[Albion] Will Potter Stick or Twist?

[Kalimantan Gull]

This is a real interesting time for Potter and how he coaches the team from now to the end of the season. He's been building something good and there have been a more promising performances than bad ones. Whilst there are a lot of teams out there that are playing a game to survive, from Sheffield United to Palace to Watford, we are building a style of play, blooding youth, building a squad.

But absolutely no doubt about it that right now we are facing a relegation battle. So will Potter stick or twist? Stick with what he is doing, keep on the same path with the faith that it will come good and lead on to sunnier times in the future. Or change it around, pick Duffy and Murray, change the style of play and go backs against the wall to keep us up, then go again next season? We've been here before, Slade putting Hart up front during his great escape; Hughton recalling Bruno for the run-in last season. Old heads, wise heads to do a job when the chips are down.

Like most I was surprised Murray wasn't used last night. Most of the season he has looked like his effectiveness at the top level has just gone, but there were signs of life at Everton, and if he's good enough to be on the bench he's good enough to get on the pitch. As for Duffy, well we know he wins stuff in the air and is dominant when we are defending deep. If we're going to try to smash and grab a couple of 1-0 wins, he's the man. I think Webster is going to be a top top footballer but last night I wouldn't have complained if someone just told him to have a rest out of the firing line for a few games.

On the other hand - so much about Potter's style really IS working. Looked at in isolation we've played Bournemouth off the park, gone toe-to-toe with Chelsea, came back strongly away at Everton coming agonisingly close to an equaliser on three occasions, a good first half against Villa and controlled large parts of last nights away game with 21 shots and getting undone in a 5-minute period of madness. If thats a run of games which results in the wailing and gnashing of teeth that we see on NSC, maybe its just because our expectations have been raised so high by some of the early season performances and results. We're only just over half-way through the season after all, its not last-chance saloon by any means. Our home form hasn't collapsed. There may not be much too wrong that a bit of good fortune can't change.

But Potter will be feeling the heat. And standing in the crowd at Bournemouth last night it was clear there were a lot of murmurings and discontent around. We're in a slump and we're going to learn a lot about what kind of manager he is over the next few months, whether he has the courage of his convictions and can bring the squad with him, and can keep the fans with him.

 

[Eeyore]

Probably the best entry I've seen on here in the last 24 hours. The most worthy of discussion.

 

[Hampster Gull]

Great post. We are in a relegation dog fight and sticking by your footballing ideology regardless of results or player’s performances is suicidal. I suspect though he is too dogmatic and will take us down with constant tinkering of the players to his system

 

[GT49er]

Being Potter he will probably either twick or stist - and we won't have a clue which one he's going to do!

 

[Ernest]

We will get relegated if he doesn't change

 

[SI 4 BHA]

This is a real interesting time for Potter and how he coaches the team from now to the end of the season. He's been building something good and there have been a more promising performances than bad ones. Whilst there are a lot of teams out there that are playing a game to survive, from Sheffield United to Palace to Watford, we are building a style of play, blooding youth, building a squad.

But absolutely no doubt about it that right now we are facing a relegation battle. So will Potter stick or twist? Stick with what he is doing, keep on the same path with the faith that it will come good and lead on to sunnier times in the future. Or change it around, pick Duffy and Murray, change the style of play and go backs against the wall to keep us up, then go again next season? We've been here before, Slade putting Hart up front during his great escape; Hughton recalling Bruno for the run-in last season. Old heads, wise heads to do a job when the chips are down.

Like most I was surprised Murray wasn't used last night. Most of the season he has looked like his effectiveness at the top level has just gone, but there were signs of life at Everton, and if he's good enough to be on the bench he's good enough to get on the pitch. As for Duffy, well we know he wins stuff in the air and is dominant when we are defending deep. If we're going to try to smash and grab a couple of 1-0 wins, he's the man. I think Webster is going to be a top top footballer but last night I wouldn't have complained if someone just told him to have a rest out of the firing line for a few games.

