[Albion] Why has RDZ not signed a new contract yet?

[Guinness Boy]

Ha Ha . Come off it . SOme perspective !!

Nonetheless . RDZ needs to get back out on the training pitch , sort his team out and let that do his talking for him. Fed up with the over analysis of his woes in press conferences. Can't the be the first time a chairman hasn't brought him what he wanted in a transfer window. Get over it.

To this and your other post, RDZ has been punching above his weight all season.

He's lost Caicedo, Mac Allister, Enciso, March and Estupinian for all or part of the start of the season and has recently not had Fati, Adingra, Mitoma, Veltman and Lamptey either.

We have a WAY worse squad this season. Fati and Pedro are great signings, Beleba is beyond raw, Dahood already gone, Milner slower than me.

I don't think everything he does is perfect by any means. I don't like the keeper rotation, nor the three at the back but those are his bold coaching decisions. Losing most of our best players from last season without adequate replacement isn't.

 

[London Irish]

So ENREST returns and half of NSC suddenly want DI ZERBO out - coincidence, I DON’T THINK SO

 

[Guinness Boy]

So ENREST returns and half of NSC suddenly want DI ZERBO out - coincidence, I DON’T THINK SO

Odd take, but not surprising given the author.

 

[Iggle Piggle]

The boss hit the nail on the head earlier in the thread. It doesn't really matter whether you think Roberto was backed or not in this window or the last (and it personally irks me when he wheels out the players who have gone but conveniently forgets Pedro and Igor coming in), he thinks he hasn't been. It's visible in his actions and he gave enough warning in the pressers pre Xmas. He thinks we are short.

I'd be amazed if he is here for next season. Barca, Liverpool and surely the clown at Man utd are for the chop. If they don't get him, the crossfire will and by that I mean Villa coughing up if Emery goes. Still, loads to play for, I hope we pick ourselves up. Given we haven't lost 2 in a row since October 2022, history suggests we will.

 

[Kosh]

You might well giggle but the style of coach I like - extrovert, passionate, unafraid to get in the ref's face and most of all ambitious - are never fully backed at this club. First Poyet, now De Zerbi.

Dull, functional, introverted yes men like Hyppia and Potter excite me about as much as celery.

Dear Chris was somewhere in the middle but very much needed. Garcia lazier than a 30 stone woman in a heatwave by all accounts.

That’s an absolute classic lol love it.

And… spot on with it.

 

[Bozza]

I’m sorry, but managing without multiple key players in your first team squad is like fighting with an arm tied behind your back. You’re aware of your deficiency, but there’s nothing you can do about it. If RDZ looks at the bench, he’s got either kids who need developing without being thrown to the wolves, which could set them back, or players returning from injury who need their minutes carefully managed.

I don’t know how many times it has to be spelt out, but losing Caicedo last summer was a surprise. It was envisaged that he’d stay another year before moving on. I’m not sure anyone here is painting Tony Bloom as the villain, but RDZ wants to play in a style that our current personnel doesn’t allow for. That’s a problem. He’s being forced to try ideas and compromises that aren’t always working out.

We can’t just go out and purchase a ready made Caicedo replacement, but it’s clear from what RDZ has said that he knows what he wants, and this was one of the two opportunities in each calendar year to plug gaps in the squad. I absolutely trust Tony’s judgement and believe that the club will have looked but not found the right deal. However, that doesn’t make RDZ a bad guy for communicating what he believes the squad needs, and being disappointed that we haven’t found it.

Good post.

I've tried a few times to start composing a post trying to say that it's quite possible to believe that neither the club nor RDZ are in the wrong, which is pretty much where I am with things.

RDZ will be primarily focused on the here-and-now - he's already made history for this football club, but he believes he has/had the opportunity to bring even greater glories our way.

"The club" need to balance the demands of today and tomorrow. Too many clubs have ended up in the shit when chasing glory today without due consideration to tomorrow. From clubs going bust to the current raft of FFP concerns amongst Premier League clubs - football history is littered with the tales of those who properly "went for it", only for thing to unravel badly.

 

[Bodian]

I firmly believe Tony will back the boss in the summer, and I also believe we were in the market in January. What we won’t do is overspend and undo all the brilliant work we’ve done in the last few years. I, like RDZ, would’ve loved to add a couple more first team ready players. But there is never any guarantee they’ll work out. We clearly had targets but the record low January spending shows how hard it was for all clubs to do business in which they found value.

