Gus has made no secret of the fact that he wants to manage in the Premier League – hopefully with Brighton and Hove Albion, but if not without us – and less than a week after Manchester City clinched the title on a damatic last day of the season it already looks like being a summer of huge manager upheaval in the top flight. Given the fantastic job he has done so far for the Albion, it’s not surprising to see him figuring in the betting for the three jobs already available and he will surely be on the shortlists of the other two that could potentially come up. So what are the chances of him departing The Amex this summer? Here’s what we think
Liverpool – 33/1 Sky Bet
Spending over £100m and having just a Carling Cup following a draw with Cardiff was a shocking return despite what Liverpool fans think of King Kenny. If the Reds are seriously expecting to challenge for the Champions League then a man whose highest league finish is 10th in the Championship surely won’t register in FSG’s thoughts and being one of the most famous clubs in the world, rich with history and with a supportive backing from the owners, they can expect to attract some of the best managers around to apply for the post. Luis the Racist would probably be happy to see him rock up however
Aston Villa – 25/1 Paddy Power
A more realistic option would appear to be taking the Villa Park hotseat. Gus is seventh favourite for a role that chairman Randy Lerner has said needs to create good, attacking football. He certainly fits into the good football part, although one shot a game away from home really isn’t attacking. Whether he is a big enough name is the question given the fact that since Martin O’Neil’s departure the Holte End haven’t exactly been happy with the following two appointments and Villa need to get this right. The pressure they have put on their managers as well leads to questions such as would Gus be able to cope with it following his “I go play golf” and the post-Watford boos reaction and the likelihood is that strong favourite Paul Lambert will end up taking the job following his miracle work at Norwich
West Bromich Albion – 14/1 Paddy Power
Woy Hodgson’s elevation to the England job has left a vacancy at the Hawthorns and Gus is the sixth favourite to swap one Albion for another. This is a much more realistic proposition than the above two as thanks to Woy’s work, West Brom are now an established Premier League side who play decent football. A mid table side in the top flight is probably about as good as Gus can hope to get at the minute and a solid club like the Baggies is one he could go to for a few years, progress and then move onto a bigger job such as at his beloved Chelsea or Spurs. While a number of Albion (that’s us, not them) fans have said it wouldn’t be a step up, the fact that West Brom have been a pretty regular feature in the top flight for a decade now suggests otherwise. Chris Hughton remains the overwhelming favourite for the great job he has done at both Newcastle and Birmingham
Then of course, there are two more managerial vacancies that could come up very shortly once the merry-go-round gets into full swing:
Wigan Athletic
How much longer can Dave Whelan hold onto Roberto Martinez? Wigan continue to defy the odds to stay in the Premier League, including that eye-catching run of form at the end of the season. Wanted by both Liverpool and Villa, he has shown remarkable loyalty but surely soon will have to move on. People may see Wigan as a small club, but it could be a perfect fit for Gus. They already have a team that play the Poyet-way and so far his career has followed nearly an identical path to Martinez – take over a struggling League One side, turn them into champions playing eye-catching football and then nearly make the play-offs in their first season in the Championship. Just like Tony Bloom, Whelan is a chairman who will support his manager no matter what. A move to the DW Stadium could be the next step on the managerial ladder Gus needs. Let’s hope Martinez doesn’t decide to leave
Norwich City
With Paul Lambert the hot favourite to make the move to Villa Park, it will mean the Norwich job becoming available. The Canaries have a history of raiding us for hot talent with Andrew Crofts and Elliott Bennett making the move to inbred country in the past two summers, and Poyet would surely feature highly on their list and transfer policy of recruiting the bast talent from the lower leagues. He’d have to avoid second season syndrome after a frankly astonishing campaign this time around and with Norwich’s strict £15,000 wage limit it remains to be seen whether Gus would be able to cope with that given his constant ramblings about the lack of budget he has when at Carrow Road he would have probably the smallest in the Premier League. Still, make a success of keeping them in the Premier League and it is another step on the way to a big job .
Expect to see this headline on the Official site at some point this summer, if the media is to be believed.
We’re not sure we can be bothered to report every bit of speculation on here (it’s going to be a LONG summer on that front), but as the Daily Mail goes as far as saying “Gus Poyet is on the verge of quitting Brighton” we thought it would be rude not to. However, the article in question does go on to be a lot more vague, suggesting Gus will end up at one of West Brom, Villa, or, er, newly relegated Wolves.
Is it likely? Well, we wouldn’t rule out the possibility of the Gus Bus moving on to one of the first two clubs.
Is it a disaster? Not necessarily. We’d rather he didn’t leave, but if Gus wants to further his career then so be it – there’s life after him here, with season ticket sales already up on last year following the planning approval of an extra tier to the East Stand, and Albion having just celebrated their best finish in donkey’s years. With Tony Bloom’s millions on board as well, there’s sure to be a lot of highly regarded and upcoming managers who fancy the gig. So at this stage, we’re not too worried.
Anyway, when as the Daily Mail ever been right about anything?