On the other hand - so much about Potter's style really IS working. Looked at in isolation we've played Bournemouth off the park, gone toe-to-toe with Chelsea, came back strongly away at Everton coming agonisingly close to an equaliser on three occasions, a good first half against Villa and controlled large parts of last nights away game with 21 shots and getting undone in a 5-minute period of madness. If thats a run of games which results in the wailing and gnashing of teeth that we see on NSC, maybe its just because our expectations have been raised so high by some of the early season performances and results. We're only just over half-way through the season after all, its not last-chance saloon by any means. Our home form hasn't collapsed. There may not be much too wrong that a bit of good fortune can't change.

But Potter will be feeling the heat. And standing in the crowd at Bournemouth last night it was clear there were a lot of murmurings and discontent around. We're in a slump and we're going to learn a lot about what kind of manager he is over the next few months, whether he has the courage of his convictions and can bring the squad with him, and can keep the fans with him.

Some good valid points, but in spite of lots of possession, is Potters style really working? This from the BBC ,

“Maupay, who has not scored since the 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace on 16 December, had just 34 touches of the ball and at times appeared isolated.

“He does, though, remain the Seagulls' top scorer with seven goals, and with Aaron Connolly, introduced as part of a triple substitution on the hour mark, next on the list with three alongside Leandro Trossard and defender Adam Webster, it suggests Brighton may need to add to their forward line.”

Somehow Potter's style seems to overlook the need to get your only forward involved in the game?
I suspect he will stick, he is too stubborn to change, even though he clearly doesn't have the world class players he needs to carry out his plans.
The next month or two wll be career defining for him, he has never had this kind of pressure before, he may well recover and we stay up, or crumble, be out of a job in 6 months and never manage a Premier team again. Interesting times!

 

[Gritt23]

I don't think it's one extreme or the other. I really don't see that bringing Duffy back for Webster abandons what Potter is trying to do here, and nor is giving Murray more game time.It's not just about the individuals it's what it gives the whole team. Dunk and Duffy is simply a better defensive partnership. Murray needs to be ahead of Connolly in the pecking order, as Connolly is in danger if drowning as we have thrown him in too deep. Maupay and Connolly could both benefit in their development by playing with Murray and learning from him. Bringing Murray in more doesn't therefore mean we are abandoning the idea of developing youth players.

We need to get back to picking the right players in the right positions. Right backs at right back etc. We need a more settled side, especially at the back, where the same players builds a solidity.

He does need to change a bit, and that's not a bad thing, it's not an admission of failure, it's just what you have to do. An idea, a philosophy, a way of playing, the players you use in certain situations, is always going to change and adapt if you are going to be successful. Potter is not a fool, I expect him to make a few subtle changes, and to use the experience we have in the squad a bit better.

 

[martin tyler]

Most the top managers believe in how they set up a team and believe in their philosophy. All will have good and bad times with it. City are allegedly having a bad time but are still 2nd in the league. It took Klopp a while to build what he wanted. Even Wilder has been in his role for 4 years almost.
His hardest task imho was to stay up playing the football he wanted with the players we had. It does reply on pace, skill and ability to be comfortable on the ball being closed down by some of the best players in the world. I find at times we comfortably beat the press but don’t have the players with enough skill or pace to beat a man 1v1. Other times when teams sit in we don’t have enough ability in midfield to pass through those who sit in.
If he keeps
If he keeps us up I can see it improving as players will be more comfortable and I think he will be given chance to input on the type of player he needs. But this year could well be his biggest challenge

 

[Hamilton]

This is a real interesting time for Potter and how he coaches the team from now to the end of the season. He's been building something good and there have been a more promising performances than bad ones. Whilst there are a lot of teams out there that are playing a game to survive, from Sheffield United to Palace to Watford, we are building a style of play, blooding youth, building a squad.

But absolutely no doubt about it that right now we are facing a relegation battle. So will Potter stick or twist? Stick with what he is doing, keep on the same path with the faith that it will come good and lead on to sunnier times in the future. Or change it around, pick Duffy and Murray, change the style of play and go backs against the wall to keep us up, then go again next season? We've been here before, Slade putting Hart up front during his great escape; Hughton recalling Bruno for the run-in last season. Old heads, wise heads to do a job when the chips are down.

