[Albion] Hurzeler is statistically our best Premier League manager

[Brian Munich]

Yes last season, can’t argue with that….

The first season was a third of a season old, it is far harder taking over a team mid-season than it is during a preseason.

If RdZ had a full preseason that first year he may have done even better.

To finish 6th was an amazing achievement, he was also top last season early in.

Oh come on, it was 6 games old, and he inherited a team on fire containing 2 of the best centre mids in the world that had been scoring for fun. You don’t need a pre-season to fix stuff.

 

[GT49er]

Oh come on, it was 6 games old, and he inherited a team on fire containing 2 of the best centre mids in the world that had been scoring for fun. You don’t need a pre-season to fix stuff.

Absolutely. It was a dream scenario for any manager to come in to.

 

[Sussexscots]

If we're to judge Hurzeler v RDZ, it seems reasonable to wait for next season before drawing a conclusion

In his second season, RDZ had to contend with a European campaign having lost his two best players. Key players who, crucially, were almost always fit and available for selection.

Squad depth appears stronger now despite another year of many injuries.
Yet we'll see how Hurzeler fares if we sell Baleba and Mitoma and he's given some more raw youngsters to work with.

He won't have the distraction of Europe, of course, but that seems a fairer basis on which to make an assessment.

 

[One Teddy Maybank]

Oh come on, it was 6 games old, and he inherited a team on fire containing 2 of the best centre mids in the world that had been scoring for fun. You don’t need a pre-season to fix stuff.

Of course you do.

Every manager has his own style. RdZ had to implement his, which took ?5 games.

He took Potters team and improved it from a playing style perspective.

Even MacAllister in an interview at Liverpool highlighted the impact and change in style, Dunk did, Lallana….. if those training under him every day are saying it, I know who I believe

 

[American Seagle]

If we're to judge Hurzeler v RDZ, it seems reasonable to wait for next season before drawing a conclusion

In his second season, RDZ had to contend with a European campaign having lost his two best players. Key players who, crucially, were almost always fit and available for selection.

Squad depth appears stronger now despite another year of many injuries.
Yet we'll see how Hurzeler fares if we sell Baleba and Mitoma and he's given some more raw youngsters to work with.

He won't have the distraction of Europe, of course, but that seems a fairer basis on which to make an assessment.

Again, it's not about comparing, it's about giving some credit to Hurzeler for what he did this season. It is, at the very least, on par with the season we qualified for the Europa League. People need to admit that.

 

[Bodian]

Thought Potter coached 13 games? So RdZ had 25?

Think you’ve misread my post or more likely I’ve worded it badly…

Edit - missing word - apologies

Even the edit doesn't make it 13-25, it was 6-32. So the season was 15% or a sixth of the way through!

Anyway - they've both been pretty good, and piloted us to three of our fourth highest positions.

 

[One Teddy Maybank]

Even the edit doesn't make it 13-25, it was 6-32. So the season was 15% or a sixth of the way through!

Anyway - they've both been pretty good, and piloted us to three of our fourth highest positions.

Was it 6? Somebody said 13 elsewhere. Fair enough.

So really, drop two places after only 6 games….. come on @Bodian that’s an even worse comparison….

RdZ was great in that first season, as was Potter the previous year, and Hughton in keeping us up. Fabian has done well and hopefully, he’ll have learnt as well from some of his errors and next year will be even better….

 

[Sussexscots]

Again, it's not about comparing, it's about giving some credit to Hurzeler for what he did this season. It is, at the very least, on par with the season we qualified for the Europa League. People need to admit that.

The opening post in this thread makes that direct comparison.

 

[scwiffy]

One standout for me has been how amazing Fab is at making the right subs. The amount of times his subs have gone on to make goal scoring contributions is incredible. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that so consistently from any manager. It says a lot about his reading of the game in real time. Hopefully he can learn from some of our thrashings and naivety against lesser sides next season, if so we’ll be cooking.

 

[London Irish]

It is not about shitting on RDZ in the slightest. It is about having some respect for the current manager who has done as well as, if not, even better.

Would be great if we learn to praise someone at the Albion by positive arguments about what we’re their innovations, their achievements, their special qualities -- and not by diminishing the achievements of others.

It’s this type of thinking that means we can’t really discuss how Gus Poyet transformed us from a painful to look at bunch of third tier cloggers into a genuinely breathtaking footballing streamroller. He’s a non person and the same process has been under way for a while now for RDZ - gradually his achievement of finishing 6th is being belittled piece by piece.

 

[London Irish]

De Zerbi was very all or nothing, wasn't he? If we weren't all over an opponent, we knew we were probably going to get battered

Strange because these words totally sum up Fab’s first season for me. We’ve had some brilliant highs and some real abysmal depths.

