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[Albion] Barbs on The Beautiful Game podcast
- Thread starter Bozza
- Start date
- Thread starter
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YT version...
Thunder Bolt
Silly old bat
Barbs (OBE) please.
Clive Walker
Stand Or Fall
He's a top bloke. Forget the bottle tops he's probably the most important cog in the Brighton wheel right now. Bloom's millions have to be used correctly and we all know what mismanagement of a club can spell.
Never watch these sort of things normally as I prefer reading but watched this while taking notes (some of these are exact quotes, some are not, may be quite a few spelling errors) if anyone is like me in that regard. Here's half of it, dinner got ready so couldn't keep writing but will provide you with the most interesting parts tomorrow:
Season so far?
Not winning any prices in March, big games coming up (Palace and the arguably bigger game against Grimsby), still a lot to do.
Exeeded pre-season expectations given the current league table etc?
One of the clubs values is about exceeding expectations
Long term goal remains to be a consistent top 10 club in the PL, which "may not sound exciting" but "an incredibly achievement if you are a club that has spent most of the time in the bottom two divisions". Paul does add though that if you do get into the top 10 regularly there will also be chances to qualify for European football.
How does preparations vs CP differ from a normal game?
Means a lot to the players and a hell of a lot to the fans. Trying to keep calm and prepare for it like any other game.
That succession plan thingie right there, good stuff, how do you do it?
If you are a club of our size you have to accept that if you're playing well, doing well, progressing, then there will be more interest in your players, staff etc. If you know that is going to happen, it gives you the opportunity to plan in advance.
Succession planned for 20-25 people at the club at any time which is good stuff. If you sell Trossard to Arsenal you know Mitoma is ready to step in. Paulie also mentions Bissouma/Caicedo.
Don't want to lose the coach one month into the season, not good for anyone. But knowing who you want to bring in is half the battle of trying to replace a good coach like Graham Potter. Aware of RDZs adventures "for some time".
War in Ukraine made it possible to go for RDZ who was the number one choice. He has taken the fantastic foundation laid by Graham Potter and pushed it yet another level. Credit to him, credit to the players, credit to the philosophy of the owner.
Knowing who you want to get in in different roles does not guarantee progression but gives a good chance.
Trossard is a mean lean sex machine who did very good stuff and bla bla bla, how did you reach the decision to sell him
We will always allow a player to progress his career providing it suits us as well.
In the case of Leandro, he had done a fantastic job for our club for several seasons, he was the top scorer. But he was also getting to 27-28 years of age, his contract was beginning to run down, he was keen to build on his success in England and the Belgian team. Provided timing, contract, fee was right then we'd be open minded for a deal.
And thats what happened. And with Mitoma, Sarmiento and Enciso already in the building and, this January, Buonanotte as well, we had lots of different options where we felt we could let Trossard sod off to st elsewhere and still not weaken the team while also getting a transfer fee allowing us to invest in younger players. It worked for Leo and worked for us and he's doing well in Arsenal and we're delighted about that... even as a Spurs fan.
It shows other players thinking about coming to Brighton that not only do they get the chance to play in the PL, but also that when for example a CL club comes in we won't put barriers for them to move on which is good for us and for them.
Ye ok but lets have a little mention about the bloke shitting all over the place before he f***ed off. How do you deal with that as the CEO of a big corporation?
First you need to know that the club has to come first so we manage those situations however best suits the club and we want to protect Roberto and the rest of the players, because if a player is thinking about moving, maybe their head isn't fully in our game. Every situation is different. Sometimes players remain focused because thats who they are and sometimes players become very distracted and its difficult for them to play. And sometimes there's lots of outside influences, whether its media, podcasts, agents or whatever that are all speculating about the players future. No solution for every situation.
Yeah about that, Moises Caicedo also pooped on the floor a little bit, how close was he to leave? You have a number in your head that you demand from a club bidding, was Arsenal close to hitting that number, or was it a morale principle to keep him rather than the £££££££££?
Only if they wanted half the player. (actual quote!)
No, joking aside, we never provide numbers so it always sort of amuses us when see numbers in the media because they've not come from us.
Owner has a number in his head on the value of his assets like in any business but selling Moises in January wasn't a good move because first of all he was one of our best players in the first half of the season and secondly we were in a great position in the league, and we want to achieve our best ever finish in the Premier League, and if we do that there is a chance we can qualify for European football, so the stakes were higher than ever and Moises is a big part of that. He's also a young player who is still learning his game in a far away country, so we also have a responsibility to try to do the best for the player long term as well as in the short term for us. And we felt that was best served by keeping him with us and doing the best we can for the rest of the season, and then what will be in the future will be. Moises is a top top class player and can be anything he wants to be anywhere he wants to be it. This isnt the one and only transfer window where Moises is going to be a popular attraction.
