[Albion] Roberto De Zerbi: "Now we don't have high motivation"

[hans kraay fan club]

Might be more the other way round……it’s what I didn’t see. Would have thought wit a makeshift defence Dunk would have been far more vocal than he appeared to be……

He probably didn't have the energy or lung capacity left for any shouting, what with all the flying about covering for the other clowns!

 

[Hometownglory]

Regardless of what de Zerbi did or didn’t mean to say and how TB and PB see it, I really do a wonder what the bizarre Lallana interview was really all about. Was that following a blow up behind the scenes between manager and players and things have been festering ever since?

He obviously ripped them a new one. Lallana looked and sounded traumatised. They certainly haven't 'turned up' to any performance since then. All guesswork of course.

 

[Psychobilly freakout]

I have reported it as instructed. The comment was seriously out of order given my ethnicity.

I am not suggesting you are, but any race, creed, ethnicity can be racist.

 

[Psychobilly freakout]

In the interim can everyone just play nicely?

Considering the team can't, how do expect the fans too ?

 

[Stato]

The last couple of months have been tough, but hopefully the squad and the coaching team will learn something from it. There seems to be an interpretation taken here that RDZ's talk of motivation was excusing himself and his players. It wasn't. He puts it across better in this interview rather than the BBC one:



Reading between the lines, I'm hearing him saying that, from his arrival he set high standards and big targets and that the players were thriving on the challenge whilst they believed the targets could be met. The players know deep down that the targets for this season are now gone, or out of reach and that requires them to find something else from inside of them to drive on.

The target setting garnered previously unseen levels of belief and worked wonders last year, but it has a down side. If the group has been too target focused and is now working towards a target that they believe is beyond them, it's hard for each of them to find the right psychology to be at their absolute best. I presume this is why the likes of Guardiola install the mantra in their players to only ever think about the next game.

However, he isn't talking of throwing in the towel. He is talking of everyone fighting harder to get to their best. As usual he's too honest with the media in admitting that nobody has all the answers, but it sounds like his aim is to find a way to pick up the group, not to chuck it all in.

 

[Zeberdi]

The last couple of months have been tough, but hopefully the squad and the coaching team will learn something from it. There seems to be an interpretation taken here that RDZ's talk of motivation was excusing himself and his players. It wasn't. He puts it across better in this interview rather than the BBC one:



Reading between the lines, I'm hearing him saying that, from his arrival he set high standards and big targets and that the players were thriving on the challenge whilst they believed the targets could be met. The players know deep down that the targets for this season are now gone, or out of reach and that requires them to find something else from inside of them to drive on.

The target setting garnered previously unseen levels of belief and worked wonders last year, but it has a down side. If the group has been too target focused and is now working towards a target that they believe is beyond them, it's hard for each of them to find the right psychology to be at their absolute best. I presume this is why the likes of Guardiola install the mantra in their players to only ever think about the next game.

However, he isn't talking of throwing in the towel. He is talking of everyone fighting harder to get to their best. As usual he's too honest with the media in admitting that nobody has all the answers, but it sounds like his aim is to find a way to pick up the group, not to chuck it all in.

Good post - I am actually really relieved some long standing members of NSC are keeping their heads while seemingly many around here seem to be losing theirs. I’ll take is as a positive sign that many more fans (the silent majority) are not completely blaming RDZ for the season going pearshaped - hopefully the ‘anti-RDZ outers’ on NSC aren’t taken as representative of the whole fan base. Sadly the media scouting these threads won’t see it like that though and it is that which may determine RDZs decision ultimately whether to stay or go. How can a manager stay if he beleives the fans are against him? How can a Club keep a manager that doesn’t have the support of the majority of fans?
Personally I still believe he is the right manager to get us back on course next season and take us back to Europe so will be very disappointed if he goes.

This is not the voice of a Coach that doesn’t give a shit;

“We have to find the energy and the mentality to finish a very tough season strongly and for our fans we have to give more and play better," he said. "We lost the game in a bad way and I'm sorry for our fans, they don't deserve this”

 

[Psychobilly freakout]

As I have said on another thread in the past 24 hours and on post 198 of this thread - But hopefully the way you present these points (with much more style and eloquence than I can!) will attract less vitriol and personal attacks from those that disagree - I am actually really relieved some well respected fans of good stature are keeping their heads while everyone around them seem to be losing theirs.

Said the same person that posted this 12 minutes ago....

Watching a video of us being hammered by Barnet 0:3 at Gillingham would make me feel better about where we are now.

