[Albion] Who do you want to become our new manager?

[NorthStanding]

I don’t expect everyone to welcome back Potter with open arms, but he is the obvious choice, if he returns on BHA wages. De Zerbi got us a few places higher and into Europa League, but that was mostly due to Mac Allister, Mitoma and Caicedo being outstanding IMO. That and Chelsea and Tottenham under performing.

The tactics worked, but were not drastically different to Potter ball, a bit more direct on occasions. De Zerbi‘s enthusiasm was what really drove the team up until a few months ago, when De Zerbi started to look tired and comparatively disinterested. Once a player or manager gets in that frame of mind, it’s difficult to turn it around. The start of next season might well have continued in the same vein, pointing to a bottom half finish. So, although De Zerbi memories will be very positive, I think it was the right decision for both parties to part ways.

Potter has the capabilities to adopt De Zerbi tactics, or at least meet half way from Potter ball. What will make the biggest difference is if we have all our best players fit, the new medical staff look like shrewd signings. Onwards and upwards, whoever the next manager should be.

 

[sparkie]

Not quite. His comment in full was:

"If I wanted a nice easy life, I could have quite easily stayed working at Brighton in the Premier League and signed a new contract and been absolutely OK. And I wouldn't have had too many questions about myself or pressure or sacking or anything like that, but the reason to come here, one of the reasons to come here as there were many, it's a fantastic football club, potentially one of the best in the world that can compete for any major trophy."

To be fair to Potter, that was probably a fair and honest assessment of his situation when he left us. However, De Zerbi then arrived and upped expectations. He was not satisfied and insisted that the players and the board believe that we were also a football club that could compete for major trophies. We can't now fall back on someone who has made it quite clear that a certain level will suffice for Brighton. Of course TB will be realistic about our ambitions, but he will want someone who has some ambition, not for himself, but for the club.

I was happy with Potter's work while he was here. He did tremendous stuff in quickly adapting the squad to play in a different way. There were long testing periods where results didn't match performances, but let's remember that the absolute decimation of Man Utd that had Ronaldo laughing was under Potter, not RDZ. Upon leaving, it became apparent that the 'know your history' chippiness was perhaps a result of complacency. He, like Gus Poyet, believed that there was a ceiling for this club, but where Poyet tried to force Tony's hand to break it, Potter just accepted it as inexorable.

Although his assessment of our place in the food chain was probably realistic, having now had the inspirational RDZ, we can't go back and settle. Paul Barber has spoken of how De Zerbi challenged everyone in the club to go further and how managing this was difficult, but totally worthwhile. He and Bloom now know that at this stage in the plan, if we are going to continue to over-acheive, they need to appoint a manager that they need to rein in, not one that they have to follow behind jabbing with a cattle prod.

Very true.

After daring to dream under RDZ we cannot go back to some dullard lecturing us not to believe in fairytales.

 

[um bongo molongo]

He was "allegedly" on our list in 2022... What he's achieved since then has been impressive.

He is very good, the stuff he's done at Lens is nothing short of remarkable. Taking them from a pretty unattractive Ligue 2 side to within a point of pipping PSG to the title is sensational. Finished 3rd in a competitive UCL group this season (ahead of Sevilla) but got knocked out to Freiburg in the Europa after conceding 2 goals in injury time to flip the scoreline on it's head.

He tends to play with 3 at the back, with two of the CBs playing as roving drivers into midfield (something Igor and Webster are very good at already), though he has described his style as tactically flexible based on the players at his disposal. His team's tend to be good defensively, and quite fun going forward, but it may be that his side relied on the outstanding quality of Loïs Openda last season where he hasn't been able to get the same tune out of Elye Wahi this year and it has affected the amount of goals Lens have scored.

Whilst it is not the thrilling appointment I'd have hoped for following on from a manager like RDZ, it would be a great fit, and a soft yes from me.

Enough of this informed opinion stuff. This is NSC. Emotional ramblings only please.

(Thanks for posting, that’s interesting)

 

[MJsGhost]

Not quite. His comment in full was:

"If I wanted a nice easy life, I could have quite easily stayed working at Brighton in the Premier League and signed a new contract and been absolutely OK. And I wouldn't have had too many questions about myself or pressure or sacking or anything like that, but the reason to come here, one of the reasons to come here as there were many, it's a fantastic football club, potentially one of the best in the world that can compete for any major trophy."

