[Albion] Roberto De Zerbi - JOINS AS NEW HEAD COACH (4 year contract)

[DavidinSouthampton]

How did you guys and gals honestly feel when you signed rdz? I bet hardly any Brighton fan thought it would have been quite as good as it is. Obviously you're laughing now but at the time you must have been gutted losing Potter?

Gutted when losing Potter, but It soon dissipated when realising that Bloom knew EXACTLY who he wanted as a replacement and just went out and got him.
But didn’t expect us to be where we are now - destroying Arsenal.!
And personally I didn’t want him to fail, didn’t blame him for going and will still follow his future career with interest….. except on any occasion when he’s playing us.

 

[Machiavelli]

How did you guys and gals honestly feel when you signed rdz? I bet hardly any Brighton fan thought it would have been quite as good as it is. Obviously you're laughing now but at the time you must have been gutted losing Potter?

How did I feel? It'd be a new stage of the journey. Early results weren't great, and it was the Chelsea demolition that really augured things. The WC break was brilliant for the implementation of his ideas. We're reaping the rewards at present, but next season, in all likelihood we'll have to play without the best CM duo in world football (I kid you not with that claim), alongside adapting to the rigours of playing European football (I know it's yet to be confirmed, and the injury situation might derail us, but I think we'll only need 3 more points, and think we will pick those up in our last four fixtures), with not only more fixtures, but also a new rhythm to the schedule. The transition to both of those will be tough. We won't directly replace the skill set of Mac Allister and (in all probability) Caicedo, but by extending squad depth, and the development of certain players (Ferguson and Enciso especially, but also the likes of Gilmour, Mitoma, Buonanotte, Sarmiento, etc) we may just be able to address that. We've already done -- or nearly done -- a fair bit of business ahead of the window opening and I expect there to be more of that for all sorts of reasons in the weeks ahead. We'll also have to deal with opposition managers working out how to play us -- did Dyche provide the template for how opponents will set up against us?

I take a different view to many on Potter. He did a great job for us and, without him, we either wouldn't have got RDZ or the implementation of his game would have been far more protracted. I hate Chelsea, but the club's model is that we're a stepping stone, and it was a good sign that wealthy clubs are interested in and/or poaching our managers, players and wider staff, so wasn't that surprised and disappointed that he went. The timing didn't appear great in September, but we were wrong on that point -- the timing was impeccable: RDZ was available, and we got him.

When at the club, I always said that Potter would leave right at the end of a season. This was based on the view that he needs an extended period of time to divulge his ideas, and for the players to embed them. This also indicates why things didn't go well for him at Chelsea -- but that was compounded by idiocy and arrogance at the top, and expanding the number of egos competing for a starting place. I expect that he'll be back in a job within three or four weeks, probably at a PL club, in full knowledge that he needs that time if he's going to be a success. You're one of the clubs in the mix for him but, then again, there are a few other managers that club's boards will be interested in.

 

[Hiheidi]

 

[The Fits]

I keep revisiting this thread and saying similar things but I won't stop. He's a genius. I honestly don't think we will ever have a manager like him again. If we can get three years out of him I'd be absolutely delighted and we are going to be in fantastic shape when he eventually moves on. Really wouldn't be surprised to see him replace Pep..he's that good and Pep is obviously a massive fan.
Could you imagine what he'd do with the current Man City team? It would be the most thrilling football the world has ever seen.

 

[Weststander]

I keep revisiting this thread and saying similar things but I won't stop. He's a genius. I honestly don't think we will ever have a manager like him again. If we can get three years out of him I'd be absolutely delighted and we are going to be in fantastic shape when he eventually moves on. Really wouldn't be surprised to see him replace Pep..he's that good and Pep is obviously a massive fan.
Could you imagine what he'd do with the current Man City team? It would literally be the most thrilling football the world has ever seen.

The same here, how can we possibly replace such an innovative, exciting and at the same winning coach?

Important to absorb and enjoy these heady days.

Hopefully he’ll remain for us for a few seasons.

 

[Stat Brother]

How did you guys and gals honestly feel when you signed rdz? I bet hardly any Brighton fan thought it would have been quite as good as it is. Obviously you're laughing now but at the time you must have been gutted losing Potter?

For me there was one problem with Potter - The Cult of Potter, backed up by 'Are you Barber in Disguise'.

Were it not for these dozen or so posters we could have had a (slighty more) balanced debate on the fella.
But with them in tow, we were unable to write 'i like him, but..'.
There was no room for nuisance, questions or criticism, you were in or you were enemy of the state.
When we lost to nil, it was the other team while on the occasions we handsomely won it was 'see, see he's the Messiah, ha I bet you're feeling stupid now'.

Beyond those posters I think many were annoyed that he went, angry about how he went, but the bottom line is we wrote off a VW so to make us feel better daddy instantly went out and bought us a Ferrari.

The 'but...' that was constantly shouted down as impossible and not with these players was 'but... can't we just do 'it' quicker'.

It turns out we can, while buzzing with character.


I can't imagine what it must be like to have a poorly maintained Renault taken away only to get back a punishment replacement Hillman Imp (look it up kidz)

 

[GT49er]

For me there was one problem with Potter - The Cult of Potter, backed up by 'Are you Barber in Disguise'.

