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

[hans kraay fan club]

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.

the last time they listened to him, we ended up with Dahoud…

 

[Flounce]

I have accepted that he’s gone if a top club wants to take the risk. Not convinced they will tbh, he needs to knuckle down and deal with things and stop coming across so mardy imo. He has won f*** all

I am falling out of love recently

 

[Springal]

I have accepted that he’s gone if a top club wants to take the risk. Not convinced they will tbh, he needs to knuckle down and deal with things and stop coming across so mardy imo. He has won f*** all

I am falling out of love recently

I really can’t see any of the elite clubs taking that risk with him. Maybe a Villa, Newcastle or Italian / Spanish club but he’s not done enough for any of our top 4/5

 

[Commander]

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!

Problem is, the second part isn’t correct. This is football, it isn’t like any other industry on the planet. A big club will take a chance on him, he has no need to prove anything else. We will lose him in the Summer because he wants more ready-made 1st team players than we are prepared to facilitate.

He will either succeed or fail in a top job (largely depending on which club it is) while Mr Bloom will quietly carry on with our sustainable and successful model, and we’ll be back here again in a few years with another Coach that few of us have currently heard of.

If any Brighton fan genuinely isn’t OK with that, then I would suggest they are following the wrong club.

 

[Home and Away]

I have a feeling that he will go in the summer and it's not going to be all amicable.

Watching the presser earlier I feel that, from RDZ's point of view the club has not brought in "ready" players that can challenge for trophies or higher league positions etc. He must think that we've missed an opportunity to really go for it. He passionately wants to win. Now. Not in five years time when the 18-19 year olds are nearing their prime.

From club's point of view we can't go all crazy and spend massive amount on players that are not even guaranteeing trophies, goals, etc. For example Dahoud, Jahanbakhsh, Tau, Undav, Locadia, etc looked good "on paper", but reality was very different. Especially when the club spent a lot in the summer window. Igor, J. Pedro, etc. Maybe Tony, Paul, co. thought that any older more established (and expensive) player could end up to be a flop. Better to invest in young talent and hope they'll become first team players one day.

I love RDZ. He is passionate, intelligent, charismatic, but I suspect he is not the easiest person when things aren't going as he wants.

 

[Jimmy Grimble]

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

Fati is not a typical wide player. RDZ has played him as an attacking midfielder nearly every time he has featured. Similarly, Pedro is a centre forward/second striker, not a winger in the mould of March/Adingra/Mitoma; RDZ has scarcely used him out wide. As for Buononatte, surely everyone can see by now he is largely ineffective as a winger?

Fati/Pedro/Enciso/Buononatte - all different versions of attacking midfielders, 10s, second strikers, forwards, whatever it might be in a predominantly central role. They are not wingers!

 

[Commander]

I really can’t see any of the elite clubs taking that risk with him. Maybe a Villa, Newcastle or Italian / Spanish club but he’s not done enough for any of our top 4/5

You are one of the most sensible posters on here, but what makes you say that? Potter got the Chelsea job with a lot less in the bank than RDZ has.

 

[dazzer6666]

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.

Tony is keeping his powder dry for the summer imo (and not massively overpaying now for the likes of KDH), when player prices will have plummeted due to FFP constraints. #TeamslikeChelsea being forced to offload academy players for way below what they think they are worth simply to avoid punitive points deductions. Whilst waiting for the brown stuff to hit the vent-axia, the club have quietly gone about bringing in a ton of sparkling younger players with huge potential and long term value. If all this means half a season of ‘struggling’ and a petulant manager (if that’s what he is, I’m not convinced) getting the hump and fecking off to the first big club that flashes their knickers at him then so be it, we’ll have a replacement lined up that will inherit a very strong squad and an incredible pipeline of talent. In this for the long game.

 

[Springal]

You are one of the most sensible posters on here, but what makes you say that? Potter got the Chelsea job with a lot less in the bank than RDZ has.

Exactly - I wonder if we are now a bit viewed as a ‘special case’ with a certain environment.

 

[Bodian]

a petulant manager (if that’s what he is, I’m not convinced)

I agree. I don't think he's petulant - I just think he is very disappointed.

If the team come out and play for him tomorrow, in the way he wants them to play - then all will be well. I took heart from the fact that he said that Palace tomorrow was the best game we could have had.

