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[Albion] So after all the threads, the should RDZ have gone ? Poll

Was TB right to let RDZ go


  • Total voters
    317






southstandandy

WEST STAND ANDY
Jul 9, 2003
5,741
Sadly Yes. The club is bigger than RDZ.

Every manager would love to come in and have countless funds to throw around on players, but if they get it wrong and cripple the club, they won't be around to pick up the pieces. It will be us fans and the owners who have to rebuild.

Managers come and go and even though I am sad to see RDZ go, if he wanted us to over-stretch ourselves in the transfer market, potentially undoing all that we've built, I for one think Tony made the right decision. We will be here long after RDZ and countless managers to come.
 


Audax

Boing boing boing...
Aug 3, 2015
3,000
Uckfield
Voted yes. But behind that ... is a bit of disappointment. De Zerbi is good. He's going to win things somewhere IMO. If he could have been happy in the Brighton structure, and the Brighton structure could provide him with "just enough" flexibility, then I think we could have had something magic. But ultimately, he's not happy, clearly hasn't been since January, and it's been reflected in the results. No point trying to hang on to him in the hope someone comes in to pay us for him IMO - we need his replacement in ASAP, so whoever it is can maximise the off season and get settled in to the Brighton way.
 


Doc Lynam

I hate the Daily Mail
Jun 19, 2011
7,228
I would imagine the club does bend to meet some demands of the current manager, with some areas being non negotiable. If you cross that for RDZ how far do you go? How far do you go for the next manager?
I suspect RDZ wanted to move on and knew his demand's could / would never be met; it’s not as if the club isn’t consistent in their approach.
No ambiguity has been created by TB and PBOBE; we will back you 100%, within our model. Sure we might not get the same success with the next manager but, the landscape of the club is as solid as it ever has been.
 


tedebear

Legal Alien
Jul 7, 2003
16,871
In my computer
As much as I really like RDZ his passion and his approach, the last few months of football have been tough to watch. If RDZ is saying that recruitment was to blame for that, then he has an uphill battle as a manager. I didn't see any change in approach to counteract the appalling run, so I start to question if RDZ's model working and whether he himself could see a change of style was necessary or was he adamant he was right in plouging on with it? I'm starting to have my doubts. How much into next season would he have continued with tippy tappy football at the back, when our passing is atrocious and our backs are to the goal...How long could we have survived that? I do think managers need to have more than one approach they can turn to...I hadn't seen it yet from RDZ...so maybe this is the right thing...only time will tell...
 








raymondo

Well-known member
Apr 26, 2017
6,050
Wiltshire
Its a yes from me.
Great as he was, there has been a nagging thought at the back of my mind for these last few months.
How is RDZ going to turn this around in the pre season and if we suffer from a lot of injuries next season, would he ever have a successful Plan B?
It would be nice to have a manager thats successful at this club, that then doesnt spend time moaning and flashing his knickers at other clubs. One that respects what we are and how weve got here.
Well said.
RDZ was fantastic at first, but as clubs started to work out how to play against us, he seemed stubborn and unwilling (unable?) to come up with workable plans B and C to suit the available players. That's when he turned his frustration on the club's model, whereas a bit of self reflection might have been good
Clearly his large team also did not have much influence.

I'll miss him, but he had to go and the timing was right.
 




Guinness Boy

Tofu eating wokerati
Helpful Moderator
NSC Patron
Jul 23, 2003
34,795
Up and Coming Sunny Portslade
As much as I really like RDZ his passion and his approach, the last few months of football have been tough to watch. If RDZ is saying that recruitment was to blame for that, then he has an uphill battle as a manager. I didn't see any change in approach to counteract the appalling run, so I start to question if RDZ's model working and whether he himself could see a change of style was necessary or was he adamant he was right in plouging on with it? I'm starting to have my doubts. How much into next season would he have continued with tippy tappy football at the back, when our passing is atrocious and our backs are to the goal...How long could we have survived that? I do think managers need to have more than one approach they can turn to...I hadn't seen it yet from RDZ...so maybe this is the right thing...only time will tell...
I've read this sort of thing a lot recently, so it's not just your post or you I'm picking up here, but this doesn't half get on my tits.

De Zerbi was hired because he had a certain style. Bloom has always wanted the men's first team to 'play football' for two reasons. Firstly so that there is a clear 'club identity' style in the lower age groups. This isn't rocket science, Barca and Ajax have done it successfully. Secondly, because good technical players, as opposed to good physical players, go for more money in transfers (this is also why we're hoarding HGPs and goalkeepers, but I digress).

Additionally, you need other types of player to switch to a different style. Everton play how they do because they have pace out wide and a centre forward who, at his best and fittest, can head it in. Sitting back and hitting on the counter at pace make a lot of sense when you have those players. It makes zero sense with a striker who's not that great in the air and players with the pace of Lallana, Gross, Milner, Buonanotte and even Gilmour. We can't just go all pragmatic. That's actually the issue with our recruitment. At its best it equips coaches like De Zerbi with Mitomas and Joao Pedros and coaches like Potter with Caicedos, Bissoumas and Mwepus. At its worse it gives coaches like Hughton players like Locadia and Jahanbaksh.

But if your Caicedos and Bissoumas are sold, your Mitomas and Marches injured, your Gross and Joao Pedros knackered then you're left with a second rate team of technical players with not much pace who are still learning an intricate tactical set up.

