[Albion] The Potter in/out thread

[Clive Walker]

It’s a no from me and much more importantly I understand it’s a no from the hierarchy too.

 

[Dick Knights Mumm]

Every manager starts with a well of goodwill that over time gets replenished or depleted. Potter would start with a dry well. The first run of poor results would make for a toxic atmosphere.

 

[tstanbur]

Very, very sad btw … trawling that one up, it’s hardly a ringing endorsement… but there you go.

I’m amazed you found me saying anything positive about him - I must have been drunk

Still wouldn’t want that man back… his Chelsea glow up, his change in personality… to fit with what he thought would impress his new charges… pathetic.

Anyway, none of this changes the FACT that this is utter bollocks and he’s not coming back.. thank God.

Was just interested in the reactions when Potter left and yours jumped out as I’d just come from this thread. Apologies but it tickled me.

Expected to find a lot of people saying “good riddance he was shit and all he did was go on bad runs” but surprisingly didn’t see much of that at all.

 

[Kosh]

Was just interested in the reactions when Potter left and yours jumped out as I’d just come from this thread. Apologies but it tickled me.

Expected to find a lot of people saying “good riddance he was shit and all he did was go on bad runs” but surprisingly didn’t see much of that at all.

To be honest, by that point with Swansman policing the board - I was wary of saying anything too negative about Graham … otherwise I got a 5 page lecture and nasty personal abuse for days on end… it simply wasn’t worth it.

Reading between my own lines (ahem), he did improve players - that’s true, but he did I suspect, have a rather high opinion of his own abilities… they all do I guess (see McKenna and RDZ), what followed was karma of sorts and I’m pretty sure the club would refrain from reappointing him as he’d polarise the support base… I’m also pretty sure he wouldn’t want to come back, It’d be a climb down and admission I’m unsure he’s ready to make…

If the club is as well run and prepared as we’re led to believe - a retrograde appointment has to be the most unlikely of outcomes.

Like I say, it’s betting market BS … the bookies must be loving this !

 

[Driver8]

Only an NSC snapshot, but over 60% against is a big margin, (Micky Adams always used to say once you’ve got less than 51% on your side you’re in trouble) the longer this goes on and Tony and PBOBE see the strength of feeling and how potentially toxic a Potter return might be, will they can the whole idea?

We have no clue if Potter is even a consideration.

 

[Lenny Rider]

Potter or no Potter, we're in League Two within five years if PB and TB start making decisions based on NSC polls and your columns.

I don’t expect them to make decisions on NSC polls or my columns, but neither of them are also not King Canute, they must see what this would do to the club in the short term.

Actually, I’m partly to blame because I’ve heavily invested time in the debate, but it’s amazing what Potter, or the talk of him returning, has done to us all even though it’s probably, despite what the bookies say, an extremely long shot he will return.

Never thought an ex manager of our club could cause so much division

 

[zuidgull]

Do these people not realise it’s where we finish that matters not six games into a season. I mean does the poster honestly believe we would have finished 4th

I guess that is directed to me, and yes I realize that 6 games does not make a season.

I post on here maybe twice a year and the last couple have both been in defence of Potters record, who I think is underappreciated in terms of his role in the development and evolution of the club.

In this case I responded to a winless run factoid, with a position factoid. Neither exactly gives enough to make a rounded judgment on record.

FWIW I voted Fence for this option.

I would like to see an English manager do well and hope that Potter is smart enough to use his sabbatical to study game and evolve his style.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

I don’t expect them to make decisions on NSC polls or my columns, but neither of them are also not King Canute, they must see what this would do to the club in the short term.

Actually, I’m partly to blame because I’ve heavily invested time in the debate, but it’s amazing what Potter, or the talk of him returning, has done to us all even though it’s probably, despite what the bookies say, an extremely long shot he will return.

Never thought an ex manager of our club could cause so much division

Morning squire.

As far as ex managers go, there wasn't a great deal of enthusiasm about the reappointment of Micky Adams. In fact, I can't really imagine any reappointment of one of our old boys catching the imagination. Consider, what if we had mooted reappointing Coppell after his Palarse beat us 5-0 at shitehole park (I was there as I'm sure were you, unless working). Scenes.

Potter is just another manager who would be greeted differently by different supporters. To be honest, I have not seen enough from the whiney Irishman to excite me more that the return of the Pot. And the list of managers whose appointment would please me less that Potter's is too long to contemplate.

And it isn't Potter himself that triggers 'division'. It is his possible reappointment.

Not happening though.

 

[golddene]

Terry says if Potter COMES back there will be the MOST massive PROTEST ever and we will GLUE ourselves to DICKS with a HUGE Potter OUT banner hanging from Terry's TALE

Great to have THE ENREST back NORMality HaS RETURNed x

 

[The Fits]

What's happened to people's imagination these days?!

 

[Springal]

All of those runs were terrible and the football was largely dull. De Zerbi had his flaws but our team played much more exciting football and were much less likely to go on streaks of poor form than under Potter.

Quite why anyone would want him back is beyond me.

would you honestly describe the football for most of this season ‘exciting’ ?

Exciting for Villa, Luton & Bournemouth fans maybe

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

Nothing wrong with either of those comments with the context and audience intended. However there do seem to be some fragile egos getting bruised by taking it personally.

 

[Behind Enemy Lines]

Do these people not realise it’s where we finish that matters not six games into a season. I mean does the poster honestly believe we would have finished 4th

If you bothered to read what I actually posted, which you obviously haven't, all I said was when he left we were 4th, and in good shape. That's all. Fact and reality.

 

[Mo Gosfield]

would you honestly describe the football for most of this season ‘exciting’ ?

