Positivity of De Zerbi can push Brighton to greater heights in 2024

I went to watch The Streets at Alexandra Palace earlier this year, and I have to say it was brilliant. In fact, Mike Skinner declared on stage towards the end of the gig that it was one of, if not the, best Streets show ever.

Of course, he would say that in the heat of moment. And being a big fan of The Streets myself, of course I would agree.

In fact, if Mike Skinner had gone on stage and made fart noises into the microphone for the majority of the night whilst the rest of the band played backing tracks, then I probably would have enjoyed that too. Then again, he doesn’t tend to play many tracks from his third album these days…

Afterwards, in the midst of a Mike Skinner fanboy frenzy, I discovered a side project of his that he had undertaken during the band’s hiatus called ‘D.O.T’, including their album Diary.

After listening to and enjoying Diary – particularly the single Blood, Sweat and Tears – I subsequently read a scathing 1.5-star review from the NME.

They described the album as “easily the worst thing Skinner has ever released” and the aforementioned track as “borderline unlistenable.”

I wasn’t too surprised. I’ve been well aware of my blind spot for certain artists. For example, I will gleefully listen to anything by Oasis or from the Gallagher brothers’ respective solo careers and tell anyone who will listen to me that their latest album is an instant classic (that said, Noel Gallagher’s most recent album was very good).

And whilst I accept that their much-maligned third album Be Here Now wasn’t a masterpiece, I will defend songs like Don’t Go Away and Stand By Me as some of the best that Noel Gallagher has ever written.

This attitude is the same as many of us have towards Brighton & Hove Albion and those who represent it. Dick Knight was a faultless club saviour; Tony Bloom is a peerless genius and Lewis Dunk is the reincarnation of Bobby Moore.

And it is a characteristic that can be to the point where we are often unable to see fault in those who represent our club.

If our great leader Dunk does anything stupid – as he did against Nottingham Forest recently by receiving a straight red card for foul and abusive language towards the referee, just seconds after receiving a yellow card for dissent – you won’t see many queuing up to give him criticism.

Or how about Roberto De Zerbi and his constant switching of personnel (particularly goalkeeper rotation) this season, which has coincided with Albion’s terrible defensive record?

Little has been made of De Zerbi setting a club record run for longest spell without a clean sheet in the league leading up to a first belated shutout for 25 games in the 0-0 draw with West Ham United. A characteristic many are willing to defend and accept without much question.

In some senses, both Dunk and De Zerbi have plenty of credit in the bank and have earned the odd moment of madness or the occasional mistake.

And to pick on and criticise every error or lapse in judgement puts us at risk of becoming overly reactionary.

I have noticed in particular this past year the increasing attitude of nostalgically building up past players to almost unsurpassable levels that present day players will never match.

Look at one of Brighton’s key targets last summer and former loanee, Levi Colwill. He had played for Brighton in the Premier League just five times by the end of 2022.

By the close of the 2022-23 season and his return to Chelsea, he had 13 Premier League starts under his belt and was one of the highest regarded members of the squad.

Colwill is a player for whom timing and recency bias has been crucial for his reputation; something we are seeing with him back at Stamford Bridge in a Chelsea side struggling in mid table.

Then there is Alexis Mac Allister. If we are honest, he is a player a lot of Albion fans were unconvinced by initially.

It wasn’t until three years after he joined the club that he really cemented a place in the starting XI and showed the type of performances that led for Liverpool to come calling.

Both are good examples of the model that Brighton have in terms of recruitment – and crucially the fact that most of the club’s best players will eventually move on.

One which De Zerbi pointed to after the 1-1 draw away at Crystal Palace, saying: “Our policy is to help the young players to become better, to progress, but to progress and to become better they need to play. They need to play, they need [to] make mistakes.”

We all make mistakes. And almost all of us go on to repeat those mistakes time and time again. As even the late, great Johan Cruyff admitted: “Football is a game of mistakes. Whoever makes the fewest mistakes wins.”

Under De Zerbi, Brighton have certainly made their fair share of mistakes, particularly defensively. But the way they have played is exactly what most football fans dream of.

Brighton supporters are entertained every week by a team playing on the front-foot, with belief and attacking intent. Most importantly, a team that score goals for fun.

Football is not just about learning from mistakes, but also accepting that some mistakes are just part of the game and will happen.

De Zerbi spoke to The Argus recently about the Albion’s defensive record: “If we concede less goals, maybe we score less. We have a clear style; we have a clear DNA. We have players who prefer to attack.”

This style and DNA has of course lead to a record run of goal scoring to go with the record run of conceding, De Zerbi’s side surpassing the great Billy Lane and his Brighton team who scored in 32 consecutive league games.

There is often a fine line between optimism and delusion. And particularly when it comes to a low scoring sport like football, hindsight can often cynically skew our perspective one way or the other. But an optimistic and positive mindset can often be what pushes things in your favour.

When it comes to positivity, Brighton are blessed to have De Zerbi at their helm. Despite all the challenges he has had in recent times with injuries and his best players being sold, he remains one of the most positive men in the game right now.

Then again, given Brighton end 2023 with unprecedented levels of superiority and success, I guess it’s hard not to be positive.

De Zerbi’s assertive positivity has been what has turned Brighton from a club who couldn’t believe they were in the top half of the Premier League table under Graham Potter to one that fully believes it can push for Europe every season,

A club whose mistakes and problems which previously could have held the team back, now seem to be more easily overcome. An attitude possibly summed up by his recent comment: “I don’t want to listen to problems. We have to transform problems into opportunities.”

If De Zerbi can continue to do that, then the Albion can climb to even greater heights in 2024.

Phil