To be fair to Potter, that was probably a fair and honest assessment of his situation when he left us. However, De Zerbi then arrived and upped expectations. He was not satisfied and insisted that the players and the board believe that we were also a football club that could compete for major trophies. We can't now fall back on someone who has made it quite clear that a certain level will suffice for Brighton. Of course TB will be realistic about our ambitions, but he will want someone who has some ambition, not for himself, but for the club.

I was happy with Potter's work while he was here. He did tremendous stuff in quickly adapting the squad to play in a different way. There were long testing periods where results didn't match performances, but let's remember that the absolute decimation of Man Utd that had Ronaldo laughing was under Potter, not RDZ. Upon leaving, it became apparent that the 'know your history' chippiness was perhaps a result of complacency. He, like Gus Poyet, believed that there was a ceiling for this club, but where Poyet tried to force Tony's hand to break it, Potter just accepted it as inexorable.

Although his assessment of our place in the food chain was probably realistic, having now had the inspirational RDZ, we can't go back and settle. Paul Barber has spoken of how De Zerbi challenged everyone in the club to go further and how managing this was difficult, but totally worthwhile. He and Bloom now know that at this stage in the plan, if we are going to continue to over-acheive, they need to appoint a manager that they need to rein in, not one that they have to follow behind jabbing with a cattle prod.

I agree with most of your post.

The reason I've been pointing it out (and what I feel is missing from a lot of people's reasoning) is the bit you mention about Potter having a point with what he said. The pressure from above, expectations/entitlement from the fans, media interest - the whole circus at Chelsea is 10x what he had with us. Relative to the Chelsea job, he had every right to reflect that if he had wanted an easy life, he could have stayed with us. His choice of words (and the phrase "easy life" in particular) wasn't great and got/gets under the skin of many fans.
Nobody would have batted an eyelid if he had just said something like: "Look, it is what it is. I chose to come to Chelsea, knowing the increased pressure I'll be under, knowing how tough a job it would be and knowing that the media scrutiny and expectations would be greater. I made the choice to take on a difficult project and I'm getting on with it". It conveys roughly the same meaning without the perceived slight against the club.

The 'history lesson' quote was really stupid. You can see in the clip that he's bristling - the crowd reaction to the performance & result must have really got to him. Was it because he's chippy and egotistical, or because if you took his work and achievements as a whole up to that point (with the club sat in the top 10 in the Premier League), he had a point that perhaps fans might forgive the odd sterile performance, given how far the team/club had come? His error was the language he used - the mask slipped due to the emotion he was feeling. Plenty of people were bored of the same lines trotted out "we're still learning, we'll take the positives etc etc zzzzzzzzzzzz", but he really showed that he's not great at getting his point across when he's feeling some raw emotion. (an alternative view might be that he was riding into battle against the injustice of the crowd reaction for his team's benefit).

Paul Barber's corporate messaging is always on point, so he would talk up the positives of RdZ challenging them whether it was always a good thing or not. We also don't know if Potter challenged them or not. All we know is that he didn't do it via the media like Gus or RdZ.

To be clear, I'm not in the "YES, let's get our Graham back" camp. I just wouldn't mind if that's who we end up with. I'll leave it up to PB & TB to decide how much they want to be pushed by the next manager.

 

[Beanstalk]

Enough of this informed opinion stuff. This is NSC. Emotional ramblings only please.

(Thanks for posting, that’s interesting)

hahaha. My emotional take?

This would be just about ambitious enough to make a parting with RDZ seem sensible. He's class and it would be a good fit - also, I've tasted a bit of continental flair with RDZ, and you know what, I BLOODY LOVE IT. Don't make me go back to jacket potato.

We had one of the most exciting managers in the world, to trade it for someone considerably less exciting but easier for TB and PB to work with would be a really boring and uninspiring thing for the club to do and make a lot of fans feel that, despite all of the good words, maybe there is a ceiling to our long term achievement.

And don't you worry, I've been resting my vocal chords and putting together a bit of a group just in case Glow Up Graham returns. We'll show him a history lesson and remind him of those Chelsea boos.

 

[MJsGhost]

But that's still not the full context is it? It's one of several disparaging comments about Brighton and/or the fans (History lesson/people are entitled to their opinion etc...), him jumping ship and this is from someone who (apparently) has a degree in Emotional Intelligence.

Compare RDZs comments about the fans and his consistent and persistent praise of us even after the end, the way BHAFC and RDZ parted company to Potters comments about the fans and the way he left.

