[Football] At the moment, Graham Potter is too good for Brighton. He needs better players.

[OzMike]

https://www.sportinglife.com/football/news/is-potter-too-good-for-brighton/189504

Too good for Brighton ?

 

[vagabond]

Since moving to Brighton, Potter has transformed the Seagulls into a team whose performances warrant a place in the top six.
This season, only Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United have a better xG process.
They are the data darlings of the Premier League, and that is solely down to Potter’s magic.
In Chris Hughton's final season in charge, Brighton posted relegation-worthy underlying numbers (1.06 xGF, 1.69 xGA per game) - Potter has turned those numbers upside down.
If the Seagulls invest and improve in the summer, and keep hold of Potter, then there is no reason why they can't push for a place, at the very least, in the top half.
At the moment, Graham Potter is too good for Brighton. He needs better players.
If he doesn't get them, he needs a better club.

Hello recruitment..

 

[Swansman]

Hopefully he is "too good" for Brighton as the intention is that he will improve the team. Just like CH was once "too good" for Brighton.

 

[herecomesaregular]

I don't agree the answer is necessarily better players. A good coach works with what he's got and gets the best out of them. The system may be good but the results won't be if the players are not intelligent/skilful/technically good enough for it.
And I still can't get over how confused Ali J both looks and plays when he comes on. He looks proper bemused or does Potter spin him 12 times before putting him on?

edit - I've grown to enjoy more and more Potter's BHA, despite the results, but I am still not convinced that his substitutions in particular are good enough nor show he is too good for us

 

[BNthree]

Hopefully he is "too good" for Brighton as the intention is that he will improve the team. .

Didn't you start a thread trying to prove coaches/managers don't/can't improve players?

 

[Swansman]

Didn't you start a thread trying to prove coaches/managers don't/can't improve players?

They can but not every player every time infinitely. Some are going to fail no matter what you do to them. Some needs to be brainwashed. Some need more specific coaching. Some will improve slow, some will improve fast. People were asking for GP to teach the players how to score which is very easy to say and very difficult to do. SAF couldnt turn Welbeck into the world class striker people once thought he would be. Arsene Wenger couldnt either. Yet GP should or he is "too bad". Some dont make it for reasons the coaching staff cant do anything about, all they can do is to try to improve every player and while GP got a great record when it comes to that, he cant turn water into wine.

It should also be said that training is a long term thing, especially the model Potter use, and improvement is not always going to be gradual from season to season (but sometimes), it could also be more of a burst - its very complicated stuff.

But what I do know is that GP is going for the long term improvements. If we take the physical training as an example, Potter is using Raymond Verheijens periodisation model. In short this means that rather than doing like most managers traditionally did with hard physio training (without the ball) in pre-season followed by very little of that over the season, GP is conditioning his players on the pitch. They are not building random muscles in the gym, they are building football muscles on the pitch. They are not running in the mountains, they are doing very explosive training with the ball on the pitch. Basically building football bodies through football, mixing the intensity of trainings and the amount of rest to get the maximal development to prevent injuries, grow stronger over the season and need minimal amount of rest between high-intensity actions on the pitch.

This is a bit slower than building a specific muscle in the gym, but in the mid- to long term players gain a lot from it because they become football athletes rather than just athletes.

And thats just the physical part. Similar methods are used to build technique and thinking.

On a sidenote it should be mention that a certain Marcelo Bielsa and Raymond Verheijen are tight, and without knowing exact details, I believe Leeds and Brighton are training in very similar ways - and its how it will be done in the future and Brighton are ahead of the schedule. It wont happen over night, Bielsa had two seasons to condition his players (who are pretty much the same now as then, with some additions) into the decent PL team they are now and in not too long (if not already) we will see the fruits in Brighton as well. Players will be strong, skilled and quick in their thoughts.

 

[andy1980]

If a team is doing better than stats suggest, then people say the manager is getting the best out of the team. If a team is doing worse than the stats suggest then it means that players aren't good enough.

 

[Weststander]

Crikey, what a startling graphic.