Like most I was surprised Murray wasn't used last night. Most of the season he has looked like his effectiveness at the top level has just gone, but there were signs of life at Everton, and if he's good enough to be on the bench he's good enough to get on the pitch. As for Duffy, well we know he wins stuff in the air and is dominant when we are defending deep. If we're going to try to smash and grab a couple of 1-0 wins, he's the man. I think Webster is going to be a top top footballer but last night I wouldn't have complained if someone just told him to have a rest out of the firing line for a few games.

On the other hand - so much about Potter's style really IS working. Looked at in isolation we've played Bournemouth off the park, gone toe-to-toe with Chelsea, came back strongly away at Everton coming agonisingly close to an equaliser on three occasions, a good first half against Villa and controlled large parts of last nights away game with 21 shots and getting undone in a 5-minute period of madness. If thats a run of games which results in the wailing and gnashing of teeth that we see on NSC, maybe its just because our expectations have been raised so high by some of the early season performances and results. We're only just over half-way through the season after all, its not last-chance saloon by any means. Our home form hasn't collapsed. There may not be much too wrong that a bit of good fortune can't change.

But Potter will be feeling the heat. And standing in the crowd at Bournemouth last night it was clear there were a lot of murmurings and discontent around. We're in a slump and we're going to learn a lot about what kind of manager he is over the next few months, whether he has the courage of his convictions and can bring the squad with him, and can keep the fans with him.

Lovely post.

He'll stick, and he should. That is what he has been hired to do and those are his principles. He's been hired for more than one season and I don't believe that is predicated on being in the Premier League.

That said, TB and PB do not want to go down, so to extend your metaphor, he should be allowed to BUY.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Some good valid points, but in spite of lots of possession, is Potters style really working? This from the BBC ,

“Maupay, who has not scored since the 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace on 16 December, had just 34 touches of the ball"

Somehow Potter's style seems to overlook the need to get your only forward involved in the game?

I've no idea where you find those stats, but I don't imagine that 34 touches for a striker is actually a low figure. I'd expect that Callum Wilson had fewer, for example.

 

[Hampster Gull]

I don't think it's one extreme or the other. I really don't see that bringing Duffy back for Webster abandons what Potter is trying to do here, and nor is giving Murray more game time.It's not just about the individuals it's what it gives the whole team. Dunk and Duffy is simply a better defensive partnership. Murray needs to be ahead of Connolly in the pecking order, as Connolly is in danger if drowning as we have thrown him in too deep. Maupay and Connolly could both benefit in their development by playing with Murray and learning from him. Bringing Murray in more doesn't therefore mean we are abandoning the idea of developing youth players.

We need to get back to picking the right players in the right positions. Right backs at right back etc. We need a more settled side, especially at the back, where the same players builds a solidity.

He does need to change a bit, and that's not a bad thing, it's not an admission of failure, it's just what you have to do. An idea, a philosophy, a way of playing, the players you use in certain situations, is always going to change and adapt if you are going to be successful. Potter is not a fool, I expect him to make a few subtle changes, and to use the experience we have in the squad a bit better.

Spot on

 

[seagull 1979]

I don't think it's one extreme or the other. I really don't see that bringing Duffy back for Webster abandons what Potter is trying to do here, and nor is giving Murray more game time.It's not just about the individuals it's what it gives the whole team. Dunk and Duffy is simply a better defensive partnership. Murray needs to be ahead of Connolly in the pecking order, as Connolly is in danger if drowning as we have thrown him in too deep. Maupay and Connolly could both benefit in their development by playing with Murray and learning from him. Bringing Murray in more doesn't therefore mean we are abandoning the idea of developing youth players.

We need to get back to picking the right players in the right positions. Right backs at right back etc. We need a more settled side, especially at the back, where the same players builds a solidity.

He does need to change a bit, and that's not a bad thing, it's not an admission of failure, it's just what you have to do. An idea, a philosophy, a way of playing, the players you use in certain situations, is always going to change and adapt if you are going to be successful. Potter is not a fool, I expect him to make a few subtle changes, and to use the experience we have in the squad a bit better.

This with bells on!

He has to stop tinkering and build the core of team so they can start to get match consistency. A tweak for tactical reasons against specific opposition to nullify a specific player is one thing, 3 / 4 / 5 per game is just too much in my opinion.

