Remember they got roughly £150m for those players, perhaps spend some of it to replace them? You can't replace those two with Baleba, Dahoud and Milner and think you'll be fine. Everyone's had injuries this season to deal with, that isn't a good enough excuse. They won 5 games out of 6 at the start of the season and since then, they've won 6 games. Twice against Forest, Sheffield, Brentford, Spurs and Palace. He deserves ample criticism.
Roberto De Zerbi - Brighton manager
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He doesn't make signings, he's just a head coach over there. They replaced Caicedo and Mac Allister with a 19 year old with barely a years experience at the top level. He had every right to be frustrated and to question the club's ambition.
It is if your squad is already small and full of kids. Imagine our injury crisis this season + we sold Bruno without replacing him, and had no Garnacho breaking through. What position do you think we'd be in?
Purely on squad quality I'd place them around 9th-11th best in the league. City, Arsenal, Liverpool, United, Chelsea, Tottenham, Newcastle, Aston Villa definitely have better squads than the current iteration of Brighton, and there is a case to be made for West Ham and Crystal Palace as well.
So if they finish anywhere between 9th-12th it would be pretty much what you'd expect from them.
Do you really think it was De Zerbi's decision to not spend the Caicedo & MacAllister money on quality replacements? The penny pinching was 100% a board decision.
Wouldn't say Palace do. Perhaps Palace in Olise and Eze have two players that are better than anything Brighton do but overall I'd say Brighton have the better squad.
Indeed. So if we are saying that is what you'd expect then you would look into other factors where they've been poor or underwhelmed. As @Lash points out they've won 5 in their first 6 games and since then have only won another 6 which is poor no matter who you are or what injuries you've had. If they pick up a few more wins in their final 5 games then it may be a better reflection of the season but if they don't then that's not good.
Fine to put the blame on no reinforcing properly on the board, but on one hand I get told the coach was overperforming and the reason they were so good, then apparently it was really was down to the two players they sold?
They've progressively got worse when they've had injuries, just like us. The board invested poorly and they're suffering for it, just like us. They create less than us and concede more than us, despite this lad supposedly employing a vastly superior style of play. I am struggling to see where he's done well this year, for stuff we berate Ten Hag for.
The truth is that injuries have affected both clubs, and both of them have failed to adapt to the situation. De Zerbi shouldn't have went toe to toe with City with the squad that he had, but he seems to be treating the rest of the season like training rather than being pragmatic, going 5 back and grinding results. That doesn't seem to be in his M.O. I'm still curious to see what he can do with a bigger club, squad, and resources. But he's probably not the next Klopp.
Yeah, Palace I was on the fence about which is why I didn't put it among the definitives. Olise & Eze are obviously the key reasons why it's even a discussion but I'd also rate their main CB pairing Guehi & Andersen as better than any duo this season's Brighton could come up with. Doucoure could also definitely do a job in Brighton's midfield too and Wharton is a highly promising young midfielder over there. Maybe a fully fit Brighton would still edge the squad comparison against Palace but to me they're very close in level.
Yeah, the naivety is what makes me somewhat question De Zerbi.
He's definitely a good coach and a good tactician for the kind of football he's trying to instill, but a top manager still needs to have a plan B when things get tough and the fact he hasn't shown any willingness/ability to adapt to tough circumstances by making some tactical changes to a more pragmatic approach would be a bit of a red flag for me. So if a top side wants to hire him it's a big gamble. Either it will go really, really well if he can get his style working well enough to dominate most games and not even need a plan B, or it will go tits up very quickly and questions will be raised over some nasty beatings where the opposing manager just figures out what works against him.
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The City game isn't the issue for me, it's the Burnley game and the others.
https://x.com/wearebrighton/status/1783776039673422219
Training isn't going well if this is the case. I definitely think he could do better at a bigger club, but he also has to take responsibility for the god awful form their in. We'll see if they pick up towards the end of the season, but they don't look like they're improving.
They are 11th with a -2 GD. How is he better than Potter
Potter's teams can't score.
Neither can de Zerbis at the moment!
Edit: you actually have to go back to Feb for a goal that wasn't an OG in the league
Complete fraud. Stay clear, no top club will touch him. If they do, they are desperate and fools.
Welbeck scored against Liverpool last month, but that’s the only one. Still not that great.Neither can de Zerbis at the moment!
Edit: you actually have to go back to Feb for a goal that wasn't an OG in the league
As yes missed that, my mistake.
Not exactly warming up to him.
Is he good enough even to not be sacked at Brighton?
This guys a myth, not even as good as Potter.
Get on the Iraola train !
100% agree
And I said it against I load of people replying “
” months ago. Think they’ll all be hiding nowOverrated manager who’ll never get a top job
Never trusted that facial hair.
He rode on Potter's work and is now being exposed ?
I was against this guy when we were first linked with him back in Jan and he has done nothing since then to change that opinion. Very overrated on the Caf cause he plays sexy football apparently. Feel like all those links with Bayern and other clubs were his agents work.
It’s the hair on his head that’s worse. Grown ass man and he’s got spikey gelled hair like he’s going to his year 7 disco
Overrate a manager and then underrate him a few months later. The football fan special
Serial loser. No thanks, I hope we stay well clear.
I’ve thought he was shit the whole time if that helps
The importance of a manager tends to be overblown.
If you are going to review your opinion on a manager/player every 90 minutes (pretty much what every so called journo/pundit does these days) then you are going to have a chaotic revolving door of opinions all season.
Look at a squad list and that will tell you whereabouts it will end in the table. Media will peddle narratives but come week 38 of the season Spurs will finish about where they always do and Brighton will do the same. Ange and DeZerbi are ok managers but I don't think either of them are special.
If you are going to review your opinion on a manager/player every 90 minutes (pretty much what every so called journo/pundit does these days) then you are going to have a chaotic revolving door of opinions all season.
Look at a squad list and that will tell you whereabouts it will end in the table. Media will peddle narratives but come week 38 of the season Spurs will finish about where they always do and Brighton will do the same. Ange and DeZerbi are ok managers but I don't think either of them are special.
Poor man's Arne Slot.
I always say it's easy to have an impact in a short period (1 season or so), but what makes a very good manager is being able to adapt successfully when others adapt to you, can you keep motivation for more than a short period and have the players keep going over time, can you build on what you've done well. So many managers come in and have a good short term impact, bring in some unique quality, but then can't keep going or aren't well rounded where they understand how to build on every aspect, on and off the ball. De Zerbi seems to be going down that path.
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He's below Moyes in the table and people want him over here?
A Btec Graham Potter
In the words of DJ Khaled “Another One”
I feel like sub consciously you know when players and managers are shite. I actively wanted this guy and Memphis Depay at Liverpool
He was never special. Profited from Potters work at the start, now it is flattening out. Would get found out massively at a top club
Strange argument to not get a manager.
He checked out months ago.
He'd do a great job with better players. They play with ambition, it goes against you sometimes, but it's there.