Sam Allardyce has been talking to by Betway about all things football and the part that caught my eye was his prediction that Brighton & Hove Albion could grab a Champions League spot this season.
The former (I can’t list them all!) manager gives his reasoning, and although I don’t want to get carried away, he is right that the transition from De Zerbi to Fabian Hürzeler appears to have been seamless.
Not that I am surprised, because that is what happens when a club organises from the top down, no matter the personal everyone knows what the system is and what is expected of them. Big Sam says: “They’ll finish fourth at the best. At the very best.”
Adding: “They don’t have any European competition to worry about, which is great for them. The freshness of the squad, because it’s quite a good squad now. It’s quite good in strength and depth. Not just numbers, but quality numbers.”
He also points to striker Danny Welbeck, saying that he is “running around like an 18-year-old.” Not sure I ran around like that when I was 18, or any other age to be fair, but the point is well made on Danny and his contributions to the team.
He reasons that we have a real chance of finishing in a European spot again, and adds, “I like the owner because he didn’t mess about with the other manager [De Zerbi], did he? He just said: ‘Off you go, see ya! We don’t need you. We’ll get ourselves another coach,’ Fabian Hürzeler.”
And although I am sure the manager will keep the players (good luck trying with us fans) feet on the ground, beating Manchester City certainly gave the club a massive boost for this campaign.
Sam finishes his point that the club have got their recruitment right. “It’s all down to one thing – quality recruitment.”
“The quality of their recruitment has allowed them to not just be where they are, but also the investment has reaped financial rewards.”
Long may it continue. And onto our weekend match, you can see if the bookies are backing us.