When we sat down and talked to him about that and once all the heat of the window had gone out and we were able to agree a new contract with him set him back down. He's such a lovely kid and lovely person. His chance will come in the future.
PB then points in the direction of the agents explaining they have interests in a transfer as well and might push a player in that direction.
Speaking of ABSOLUTE SEX MACHINES, lets talk about this Zerbi-bloke you somehow found somewhere. But it went a little bit shite at first despite the football being nice, how did you know he needed some time?
That is a very important point because so often underlying performances are better indicators than results. So in the first five games I think we took two points out of 15 people where saying "oh, the wheels are coming off", "this is the impact of Potter leaving", "De Zerbi doesn't know the Premier League", "Stat Brother has friends and family who are all lifelong Shakhtar fans who say he's shithouse"... and here we are.
But the performance were actually so much better than the two draws and three defeats, and people also forget that I think we have some tough games in that cycle of games. Roberto was still getting used to a new country, getting used to Premier League, getting used to inedible English food, getting used to the new squad, getting used to coming up against fierce competition week to week and with all respect to the Serie A and whatever the shite Ukrainian league is called, but the intensity of competition week after week is different.
PB then brings up some nice footy stats showing that "ours are a good team" and so forth.
So yeah Roberto the manager good stuff sexy but what about the bloke? How is he?
He's passionate, he's funny, he's incredibly hard working - long hours, focused. Totally on his football. His family stays in Italy while he works in England which kind of shows you how focused he is day to day week to week. He's very keen to win every game which sounds obvious since you expect players and coaches to want that, but the level of detail that he goes into to try and make that possible is incredible. We love that work ethic, we love that commitment. And also, when it doesn't work out, you'll also see the disappoinment and frustration because he's a passionate individual and whether or not the Italian culture and personality comes through in those moment is hard to say but certainly he is a different personality to Graham and we've had to adjust to that personality difference but we love working with him.
So how's that even sexier Graham Potter dawg? Its has gone a little bit tits up at Chelsea even though everyone in the game knows he's a great coach, so how is it watching that?
It's been hard for a few weeks because we would still see Graham as a friend, I mean he was my neighbour for three years so you know we got to know each other very well and worked together very well.
Graham has a process the way he works, he has a particular style of working with players and sometimes - very often actuallly - say that that takes time, it takes timr to get his systems and his processes into the way the players train every day and play every week. Very often that is best established during a pre-season. He went into Chelsea a month into the season and in the last transfer window they bought a lot of new players, so the work he'd done between September and January to a large extent almost had to start again from scratch.
It will always take tim if you're working with top clubs with very high expectations to achieve the results that the fans expect and at (close your eyes if you're a snowflake) Chelsea its a bigger club than Brighton in terms of the history and the success that they've had and because of that the expectations are higher, so the pressure on Graham is higher and the demand for quicker better results is there all the time.
In my experience, he's calm, confident in his ability, he's a very good person to the players so the players will respect him for the values that he has, and I can't speak for Chelseas owners or board but certainly in our case at Brighton we gave him the time that he needed to get his methods across and three seasons into it, we finished in our highest ever position in the league. That in itself is testament to what he can achieve.
With all due respect to the players we've got, which is excellent, you know Chelsea are able to spend much higher sums of money on players that are the finished article quicker. So you know, if he's given time working with some of the worlds best players, who knows whats possible there?
Season so far?
Not winning any prices in March, big games coming up (Palace and the arguably bigger game against Grimsby), still a lot to do.
Exeeded pre-season expectations given the current league table etc?
One of the clubs values is about exceeding expectations
Long term goal remains to be a consistent top 10 club in the PL, which "may not sound exciting" but "an incredibly achievement if you are a club that has spent most of the time in the bottom two divisions". Paul does add though that if you do get into the top 10 regularly there will also be chances to qualify for European football.
How does preparations vs CP differ from a normal game?
Means a lot to the players and a hell of a lot to the fans. Trying to keep calm and prepare for it like any other game.
That succession plan thingie right there, good stuff, how do you do it?
If you are a club of our size you have to accept that if you're playing well, doing well, progressing, then there will be more interest in your players, staff etc. If you know that is going to happen, it gives you the opportunity to plan in advance.
Succession planned for 20-25 people at the club at any time which is good stuff. If you sell Trossard to Arsenal you know Mitoma is ready to step in. Paulie also mentions Bissouma/Caicedo.
Don't want to lose the coach one month into the season, not good for anyone. But knowing who you want to bring in is half the battle of trying to replace a good coach like Graham Potter. Aware of RDZs adventures "for some time".
War in Ukraine made it possible to go for RDZ who was the number one choice. He has taken the fantastic foundation laid by Graham Potter and pushed it yet another level. Credit to him, credit to the players, credit to the philosophy of the owner.