The club simply needs a striker. End of story.

 

[Weststander]

They can but not every player every time infinitely. Some are going to fail no matter what you do to them. Some needs to be brainwashed. Some need more specific coaching. Some will improve slow, some will improve fast. People were asking for GP to teach the players how to score which is very easy to say and very difficult to do. SAF couldnt turn Welbeck into the world class striker people once thought he would be. Arsene Wenger couldnt either. Yet GP should or he is "too bad". Some dont make it for reasons the coaching staff cant do anything about, all they can do is to try to improve every player and while GP got a great record when it comes to that, he cant turn water into wine.

It should also be said that training is a long term thing, especially the model Potter use, and improvement is not always going to be gradual from season to season (but sometimes), it could also be more of a burst - its very complicated stuff.

But what I do know is that GP is going for the long term improvements. If we take the physical training as an example, Potter is using Raymond Verheijens periodisation model. In short this means that rather than doing like most managers traditionally did with hard physio training (without the ball) in pre-season followed by very little of that over the season, GP is conditioning his players on the pitch. They are not building random muscles in the gym, they are building football muscles on the pitch. They are not running in the mountains, they are doing very explosive training with the ball on the pitch. Basically building football bodies through football, mixing the intensity of trainings and the amount of rest to get the maximal development to prevent injuries, grow stronger over the season and need minimal amount of rest between high-intensity actions on the pitch.

This is a bit slower than building a specific muscle in the gym, but in the mid- to long term players gain a lot from it because they become football athletes rather than just athletes.

And thats just the physical part. Similar methods are used to build technique and thinking.

On a sidenote it should be mention that a certain Marcelo Bielsa and Raymond Verheijen are tight, and without knowing exact details, I believe Leeds and Brighton are training in very similar ways - and its how it will be done in the future and Brighton are ahead of the schedule. It wont happen over night, Bielsa had two seasons to condition his players (who are pretty much the same now as then, with some additions) into the decent PL team they are now and in not too long (if not already) we will see the fruits in Brighton as well. Players will be strong, skilled and quick in their thoughts.

Genuinely interesting post.

Bamford’s 12 goals is a big plus for Leeds, helping them convert match supremacy into 11 EPL wins and counting.

 

[andy1980]

They can but not every player every time infinitely. Some are going to fail no matter what you do to them. Some needs to be brainwashed. Some need more specific coaching. Some will improve slow, some will improve fast. People were asking for GP to teach the players how to score which is very easy to say and very difficult to do. SAF couldnt turn Welbeck into the world class striker people once thought he would be. Arsene Wenger couldnt either. Yet GP should or he is "too bad". Some dont make it for reasons the coaching staff cant do anything about, all they can do is to try to improve every player and while GP got a great record when it comes to that, he cant turn water into wine.

It should also be said that training is a long term thing, especially the model Potter use, and improvement is not always going to be gradual from season to season (but sometimes), it could also be more of a burst - its very complicated stuff.

But what I do know is that GP is going for the long term improvements. If we take the physical training as an example, Potter is using Raymond Verheijens periodisation model. In short this means that rather than doing like most managers traditionally did with hard physio training (without the ball) in pre-season followed by very little of that over the season, GP is conditioning his players on the pitch. They are not building random muscles in the gym, they are building football muscles on the pitch. They are not running in the mountains, they are doing very explosive training with the ball on the pitch. Basically building football bodies through football, mixing the intensity of trainings and the amount of rest to get the maximal development to prevent injuries, grow stronger over the season and need minimal amount of rest between high-intensity actions on the pitch.

This is a bit slower than building a specific muscle in the gym, but in the mid- to long term players gain a lot from it because they become football athletes rather than just athletes.

And thats just the physical part. Similar methods are used to build technique and thinking.

