[Albion] Fabian Hurzeler: IN or OUT

[DJ NOBO]

We must be looking at different stats.

We have lost the second highest number of minutes through injury behind Arsenal in the Premier League in the current season.

Presently:

View attachment 200265

Veltman, Kadioglu or Lamptey would be right back. Webster or Igor would be ahead of Dunk. Rutter would be playing. Mitoma/March would be starting. Steele is very possible to have played ahead of out of form Verbruggen. Kadioglu or Igor are very likely to have rotated with a tired Estupinan for minutes. Milner definitely would’ve had minutes in central midfield, where he started the season.

Throughout the season we’ve had injuries to almost all of our starters.

I’m not disputing we’ve had the most injury days, not disputing it’s been a factor.
But Van Hecke, Mitoma, Baleba, Bart Have been available nearly all season. Arguably our most important players going into the season. Also Minteh, Welbeck.
Plus there is depth in the squad to absorb the injuries, to an extent (not at right back, I accept).
It’s not like he’s had to load the first team with kids.
I’ve seen enough of him now to think he’d have underachieved even without injuries.
Tactically, he’s inexperienced for this level and it shows.

 

[BN41Albion]

In, because it's his first season and mid table isn't a bad finish at all, despite a very poor end to the season (seemingly - unless we miraculously turn our form around), and I hate the impatient culture we live in now - managers deserve at least a season and start of next season unless it's an absolute disaster imo.

Definitely have questions, though - mad that we can go 6 wins on the trot, a solid draw at the Etihad, and then after an unlucky(ish) loss in the Cup suddenly we look terrible for the most part

 

[Weststander]

I’m not disputing we’ve had the most injury days, not disputing it’s been a factor.
But Van Hecke, Mitoma, Baleba, Bart Have been available nearly all season. Arguably our most important players going into the season. Also Minteh, Welbeck.
Plus there is depth in the squad to absorb the injuries, to an extent .
It’s not like he’s had to load the first team with kids.
I’ve seen enough of him now to think he’d have underachieved even without injuries.

Verbruggen has the worst PL stats.
We only have 2 decent CB’s with pace.
No Veltman, no party.

 

[Flounce]

You know what, I kinda agree.

But then I remember I became pretty vehemently Potter OUT on similar threads after piss awful runs.

He did turn that around and when he left, we were playing some wonderful stuff.

Fab is underachieving with this squad, results and performances are currently poor, im not sure he has the ability, but we have been here before, and as an emotional fan I'm often wrong!

In TB I trust.

If he bins off FH I wouldn't lose a minutes sleep or be upset.

If he doesn't, I'll trust his call and hope FH does have the required nous to turn it around?

I never voted GP out because it was blindingly obvious what he was trying to do. FH talks the talk but seldom walks the walk and recently he appears to be totally clueless from the way his team plays. Can anyone give me a single incidence from our recent games that instills a feeling of “this guy knows what he’s doing”?

 

[boik]

Explain this to me: we are in a very similar league position to RDZ last season, albeit without Europe to contend with. We were penalty kicks away from a Wembley trip, and our injury problems are as bad or worse than last season.

Brentford are still below us in the table, with an established, popular manager, who has been there for a number of seasons and never made Europe. Their highest ever finish is 9th.

Whilst they have a lower wage bill, they have suffered 12 total injuries compared to our 22.

Why do people want the manager out, when ours is outperforming much more established media darlings?

Same with Iraola. People creaming their pants over him, but he's hardly got his team 20 points above us, has he?

 

[jcdenton08]

And you’d expect us to put a result together against teams who have accrued fewer points. Or are you of the belief that we only fulfill our potential against better teams?

I’m of the belief, based on statistics, that ever since Potter our record against teams below us in the table, particularly those at the bottom of the table, is poor. This in my view is because we have struggled under three successive managers to play against a low block, and due to a consistent lack of pace in our back line are very susceptible to a counter attack.

When more ambitious teams come out and play, particularly top teams (or “big” teams which underestimate us) we have gotten some excellent results.

Our M.O is to turn up to the games against higher reputation teams, then struggle against lower ones.

If we were able to do both, we would be in a title challenge. But we aren’t able to, because our players aren’t as good as the top teams or consistent enough to do it week after week.

Like I said to someone before when they made this point, would you rather trade our wins against Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Spurs et al for wins against Leicester, Southampton, Ipswich?

Winning all the matches is for top teams, which we will likely never be, seeing as Manchester City are spending £222m in wages to attract the best, most consistent footballers and we are spending £56m.

 

[birthofanorange]

Fully 'In'. *

*To be revisited at the end of next season.

 

[jcdenton08]

The players’ attitude and keeping them fit is very much the head coach’s responsibility.