Knowing who you want to get in in different roles does not guarantee progression but gives a good chance.
Trossard is a mean lean sex machine who did very good stuff and bla bla bla, how did you reach the decision to sell him
We will always allow a player to progress his career providing it suits us as well.
In the case of Leandro, he had done a fantastic job for our club for several seasons, he was the top scorer. But he was also getting to 27-28 years of age, his contract was beginning to run down, he was keen to build on his success in England and the Belgian team. Provided timing, contract, fee was right then we'd be open minded for a deal.
And thats what happened. And with Mitoma, Sarmiento and Enciso already in the building and, this January, Buonanotte as well, we had lots of different options where we felt we could let Trossard sod off to st elsewhere and still not weaken the team while also getting a transfer fee allowing us to invest in younger players. It worked for Leo and worked for us and he's doing well in Arsenal and we're delighted about that... even as a Spurs fan.
It shows other players thinking about coming to Brighton that not only do they get the chance to play in the PL, but also that when for example a CL club comes in we won't put barriers for them to move on which is good for us and for them.
Ye ok but lets have a little mention about the bloke shitting all over the place before he f***ed off. How do you deal with that as the CEO of a big corporation?
First you need to know that the club has to come first so we manage those situations however best suits the club and we want to protect Roberto and the rest of the players, because if a player is thinking about moving, maybe their head isn't fully in our game. Every situation is different. Sometimes players remain focused because thats who they are and sometimes players become very distracted and its difficult for them to play. And sometimes there's lots of outside influences, whether its media, podcasts, agents or whatever that are all speculating about the players future. No solution for every situation.
Yeah about that, Moises Caicedo also pooped on the floor a little bit, how close was he to leave? You have a number in your head that you demand from a club bidding, was Arsenal close to hitting that number, or was it a morale principle to keep him rather than the £££££££££?
Only if they wanted half the player. (actual quote!)
No, joking aside, we never provide numbers so it always sort of amuses us when see numbers in the media because they've not come from us.
Owner has a number in his head on the value of his assets like in any business but selling Moises in January wasn't a good move because first of all he was one of our best players in the first half of the season and secondly we were in a great position in the league, and we want to achieve our best ever finish in the Premier League, and if we do that there is a chance we can qualify for European football, so the stakes were higher than ever and Moises is a big part of that. He's also a young player who is still learning his game in a far away country, so we also have a responsibility to try to do the best for the player long term as well as in the short term for us. And we felt that was best served by keeping him with us and doing the best we can for the rest of the season, and then what will be in the future will be. Moises is a top top class player and can be anything he wants to be anywhere he wants to be it. This isnt the one and only transfer window where Moises is going to be a popular attraction.
When we sat down and talked to him about that and once all the heat of the window had gone out and we were able to agree a new contract with him set him back down. He's such a lovely kid and lovely person. His chance will come in the future.
PB then points in the direction of the agents explaining they have interests in a transfer as well and might push a player in that direction.
Speaking of ABSOLUTE SEX MACHINES, lets talk about this Zerbi-bloke you somehow found somewhere. But it went a little bit shite at first despite the football being nice, how did you know he needed some time?
That is a very important point because so often underlying performances are better indicators than results. So in the first five games I think we took two points out of 15 people where saying "oh, the wheels are coming off", "this is the impact of Potter leaving", "De Zerbi doesn't know the Premier League", "Stat Brother has friends and family who are all lifelong Shakhtar fans who say he's shithouse"... and here we are.
But the performance were actually so much better than the two draws and three defeats, and people also forget that I think we have some tough games in that cycle of games. Roberto was still getting used to a new country, getting used to Premier League, getting used to inedible English food, getting used to the new squad, getting used to coming up against fierce competition week to week and with all respect to the Serie A and whatever the shite Ukrainian league is called, but the intensity of competition week after week is different.
PB then brings up some nice footy stats showing that "ours are a good team" and so forth.
So yeah Roberto the manager good stuff sexy but what about the bloke? How is he?
He's passionate, he's funny, he's incredibly hard working - long hours, focused. Totally on his football. His family stays in Italy while he works in England which kind of shows you how focused he is day to day week to week. He's very keen to win every game which sounds obvious since you expect players and coaches to want that, but the level of detail that he goes into to try and make that possible is incredible. We love that work ethic, we love that commitment. And also, when it doesn't work out, you'll also see the disappoinment and frustration because he's a passionate individual and whether or not the Italian culture and personality comes through in those moment is hard to say but certainly he is a different personality to Graham and we've had to adjust to that personality difference but we love working with him.
So how's that even sexier Graham Potter dawg? Its has gone a little bit tits up at Chelsea even though everyone in the game knows he's a great coach, so how is it watching that?