And I believe this is wired into Fab’s step back from the ultra possession style favoured by Potter and RDZ to a more unstructured, pressing, energy-based, more direct style. That style of football looks utter dogshit if it doesn’t come off - think Angeball this season too. But when it comes off - it’s goals, goals, goals and massively entertaining.

We’ve had some amazing days as Albion fans this season but also this weird feeling we don’t quite know what we’re going to be served up next week

 

[pigmanovich]

Strange because these words totally sum up Fab’s first season for me. We’ve had some brilliant highs and some real abysmal depths.

What constitutes "real abysmal depths" is obviously subjective but for the record there were far more tonkings - let's define them as games lost by 3 or more goals - last season - 7 - than this season - 2. I'm not sure I'd describe most of our defeats this season as batterings to paraphrase @Lady Whistledown.

 

[London Irish]

This is obviously subjective but there were far more tonkings - let's define them as games lost by 3 or more goals - last season - 7 - than this season - 2.

The Wolves and Leicester draws weren’t tonkings but I’ve really seen such despair on Albion fan faces those days. In the away game fans were even about to kick off with each other near me they were so gone.

And squad depth this season doesn’t compare to last season so comparisons only stack up there if you are looking to shiv RDZ from the outset

 

[pigmanovich]

The Wolves and Leicester draws weren’t tonkings but I’ve really seen such despair on Albion fan faces those days. In the away game fans were even about to kick off with each other near me they were so gone.

And squad depth this season doesn’t compare to last season so comparisons only stack up there if you are looking to shiv RDZ from the outset

Sure, I was at Leicester away and it was absolutely horrible. But I was also at quite a few of the batterings last season and I would take a draw that should have been a win over a tonking any day of the week - it was far too easy to do a number on us last season.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

If I had gone down a different path I may have ended up in a different place.

 

[American Seagle]

Would be great if we learn to praise someone at the Albion by positive arguments about what we’re their innovations, their achievements, their special qualities -- and not by diminishing the achievements of others.

It’s this type of thinking that means we can’t really discuss how Gus Poyet transformed us from a painful to look at bunch of third tier cloggers into a genuinely breathtaking footballing streamroller. He’s a non person and the same process has been under way for a while now for RDZ - gradually his achievement of finishing 6th is being belittled piece by piece.

I would not belittle his 6th place at all. It was a fantastic season and RDZ was great that year. I think he has been placed on a pedestal too much by people though. Hurzeler has the opposite problem. In reality they have had similar results under different circumstances. Both should be equally praised.

 

[London Irish]

Sure, I was at Leicester away and it was absolutely horrible. But I was also at quite a few of the batterings last season and I would take a draw that should have been a win over a tonking any day of the week - it was far too easy to do a number on us last season.

I wouldn’t after spending a quarter of a billion quid because that makes the comparisons ridiculous. Of course an injury shattered squad with no depth fighting on two huge fronts in Europe and EPL was going to get battered once we had no means of attack

 

[London Irish]

I would not belittle his 6th place at all. It was a fantastic season and RDZ was great that year. I think he has been placed on a pedestal too much by people though. Hurzeler has the opposite problem. In reality they have had similar results under different circumstances. Both should be equally praised.

We have a real difference of perception here. Far from being placed on a pedestal, there is a big campaign ongoing to rubbish RDZ because he fell out with Bloom. There is big cohort of fans who won’t accept the achievements of any manager that falls out with the chairman, see also Gus. It’s a shame they can’t untangle the football talent and quality from the football politics. I’m not interested in who happens to be in or out of favour with the club hierarchy, football achievements should stand on their own.

Fab I think continues to have an overwhelmingly positive reception by Albion fans. A very small minority think he’s had a poor season (the polls after disappointing defeats are always life of fruit fly bollocks that should always be ignored). Others including me will continue to wonder if we’ve really maximised the potential of the squad this season under him, and that’s a healthy debate. He’s obviously done more than enough this season to be here for a long while yet. I desperately hope the board now defends the progress he’s made bringing together a core group of players who could realistically match the achievements of Spurs and Palace in winning trophies. Those expectations aren’t off the table any more

 

[TottonSeagull]

No idea why Fab having decent season means that RDZ needs to get slaughtered.
Personally my thoughts are RDZ gave me the best 18 months of my 40 years of supporting this club and Fab has a way to go to emulate that!

 

[pigmanovich]

I wouldn’t after spending a quarter of a billion quid because that makes the comparisons ridiculous. Of course an injury shattered squad with no depth fighting on two huge fronts in Europe and EPL was going to get battered once we had no means of attack

You would rather the tonkings? Weirdo

We were injury shattered this season too, in case you didn’t notice, and it’s not just how much you spend, it’s how you spend. In our case, we spent mostly on youngsters, a number of whom didn’t even join the first team (and therefore didn’t contribute to our depth).