Is that the positivity your on about.

 

[Stat Brother]

I've not read beyond the first page of this thread, because its too depressingly. I'm sure plenty of people have said the same, so apologies for repeating - but I wish he'd announced in his pre-match presser that there was zero motivation, and I'd have done something else with my time and money, yesterday.

Not wishing to be rude but if you had to be told there was zero motivation yesterday morning, what have you been watching over the last couple of months?

 

[Pavilionaire]

Seems our target was European qualification - with that gone, it nigh on impossible to be at 100% to try to get, say, 10th.

1. Not being able to qualify for Europe hasn't stopped Bournemouth from gunning for a top half finish. Or Palace. Or Wolves.

2. And if the manager and players aren't able to recalibrate their goals then God help us if we get into a relegation fight.

3. What worries me are the parallels with us / De Zerbi and Leicester, who went from European football to relegation in 2 seasons, 5th > 8th > 18th. And this was all under Brendan Rogers, a manager who would probably regard himself as elite and be in denial about the how such a slide could possibly happen under his watch.

Leicester actually finished the 2021/22 season strongly taking 10 points from their final 12 to pip us for 8th by one point, but this probably papered over the cracks and they didn't take note of the warning signs.

 

[Farehamseagull]

Ideally yes re 2 but even subconsciously that’s incredibly difficult for the team. Seems our target was European qualification - with that gone, it nigh on impossible to be at 100% to try to get, say, 10th.

What was the problem when Europe was still achievable then? ie. from October till early April?

 

[Bridcutt]

What was the problem when Europe was still achievable then? ie. from October till early April?

They were not motivated as they realised the target of champions league was going to be impossible

 

[Coldwaltham Seagull]

The last couple of months have been tough, but hopefully the squad and the coaching team will learn something from it. There seems to be an interpretation taken here that RDZ's talk of motivation was excusing himself and his players. It wasn't. He puts it across better in this interview rather than the BBC one:



Reading between the lines, I'm hearing him saying that, from his arrival he set high standards and big targets and that the players were thriving on the challenge whilst they believed the targets could be met. The players know deep down that the targets for this season are now gone, or out of reach and that requires them to find something else from inside of them to drive on.

The target setting garnered previously unseen levels of belief and worked wonders last year, but it has a down side. If the group has been too target focused and is now working towards a target that they believe is beyond them, it's hard for each of them to find the right psychology to be at their absolute best. I presume this is why the likes of Guardiola install the mantra in their players to only ever think about the next game.

However, he isn't talking of throwing in the towel. He is talking of everyone fighting harder to get to their best. As usual he's too honest with the media in admitting that nobody has all the answers, but it sounds like his aim is to find a way to pick up the group, not to chuck it all in.

Refreshing to see something on here at the moment where someone is talking sense- thanks

 

[Farehamseagull]

Refreshing to see something on here at the moment where someone is talking sense- thanks

By sense you mean something you agree with?

And everything you disagree with doesn’t make sense?

 

[Coldwaltham Seagull]

1. Not being able to qualify for Europe hasn't stopped Bournemouth from gunning for a top half finish. Or Palace. Or Wolves.

2. And if the manager and players aren't able to recalibrate their goals then God help us if we get into a relegation fight.

3. What worries me are the parallels with us / De Zerbi and Leicester, who went from European football to relegation in 2 seasons, 5th > 8th > 18th. And this was all under Brendan Rogers, a manager who would probably regard himself as elite and be in denial about the how such a slide could possibly happen under his watch.

Leicester actually finished the 2021/22 season strongly taking 10 points from their final 12 to pip us for 8th by one point, but this probably papered over the cracks and they didn't take note of the warning signs.

1. The motivation for these teams is the prospect of a best ever league finish, which we don't have at this point. There is a big difference between fighting for a bit more/less prize money and to make club history

2. Form is temporary, I'm confident we'll be a long way off relegation next season

3. Not sure what the parallels here are? Leicester made a series of poor footballing and financial decisions that left them in hot water, with an over paid and under-talented squad. Nothing about the way TB & PB have run the club over the last decade or so suggests this would happen at Brighton

 

[Coldwaltham Seagull]

By sense you mean something you agree with?

And everything you disagree with doesn’t make sense?

Yes because the opposite of sense is nonsense, and I tend not to agree when people talk nonsense

 

[Zeberdi]

Said the same person that posted this 12 minutes ago....

Is that the positivity your on about.