Exciting for Villa, Luton & Bournemouth fans maybe

.....and AEK....Chelsea...Fulham...Roma....Arsenal....and Man C.....some of the nine different teams who scored 3 or more goals against us....many in the first 20 min of games. In truth, we were playing catch up, too early, too often. 13 goals v us in first 17 min of games and 24 goals scored against us in the first 27 min of games ( Man C scored four v us in this timezone )
For all the plaudits RDZ received re his style of play, we were pretty poor defensively most of the season. Regularly caught on the counter. CB's under too much pressure. His policy of rotating goalkeepers baffled most. A style that demanded absolute accuracy in your own penalty area, from players lacking absolute accuracy.
Unlucky with injuries, an inflexible attitude and a permanent sulk from the moment we sold Caicedo, all contributed. I don't go to football to be excited by the style of play. That is secondary to my club being competitive and achieving results. Give me an ugly 1-0 over an exciting 2-4 all day long. Too many times this season we weren't competitive and were the architects of our own downfall. We overplayed too much, particularly in the final third.
Time will tell if RDZ is a one trick pony. One thing is for sure, he is going to be manager of a lot of clubs and we will all be able to watch him trying to hone his demanding style, all through Europe.

 

[El Presidente]

Sorry old boy as we go back a long way, but you’re little wide of the mark on this one.

Since 23rd April 1973 I’ve have had a hobby, a love for which I have that is only surpassed by my family and close friends (mainly the Grandchildren )

I’m neither precious or entitled but IMHO if this individual returned to the club it would create a toxic atmosphere the like of which has not been witnessed since the S******* Archer asset stripped us 29 years ago, something that I wouldn’t really find conducive with a much loved pastime.

So El Pres we will have to agree to differ on this one

Happy to disagree. If Potter Is the best qualified candidate and you want a poorer one then that’s your call.

I am fully with you that love of family is the most important thing in life. Suspect Graham Potter does too, which is why he decided to quadruple his salary and secure his family’s future.

I wonder how many posters on NSC would do different under similar circumstances?

 

[Baldrick]

We need to hire the best coach available who will work with and develop our young players before we sell them in accordance with TB’s model for sustainability.

If the best coach available is GP then we should welcome him back as a prodigal son. GP is much better than Martin, Rosenior, Fariola, etc.Why ‘cut off your nose to spite your face’ as the saying goes. Hopefully TB will just hire the best coach available for the job, whoever it is.

 

[timbha]

We need to hire the best coach available who will work with and develop our young players before we sell them in accordance with TB’s model for sustainability.

If the best coach available is GP then we should welcome him back as a prodigal son. GP is much better than Martin, Rosenior, Fariola, etc.Why ‘cut off your nose to spite your face’ as the saying goes. Hopefully TB will just hire the best coach available for the job, whoever it is.

Given what Potter did to Bloom (and us) how could Bloom/we trust him?

 

[Justice]

We need to hire the best coach available who will work with and develop our young players before we sell them in accordance with TB’s model for sustainability.

If the best coach available is GP then we should welcome him back as a prodigal son. GP is much better than Martin, Rosenior, Fariola, etc.Why ‘cut off your nose to spite your face’ as the saying goes. Hopefully TB will just hire the best coach available for the job, whoever it is.

Except RDZ was clearly better why would we want to go backwards?
Potter fans are going in hard on the second half of this season with a squad hammered with injuries & no Mac or Caciedo. You really think Potter would of done any better considering he didn’t do much better with a full fit squad and a top quality midfield.

 

[Zeberdi]

Under Potter we scored an average of 2 goals per game. Under De Zerbi it was 1.89 in his first season and 1.44 the second. When Potter left after 6 games in the 22/23 season we were 4th on 13 points. It took De Zerbi a further 11 games to record as many points.
Potter's points at the start of that season were the difference between Europe and a mid-table finish.
Under De Zerbi we conceded an average of 1.39 goals per game in his first season and 1.63 the second. Under Potter it was 0.7.

We also had scored more goals than any other team in the Premier League after 4 games in the 23/24 Season - even without the MF Potter had - then in the middle of our first ever European campaign we lost Solly to injury - followed by a continuous revolving door of injuries.

When De Zerbi took over from Potter, we had a particularly tough run of games that included Liverpool, Tottenham, Man City and Chelsea. We also had a team under transition to a different system of football.

A system of football that in the first season had us one of the highest scoring teams in the League.

From Albion analytics

Under RDZ in 22/23:

“Albion recorded their most wins in a top-flight season (18), double as many as they managed in the first four Premier League campaigns (9 in each), notably having fewer draws than ever before (just 8, one fewer than in 2018-19), and accumulating 62 points — 11 more than last season, making Albion the sixth-biggest improvers in terms of points from the 2021-22 campaign.”

Anyone can quote stats. But interpreting them requires contextual thinking.

 

[Baldrick]

Except RDZ was clearly better why would we want to go backwards?
Potter fans are going in hard on the second half of this season with a squad hammered with injuries & no Mac or Caciedo. You really think Potter would have done any better considering he didn’t do much better with a full fit squad and a top quality midfield.

Was RDZ really better? With GP we were better defensively. We changed formations several times during each match. RDZ is a one trick pony.

Need to bear in mind it took 2 years for GP to transition the team from CH’s tactics. Once GP had his “own team” we played good football and scored lots of goals in the last 6 months he coached us.

It was easier for RDZ to transition from GP. When “one trick pony” RDZ was found out by other club’s analysts our results nosedived.

TB and PB are professionals. They realise players and club personnel will move on to massive Champions League Clubs if the opportunity arises. They said GP left on amicable terms.

For what it’s worth, GP was right when he said some fans need a history lesson. We are a medium size club with a 30k stadium. We don’t have a massive global fan base and we are not owned by mega rich owners.

I am glad we are owned by a fan who is not prone to hissy fits like some on this forum.