On a sidenote it should be mention that a certain Marcelo Bielsa and Raymond Verheijen are tight, and without knowing exact details, I believe Leeds and Brighton are training in very similar ways - and its how it will be done in the future and Brighton are ahead of the schedule. It wont happen over night, Bielsa had two seasons to condition his players (who are pretty much the same now as then, with some additions) into the decent PL team they are now and in not too long (if not already) we will see the fruits in Brighton as well. Players will be strong, skilled and quick in their thoughts.

If you are right about Potter and Bielsa, then we should be roughly 1 season behind Leeds. Next season should be a really exciting season for us.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

I have had a thought.

Perhaps we need to . . . . .

No, sorry. Things to do. Places to go (my office), pipple ('respect' to Michael Howard ) to meet (on Zoom).

 

[GT49er]

Those Xg stats are very good, and sure our players are missing loads of chances to score - but with such a gulf between near Champions' League and near relegation points tally, Potter must be missing something too, surely?

 

[Milano]

Potter is improving some players, that is clear, whether it’s training or team shape/tactics it is working for Bissouma, March and Webster. Trossard has toughened up but I’m not sure it is helping him.

Our striking options are ‘bottom 3’, only a top 10 defence and midfield is just keeping us above water. We lack a real match winner - someone who is going to make something out of nothing in a tight game, in that respect we haven’t replaced Murray or Knocky yet. I’d personally like to see Andone given another chance if he is fit and willing.

 

[vagabond]

Really is a terrific article. Hard to argue we have to find upgrades for Maupay and Tross

Maupay obviously does half the job by getting in the right scoring areas, which is why he is rated so highly by xG models, but converting the chances is an issue.
Brighton chose not to upgrade in the summer or January, but they definitely should in the next window.
In Maupay's defence, it isn’t just him that is underperforming in front of goal.
Aaron Connolly (2 goals, 3.11 xG), Leandro Trossard (2, 3.13), Pascal Gross (2, 2.76) and Danny Welbeck (2, 3.70) are culprits on a lesser scale.

 

[Justice]

No star player to dig us out of a hole is a big problem. At least Jose had the skill to curl in a 25 yarder from time to time.

 

[Justice]

Potter is improving some players, that is clear, whether it’s training or team shape/tactics it is working for Bissouma, March and Webster. Trossard has toughened up but I’m not sure it is helping him.

Our striking options are ‘bottom 3’, only a top 10 defence and midfield is just keeping us above water. We lack a real match winner - someone who is going to make something out of nothing in a tight game, in that respect we haven’t replaced Murray or Knocky yet. I’d personally like to see Andone given another chance if he is fit and willing.

Andone? What did he do a couple of goals against Huddersfield, the Palace goal was a flash in the pan.

Not buying a striker is like me going to work with tools from Asda won’t last long and will **** up on a daily basis. I spend hundreds on tools and it shows giving me the perfect finish.

 

[GT49er]

No star player to dig us out of a hole is a big problem. At least Jose had the skill to curl in a 25 yarder from time to time.

"From time to time" = occasionally; actually very occasionally. No, actually once in a blue moon.


Once in a blue moon Jahanbakhsh scored with a worldy overhead kick. Big deal - Tommy Fraser scored with arguably an even better one. So what? Jose certainly isn't the answer (unless the question is 'who can we stop paying when their contract is up?')

 

[Justice]

"From time to time" = occasionally; actually very occasionally. No, actually once in a blue moon.


Once in a blue moon Jahanbakhsh scored with a worldy overhead kick. Big deal - Tommy Fraser scored with arguably an even better one. So what? Jose certainly isn't the answer (unless the question is 'who can we stop paying when their contract is up?')

FFS it’s an example obviously, this lot need an empty net or a fluke, and even then an empty net becomes an issue re Spurs at home.

Anyhow did you not enjoy those to crackers against West Ham then

 

[GT49er]

FFS it’s an example obviously, this lot need an empty net or a fluke.

Anyhow did you not enjoy those to crackers against West Ham then

.... and Jose probably needs both.






FFS and all that.

 

[Justice]

.... and Jose probably needs both.






FFS and all that.

Christ what has he done to upset you? He was hopefully still is an exciting player with explosive pace to open teams up.