Were it not for these dozen or so posters we could have had a (slighty more) balanced debate on the fella.
But with them in tow, we were unable to write 'i like him, but..'.
There was no room for nuisance, questions or criticism, you were in or you were enemy of the state.
When we lost to nil, it was the other team while on the occasions we handsomely won it was 'see, see he's the Messiah, ha I bet you're feeling stupid now'.

Is it not now somewhat similar with De Zerbi? Best not question anything, eh?

 

[Nobby]

Is it not now somewhat similar with De Zerbi? Best not question anything, eh?

Not sure there’s much to question.
Under Potter it was, on average, dominate teams and lose, while under De Zerbi it’s dominate teams and win.
Under Potter, you just knew we would mess it up and the opposition would score in the end.
Under De Zerbi, we almost never screw up.

 

[GT49er]

Not sure there’s much to question.
Under Potter it was, on average, dominate teams and lose, while under De Zerbi it’s dominate teams and win.
Under Potter, you just knew we would mess it up and the opposition would score in the end.
Under De Zerbi, we almost never screw up.

You have just proved my point!

 

[Nobby]

You have just proved my point!

Ok, so your point is there is a De Zerbi cult, which by inference no one should question.
What do you question about De Zerbi?

 

[Greg Bobkin]

I keep revisiting this thread and saying similar things but I won't stop. He's a genius. I honestly don't think we will ever have a manager like him again. If we can get three years out of him I'd be absolutely delighted and we are going to be in fantastic shape when he eventually moves on. Really wouldn't be surprised to see him replace Pep..he's that good and Pep is obviously a massive fan.
Could you imagine what he'd do with the current Man City team? It would literally be the most thrilling football the world has ever seen.

Totally agree. As I've said on numerous occasions, if things go well for both Pep and RDZ, I think the latter will replace the former at the end of next season.

 

[MJsGhost]

Totally agree. As I've said on numerous occasions, if things go well for both Pep and RDZ, I think the latter will replace the former at the end of next season.

Job swap?

Pep would have the chance to disprove the theory that he can only win with the dominant club in a league...

I too agree that RdZ will end up there (sadly).

 

[Stat Brother]

Job swap?

Pep would have the chance to disprove the theory that he can only win with the dominant club in a league...

I too agree that RdZ will end up there (sadly).

I wouldn't be so sure.

Assuming he's still here RDZ is in for a difficult season.
Plan A has been phenomenal (not a word I use lightly) but next season teams will have an answer for it.

So he'll need a Plan B while also blooding in new players in key areas, with (one chicken, two chickens) more games and less time training.

If he can do that - we'll never see him again!

 

[Greg Bobkin]

Job swap?

Pep would have the chance to disprove the theory that he can only win with the dominant club in a league...

I too agree that RdZ will end up there (sadly).

I wouldn't say no! Pretty sure he'd prefer to go to a 'top TOP club' in a different league rather than a #TeamLikeBrighton, sadly.

 

[SeagullsoverLondon]

Love this man. Any dry cleaners in Brighton happy to get grass stains out of his trousers?

 

[JBizzle]

Not sure there’s much to question.
Under Potter it was, on average, dominate teams and lose, while under De Zerbi it’s dominate teams and win.
Under Potter, you just knew we would mess it up and the opposition would score in the end.
Under De Zerbi, we almost never screw up.

Except against Everton (1-5), Forest (1-3 and 0-0), Leeds (2-2), Leicester (2-2), Tottenham (0-1 and 1-2), Fulham (0-1), Villa (1-2), and Brentford (0-2 and 3-3)...

Look, I love De Zerbi (genuinely), but let's not pretend that when we play teams that stifle, frustrate, timewaste and hold a strong, firm defensive line that we don't have remarkably similar issues getting results.

To say we almost never screw up when in the last two weeks be got battered by Everton and Forest is stretching it

 

[Stat Brother]

Except against Everton (1-5), Forest (1-3 and 0-0), Leeds (2-2), Leicester (2-2), Tottenham (0-1 and 1-2), Fulham (0-1), Villa (1-2), and Brentford (0-2 and 3-3)...

Look, I love De Zerbi (genuinely), but let's not pretend that when we play teams that stifle, frustrate, timewaste and hold a strong, firm defensive line that we don't have remarkably similar issues getting results.

To say we almost never screw up when in the last two weeks be got battered by Everton and Forest is stretching it

Yep we are what we are.

We also ought not lose sight of GPotts statement victories either.

For me the difference is all the games in between, that's where Roberto absolutely wipes the floor with GPott.

The squad will never again go X games without wins, scoring etc.

As we were promised 'dull' games are now a thing of the past, as opposed to the norm.

 

[The Fits]

I would genuinely rather lose 5-1 every 5 games but produce the performances we have in between under RDZ than watch us under any manager in my life time. (Born 1980, first game 84).

 

[schmunk]

We averaged 1.23 points/game under GPott.

We're averaging 1.61 points/game under RdZ - that would still be 1.41 even if we lost all of our remaining fixtures this season (which, hopefully, we won't...)

https://www.statbunker.com/alltimestats/AllTimeManagersTable?comp_code=EPL

 

[The Fits]

We averaged 1.23 points/game under GPott.

We're averaging 1.61 points/game under RdZ - that would still be 1.41 even if we lost all of our remaining fixtures this season (which, hopefully, we won't...)

https://www.statbunker.com/alltimestats/AllTimeManagersTable?comp_code=EPL

A certain Swede would point out that you should probably be looking at the last year under GP given the squad he inherited, which is fair.