 

[Flounce]

I really can’t see any of the elite clubs taking that risk with him. Maybe a Villa, Newcastle or Italian / Spanish club but he’s not done enough for any of our top 4/5

Agreed, except United have made some very leftfield appointments since Fergie quit so never say never

 

[jackalbion]

Probably just gonna come across as a drunken ramble but I’ll try my take on this hyperbole.

It’s disappointing we don’t have a ready made DM. I think it’s been clear Caicedo was off since last January, and I think the club has done poorly to recruit in the ball winner position. BUT, the market for a DM this window was poor, there was very little availability, and that’s all while having a ball winner that has cost £20m+ in the squad already (Baleba). De Zerbi doesn’t trust him, that’s not the club’s fault. Potter was much maligned at times about how he didn’t trust certain players, RDZ isn’t immune from criticism, and he could have put more trust in him IMO. I think if RDZ is disappointed (like me and others with this window), he needs to realise what he signed up to. Everton and Forest have bought any player under the sun and look where that left them.

I expect we may not get European qualification this season, but we’ll go down trying. But does it really matter? This is the season I’ve always waited for, going round Europe with my best mates enjoying every single moment of it. Being 4-0 down at Luton I have to say stuck in an absolute sh*t heap of a stadium watching the walls close in, was one of my favourite moments. My mate just turned to me and said “you can’t cry, you can only laugh”.

We are never going to be THAT club who spends billions building a super team, and that doesn’t even work anyway (see Chelsea). If RDZ leaves so be it, we aren’t in a Dick Knight era (god bless the man), the club always want to improve but realise what kind of club we are. We will make another clever appointment, and we have the blueprints to success. Every single standard in the club has improved. We won’t ever compete with the rest on funds so we have to do things differently. The signings we’ve made this window have shown that we are sticking to the guns and doing our tried and tested process.

So I’m going to enjoy it and whatever happens come May, I’ll still be back next season, because quite frankly what else are we going to do? Life is a rollercoaster.

 

[Mancgull]

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.

Interesting take Kosh. I too think that Roberto seems to want a new toy every transfer window. With Dahoud he quickly got bored of it and threw it away.
Yes, I’m sure we’d have wanted a right winger on loan and another midfielder but Gil didn’t want to come and £40m for KDH would have been a ridiculous price to pay.
If Roberto can’t see this then I don’t think he’s being reasonable.
I think he is frustrated with recent results and a couple of wins will help his demeanour.
Tomorrow is a huge game.

 

[trueblue]

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.

I think we could have given RDZ whatever he wanted in January and if clubs the size of Barca, Liverpool or Man Utd came calling, he’d have been off anyway. Leaving us with expensive additions the next boss might not want.

 

[andy_lee007uk]

I love RDZ and his style of football, but sometimes I can't help but think he doesn't have a plan B or C... we play lovely, play from the back, passing football, but have been found out by several teams that this can be nullified.

The injuries have been a horrendous blow to our style of play and preferred set-up, but paying above the odds for "Premier league" ready players with established players coming back from injury is a difficult thing to do. The players coming in and back from injury will want first team football. Let's be honest we don't want to buy high profile bench warmers.

The club has and always will be Tony Blooms from the minute he took over. No-one is bigger than Tony and if RDZ leaves, I hope its with grace and thanks.

Having seen interviews with Paul Barber, they have sucession plans for everyone at the club (backroom staff included). Paul even said they'll be a day where someone better than him will take over.

Never a dull moment being an Albion supporter and long may it continue!

 

[trueblue]

You are one of the most sensible posters on here, but what makes you say that? Potter got the Chelsea job with a lot less in the bank than RDZ has.

That didn’t last long before they reverted to type and went for the big name. Ambitious and revolutionary as RDZ is, I’m also not sure one of our very biggest clubs would go for him at this point. His style of football is very exciting for us but would it win the Champions League with better players? I suspect his defence would still get picked apart far too easily in the biggest games unless he’s more willing to compromise his style than he’s showing with us.

 

[jackalbion]

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.

Spot on as well, we all love a bit of drama

 

[jackalbion]

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.

While I agree with the first bit, the second I don’t.

