martin1905

Is there? Who are they and what are they saying? I'm curious as I must have missed all these people coming out after the last couple of games and I'm really intrigued as to what they are saying.

The injury list is savage. Not just the number of players that have missed large parts of the season the biggest thing for me is that James, Fofana and Chilwell would have almost certainly started the vast majority of games if they had been fit. That's 3 of your first choice back 4 out for pretty much the entire season. No squad in the world would cope with that. Liverpool went from 99 points to 69 the season they lost Van Dijk and Matip to injury then back to 92 the following year. So 3 of your first choice back 4 out for the whole season plus your superstar signing and a player that would have made a huge difference to us. I don't think some realise just how good Nkunku is and how much of a loss he has been. That's 4 of your 10 outfield players that all would have been first choice in their positions out for pretty much the whole year. Below is a list of players that have missed 10+ league games for us this season. Fofana 34 Lavia 31 Nkunku 27 James 26 Chalobah 23 Chukwuemeka 23 Chilwell 21 Ugochukwu 21 Colwill 14 Badiashille 13 Bizarrely enough if we win our last 4 , very winnable games, we will end up on 63 points and quite possibly 6th which I think most would have accepted that at the start of the season. Just imagine how much of a difference a fully fit squad would have made......

That's very much how I saw it too. Ironically the last couple of performances might not actually help him, its very easy to say we are seeing progress but the counter argument to that is last night and Villa is what some may have been expecting all season so, in that respect its been a massive failure.

Quality performance all round, from everyone involved. Special mention to Cucurella who was outstanding and has been quietly very good since he came back from his injury, he has certainly done enough to mean we don't have to worry about getting a left back in the summer. Madueke is really growing on me. I think he could become a bit special, very different to anyone else we've got and I'd imagine he's horrible to play against. He's got a really good understanding with Palmer, which will only grow and with Reece James at right back our right hand side will be frightening. If Nkunku ever gets fit with Palmer and Madueke we have a very handy trio, all very different from one another and all capable of scoring goals at a pretty good rate.

Behave? It's not about whether or not we would have progressed under RDM, he should never have been given the contract extension in the first place, it's about who we replaced him with and how it was done. You do not sack a Chelsea legend, less than 6 months after winning the Champions league for the first time in your history and replace him with that man. Trust me, the vast majority of match day fans felt exactly the same and literally all the away fans, there were games when we would spend an hour singing 'we don't care about Rafa' . This isn't a difference of opinion on a forum between a couple of random people, the Chelsea fan base, as a whole absolutely hated Benitez and he should never have even been considered.

Imagine sacking a legend who had just won you the champions league and replacing him with a man that called us fans plastic. He was constantly having digs at us when he was at Liverpool and that rivalry was probably the most fierce I have ever experienced. It's easy to sit at home wondering why, not a dig at you at all by the way, I have no idea if you do or don't go to games, but to be there at the time, it wasn't just one or two it was almost the entire fan base at games. It was pure hatred, and rightly so.

Depends what your looking for in a manager I suppose. I want someone that is going to tear into the players when they aren't playing well or doing what they are told, someone that's gonna to drill them to death on the training ground and make thier lives living hell if they don't get it right. I want someone to install a winning mentality into them. I want someone that's gonna bang heads with the board when they don't agree with something. That's not going to accept going into the season with no strikers and a bunch of kids, who's not going to allow our club captain to be sold and who will never accept mediocrity. We don't need the Jose of 20 years ago we need the more mature, more experienced man that can help to build the foundations of a football club and use his past 20 years experience to help not only the players but those at board level too. I don't care if he upsets people in today's 'modern game' that he has apparently outgrown, I absolutely want him to be upsetting people from the players, the board, the owners, the FA, everyone. The state we are in it is EXACTLY what we need.

Never have questioned his ability as a coach. Completely irrelevant.

Of course there is and the fact you mention him in the same breath as Benitez tells you why.

Couple of things Paul, firstly not sure if you remember but I said months ago I had been told by the most reliable man I know Pochettino was gone this summer and he said he thought it would be Jose. Now make of that what you will and it has no relation to the podcast but possibly makes me see, or hear, things differently as maybe I'm looking for things, that maybe aren't even there. Anyway, it was just everything he said especially about himself as a player, coach, manager, mentor, man. It's almost like he was briefed by the club to say exactly what this group of players need and he just happened to be THE man that is needed, now obviously I know that hasn't happend, it's just coincidence, isn't it? Also how highly he spoke about Jose and the club in general. I can imagine, as he is employed by the club he would have had to run it by them and maybe even get their blessing to release the podcast. He spoke about how much he learnt from working with Dean Smith and his time at Villa. He spoke about his journey into management and how he wanted to learn his trade. You've got arguably the best possible mentor for this group of players, who clearly wants to get back into coaching, into management speaking so highly of a man who is an absolute legend here, the biggest mentor to JT and currently available. Someone absolutely no doubt he would love to work with and learn from. It was nothing specific and as I said in another thread about how important timing can be in life, by that I meant the actual timing of the podcast being released and what was said. Also more and more murmurings about Pochettino not being here past the summer. It's all about the timing. Its not the greatest timing for the current manager and it just all points to one thing for me........