Following Brighton and Hove Albion’s, erm, excellent conduct on the last two pre-season trips to Portugal it was hardly surprising to hear that Gus Poyet would be taking his side to pastures new this summer – with the destination being Jerez in Spain between July 22nd-29th.
A summer trip combining sun, beer, the Albion and with the pound as good against the Euro currently as it has been since 2008 is sure to attract a lot of fans going. And if you are wondering what to expect from the city, then look no further.
Danny Last, supplier of some cracking photos this season on the WeAreBrighton.com Images Page, went to watch local side Xerez CD take on Nastic in the Spanish second division back in September of last year. And here are some of the photos that he acquired of the town and Estadio Municipal de Chapín, the cities stadium
We may of course not end up playing Xerez or indeed in the city at all as the club are yet to announce the match schedule and, if we do, it will only be a pre-season friendly. But we like the look of all the typical European paraphernalia of banners, real ultras and what looks like a million toilet rolls being launched into the air.
And if you are planning on making the trip, why not check out exactly what Danny thought of it at his excellent European Football Weekends website
Want to get your hands on a signed Vicente shirt among a load of other great prizes? Well, here’s how you can do it
The eleventh annual Robert Eaton Memorial Fund match between Brighton and Hove Albion supporters and Crystal Palace supporters takes place on Friday 11th May at Lewes FC’s home of the Dripping Pan (best named stadium in football). As part of the fund raising, there is an on-line raffle taking place with the chance to win:
Vicente’s signed shirt from the Watford home game
Platinum Amex matchday experience with three course meal and lots of booze
A pair of Adam El-Abd’s signed boots
A signed Michel Kuipers Albion goalkeepers kit
A pair of boots signed by Peter Ward
A pair of Boundary Room tickets for a Sussex CCC game of your choice
A print of the Fans Mosaic signed by Peter Ward, Gordon Greer, Craig Mackail-Smith, Ashley Barnes and Kazenga LuaLua
To enter, all you need to do is go to theand make a donation of £5. For every £5 you give, you receive one virtual raffle ticket for the draw which will be made at midday on the day of the game. Remember to leave your name and contact details so that should you become the lucky owner of Vicente’s shirt or any of the other great prizes you are contactable.
And for those with nothing better to do on Friday night, why not pop along to the Dripping Pan for the game itself? £5 to get in, Gully’s Girls will be there, beer on a terrace, helping a great charity and the chance to see Albion greats such as Peter Ward, Ricky Marlowe and Paul Rogers pull on the stripes again. What’s more, the Seagull’s manager has promised to play with TWO wingers – and lets be honest, it can’t be any worse than when the real Brighton and Hove Albion hosted Crystal Palace back in September.
So, the first #BHAFC Twitter exclusive of the summer breaks, and it’s arguably the surprising story that Alan Navarro is not being offered a new deal.
Sad news this, although it does sound as though he might be invited back depending who we get in during the summer. Navarro’s shown great determination to recover from an awful injury, and to prove himself as a more than capable midfielder in The Championship is testament to his fighting character. You only have to look at his impressive performance against title winners Reading to see that he can certainly ‘do a job’.
Ultimately, he’s very unfortunate that his contract is up at a time when we’ve got a lot of midfielders in the squad, and the likes of Jake Forster-Caskey coming through. Navarro’s performed much better over the course of the season than the likes of Harley, Dicker and Sparrow, so it seems a shame to see him go, but presumably Gus will be looking for much more powerful and quicker midfield next year. In addition, perhaps he’s quite confident of keeping other central midfielders at the club, player of the season Liam Bridcutt, and some Spanish bloke called Vicente….
We could devote this page entirely to clips of the first game to be honest, but we’ve narrowed it down to this selection of clips to sum up an outstanding first season at The Amex, back in the Championship. Apologies if yours has been missed. What a year!
No, don’t be silly, of course we’re not going to do a match report. Well done Andy Naylor anyway for somehow devoting 5 pages to such a tedious, dire game.
It’s the last game of a memorable Brighton and Hove Albion season as we make the long journey to Barnsley. Despite already having secured our highest finish in over 20 years, being mathematically out of the race for the play-offs and our opponents being safe from relegation, it’s still all to play for as an Albion victory coupled with defeat for Hull alongside a four goal swing would see us finish 8th. Deafeat and other results going against us and we could end up in 11th, while for the Tykes a win could lift them up to 18th. No excuses not to be making the trip to Oakwell then to cheer the team on – and for perhaps one last chance to see Vicente in the stripes.
As if you didn’t need a reason to go, then listening to THIS before the teams come out should be enough to get anyone up that M1 Read the rest of this entry »
Gus has made no secret of the fact that he wants to manage in the Premier League – hopefully with Brighton and Hove Albion, but if not without us – and less than a week after Manchester City clinched the title on a damatic last day of the season it already looks like being a summer of huge manager upheaval in the top flight. Given the fantastic job he has done so far for the Albion, it’s not surprising to see him figuring in the betting for the three jobs already available and he will surely be on the shortlists of the other two that could potentially come up. So what are the chances of him departing The Amex this summer? Here’s what we think
