Which manager were you sorriest to see leave the Albion?

[Ernest]

Jimmy Melia

 

[Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!]

If that's the crash at Shoreham (any details anyone?), then I had heard of it, but not of Pat Saward's demise. Did he leave football after his sacking? I remember avidly looking forward each week to his "Albion Off Pat" column .

Keith Wickenden was killed in 1983, a few months after the cup final. No idea about PS's career post-Brighton,

 

[fosters headband]

It appears that Pat Saward never had a managers job after the Albion or any other footballing role.

 

[Stumpy Tim]

I'm a firm believer that every manager has a shelf life, apart from the truly exceptional ones like Wenger, Ferguson etc. Horton, Gritt, Lloyd, & Brady weren't going to take us any further than they did. McGhee did a great job for us, but his time had come. Adams left the first time at the right time (and should never have returned). Only Taylor and Coppell left before their shelf life had been reached. Both were good blokes & both were great managers

 

[Nottseagull]

It appears that Pat Saward never had a managers job after the Albion or any other footballing role.

That's a shame - I'd have thought at least a good local non-League club would have snapped him up. RIP Pat Saward - another of my boyhood heroes gone.

 

[BensGrandad]

Keith Wickenden was killed in 1983, a few months after the cup final. No idea about PS's career post-Brighton,

I read somewhere that he was the main business brain behind the Albion and kept the other directors mainly Mike Bamber in check and stopped them going overboard with their ego and fantasy ideas.

 

[Frutos]

Coppell

 

[Bish Bosh]

On a personal level it was Freddie Goodwin. A good manager who would have got us promoted in the early 70s and stood a better chance of keeping us up. In the 'Few Good Men' book, Sully in his chapter claims that Pat Saward "lost the plot", after promotion in 1972 which led to the most catastrophic season I ever saw in 72/3. Shame because as others have said Pat was a good guy.

More recently McGhee. We've needed more stabiity over the last few years as we prepare for Falmer. Mark McGhee at that stage of his career would have been in it for the long haul.

All gone rather pear shaped since 2006 hasn't it?

 

[Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!]

I read somewhere that he was the main business brain behind the Albion and kept the other directors mainly Mike Bamber in check and stopped them going overboard with their ego and fantasy ideas.

Astute was a good description of Keith Wickenden imo. Probably best to leave all the Mike Bamber stuff buried though.

 

[Brovion]

My top five in order:

Steve Coppel
Dean Wilkins
Freddie Goodwin
Chris Cattlin
Mark McGhee

Actually I've been sad when most of them have left as it's usually been a result of failure and it's been a 'more in sorrow than in anger' goodbye.

I wasn't TOO upset to see the back of Brian Clough (who we all knew was just using us) and in recent years Brian Horton, Jimmy Case or Liam Brady. And of course when Hinshlewood and Jeff Wood were sacked I was definitely pleased.

 

[Trigger]

Steve Coppell.

 

[Perry Milkins]

Allow me this rare opportunity to disagree with you!

I thought bailey, great player though he was, a one trick pony as manager. Sure we pulled off some fine away wins and the cavalier Albion became a dour side that defended in depth and hit teams on the break to get one goal wins.

For a season that was great, winning at Spurs, Anfield, winning at saints when they could have gone top of the league. But then teams sussed us. Going away was awfull because it would be dour until we let in a goal then it was game over as we had nothing to come back with. I also remember losing 4-1 to an awfull Notts County team.

He did little on leaving us. Strange because he was a bucaneering midfielder with Wolves.

And I will disagree with you and agree with the previous poster. Bailey built a fine flair team at Charlton and he was building the same framework at the Albion but was hit by the axe of Bamber who listened to the 'moaning brigade' from the Chicken Run and the West stand.

He went out of his way to make it claer that he was building a team from the future with dour defensive football on the notion that when that was in place we would have a foundation to cement our position in Divsion One and look to challenge for Europe.

I still remember the 'old gits' around me blabbling on about Pat Saward, Goodwin and Archie Macauley. It gets me really angry to think what might have been.

 

[El Presidente]

Brian Clough, he was streets ahead of anyone else in the country, but his ego got the better of him when dirty Leeds came a calling, which was understandable but a tragedy for us.

 

[jcdenton08]

Steve Coppell, Micky Adams first time around, then Peter Taylor, then Dean Wilkins in that order

 

[Perry Milkins]

I don't disagree with your analysis of Bailey's general tactics but (unless my memory's completely shot) that was the reason he was sacked wasn't it, rather than our league position at the time?
My point is that his sacking is (to me) the first obvious stage in the club's decline to Tongdean Lane. I'm not even saying he shouldn't have been removed, just that what has taken place over the following 26 years may have been avoided had the club taken some different decisions in 1982. This includes not putting a clown in charge of the team, but then we probably wouldn't have reached the cup final.

There are many who hold a strong view that a chimpanzee could have been in charge and we would still have reached the final but got relegated. The senior players were alledgedly in charge.
Melia is the single most embarrasing managerial appointment.

 

[jcdenton08]

or maybe STEVE GRITT. deserved a bloody big lump sum cash payout just for saving us. the greatest ever Albion manager?

 

[Perry Milkins]

In some ways it is difficult to disagree with that.

 

[Alex Alex Dawson oo! oo!]

There are many who hold a strong view that a chimpanzee could have been in charge and we would still have reached the final but got relegated. The senior players were alledgedly in charge.
Melia is the single most embarrasing managerial appointment.

Quite. Had we not had a clown/chimp in charge then we may not have been relegated - sod the cup final.
Short term populism's rarely (if ever) a basis for good business decisions imo.

 

[Icy Gull]

Quite. Had we not had a clown/chimp in charge then we may not have been relegated - sod the cup final.
Short term populism's rarely (if ever) a basis for good business decisions imo.

I agree, Melia was an embarrasment but while he was our figurehead (white shoes and all) for one of our greatest days, the rest of the country was laughing at him not with him.