It’s ‘you’re’ as in ‘you are’

And yes, I did say ‘ watching a video of us being hammered by Barnet at Gillingham would make me feel a little more positive about where we are now’ - but clearly you don’t understand winking emojis either or chose to ignore them, because it was pretty obvious my post was tongue in cheek.

Other than that - losing 0-3 to the Cherries in the Premier League with our own stadium and no points for gawd knows how many games with the entire team apparently now taking some kind of mental health day when they go out on the pitch, I am pretty positive in comparison to that Guy Fawkes day match considering and really looking forward to next season with a rejuvenated squad and starting at the top of the table again

Ps sorry I didn’t reply before editing my earlier post - I had you on ignore (I forget why) and didn’t see it until I had signed out.

 

[um bongo molongo]

1. Not being able to qualify for Europe hasn't stopped Bournemouth from gunning for a top half finish. Or Palace. Or Wolves.

2. And if the manager and players aren't able to recalibrate their goals then God help us if we get into a relegation fight.

3. What worries me are the parallels with us / De Zerbi and Leicester, who went from European football to relegation in 2 seasons, 5th > 8th > 18th. And this was all under Brendan Rogers, a manager who would probably regard himself as elite and be in denial about the how such a slide could possibly happen under his watch.

Leicester actually finished the 2021/22 season strongly taking 10 points from their final 12 to pip us for 8th by one point, but this probably papered over the cracks and they didn't take note of the warning signs.

I have similar concerns. This season gives a false sense of security because the sides coming up have been so poor, plus the points deductions. I’d expect Leicester to be competitive. Ipswich pipping Leeds would be good as they’re probably less financially equipped to cope, but assuming Forest stay up they will spend to strengthen next season, Everton are a mid table side without points deductions and other bottom half sides are getting stronger (Palace, Bournemouth). In short: I expect next season to be more competitive in the bottom half than this season.

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

Because he’s leaving and the players know so aren’t invested anymore.

Bloom can’t sack him as he’d miss out on compensation.

Leaving you say? Tell me, just who else would employ him at the moment? None of the big boys that's for sure. The likes of Liverpool, Manchester United, Bayern Munich et al, all of whom were reported to be keen just a couple of months ago must ahve lost interest by now.

 

[Pavilionaire]

1. The motivation for these teams is the prospect of a best ever league finish, which we don't have at this point. There is a big difference between fighting for a bit more/less prize money and to make club history

2. Form is temporary, I'm confident we'll be a long way off relegation next season

3. Not sure what the parallels here are? Leicester made a series of poor footballing and financial decisions that left them in hot water, with an over paid and under-talented squad. Nothing about the way TB & PB have run the club over the last decade or so suggests this would happen at Brighton

1. I take your point, although for there are still plenty of players in the dressing room who will remember the hard work it took to go from 15th to the top half who you'd expect to be fighting (i.e. Steele, Lamptey, Dunk, March, Gross, Lallana, Veltman, Webster, Welbeck).

2. I wish I shared your optimism. And I am normally an optimist.

3. Maybe in Leicester's case the decline was due more on their poor decisions while - for us - it has been external forces, i.e. players / manager / back office moving to Big 6 clubs / Newcastle, but we've also made some bad decisions (Dahoud / Fati / Milner signings, MacAllister's pitiful release clause). Selling Mitoma could be disastrous - for me that one would cut deep.

 

[Coldwaltham Seagull]

1. I take your point, although for there are still plenty of players in the dressing room who will remember the hard work it took to go from 15th to the top half who you'd expect to be fighting (i.e. Steele, Lamptey, Dunk, March, Gross, Lallana, Veltman, Webster, Welbeck).

2. I wish I shared your optimism. And I am normally an optimist.

3. Maybe in Leicester's case the decline was due more on their poor decisions while - for us - it has been external forces, i.e. players / manager / back office moving to Big 6 clubs / Newcastle, but we've also made some bad decisions (Dahoud / Fati / Milner signings, MacAllister's pitiful release clause). Selling Mitoma could be disastrous - for me that one would cut deep.

You're right in that we have made some unfortunate decisions this season with the signings you mention. I think MacAllister going still hurts for a lot of reasons, but in hindsight it was probably getting him to sign that new deal-clause included- that got us to Europe in the first place.

Personally think losing Mitoma wouldn't be a total disaster on the same scale as what we experienced last summer- although don't confuse that with me saying I would want to lose him. Just think he is more replaceable that some of those we've lost more recently.

Fingers crossed we keep hold of everyone we would want to and can all go into the new season with some optimism