Which manager were you sorriest to see leave the Albion?

[vulture]

steve coppell

 

[e77]

Coppell, because he was on the verge of something. Not such much Adams first time round as I had a suspicion he might have taken us as far as he could.

For other reasons when McGhee left as it was a sign things weren't right.

 

[Da Man Clay]

McGhee.

Even though it was time for him to go it was sad the way he was treated in the end, was obvious he should have gone in the summer. Gave me some of my favourite moments as a Brighton fan and I don't think we will see the same success we had with him for a while now.

 

[Freddie Goodwin.]

Not surprisingly I'd go for Freddie Goodwin

When he came to Albion we were 2nd bottom 18 months later we had just missed out on promotion and had had a good league cup run. Crowds were around 7,000 when he came but I saw 2 of my 30,000+ crowds when he was here.

He was poached by Birmingham City and went on to take them into the top flight. Saward picked up the batton but the next season was transition rather than a promotion push.

Now i am older i am used to managers coming & going. I'd have liked to see Brady with good players but it's Coppel who could have really taken the club on.

 

[Don Tmatter]

Cattlin, With a little more time & support he would have got us back in the top division and like Wendy he bled blue & white.
Honourable mentions to Brady, Coppell & Wendy

 

[Gully]

Without a doubt it is Coppell for me, the job was only half done when he left, with him still at the helm there is no guessing where it might have finished.

 

[Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!]

Not surprisingly I'd go for Freddie Goodwin

You beat me to it although Cattlin and Coppell are on my short list.
I've always felt that Mike Bailey's sacking was the first stage of the Albion's decline that lead to the club leaving the Goldstone.

 

[Freddie Goodwin.]

You beat me to it although Cattlin and Coppell are on my short list.
I've always felt that Mike Bailey's sacking was the first stage of the Albion's decline that lead to the club leaving the Goldstone.

Allow me this rare opportunity to disagree with you!

I thought bailey, great player though he was, a one trick pony as manager. Sure we pulled off some fine away wins and the cavalier Albion became a dour side that defended in depth and hit teams on the break to get one goal wins.

For a season that was great, winning at Spurs, Anfield, winning at saints when they could have gone top of the league. But then teams sussed us. Going away was awfull because it would be dour until we let in a goal then it was game over as we had nothing to come back with. I also remember losing 4-1 to an awfull Notts County team.

He did little on leaving us. Strange because he was a bucaneering midfielder with Wolves.

 

[fosters headband]

Has to be Steve Gritt for me.
Without him I don't think we would be around today.
Hated by the fans when he arrived and took all the stick and worked wonders.
Never given any money in the following season and had the task of keeping us going at Gillingham.
Sacked, but a hero in my eyes.

 

[ridda]

Chris Cattlin, worst decision ever.

 

[BensGrandad]

I would have to go with Goodwin and Coppell because I thought that Goodwin could have taken us on to better things as could Coppell. If we had been given permission for or started building Falmer when he was here. How things might have been diffferent and he may not have been enticed away by Reading.

 

[Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!]

Allow me this rare opportunity to disagree with you!

I thought bailey, great player though he was, a one trick pony as manager. Sure we pulled off some fine away wins and the cavalier Albion became a dour side that defended in depth and hit teams on the break to get one goal wins.

For a season that was great, winning at Spurs, Anfield, winning at saints when they could have gone top of the league. But then teams sussed us. Going away was awfull because it would be dour until we let in a goal then it was game over as we had nothing to come back with. I also remember losing 4-1 to an awfull Notts County team.

He did little on leaving us. Strange because he was a bucaneering midfielder with Wolves.

I don't disagree with your analysis of Bailey's general tactics but (unless my memory's completely shot) that was the reason he was sacked wasn't it, rather than our league position at the time?
My point is that his sacking is (to me) the first obvious stage in the club's decline to Tongdean Lane. I'm not even saying he shouldn't have been removed, just that what has taken place over the following 26 years may have been avoided had the club taken some different decisions in 1982. This includes not putting a clown in charge of the team, but then we probably wouldn't have reached the cup final.

 

[BensGrandad]

For all the good that we got from the Cup Final I think that the contracts given out by Mike Bamber was the start of the decline as we couldnt afford that kind of money and when , the name has gone, Townsend Thorensen director, our vice chairman, got killed in the plane crash we never seemed to recover and eventually that lead to the situation with A B & S.

 

[BensGrandad]

Just remembered his name Keith Wickenden.

 

[binky]

Chris Cattlin.
Clearly a manager destined for greatness.
After his sacking, he had no desire to stay in football management.
BHA was his life, and they took it away.

 

[BensGrandad]

There was a rumour a short while ago that he had made a fortune on property investment and wanted to buy the club but that just died a death, like most rumours.

 

[Nottseagull]

On a purely emotional level, a toss-up between Steve Gritt and Pat Saward. Which League would have accepted a groundless club in 1997? Not the Conference, certainly. We wouldn't have made it without Steve at the helm.
Pat Saward was forgotten virtually overnight after the Clough/Taylor bombshell, yet he was a hard-working manager who did things like go on sponsored walks for the buy-a-player fund. What became of him?

 

[fosters headband]

Sadly he died of Alzheimer's disease in 2002

 

[Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!]

For all the good that we got from the Cup Final I think that the contracts given out by Mike Bamber was the start of the decline as we couldnt afford that kind of money and when , the name has gone, Townsend Thorensen director, our vice chairman, got killed in the plane crash we never seemed to recover and eventually that lead to the situation with A B & S.

I was getting to this BG. Bailey was sacked because his team's tactics lead to a marked decline in attendances (and therefore gate receipts). This left insufficent income to cover the expenditure (10 year contract for Fozzie wasn't it?) and whilst the 1983 cup final euphoria etc temporarily masked the picture, the writing was clearly on the wall by the following season.
I'd forgotten about Keith Wickenden's death - a tragedy for BHA as well as his family.

 

[Nottseagull]

I was getting to this BG. Bailey was sacked because his team's tactics lead to a marked decline in attendances (and therefore gate receipts). This left insufficent income to cover the expenditure (10 year contract for Fozzie wasn't it?) and whilst the 1983 cup final euphoria etc temporarily masked the picture, the writing was clearly on the wall by the following season.
I'd forgotten about Keith Wickenden's death - a tragedy for BHA as well as his family.

If that's the crash at Shoreham (any details anyone?), then I had heard of it, but not of Pat Saward's demise. Did he leave football after his sacking? I remember avidly looking forward each week to his "Albion Off Pat" column .