Football League 125 Poll

[B.W.]

Football was a far more level playing field financially in Mullery's day.

And (so far) Poyet has never managed Palace...

So what!? Gus has shown his true colours - he is a self-serving, self-centered, big-mouthed egotist with zero loyalty to Brighton. Why any fan of our club with any sense would vote for him over Mullery is beyond me. Perhaps the youngsters with no appreciation of our history, but that's it.

 

[B.W.]

Gus now back in the lead, so what do I know!

 

[Giraffe]

I voted Poyet.

Mullery came in a time when the club started spending a bit of a cash when many other clubs didn't. Nottingham Forest and Derby had come from no where to win the league and then Forest in Europe. It was a level base and we started spending more than some. For me it was an easier job for Mullery under Bamber than Poyet under Bloom, especially given the starting positions for both.

The other consideration is that Mullery inherited a team largely built by Taylor. Yes he still had work to do but it wasn't revolution.

Poyet completely revolutionised the club, and the style of football. To me he is therefore the better manager.

 

[Brovion]

I voted Poyet.

Mullery came in a time when the club started spending a bit of a cash when many other clubs didn't. Nottingham Forest and Derby had come from no where to win the league and then Forest in Europe. It was a level base and we started spending more than some. For me it was an easier job for Mullery under Bamber than Poyet under Bloom, especially given the starting positions for both.

The other consideration is that Mullery inherited a team largely built by Taylor. Yes he still had work to do but it wasn't revolution.

Poyet completely revolutionised the club, and the style of football. To me he is therefore the better manager.

All true. We were big spenders under Mullery, especially when we came up from the third division. For example Lawrenson cost us £100,000 which was a fifth of of the current transfer record at the time (£500,000 Hamburg paid Liverpool for Kevin Keegan). The equivalent today would be if Poyet had paid sixteen million for a player! Plus parachute payments have skewed the finances so much that Poyet had considerably less than a lot of our rivals (a fact he admittedly was never slow in pointing out). Also, as you say, Mullery did take over a team that had only just missed out on promotion the year before and had had a lot of work done on it by Peter Taylor (such as signing Peter Ward). Poyet took over when we were at a low point and built from scratch, as well as transforming players like Adam El Abd.

I personally think it's a no-brainer, but because I remember the Glory Years I can't vote against Mullers which is why I'm abstaining!

 

[Goldstone Rapper]

All true. We were big spenders under Mullery, especially when we came up from the third division. For example Lawrenson cost us £100,000 which was a fifth of of the current transfer record at the time (£500,000 Hamburg paid Liverpool for Kevin Keegan). The equivalent today would be if Poyet had paid sixteen million for a player! Plus parachute payments have skewed the finances so much that Poyet had considerably less than a lot of our rivals (a fact he admittedly was never slow in pointing out). Also, as you say, Mullery did take over a team that had only just missed out on promotion the year before and had had a lot of work done on it by Peter Taylor (such as signing Peter Ward). Poyet took over when we were at a low point and built from scratch, as well as transforming players like Adam El Abd.

I personally think it's a no-brainer, but because I remember the Glory Years I can't vote against Mullers which is why I'm abstaining!

In 1976, the world record transfer fee was around £1,750,000.

 

[Goldstone Rapper]

I voted Poyet.

Mullery came in a time when the club started spending a bit of a cash when many other clubs didn't. Nottingham Forest and Derby had come from no where to win the league and then Forest in Europe. It was a level base and we started spending more than some. For me it was an easier job for Mullery under Bamber than Poyet under Bloom, especially given the starting positions for both.

The other consideration is that Mullery inherited a team largely built by Taylor. Yes he still had work to do but it wasn't revolution.

Poyet completely revolutionised the club, and the style of football. To me he is therefore the better manager.

That the team was largely built by Taylor is often overstated. If you look at the side that famously won 1-0 at Forest in 1979/80:

Moseley - Mullery buy
Suddaby - Mullery buy
Williams - Mullery buy
Horton - Taylor buy
Foster - Mullery buy
Stevens - apprentice under Mullery
Ryan - Mullery buy
Ward - Taylor buy
Clarke - Mullery buy
O'Sullivan - Goodwin buy
Sub:
Clark - Mullery buy


By 2 January 1978, when Brighton drew 1-1 v Southampton, you could definitely say that the team was Mullery's:
Steele - Mullery buy
Cattiln - Taylor buy
Williams - Mullery buy
Horton - Taylor buy
Rollings - Taylor buy
Lawrenson - Mullery buy
Towner - Apprentice under Saward
Ward - Taylor buy
Maybank - Mullery buy
Clark - Mullery buy
O'Sullivan - Goodwin buy
Sub:
Potts - Mullery buy

 

[Brovion]

In 1976, the world record transfer fee was around £1,750,000.

I was going on the record British fee paid from/to a British club. Sorry, should have made that clearer.

 

[Brovion]

That the team was largely built by Taylor is often overstated. If you look at the side that famously won 1-0 at Forest in 1979/80:

Moseley - Mullery buy
Suddaby - Mullery buy
Williams - Mullery buy
Horton - Taylor buy
Foster - Mullery buy
Stevens - Mullery buy
Ryan - Mullery buy
Ward - Taylor buy
Clarke - Mullery buy
O'Sullivan - Goodwin buy
Sub:
Clark - Mullery buy

That was over three years later though! Obviously Mullery's own signings would be playing by then. Especially as we were then two divisions higher!

