Tribal Football

Bloom says De Zerbi was not aligned with Brighton's transfer policy which led to sacking

Zack Oaten
Bloom says De Zerbi was not aligned with Brighton's transfer policy which led to sacking
Bloom says De Zerbi was not aligned with Brighton's transfer policy which led to sackingAction Plus
Brighton chairman Tony Bloom explained the club's big spend this summer which would not have happened under previous manager Roberto De Zerbi.

The club became the biggest net-spenders in Europe this summer which comes after previous transfer windows in which the club sold a number of world class talents. 

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New Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler has bought into the club’s transfer policy since joining this summer and Bloom believes he is convinced by the philosophy unlike De Zerbi

“In the summer transfer window when Roberto was here, we also spent quite a bit of money. 

“The process hasn’t changed. The philosophy hasn’t changed. 

“But I think it is fair to say that Fabian has bought into it a lot more than his predecessor. 

“Roberto had thoughts on certain players but that is not the way we as a club work. 

“The club will decide on the players potentially to bring into the club, in conjunction with the head coach. 

“But it’s not a situation where the head coach says, ‘I like this player and that player and that player’ and that’s what we do. 

“No, if a head coach has some ideas, that comes in as part of the process but a head coach really liking a player has got to fit many characteristics. 

“It has got to fit with the data analysis that we do so it is a part of the process, it’s not like some clubs who work with the head coach saying ‘I want this player and that player and that player’. 

Despite the disagreements, Bloom said it was an honour to work with the Italian manager and thanked him for the success he brought. 

“When Roberto came in, we explained the philosophy of the club and the process of the club. We had two really good seasons with Roberto.

“We had an amazing season when we qualified for Europe and when we had discussions towards the end of the season it made sense that we were going to part ways amicably. 

“If there is non-alignment between the head coach and the club, then things are never going to work out long-term.”