Leicester have clearly got some financial issues because they need to sell before they buy, that was obvious by the fact that they’d done the media for their new signing only to call it off very last minute, because they didn’t move anyone on. This player (apparently) was the only one their manager wanted, yet they didn’t sell KDH to make it happen. I think managers have got to realise the landscape and have to develop what they have, gone are the days of Harry Redknapp demanding signings to compliment his bare bones squad.

 

[jackalbion]

Exactly - I wonder if we are now a bit viewed as a ‘special case’ with a certain environment.

I think more, Todd Boehly is a complete and utter headstrong moron with very little understanding of football. He saw what we were doing and went, “yeah that seems to work“ and spent most of his time asking Potter for advice. I don’t think many clubs will be that interested in RDZ and unless a big Italian club comes in for him, will be here next season.

 

[Zeberdi]

Leicester have clearly got some financial issues because they need to sell before they buy, that was obvious by the fact that they’d done the media for their new signing only to call it off very last minute, because they didn’t move anyone on. This player (apparently) was the only one their manager wanted, yet they didn’t sell KDH to make it happen. I think managers have got to realise the landscape and have to develop what they have, gone are the days of Harry Redknapp demanding signings to compliment his bare bones squad.

Leicester made it clear if I recall all along they weren’t keen to sell KDH halfway through the season while they are chasing promotion? I wonder if perhaps we will revisit this in the summer? I think our expectations were a little unrealistic there (unless we were prepared to pay over market value, which is not how TB typically does business.)

Re the thread question - some rambling thoughts - some wild speculations recently about what RDZ’s expressions and demeanour mean in pressers but to me he has just been making clear that the injuries we have had has impacted performance as has us not replacing the Caciedo/Mackie duo - (Baleba/Dahood esp being a long way behind the curve and Facu at first much slower than expected to develop has highlighted that but were never going to spend £50-60 million on a MF).

The rest of transfer speculation/squad deficiencies he rightly directs the press towards TB/PB as it’s not his role to discuss it. This whole fan/media narrative of RDZ being unhappy/wanting to walk out etc has IMO been drummed up by the hunger of people who are short of facts yet need a story. Not once have I heard RDZ say anything other than he is committed to the Club and players and focussing on this season’s football. Managers are the kids in the sweet store , they are going to always invariably want more players and the best possible ones than the owners are able or prepared to spend. The way I look at it, is that to a Club’s owners/CEOs, players are market commodities and (hopefully) investments - there’s no good in buying expensive, top notch players, if the club then goes bankrupt months down the line from the overheads of maintaining their wage structures. Nor does it make sense IMO bloating out squads if injured players are going to force those replacements onto the bench when they recover.

Apart from getting oldies on free transfers or kids for £5-10m, our top markers for peak players seems to be around £35m - there is a lot of competition for players valued around that price range. I just think it is not a case of TB/PBOBE refusing to spend, I think it’s a case that there’s a scarcity, especially this window, of available, Premier League ready, established players at that sort of level, that would also fit into our DNA.

When Mitoma and Adingra come back (and probably Fati) I think we’ll see some improvement with players playing back in position - the defensive central MF still needs sorting imo but again, once our wingers are back, that will make a big difference imo with how we cover the centre back and left channel when counterattacking or pressing high.

Like many folk, I don’t really expect RDZ to stay past the summer, this season has been turgid with so many injuries, it has completely undermined our long term strategy of breaking new players in slowly while we still have key experienced players to do the job before they move on - it is a headache a big 6 club has to worry about less - but to suggest (as some people have been) that RDZ has all but given up on the team already is ridiculous IMO. This is a man cementing already a good international reputation, this is a man who stayed behind in a war zone until all his players were out and safe. This isn’t a man that walks out on a job halfway through the season, even just mentally, because he has had a ridiculously long injury list (which he has said presents a ‘challenge’ which he enjoys rising to) or has decided suddenly that he doesn’t like the way PB or TB does business.

If he is frustrated and tired, it is hardly surprising - as soon as some key players return, others are injured - and the consequent rotation ( combined with fatigue management for Europe) has impacted our performances. However, I think this is a season defining injury issue and a just blip in an otherwise upward trajectory of the club. I am already looking forward to next season whoever our manager will be.