Football is an EMOTIONAL outlet for me and many others. It's a passion. I don't feel the same watching F1 or Wimbledon.

Yes this has brought back some of the bitterness of Potter leaving with the suggestions that he, even remotely, could come back.

I have absolutely zero bitterness towards RDZ.

Why? I have no idea, I just know how I feel. I would eventually get behind a Potter BHAFC, but it would be at the expense of some of my passion for the club.

Again Why? Fvck knows.

I wouldn't dream of telling you how to consume and react to football and everything surrounding it. All I can do is relate to how I do. RdZ blowing smoke up the fans' arse just washes over me. The cynic in me believes he has said it about all other fans of clubs he has worked at and will do for the next... Mind you, I have been accused of being an emotional desert by my wife... it's probably true to a certain extent, but it does allow me to see both sides dispassionately and with logic (hence giving Potter the benefit of the doubt over some of his comments).

I think after the recent highs, anyone coming in will have a tricky task to elicit quite the same emotional response from the fanbase that RdZ did. Charisma in spades, heart on sleeve, passion & volatility... a tough act to follow.

 

[Beanstalk]

I don’t expect everyone to welcome back Potter with open arms, but he is the obvious choice, if he returns on BHA wages. De Zerbi got us a few places higher and into Europa League, but that was mostly due to Mac Allister, Mitoma and Caicedo being outstanding IMO. That and Chelsea and Tottenham under performing.

The tactics worked, but were not drastically different to Potter ball, a bit more direct on occasions. De Zerbi‘s enthusiasm was what really drove the team up until a few months ago, when De Zerbi started to look tired and comparatively disinterested. Once a player or manager gets in that frame of mind, it’s difficult to turn it around. The start of next season might well have continued in the same vein, pointing to a bottom half finish. So, although De Zerbi memories will be very positive, I think it was the right decision for both parties to part ways.

Potter has the capabilities to adopt De Zerbi tactics, or at least meet half way from Potter ball. What will make the biggest difference is if we have all our best players fit, the new medical staff look like shrewd signings. Onwards and upwards, whoever the next manager should be.

We went from scoring 51 goals in 43 games under Potter, to 91 in 46 under De Zerbi and you think it was just because of Mac Allister and Caicedo being great, alongside Mitoma being allowed on the pitch? It was almost exactly the same squad. The only similarity between the two managers was a favouring for a Guardiola-style positional possession based tactic. How they implemented that is extremely different.

And if you think lack of goals was a Brighton problem, his Chelsea team, who the previous season under "pragmatic" Tuchel scored 76 in 38, scored just 21 in 23 games. This is with considerably better players than De Zerbi had at his disposal.

Potter did a good job at Brighton but he is a very strong defensive coach who deploys a system that is simply unable to get loads of goals. At the time we may have thought it was because of a lack of quality, but the evidence shows that Potter's style is the issue. Emotions aside, he would be completely the wrong choice. I've been shown what is possible at Brighton under a quality attacking focussed coach and I cannot believe anyone would want to go backwards from there.

 

[Stato]

I agree with most of your post.

The reason I've been pointing it out (and what I feel is missing from a lot of people's reasoning) is the bit you mention about Potter having a point with what he said. The pressure from above, expectations/entitlement from the fans, media interest - the whole circus at Chelsea is 10x what he had with us. Relative to the Chelsea job, he had every right to reflect that if he had wanted an easy life, he could have stayed with us. His choice of words (and the phrase "easy life" in particular) wasn't great and got/gets under the skin of many fans.
Nobody would have batted an eyelid if he had just said something like: "Look, it is what it is. I chose to come to Chelsea, knowing the increased pressure I'll be under, knowing how tough a job it would be and knowing that the media scrutiny and expectations would be greater. I made the choice to take on a difficult project and I'm getting on with it". It conveys roughly the same meaning without the perceived slight against the club.

The 'history lesson' quote was really stupid. You can see in the clip that he's bristling - the crowd reaction to the performance & result must have really got to him. Was it because he's chippy and egotistical, or because if you took his work and achievements as a whole up to that point (with the club sat in the top 10 in the Premier League), he had a point that perhaps fans might forgive the odd sterile performance, given how far the team/club had come? His error was the language he used - the mask slipped due to the emotion he was feeling. Plenty of people were bored of the same lines trotted out "we're still learning, we'll take the positives etc etc zzzzzzzzzzzz", but he really showed that he's not great at getting his point across when he's feeling some raw emotion. (an alternative view might be that he was riding into battle against the injustice of the crowd reaction for his team's benefit).