UTA

 

[blue-shifted]

Yeh, there's a lot in between Potter's apparent pursuit of transcendental passing perfection and going on full on Wimbledon under Dave Basset.

My prediction is that he'll do what he should do.

Broadly stick with the style but take the worst edges off. In practice that means ....

He will recall Duffy
Give Murray more time from the bench than Connolly
Allow the team to engage in some Bournemouth style dark arts
End the Alzate right back experiment
Make fewer pointless changes, ie dropping goalscorers from the previous game

 

[Eric Youngs Contact Lense]

I wasn't there last night, and literally just watched the Highlights on Sky.. I have no idea how good a representation of the game or not, as MOTD highlights can be very misleading, but 20 mins long or so can't be too far off. On the basis of that, he will stick, and I think he should. Last night's game will tell him that we lost the game because of defensive errors - All of them, look horrible goals that we gave away - individual errors . No "style" can account for that .
What can be accounted for, will be the players selected, positions played etc. GP must now be clearer and consistent on who really can do the jobs he needs. Duffy is a great example - probably good at one side of the game, but arguably more limited at the other.
If GP "twists" he stands to lose the belief that he is trying to instill. Eddie Howe has talked about this from his perspective. Sticking is what gave us the chances that we did create, forcing good saves from the 'keeper, got us into good areas that we didn't capitalise on and leaves us vulnerable if we make errors like we did. We can twist, be harder to beat, but I cannot see us scoring more goals that way with the players we have - no real pace to break or concern defences. We can certainly improve, try different things to break down teams who sit, but on the evidence of the highlights, we weren't that far off.
I was frustrated listening last night, but on reflection that's because we are so very nearly a great team. Stick..

 

[Lower West Stander]

Stick.

But the whole object of football is to score goals and not let goals in. At the moment we have 1 and a half strikers and a dodgy centre half. It doesn’t matter how we play if we miss chances and make mistakes at the back.....


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[NooBHA]

1. He won't change because he possibly doesn't have the experience to do it another way.

2. He can't change because he was given the " gig " on the Mantra to play that way.

3. He won't be allowed to because he will be railroaded from those above him to continue that way and he really doesn't have the "standing" within the game or I personally feel, the strength of character to stand up to people above him even if he wanted to. Although I don't think he would want to anyway.

 

[Eric Youngs Contact Lense]

Stick.

But the whole object of football is to score goals and not let goals in. At the moment we have 1 and a half strikers and a dodgy centre half. It doesn’t matter how we play if we miss chances and make mistakes at the back.....


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Whilst listening to our game, I was watching Sheffield Utd vs Citeh. Their match appeared as ours sounded for much of it.. they were on top, lots of possession, keeper made some good saves and some poor finishing/poor decisions in good areas with Utd looking dangerous in odd-spells, set-pieces etc. Then De Bruyne picks a pass that was unbelievable (but did go through at least 1 players legs!) and its 1-0. The narrative changed, from "a good defensive performance and a lack lustre city" to one of "what the best teams are about" and "United hardly laid a glove on them!" Just reiterates your point I think, but shouts "fine margins"..

EDIT - but I do think it matters how we play, as even the most out of form players get a goal eventually - unless your Benteke..

 

[Jim Van Winkle]

Yeh, there's a lot in between Potter's apparent pursuit of transcendental passing perfection and going on full on Wimbledon under Dave Basset.

My prediction is that he'll do what he should do.

Broadly stick with the style but take the worst edges off. In practice that means ....

He will recall Duffy
Give Murray more time from the bench than Connolly
Allow the team to engage in some Bournemouth style dark arts
End the Alzate right back experiment
Make fewer pointless changes, ie dropping goalscorers from the previous game

This with bells on.

 

[Stumpy Tim]

Last night when Bournemouth attacked they pushed 4 or 5 in the box. When we attacked Maupay was usually the only player in the box, and our midfield waited outside. It was really noticable

 

[SI 4 BHA]

I've no idea where you find those stats, but I don't imagine that 34 touches for a striker is actually a low figure. I'd expect that Callum Wilson had fewer, for example.

From BHAFC website - what the press say...
https://www.brightonandhovealbion.com/news/1583796/nick-szczepaniks-press-verdict-afc-bournemouth