And last time we 'panic-bought', we ended up with Locadia.

 

[Iggle Piggle]

And last time we 'panic-bought', we ended up with Locadia.

We also almost ended up with Vincent Janssen for 25 million. He scored 2 (TWO) goals for Spurs and never played top level thereafter. The club have clearly learnt.

Vincent Janssen - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[chickens]

Good post.

I've tried a few times to start composing a post trying to say that it's quite possible to believe that neither the club nor RDZ are in the wrong, which is pretty much where I am with things.

RDZ will be primarily focused on the here-and-now - he's already made history for this football club, but he believes he has/had the opportunity to bring even greater glories our way.

"The club" need to balance the demands of today and tomorrow. Too many clubs have ended up in the shit when chasing glory today without due consideration to tomorrow. From clubs going bust to the current raft of FFP concerns amongst Premier League clubs - football history is littered with the tales of those who properly "went for it", only for thing to unravel badly.

Exactly. I’m absolutely fine with “safety first.”

I wish we’d been able to find what RDZ wanted at a price that worked, but if we couldn’t then I’m glad we haven’t bought for the sake of being seen to do something for a manager who will inevitably leave at some point regardless.

 

[Sarisbury Seagull]

I keep waiting for someone to argue that RDZ has some responsibility - he's the coach after all - for winning a mere 3 games in 16.

(Of course he's had some dreadful luck with injuries, he's lost some key players in the summer - but surely that wouldn't have been a surprise, and he's kept us incredibly in the 2 cups - a massive achievement - and Thurs - Sun takes its toll ) .

But nonetheless he's not managed to find a win against Fulham, Luton, Sheff Utd, Palace, Burnley and Wolves.

Instead incredbily its Tony Bloom who appears to be the villain here for not "backing" him. Well yes. Agreed there's not been a replacement for March. which is perplexing although we do have options there. And with Dahoud going out , you might have expected someone coming in the other direction. So i imagine club didn't land what they wanted in the last 4 weeks or "went in a different direction" (De Zerbi). But surely RDZ must take some responsibility here ? He coaches the team after all . He can't use that as an excuse.

We've more than enough - even with the injuries - to beat Palace and pick up more wins this month - in which case i suspect a lot of this will be forgotten - as its inconsistent form - not the "chairman" thats i'm sure is the cause of his spiky demeanour at the mo. If not then ..watch out . Its going to get even bumpier.

If you look back over some of my recent posts, you’ll see I have held RDZ responsible. Yes I think we probably could have done with another right winger in January and a full back in the summer but we’re never going to buy players for the sake of it so can only assume the right players were not available and personally I think it’s mad to question Tony and the decisions he’s made.

I’ll always back the genius who has worked miracles and taken us to a level we couldn’t have even dreamed of when he took over after 15 years of almost unparalleled success over the coach who has done a very good but not spectacular job over 16 months and who’s finding it harder without the world class midfield he was lucky to inherit.

 

[Guinness Boy]

Good post.

I've tried a few times to start composing a post trying to say that it's quite possible to believe that neither the club nor RDZ are in the wrong, which is pretty much where I am with things.

RDZ will be primarily focused on the here-and-now - he's already made history for this football club, but he believes he has/had the opportunity to bring even greater glories our way.

"The club" need to balance the demands of today and tomorrow. Too many clubs have ended up in the shit when chasing glory today without due consideration to tomorrow. From clubs going bust to the current raft of FFP concerns amongst Premier League clubs - football history is littered with the tales of those who properly "went for it", only for thing to unravel badly.

I'm going to presume that he wasn't just doing a bw2 and yelling 'JUST SIGN SOMEONE, HOW HARD CAN IT BE!?' into a void and, instead, suggesting players he liked.

They might not have been available. They might have been too expensive or come with silly wage demands. They might have been injured. Or, perish the thought, they might not have been on 'the spreadsheet'. I'm fine with all those reasons except the last one. A recruitment team should at least be looking into suggestions from its coaching staff.

I can't help it, I see a lot a parallels between RDZ's style and Poyet's. And, whatever eventually happened with Poyet, he did get us to the verge of the promised land with players like Bridge, Vicente and Upson. Not long later we had COG, Colunga, Joe Bennett et al and still expected the same result.