Paul Barber's corporate messaging is always on point, so he would talk up the positives of RdZ challenging them whether it was always a good thing or not. We also don't know if Potter challenged them or not. All we know is that he didn't do it via the media like Gus or RdZ.

To be clear, I'm not in the "YES, let's get our Graham back" camp. I just wouldn't mind if that's who we end up with. I'll leave it up to PB & TB to decide how much they want to be pushed by the next manager.

Well put and similarly, I'd agree with most of what you say. I just think that the way things actually played out have made it a non starter. As you indicate, PB, like TB is always very professional and pragmatic about business dealings and I think that they would consider Potter if it was best for the club at the moment in question. However, I think that they would have already decided that we are in a different place than we were when we appointed him and subsequently need a different skill set than his.

It might be my wishful thinking, because like a lot of others on here, for emotional reasons, I just don't want him back. Luckily he is famously trained in emotional intelligence, so presumably knows himself well enough to have figured out that his ego could not take the level of humbling himself that he'd have to do to return to a group of fans who so shocked him with their vehement response when he returned to the Amex with his band of mercenaries.

 

[NorthStanding]

Not quite. His comment in full was:

"If I wanted a nice easy life, I could have quite easily stayed working at Brighton in the Premier League and signed a new contract and been absolutely OK. And I wouldn't have had too many questions about myself or pressure or sacking or anything like that, but the reason to come here, one of the reasons to come here as there were many, it's a fantastic football club, potentially one of the best in the world that can compete for any major trophy."

To be fair to Potter, that was probably a fair and honest assessment of his situation when he left us. However, De Zerbi then arrived and upped expectations. He was not satisfied and insisted that the players and the board believe that we were also a football club that could compete for major trophies. We can't now fall back on someone who has made it quite clear that a certain level will suffice for Brighton. Of course TB will be realistic about our ambitions, but he will want someone who has some ambition, not for himself, but for the club.

I was happy with Potter's work while he was here. He did tremendous stuff in quickly adapting the squad to play in a different way. There were long testing periods where results didn't match performances, but let's remember that the absolute decimation of Man Utd that had Ronaldo laughing was under Potter, not RDZ. Upon leaving, it became apparent that the 'know your history' chippiness was perhaps a result of complacency. He, like Gus Poyet, believed that there was a ceiling for this club, but where Poyet tried to force Tony's hand to break it, Potter just accepted it as inexorable.

Although his assessment of our place in the food chain was probably realistic, having now had the inspirational RDZ, we can't go back and settle. Paul Barber has spoken of how De Zerbi challenged everyone in the club to go further and how managing this was difficult, but totally worthwhile. He and Bloom now know that at this stage in the plan, if we are going to continue to over-acheive, they need to appoint a manager that they need to rein in, not one that they have to follow behind jabbing with a cattle prod.

If Potter didn’t have ambition, he wouldn’t have left for Chelsea, as above. I don’t think a cattle prod is needed, maybe a caffeine boost to get Potter running up and down the touch line!

He was probably surprised that BHA fans didn’t sit back and applaud him for getting the Chelsea job. It’s a testament to our progress that his departure was met more with anger than sadness. That shows the level of expectations from fans, he cannot accuse fans of lacking ambition and if he wants a demanding job, here it is. Achieving success without cheating Financial Fair play should be more satisfying than working for a club that just spends spend spends.

The club does not express such high expectations itself, due to keeping the club on a sound financial footing, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t want trophies.

Now he has seen what this club can deliver, he should have the appetite to exceed De Zerbi’s achievements (reaching quarter finals of Europa League might be a bit tough, but why not strive for that).

It‘s not unrealistic for BHA to at least reach a cup final. We’ve come close in recent years, once under Chris Hughton with a much less talented squad. It was criminal not to beat Wolves and reach a semi-final again this season. Manchester United were for the taking and an FA Cup Final was within reach.

Potter is the best jobless manager with Premier League experience, like it or not Potter haters.

 

[Stato]

If Potter didn’t have ambition, he wouldn’t have left for Chelsea, as above.

Re-read what I wrote:

"he will want someone who has some ambition, not for himself, but for the club.."