In which case we’ve hired three duff head coaches in a row, because going back to Potter our injury record season on season is consistently one of the worst in the division.

 

[Djmiles]

Biggest spenders in world football? Barely making top half? Out from me.

 

[boik]

Verbruggen has the worst PL stats.
We only have 2 decent CB’s with pace.
No Veltman, no party.

ALL of our problems are with the defence. Too slow to defend, too slow to start attacks. If we don't seriously address this in the summer then we are going nowhere, whoever is in charge.

 

[bognor gull]

The guy should have a good idea of how to set up a team that he has been in charge of for a fair time now. But he hasn’t
I say out

 

[The Fits]

Same with Iraola. People creaming their pants over him, but he's hardly got his team 20 points above us, has he?

It’s quite simple. It’s about having some kind of identity.
That is why Kompany is at BM.
Iraola clearly has a style of play. Fab does not. I’m not going to talk for the thousands of other people on here but I’m sure that’s what most people are concerned about. No neutrals, no other chairman, nobody else, is looking at Fab’s Brighton and thinking ‘oh I really like what he’s trying to do there’.

 

[Mancgull]

You know what, I kinda agree.

But then I remember I became pretty vehemently Potter OUT on similar threads after piss awful runs.

He did turn that around and when he left, we were playing some wonderful stuff.

Fab is underachieving with this squad, results and performances are currently poor, im not sure he has the ability, but we have been here before, and as an emotional fan I'm often wrong!

In TB I trust.

If he bins off FH I wouldn't lose a minutes sleep or be upset.

If he doesn't, I'll trust his call and hope FH does have the required nous to turn it around?

Completely right. It’s just my opinion and I trust TB to do the right thing, one way or another.
Thankfully he’s not very emotional and will analyse things but he must be starting to ask a few questions to himself and FH.

 

[DJ NOBO]

Verbruggen has the worst PL stats.
We only have 2 decent CB’s with pace.
No Veltman, no party.

Bart hasn’t come on as much we hoped this season but he’s still clearly our number one and luckily for Fab has been available all season.
As well as injuries (to an extent) Where Fab has been unlucky is the lack of recruitment in defence in the summer. Recruitment was fun last summer, but looked scattergun at the time and even worse now.
These are not unusual problems for a Manager to Have to overcome though.
He’s just been overpromoted.
That is the fundamental problem.
I was thinking review in the autumn but that was before today.

 

[oldboyroy]

Fence now for me. I don't want him out but we aren't getting the reaction from poor performances now whereas we did after Forest.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

Fence.

The squad, no surprise to many here, clearly lacks quality defenders with pace.

A criticism you could make is that our tactics haven’t been altered to compensate for the Dad’s Army defence. Wasn’t the previous Albion manager attacked on here for only having one plan?

Out for me but probably for the same reason you're fence. Our defence is completely incapable of playing the high line - they just don't have the speed. Why Fab keeps picking Dunk is beyond me - especially after his farcical performance against Leicester. The team don't appear to have the mental capacity to shut down a game we're leading in and the tactics seem all over the place - both those issues are down to the manager. Keep him until the end of this season as we're safe already but then time to get get rid.

 

[Weststander]

The guy should have a good idea of how to set up a team that he has been in charge of for a fair time now. But he hasn’t
I say out

Isn’t that the problem? The identity is everyone camped in the opposition half, playing Potterball looking for the perfect opening. Leaving the slowest PL defence covering a completely empty half pitch.

 

[The Fits]

Fab and the recruitment team will need to have very stern talks this summer if he is still here.
They simply MUST get the players in he wants. Because right now the current batch don’t really seem to understand what he’s doing and don’t seem to respond to him- the first ten of both halves today were utterly embarrassing and it’s almost like the players have to forget his instructions and try and work it out for himself.
Questions do need to be asked about Weir et al.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

West Ham are awful though

So are Leicester .... oh

 

[Jimmy Grimble]

If it’s injuries you adapt. If it’s Dunk, you drop him. Quite clearly pre and post the good run the common dominator is Dunk.
So try something else!?
Supposedly he’s a tactical genius. Supposedly he developed an innovative formation at St Pauli. So bloody try it. Earn your salt. Show us your style and class, your bravery, the things you are asking us to believe in.
You can’t just blame it on injuries or Dunk.
Play this:

Wieffer JPVH Baleba
March Hinsh Gomez Pervis
Minteh Welbeck JP

Players are all comfortable moving about in those roles- we’ve done it under Potter and RDZ- that was the whole bloody point- fluid positions, fluid football.
Just try something to avoid the inevitable.

I don’t disagree, but just as much as Dunk being the common denominator is when we play without Rutter. FH’s system is heavily reliant on the role he plays, without him the lack of identity is even more noticeable.