 

[Goldstone Rapper]

That was over three years later though! Obviously Mullery's own signings would be playing by then. Especially as we were then two divisions higher!

But even a year and a half into Mullery's reign, there were more players that Mullery had brought in than Taylor had. Which rather counters the myth that seems to have grown (and sometimes repeated in NSC) that Taylor already had the glory years side fully assembled, and Mullery was lucky enough to be in the hotseat for the ride.

 

[Brovion]

But even a year and a half into Mullery's reign, there were more players that Mullery had brought in than Taylor had. Which rather counters the myth that seems to have grown (and sometimes repeated in NSC) that Taylor already had the glory years side fully assembled, and Mullery was lucky enough to be in the hotseat for the ride.

I don't think anyone's saying he had it 'fully assembled'; if that WERE the case then Mullery wouldn't even be a candidate for greatest manager! But neither did he take over a struggling club and completely rebuild it like Poyet did. The key players in that first promotion season, Ward, Mellor, Horton, etc were all at the club when he arrived. And it's not as if they were under-performing under Taylor as we finished fourth (one place outside the promotion places as there were no play-offs in those days) in the season before Mullery arrived. In addition I can't think of a single Taylor-era player that Mullery transformed the way Poet did with the likes of El Abd and Dicker.

 

[Giraffe]

That the team was largely built by Taylor is often overstated. If you look at the side that famously won 1-0 at Forest in 1979/80:

Moseley - Mullery buy
Suddaby - Mullery buy
Williams - Mullery buy
Horton - Taylor buy
Foster - Mullery buy
Stevens - apprentice under Mullery
Ryan - Mullery buy
Ward - Taylor buy
Clarke - Mullery buy
O'Sullivan - Goodwin buy
Sub:
Clark - Mullery buy


By 2 January 1978, when Brighton drew 1-1 v Southampton, you could definitely say that the team was Mullery's:
Steele - Mullery buy
Cattiln - Taylor buy
Williams - Mullery buy
Horton - Taylor buy
Rollings - Taylor buy
Lawrenson - Mullery buy
Towner - Apprentice under Saward
Ward - Taylor buy
Maybank - Mullery buy
Clark - Mullery buy
O'Sullivan - Goodwin buy
Sub:
Potts - Mullery buy

Interesting. I would argue the engine of the side was built by Taylor. Cattlin, Horton, Rollings and Ward. And lets face it we would not have been going places without Peter Ward or Brian Horton.

 

[Goldstone Rapper]

I don't think anyone's saying he had it 'fully assembled'; if that WERE the case then Mullery wouldn't even be a candidate for greatest manager! But neither did he take over a struggling club and completely rebuild it like Poyet did. The key players in that first promotion season, Ward, Mellor, Horton, etc were all at the club when he arrived. And it's not as if they were under-performing under Taylor as we finished fourth (one place outside the promotion places as there were no play-offs in those days) in the season before Mullery arrived. In addition I can't think of a single Taylor-era player that Mullery transformed the way Poet did with the likes of El Abd and Dicker.

Maybe Ian Mellor?

I appreciate that he was a Clough signing (and a club record signing at that) but apart from a brief purple patch in the middle of 1975-76, Ian Mellor's time at the Goldstone were largely a big disappointment during the two seasons under Peter Taylor.

Whatever it was that Mullery did, probably in being brave enough to dispense with Fred Binney who had got twenty or so goals the previous season, it certainly transformed Ian Mellor into becoming one half of the most celebrated strike-force in Albion history. The decision also made the crucial difference in terms of promotion in 1976/77 as Fred Binney, great poacher that he was at the Goldstone, had a very poor scoring record away from home. No team can really hope to win promotion winning four away games and losing thirteen of them, as Brighton did in 1975/76.

That said, as you allude to, how fortunate for Mullery to have a striker such as Wardy waiting in the wings and to have such a profoundly influential player as Horton.

 

[Brovion]

Maybe Ian Mellor?

I appreciate that he was a Clough signing (and a club record signing at that) but apart from a brief purple patch in the middle of 1975-76, Ian Mellor's time at the Goldstone were largely a big disappointment during the two seasons under Peter Taylor.

Whatever it was that Mullery did, probably in being brave enough to dispense with Fred Binney who had got twenty or so goals the previous season, it certainly transformed Ian Mellor into becoming one half of the most celebrated strike-force in Albion history. The decision also made the crucial difference in terms of promotion in 1976/77 as Fred Binney, great poacher that he was at the Goldstone, had a very poor scoring record away from home. No team can really hope to win promotion winning four away games and losing thirteen of them, as Brighton did in 1975/76.

That said, as you allude to, how fortunate for Mullery to have a striker such as Wardy waiting in the wings and to have such a profoundly influential player as Horton.

No, I'm not going to let you have Mellor. As you point out he already had 'form' when Mullery arrived. Mullery certainly can claim credit for juggling the existing players around - Binney told him he'd never get promotion if he played the skinny kid Ward instead of him. (Poyet did a similar thing when he bravely dispensed with Nicky Forster). Mullery also got rid of his old Spurs teammates Phil Beale and Joe Kinnear. But as I said if Mullery had done absolutely nothing he wouldn't even be ON the list! His achievements speak for themselves and his place in Albion history is assured. Whilst I feel Poyet was marginally 'better' I'm not sure history will remember him so kindly.

 

[The Modfather]

Another Mullery voter

 

[Goldstone Rapper]

Another Mullery voter

Unfortunately, it looks like Gus has been reloading and re-voting for himself for the last few hours. Pah!