 

[NorthStanding]

We went from scoring 51 goals in 43 games under Potter, to 91 in 46 under De Zerbi and you think it was just because of Mac Allister and Caicedo being great, alongside Mitoma being allowed on the pitch? It was almost exactly the same squad. The only similarity between the two managers was a favouring for a Guardiola-style positional possession based tactic. How they implemented that is extremely different.

And if you think lack of goals was a Brighton problem, his Chelsea team, who the previous season under "pragmatic" Tuchel scored 76 in 38, scored just 21 in 23 games. This is with considerably better players than De Zerbi had at his disposal.

Potter did a good job at Brighton but he is a very strong defensive coach who deploys a system that is simply unable to get loads of goals. At the time we may have thought it was because of a lack of quality, but the evidence shows that Potter's style is the issue. Emotions aside, he would be completely the wrong choice. I've been shown what is possible at Brighton under a quality attacking focussed coach and I cannot believe anyone would want to go backwards from there.

BHA wouldn’t have been labelled XG FC without creating a lot of chances. What were the reasons for not taking those chances under Potter? It’s a mystery to me. Better finishing could’ve equalled De Zerbi’s stats. BHA having to score a minimum of 2 goals per game for wins was unsustainable, unfortunately, as we found out in the second half of this season.

 

[NorthStanding]

Re-read what I wrote:

"he will want someone who has some ambition, not for himself, but for the club

Re-read what I wrote:

"he will want someone who has some ambition, not for himself, but for the club.."

The two go hand in hand, De Zerbi’s ambitions were as much for himself as the club, don’t kid yourself.

 

[MJsGhost]

Well put and similarly, I'd agree with most of what you say. I just think that the way things actually played out have made it a non starter. As you indicate, PB, like TB is always very professional and pragmatic about business dealings and I think that they would consider Potter if it was best for the club at the moment in question. However, I think that they would have already decided that we are in a different place than we were when we appointed him and subsequently need a different skill set than his.

It might be my wishful thinking, because like a lot of others on here, for emotional reasons, I just don't want him back. Luckily he is famously trained in emotional intelligence, so presumably knows himself well enough to have figured out that his ego could not take the level of humbling himself that he'd have to do to return to a group of fans who so shocked him with their vehement response when he returned to the Amex with his band of mercenaries.

There would be an interesting atmosphere for the first game at the Amex if he does return, that's for sure.

If the season started like 22/23, I don't think it would take long to win over the masses. It would soon turn toxic if we saw another barren run of home form though...

I still don't think it'll happen, so I've wasted an awful lot of time posting about it

 

[Beanstalk]

BHA wouldn’t have been labelled XG FC without creating a lot of chances. What were the reasons for not taking those chances under Potter? It’s a mystery to me. Better finishing could’ve equalled De Zerbi’s stats. BHA having to score a minimum of 2 goals per game for wins was unsustainable, unfortunately, as we found out in the second half of this season.

Well my point is that it wasn't a mystery to Roberto who identified and solved the issue very quickly. And that it was suddenly an issue at Chelsea under Potter, implies that maybe the reasons for not being clinical were down to the coach... Chelsea underperformed their xG by 7.4 during Graham Potter's Premier League reign, the worst differential of any side since his first game in charge (21 goals from 28.4 xG).

If you want to go from 2 goals a game, to 1 goal a game, then that's your want. But I've spent the last two seasons being entertained win or lose and personally, it's been the best time I've ever had watching the Albion. There is clearly an attacking issue with Potter, not just when he was at Brighton, I don't want to see us return to that.

 

[Albion my Albion]

so I've wasted an awful lot of time posting about it

Now that is genuine NSC.

 

[Krafty]

I would be happy if Potter was reappointed. The odds look in his favour

 

[Swegulls]

Let's bring in Xavi then, just sacked.

 

[Colonel Mustard]

Potter is the best jobless manager with Premier League experience, like it or not Potter haters.

Maybe he is, maybe he isn’t but that’s irrelevant. Choosing a new manager isn’t all about ability alone. You have to be the right fit and command respect. What people are reasonably asking is whether a man who walked out on Brighton in mid-season, taking the entire senior coaching staff with him, meets those criteria.

 

[MJsGhost]

Let's bring in Xavi then, just sacked.

Does this mean we miss out on Gallardo?

EDIT: I see it's Hansi Flick for Barca. As you were.

 

[Swegulls]

You're right, they have lined up Herr Flick.