Beyond that, he has changed tactics in the last few games. We played totally differently against Man U than we did against Newcastle and Villa. We just didn't take those first half chances.
 


Bold Seagull

strong and stable with me, or...
Mar 18, 2010
29,931
Hove
As we found with Potter, you can play all the different tactics you like, but if you create chances it all comes down to whether you can finish.

This season has been Potter-esque in so many ways, ultimately do you have the quality in your team to score goals.
 


martin tyler

Well-known member
Jan 25, 2013
5,884
We are one of the very few top flight clubs that is actually run properly like a business with the security of the football club at the heart of it. Most clubs in the PL have sponged away money left right and centre with no real structure on what they are doing. Very few other businesses in the world you can post multi million pound losses year on year and be bailed out by oil, Russian or other American consortiums and there vast riches.
We have a plan and that is what any manager has to work with. It seems we have RDZ a little bit of room last summer and it didn’t go well. I suspect Tony would like to get back to what worked for us and get the algorithms working hard again.
On the basis that this impass would be there always this seems the best way to go.

I’ll miss RDZ but we move on and there be someone else willing to take on this role and be our manager with the tools the club provide. There are 6 players 20 and under who are in the top 50 odd rated young players on the planet - there is a great team to work with still and hopefully with less injuries next season we will kick on again
 




Guinness Boy

Tofu eating wokerati
Helpful Moderator
NSC Patron
Jul 23, 2003
34,795
Up and Coming Sunny Portslade
As we found with Potter, you can play all the different tactics you like, but if you create chances it all comes down to whether you can finish.

This season has been Potter-esque in so many ways, ultimately do you have the quality in your team to score goals.
And the quality to set up really good chances improves enormously the chances of us finishing them (even better if your creative players can finish too).

First game of the season against Luton starting line up:

Steele; Milner, Van Hecke, Dunk, Estupinian; Gross, Dahoud; March, Pedro, Mitoma; Welbeck. (against Wolves in the first away, Enciso came in for Pedro, Webster played CB and Gilmouir started in the middle).

We scored 4 in both those games.

Starting line up yesterday:

Steele; Moder, Webster, Igor, Barco; Baleba, Gross; Adingra, Lallana, Pedro; Welbeck.

No goals. Plenty of chances. No 10, full backs and wingers the difference. And it was cover in those areas RDZ wanted IIRC.
 


pigmanovich

Good Old Sausage by the Sea
Mar 16, 2024
353
London
He's available, still lives here and is regularly in contact with the club by all accounts. Unlikely to rock the boat, knows many of the players.

I'm not making a case for it, btw, I think the atmosphere would be toxic and many of our fans still resent him. But I very much doubt that the club are going to appoint another excitable Latino.

History shows this. After Poyet we went for the calming influences of Oscar and Hughton and the 'yes man' of Hyypia. TBF to the club I imagine De Zerbi was absolutely exhausting to deal with - if so the pivot might be necessary for many in the back room.
About what, out of curiosity?
 






Harry Wilson's tackle

Harry Wilson's Tackle
NSC Patron
Oct 8, 2003
51,464
Faversham
As would RDZ have done if any of Liverpool, United or any other top team have wanted him badly enough, maybe even Chelsea too.

There is only one person RDZ genuinely loves imo
Is it.....you? ???

Lucky sod!
 


The Fifth Column

Retired ex-cop
Nov 30, 2010
4,042
Escaped from Corruption
Yes 100%. For all the talk of him being the best ever ( mainly from youngsters who have only seen about 4 managers) his stats in the PL were nothing remarkable. Played 70, won 26 drew 19 lost 25. Goals for 116, against 110. Win percentage of 37% . He took a good team from Potter and gave us one good season with a great 6th place and European qualification, from that point on we had a good first European campaign but a dire PL. Injuries yes we all know about that but ultimately he doesn't want to be here so as far as concerned it's a Seeya from me and we move on.
 


Yes. Nice to see majority on here agree. Amazed at the we want you to stay chants. Nothing against the guy and would have given him a nice clap and thanks, but was a bit shocked at that on the video from post-match.
Yes, I was a little surprised by the "we want you to stay" chant. Suppose it was a friendly thing to do but not sure Bloom and Barber enjoyed it so much! But, we all join in when a chant gets going irrespective of its meaningfulness🤭
 


Eric Youngs Contact Lens

Well-known member
Dec 9, 2020
586
East Sussex
"Yes" is my vote. However, it is also OK to acknowledge that I am very sad not to get another season with (hopefully) a fully fit squad, a few new additions and RDZ having gained a heap of experience too. That said, lets take the public narrative at its face-value - this works for us. It has been increasingly hard to listen to the pre/post-match interviews highlighting the same issues. Bournemouth away was my personal low-point when the players just seemed so flat. And maybe the narrative for the interviews was different to the changing room, but I imagine it was tough to hear how the players on the pitch were essentially not ready, not good enough yet, even with those caveated with "but will be very important player". All true, but hard to listen to, and difficult to work around when you add in the noise about other clubs etc.
Sometimes you have to leave the one you love because you don't want kids and they do!
 




peterward

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Nov 11, 2009
11,525
He made numerous mistakes imho, the set up away in Rome being a major one, some of his personal signings have also been pricey flops.

But his passion, his honesty and his total obssession with football, I loved..... it felt like a journey where he was improving and pulling the club up by improving our mentality and where we set our ceilings.

I think its a shame hes gone, I've loved his passion and his footballing philosopy. I also liked his coaching team too
 




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