After listening to the whole JT podcast with Simon Jordan I am now in no doubt as to what I want and what I think will happen. Jose back, JT as his assistant with him eventually taking over.

Timing, not just in football but in life, can be everything. Maybe I read too much into what he was saying but, after listening to the whole thing I have no doubt, Jose will be back in the summer with JT as his assistant with the view of him taking over.

They were top after 10 games on 26 points. 34 points in thier next 23 games. 1.48ppg. Us this season. 1.45ppg. They had a tremendous start and whether it was teams working them out, injuries, squad depth, whatever the fact is that they have been a mid table team for all of this season, apart from those first 10 games.

Be interesting to see just how far they fall as relegation certainly looms. Will they do a Leicester and bounce straight back or be confined to the wilderness like many a, much bigger club, over the years? No doubt they will look back in their history and be proud that they built a good foundation, got the right man in to take them to the next level but wonder where it all went wrong. There's only so many times you can sell your best players for top end money and hope to replace them on the cheap. It's finally caught up with them. I wonder if they will sit back and think, just imagine if we had kept that team that came 6th, the highest league finish in the clubs history. Just imagine they had added to that squad and given the manager what he needed to push on even further instead of lining up with a team that consists of two players from the previous season. A season which ended with them amassing the most amount of points ever, finishing higher than they ever had before and competing in Europe for the first time in the clubs existence. More likely, judging by the far more knowledgeable people on here that don't even watch them, just look at their results so have a far better understanding of Brighton this season as even when someone watches all their games and outlines all the reasons why it's gone so wrong, clearly they know more and anyone that can't see it's the managers fault just doesn’t have any understanding of football. It really is , a funny old game.

Personally I'd like to see what he can do in a well organised, well coached, disciplined team with a clear game plan. When your playing in a team that can't do the very basics right, when you are told to just go out there and play with zero tactics, no clear instructions and your as inexperienced as Mudryk I think it's only natural to struggle. Like all the players here I won't judge them until we get a manager that does the most basic things right and if he still performs the way he has then yeah, get rid but until then I will wait to pass judgement.

I would say 90%+ of the fan base now want the current man gone. I've been caught up in debates all season on this subject, from very early on when I called Pochettino to go to debating the merits of De Zerbi. Thing is apparently I'm a 'De Zerbi fan boy' and a 'De Zerbi hipster' and even though I watch all their games I don't pay attention or maybe it's because I dont have a basic understanding of football and just don't get it. Is Roberto De Zerbi my first choice? Absolutely not. Of all the available managers that would be Jurgen Klopp, but that's just not happening. Second choice would be Tuchel. Third Jose. Realistically though neither of those are happening for different reasons hence why I think we should go for De Zerbi. I'm curious who others would want. I think a lot, most would put Tuchel or Jose but if we assume neither of those are possible, who would people like to see here next season?

Finally we agree on something. I'll stop now, as you just don't get it and clearly don't even watch them, let alone pay attention, it's blinding obvious to anyone with any understanding of football but that's probably your problem.

Right, so three new signings, you said 5 or 6, I didn't include the keeper, never would with this type of debate, but if it helps you prove a point crack on. I've never once lauded their recruitment, not once, its a completely different subject that i have never engaged in. The undeniable facts are that with last seasons team the man took Brighton to 6th place in the league, the highest finish in their history. With this team, they are in relegation form. Now you can blame the manager for that but you seem to be putting it on the club at the same time, as you say someone thought these new players were good enough and the way you describe the club and the data savvy businessmen involed I assume you are alluding to it being them that do the recruitment and not the manager?

I'd be more worried about your man Poch if I was you, lacked soul and motivation is something that could have been said about us many, many times this season. The players haven't downed tools, they are shit. The team he has had for most of this season just isn't a premier league team and they will probably be relegated in the next couple of years. The club has destroyed itself and will pay the price. Be honest with yourself, how many of those players that started yesterday, and that line up isn't a one off, have you even heard of? 2 players that played for him last season, 2!!!!!!!!! I don't even care if people don't want him here, I really don't, what I struggle with is those knocking him seem to be the same making every excuse under the sun for Pochettino. At least be fair and consistent.

You are aware of how many first team players are injured aren't you? Why aren't I paying attention, old wise one, please enlighten me with your wisdom? And yesterday there was 3 new signings in the line up by the way, maybe you should be the one paying more attention. Not sure what anything you have said has to do with the manager, really poorly run club by the sounds of it. They will be fighting relegation next year yet finished on 62 points last. Clearly down to the manager.

Two players in the side that would have started last season. Two. Out of eleven. All the excuses made for Pochettino, and ironically its the same people slating De Zerbi. It's a funny old game.

Guarantee you didn't watch it as this assumption is ridiculous Actually looks like this.......

It's really simple to sort out too. VAR : 'Did you see what Badiashille did in the build up'. Ref : 'Yep, saw it clearly and no issue as far as I'm concerned'. VAR : 'OK, the goal stands'. 10 seconds of dialogue, the game doesn't need to be stopped.

Let's hope not. Really don't want the Conference league.

Sounds good on paper but Burnley, Sheffield United, Arsenal, United and Brentford are some of the worst performances in living memory.