I just hope we're not trying to compete to the very latter stages of three competitions with some free transfers, loans and youngsters when we have a key player who might never be the same again after injury and one of the replacement free transfers already on his bike.

 

[Kosh]

One problem with Roberto appears to be his thirst for new blood, I can’t help but feel he gets a real buzz from integrating new players… and conversely he seemingly grows tired of others quickly too … thus we’d probs always see a relatively high turnover of players, which in some respects doesn’t always suit our model… especially as it would appear he likes a statement signing or two - to work into his ‘tactical disposition.’

Perhaps we’re just seeing a gradual breakdown in expectation vs reality.

Akin to Ritchie Blackmore, especially in his Rainbow days… more bass players than strats… it’s a hunger for a new toy, new ‘sound’ a fresh new face… one too many and it all goes a bit Joe Lynn Turner.

Street of dreams my ARSE.

 

[Jim in the West]

There’s a real despondency coming from the manager, we just got battered by a team in the relegation zone, the majority of fans are perplexed by the transfer window and we are missing so many players. Tomorrow is a huge game.

If the majority of fans are perplexed, then they must live in complete isolation from reality. Have they not spotted that virtually no EPL teams actually bought anyone? Ironically, Palace spent biggest. There were only 11 purchases of more than £1m - of which two were ours. FFP has meant virtually no movement - clubs that are close to the limit clearly couldn't buy, but also didn't want to sell (they will make sales pre-30th June if necessary). And, as far as we know, we made serious efforts to purchase Dewsbury-Hall at somewhere north of £20m, and Ibrahim Osman...and to get Bryan Gil on loan.

If De Zerbi is so seriously pissed off, I'm extremely disappointed in him. He knew the BHAFC model when he agreed to become our manager. I love the guy to bits (and part of that is the way he is so emotional, so I obviously can't have it both ways when he shows his frustration). However, he still needs to prove himself. Last season was amazing, and our exploits in the Europa League this season have been truly wonderful. But he's been with us for only 16 months. If he wants to get a seriously big job, then he has to show that he's able to deal with adversity. I think he's doing a pretty decent job of juggling things to cope with the horrendous injuries. But let's hope the sensible heads of Lallana, Dunk and Milner can calm him down and cheer him up!

 

[Littlemo]

It’s a bit of everything isn’t it. I think they are all a bit wrong in their way.

I would agree with the club if RDZ wanted lots more wingers, because we have them and they are injured. You can’t be stockpiling players because as said before, at some point they all come back. That said, it’s clear we are super light in midfield, it’s a mistake from the club not to get someone in there, even on loan, because we are one or two injuries away from having almost no one. Barca has to work out or we remain light there at fullback as well.

At the same time, unless he goes to an oil-club, RDZ is going to need to get used to not getting what he wants and making the most of what he’s got. God even they have restraints and have to play poorer options when missing key players. It’s just life as a manager and he can’t be gurning about it all in press-conferences all the time, there are many less patient owners and chief executives than Brighton when it comes to putting up with that shit.

 

[Reddleman]

If the majority of fans are perplexed, then they must live in complete isolation from reality. Have they not spotted that virtually no EPL teams actually bought anyone? Ironically, Palace spent biggest. There were only 11 purchases of more than £1m - of which two were ours. FFP has meant virtually no movement - clubs that are close to the limit clearly couldn't buy, but also didn't want to sell (they will make sales pre-30th June if necessary). And, as far as we know, we made serious efforts to purchase Dewsbury-Hall at somewhere north of £20m, and Ibrahim Osman...and to get Bryan Gil on loan.

If De Zerbi is so seriously pissed off, I'm extremely disappointed in him. He knew the BHAFC model when he agreed to become our manager. I love the guy to bits (and part of that is the way he is so emotional, so I obviously can't have it both ways when he shows his frustration). However, he still needs to prove himself. Last season was amazing, and our exploits in the Europa League this season have been truly wonderful. But he's been with us for only 16 months. If he wants to get a seriously big job, then he has to show that he's able to deal with adversity. I think he's doing a pretty decent job of juggling things to cope with the horrendous injuries. But let's hope the sensible heads of Lallana, Dunk and Milner can calm him down and cheer him up!

You make a fair point about teams not spending but ironically that should have worked in our favour as we are one of the very few with no FFP considerations. None of our nearest rivals for Europe, Chelsea, Man United, Newcastle could strengthen and we could have.

