.

We looked short at RB, LB and RW before the start of the season, obviously hoping that the likes of Milner/Buonanotte/Hinshelwood could fill in / play out of position if needed. Just looks like poor planning on what was an important, milestone season.

Agree with every word of this.

To rub salt in the wounds of bringing in 4 complete duds, is that they took the place of players we loaned out who could have done very well for us.

Your age profile point is good as well. I just think we've asked too much of our experienced players. Dunk and Gross having international fixtures hasn't enabled them to have rest they would need to even attempt to play the number of Brighton games we've asked them to play

 

[dazzer6666]

Recruitment is a big thing - and in hindsight, it's easy to see where we went wrong.

I mean was Dahoud any better than Alzate?

Why did we recall and reloan Sarmiento in January when we had a winger shortage and were scrambling round to get Bryan Gil?

Why didn't we put a January recall option into Undav's loan contract?

Why did we waste a wage / squad place on 38 year old Milner?

When we were doing the squad planning for this season we had:
seven players aged 32 +
4 teenagers
a number of players who'd been injured frequently in the past: (Lallana, Webster, Lamptey, Fati) or coming back from injury (Moder and Milner/Dunk/Lamptey were injured for the pre-season)
Surely it was clear most of these wouldn't be able to play the two games a week needed for Europe.

We needed a couple of experienced players who weren't teenagers, but also weren't at the end of their career, who could actually play twice a week.

We looked short at RB, LB and RW before the start of the season, obviously hoping that the likes of Milner/Buonanotte/Hinshelwood could fill in / play out of position if needed. Just looks like poor planning on what was an important, milestone season.

‘In hindsight’ being the key bit………

Most loans don’t seem to have recall clauses nowadays
Sarmiento doesn’t usually start for a championship team, how much difference would he have really made in the top half of the PL ?
Think Dahoud was a DeZ-led signing. Suspect TB will bank that lesson for the future.
Don’t think it was entirely poor planning - it does seem to have been a calculated gamble on the fitness/availability of what we had that‘s gone wrong

There’s no single factor that’s caused the slump, it’s a whole series of things. Anyone trying to extrapolate that into a relegation battle next season must have a pretty dismissive view on PB/TB’s ability to learn from their mistakes.

 

[Jimmy Grimble]

There’s blame to be shared around, but to me the single biggest fault is recruitment and planning

Southampton and Leicester went down, because they got their recruitment badly wrong for two or three years. We’ve got ours equally wrong in the last 12 months.

We’ve bought, I count 8 first team players in the 12 months

1 = very good
3 = promising and will probably come good
1 = passable squad player
3 = very poor signings

So that’s one player, Pedro who can come in and improve our side.

If we do the same this summer, we’re almost certainly in a relegation fight. And this summer it will be harder. We have to attract players without the promise of European football, we have the look of a middling club on the slide instead of the coming force under the tutelage of one of the best up and coming coaches in europe.

We had the chance to recruit from a position of strength. Personally I don’t think we did enough to get the Kudus and KDH deals over the line while we had the chance. Not saying it was easy, but those are the sort of signings you need to land when you are in that position of strength to keep yourself challenging.

I’ve been wanting to the say the same but am aware it comes across as ungrateful and as if we know better than TB.

As it stands, last Summer and January feel like big wasted opportunities. We did insanely well to reach the heights we did in 22-23 but then failed to build from an unprecedented position of strength. It shouldn’t feel disappointing given our past but it does.

The Premier League is relentlessly harsh. Any club outside the mega rich is only ever 2 bad transfer windows away from a relegation battle.

 

[stewart12]

-Fairly poor recruitment by our standards with only Pedro and Verbruggen looking like good signings at this point.

-That includes failing to strengthen in certain areas eg. going into the season with 1 left back and 2 injury prone right backs continues to blow my mind. We were fortunate that Hinshelwood was able to slot into the right back role otherwise we would have been truly stuffed.

-I wonder if deep down we didn't believe that anyone would actually match the fee we'd set for Caicedo and therefore were a bit unprepared in terms of replacing him

-The loan system has been good to us in recent years but in hindsight there are players that could have, at the very least, provided cover this season. Alzate, Sarmiento and Undav in particular could have all been very useful this season.

-As soon as the injuries kicked in there was a domino effect. An example being that at one point we only had Mitoma and Adingra available to play on the wings and they were basically having to play all game every game. Inevitably both of them then got burnt out and injured

-I know we don't like doing too much in January but if there was ever a season to break that habit it was this one.


and ultimately

-For whatever reason De Zerbi just doesn't seem focused, energised or motivated any more

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

I’ve been wanting to the say the same but am aware it comes across as ungrateful and as if we know better than TB.

Yeh, I'm kind of in this position as well.

As it stands i'm not moaning about it, but I think we have to acknowledge it. I believe a big part of our off field failures came because we lost so many staff to Chelsea. It can't have no affect at all.

What the club needs now is stability off the pitch and to re-inforce this squad with another 5ish players ready to play first team football now

 

[RandyWanger]

Selling our best players and not replacing them with anyone ready. Last years form and the confidence carried over. We got found out.
We need to turn it around so the end of season form doesn't carry over into next now.

 

[GT49er]

-Fairly poor recruitment by our standards with only Pedro and Verbruggen looking like good signings at this point.

-That includes failing to strengthen in certain areas eg. going into the season with 1 left back and 2 injury prone right backs continues to blow my mind. We were fortunate that Hinshelwood was able to slot into the right back role otherwise we would have been truly stuffed.

-I wonder if deep down we didn't believe that anyone would actually match the fee we'd set for Caicedo and therefore were a bit unprepared in terms of replacing him

-The loan system has been good to us in recent years but in hindsight there are players that could have, at the very least, provided cover this season. Alzate, Sarmiento and Undav in particular could have all been very useful this season.

-As soon as the injuries kicked in there was a domino effect. An example being that at one point we only had Mitoma and Adingra available to play on the wings and they were basically having to play all game every game. Inevitably both of them then got burnt out and injured

-I know we don't like doing too much in January but if there was ever a season to break that habit it was this one.


and ultimately

-For whatever reason De Zerbi just doesn't seem focused, energised or motivated any more

Two injury prone right backs? I don't think Veltman was particularly injury prone (before this season), was he?

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

Two injury prone right backs? I don't think Veltman was particularly injury prone (before this season), was he?

No. He had a good record. But into his 30's it was obvious we would need cover and competition for that place last season. It's even more obvious for next season, and I think Veltman will be off, so maybe two more needed.

The clubs plan I think was that Milner would be able to fill in occasionally. An awful idea.