It's been hard for a few weeks because we would still see Graham as a friend, I mean he was my neighbour for three years so you know we got to know each other very well and worked together very well.
Graham has a process the way he works, he has a particular style of working with players and sometimes - very often actuallly - say that that takes time, it takes timr to get his systems and his processes into the way the players train every day and play every week. Very often that is best established during a pre-season. He went into Chelsea a month into the season and in the last transfer window they bought a lot of new players, so the work he'd done between September and January to a large extent almost had to start again from scratch.
It will always take tim if you're working with top clubs with very high expectations to achieve the results that the fans expect and at (close your eyes if you're a snowflake) Chelsea its a bigger club than Brighton in terms of the history and the success that they've had and because of that the expectations are higher, so the pressure on Graham is higher and the demand for quicker better results is there all the time.
In my experience, he's calm, confident in his ability, he's a very good person to the players so the players will respect him for the values that he has, and I can't speak for Chelseas owners or board but certainly in our case at Brighton we gave him the time that he needed to get his methods across and three seasons into it, we finished in our highest ever position in the league. That in itself is testament to what he can achieve.
With all due respect to the players we've got, which is excellent, you know Chelsea are able to spend much higher sums of money on players that are the finished article quicker. So you know, if he's given time working with some of the worlds best players, who knows whats possible there?
LamieRobertson
Not awoke
Apols if fixtures…but this seems a good place to post this
Cheshire Cat
The most curious thing..
What happened to to the mustard jumper? it seems to have evolved into a nasty brown number?
Second most important man at the club.
I'm 20% concerned about the Spuds Barber RDZ raid. My feeling is that Barbs will realize that Spuds is not a rational destination for anyone with sense, presently. And would Spuds replace an old Italian prima donna with a younger Italian with massive balls and a golden mouth?
The only way Barbs goes to spuds is to replace Levy. Not impossibl, as Levy is the front for the money, not the actual money.
These are an excellent listen. Top stuff from PBOBE.
highflyer
Well-known member
- Jan 21, 2016
- 2,435
My key takeaways:
Barber can be surprisingly honest. Including about how much of a Spurs fan he is. Which is fine by me.
With Caicedo (and inferred other younger players as well) he is heavy on the idea that they don't always know what is best for themselves and agents 'have their own agenda'. So while 'the interests of the club always come first' there is also a sense of responsibility to manage them in the way that will be best for them long term, even when it isn't what they want themselves at the time. Not sure how much of a pinch of salt to take that with myself...(could just be an excuse for making decisions the player doesnt like) but interesting as I haven't heard it stated so explicitly before.
Very clear that they never give out values for players and they don't do release clauses. So anything you see in the media to the contrary is made up bollocks.
He reckons Potter will be fine and do well IF given the time. He makes the point (as per Swansman above) that underlying stats and performances are more important than results for the club. Not a specific dig at Palace, but highly relevant in that context now i think. Eg Potter was never in danger during bad runs because the club were looking beyond results and knew it would come good.
Barber can be surprisingly honest. Including about how much of a Spurs fan he is. Which is fine by me.
With Caicedo (and inferred other younger players as well) he is heavy on the idea that they don't always know what is best for themselves and agents 'have their own agenda'. So while 'the interests of the club always come first' there is also a sense of responsibility to manage them in the way that will be best for them long term, even when it isn't what they want themselves at the time. Not sure how much of a pinch of salt to take that with myself...(could just be an excuse for making decisions the player doesnt like) but interesting as I haven't heard it stated so explicitly before.
Very clear that they never give out values for players and they don't do release clauses. So anything you see in the media to the contrary is made up bollocks.
He reckons Potter will be fine and do well IF given the time. He makes the point (as per Swansman above) that underlying stats and performances are more important than results for the club. Not a specific dig at Palace, but highly relevant in that context now i think. Eg Potter was never in danger during bad runs because the club were looking beyond results and knew it would come good.
nickbrighton
Well-known member
- Feb 19, 2016
- 1,920
Not something I have heard of before, but this is well worth a watch. Its a great interview with Paul Barber, filmed before the Palace match. Definitley one of the best interviews I've seen for ages.
The interviewers are "just" fans bit ask some great questions,much better than professional interviewers IMO, and are obviously delighted to be given access to Paul and the club. They have dodone the rrsearch so its not just the normal tired old predictable questions
Well worth an hour to watch it all
The interviewers are "just" fans bit ask some great questions,much better than professional interviewers IMO, and are obviously delighted to be given access to Paul and the club. They have dodone the rrsearch so its not just the normal tired old predictable questions
Well worth an hour to watch it all
Billy in Bristol
Well-known member
The presenters are engaging presences and indeed look humble and pleased to be given access.