Also with the KDH scenario they ended up missing out on their desired signing on deadline day (passed medical and everything) because of FFP. It does make you wonder whether the opportunity for us was there had we just pushed a little more.

 

[Springal]

I reckon Tony is biding his time. He knows some clubs will possibly be in FFP trouble this summer so keeping his powder dry to make some astute signings from helpless clubs.

It is frustrating not to have made at least 1 first team ‘ready’ signing, but TB did do a rare interview early Jan saying not to expect much activity given the players we have coming back.

 

[Guinness Boy]

If the majority of fans are perplexed, then they must live in complete isolation from reality. Have they not spotted that virtually no EPL teams actually bought anyone? Ironically, Palace spent biggest. There were only 11 purchases of more than £1m - of which two were ours. FFP has meant virtually no movement - clubs that are close to the limit clearly couldn't buy, but also didn't want to sell (they will make sales pre-30th June if necessary). And, as far as we know, we made serious efforts to purchase Dewsbury-Hall at somewhere north of £20m, and Ibrahim Osman...and to get Bryan Gil on loan.

If De Zerbi is so seriously pissed off, I'm extremely disappointed in him. He knew the BHAFC model when he agreed to become our manager. I love the guy to bits (and part of that is the way he is so emotional, so I obviously can't have it both ways when he shows his frustration). However, he still needs to prove himself. Last season was amazing, and our exploits in the Europa League this season have been truly wonderful. But he's been with us for only 16 months. If he wants to get a seriously big job, then he has to show that he's able to deal with adversity. I think he's doing a pretty decent job of juggling things to cope with the horrendous injuries. But let's hope the sensible heads of Lallana, Dunk and Milner can calm him down and cheer him up!

We're nowhere near in FFP danger. On that front we could have spent and got ahead of the teams in trouble. We could even have made a cheeky, cheap offer for players at clubs who obviously have to sell.

I'd accept the argument that the market was so depressed that you couldn't buy because no one was selling, but I assume some of those in FFP trouble would have accepted a reasonably low bid for certain players.

Bottom line: in the fifth round of the FA Cup and last 16 of Europa League and top ten of the Premier League is incredible, but it's thoroughly unsustainable with no midfield. Let's hope Wee Billy and Pascal stay fit eh?

 

[Jim in the West]

You make a fair point about teams not spending but ironically that should have worked in our favour as we are one of the very few with no FFP considerations. None of our nearest rivals for Europe, Chelsea, Man United, Newcastle could strengthen and we could have.

Also with the KDH scenario they ended up missing out on their desired signing on deadline day (passed medical and everything) because of FFP. It does make you wonder whether the opportunity for us was there had we just pushed a little more.

I don't think it worked in our favour - it was a bit like the housing market. Not enough buyers, so everyone's stuck. You need a maniac like Boehly to kick things off.

And the thing with KDH is that he'll probably be available for less money in May/June (which is no doubt part of Bloom's thinking). And - from what we can all see - BHA never pays more than our valuation.

 

[Jimmy Grimble]

It’s a bit of everything isn’t it. I think they are all a bit wrong in their way.

I would agree with the club if RDZ wanted lots more wingers, because we have them and they are injured. You can’t be stockpiling players because as said before, at some point they all come back. That said, it’s clear we are super light in midfield, it’s a mistake from the club not to get someone in there, even on loan, because we are one or two injuries away from having almost no one. Barca has to work out or we remain light there at fullback as well.

At the same time, unless he goes to an oil-club, RDZ is going to need to get used to not getting what he wants and making the most of what he’s got. God even they have restraints and have to play poorer options when missing key players. It’s just life as a manager and he can’t be gurning about it all in press-conferences all the time, there are many less patient owners and chief executives than Brighton when it comes to putting up with that shit.

We do not have lots of wingers! We have THREE.

One is injured until next season with no guarantee he returns the same player.
The other two were then run into the ground until their form suffered before getting injured are now away at tournaments.

I wonder what might happen again when they’re back?

 

[Littlemo]

We do not have lots of wingers! We have THREE.

One is injured until next season with no guarantee he returns the same player.
The other two were then run into the ground until their form suffered before getting injured are now away at tournaments.

I wonder what might happen again when they’re back?

We have more than three. Solly, Adingra, Mitoma, Fati, you can play Joao Pedro there and he’s been playing Buonanotte on the right.